Dogs that Didn't Bark

Fred Kaplan digs into the 9/11 hearings and surrounding news stories to figure out who in the administration actually backs Richard Clarke.

Clarke stressed the Al-Qaida threat, and CIA director George Tenent and Colin Powell were his allies. Kaplan notes that under questioning from the 9/11 comission and media, both Tenent and Powell have declined to pile-on to Clarke, while the rest of the administration has. Also, Clarke wrote in his book that Tenent would often appear in his office, be waiting at this desk or his assistant's desk, frustrated after his daily breifing with Bush that the President was not getting the Al-Qaida threat.

In the "Iraq is the major threat, not Al-Qaida" camp (prior to 9/11) is Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, and Dick Cheney. Bush was sold by this group. The same group pushed Iraq as a major force behind terrorism after 9/11, and Bush was sold by this group.

And that leaves Condoleeza Rice, who just twists in the wind. There is no evidence, anywhere, that she made any affirmative statments in any direction at any time -- instead, offering interpretations of her thoughts and actions at very much later dates. I'm continually surprised that anyone ascribes any power to Rice -- she clearly does not direct policy, she follows the leading pushes of more senior members of the administration. Take the WAPost article this morning reporting that Rice was to provide a major security policy speech pushing missle defense, on 9/11 2001 -- a policy which now has been left fallow. This was to answer the "security threats of today and tommorrow" not those of yesterday. Islamic terrorism fits no where into the speech.

There you have it: Clarke, Tenent, Powell vs. Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld and Cheney, with Bush the prize and Rice spinning with whoever is winning the day.