Granted, the above actions are drastic and unlikely to be approved before 9/11. I think the issue is not what could have been done(although these questions must be asked), but what was actually done by the administration. My interpretation at this point is that little, if anything was done, and this would be unacceptable in light of the information coming to public awareness. Had those with the power and information acted in some way to minimize the obvious threats (at least obvious to me), perhaps some of the tragedy could have been avoided, perhaps not.
Obviously we will never know if this could have been avoided, but that is not even the point. There seems to have been a complete failure by the staff to follow up on what appears to be valid warnings of imminent threat. If the previous administration felt the threat to the point of monitoring, and thwarting several terrorist plots, perhaps a more aggressive attempt to verify the intellegence by the current admin. would have been in order.
At least have the fortitude to admit that this memo, or "historical document" is a warning that should have been given more consideration than it was.
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Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha
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