Lack of Imagination, Part I

What do I think of this administration’s handling of the Qaeda threat prior to the bombing of the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2004? To borrow (and mangle) the words of Strother Martin in the classic movie, Cool Hand Luke, “What we have here, is a failure to imaginate.”

That’s right. Unlike those testifying before the commission, I do not think that the failure is one of communication. It’s a failure of imagination. In January of 2001, a group of very smart, experienced people took control of policy for the United States. They retained just about all of the intelligence apparatus that belonged to the previous administration.

They were briefed in transition meetings about the threat of Al Qaeda. In late January, they were given a list of actions, some might dare call it a plan, to protect Americans from these fundamentalists who had issued a fatwa against Americans everywhere. These were people who had attempted to bomb the World Trade Center, had successfully bombed embassies and the U.S.S. Cole.

Do you remember what the White House media coverage was obsessed with at the time this plan was pressed into Condi Rice’s capable hands? I do. They were busy smearing the departing Clinton staff with a since-discredited story about vandalized keyboards, stolen furniture and porn bombs. Revelations from un-named sources were coming out seemingly hourly with ever more outlandish accusations. When that story started losing legs, the focus shifted to the outgoing Clinton pardon of Marc Rich.

Now imagine the tone of those reports had the leaks involved items about Osama Bin Laden. Just imagine.

During his Inauguration speech in January, Bush said, “We will build our defenses beyond challenge, lest weakness invite challenge. We will confront weapons of mass destruction, so that a new century is spared new horrors. The enemies of liberty and our country should make no mistake: America remains engaged in the world by history and by choice, shaping a balance of power that favors freedom. We will defend our allies and our interests. We will show purpose without arrogance. We will meet aggression and bad faith with resolve and strength. And to all nations, we will speak for the values that gave our nation birth.”

It would appear that he was aware of the need to defend the homeland, but throughout the coming months, his administration would focus on tax cuts, an education plan, faith-based initiatives and a plan to weaken immigration rules to favor Mexican immigrants.

What is clear is that over the coming months, there was plenty of communication. The so-called wall between the various departments was not preventing information from reaching the White House. Everyone admits to knowing about intense “chatter”. Clarke was drafting memos to Condi. Tenet was running around with his hair on fire. There was the August 6th PDB. There was the arrest of Zacharias Moussaoui.

What we didn’t have was imagination. At no point did anyone sit down with that August 6th PDB and ask themselves what this could mean. The decision-making was limited to asking themselves whether there was anything actionable in it. It is inexcusable that they did not call a meeting to brainstorm possible targets, means of securing commercial airplanes and ways to infiltrate the family of plotters. Nobody developed insomnia imagining scenarios and checking whether we had a plan to disrupt those scenarios. Our leaders could not imagine an attack on American soil, until it actually happened.

Even after September 11th, it wasn’t until a huge momentum built behind the idea of a Department of Homeland Security that the administration announced it would be reorganizing the government. That idea was foisted upon the Bush administration from outside. After a brief stint in Afghanistan, they reverted again to an enemy of choice, rather than imagine ways to go after Osama Bin Laden.

Today the risk stands as great as it ever was. President Bush is still demonstrating a remarkable lack of imagination when it comes to terrorism and defense. Every major security effort that you could imagine as a risk is underfunded, from nuclear power plants to shipping containers, while the White House contemplates adding another layer of bureacracy to the reporting structure. Now I wonder where that idea came from…

In part II of "Lack of Imagination", the target will be Iraq. stay tuned. send comments to "thederrywitch@yahoo.com"