Is George Bush to Blame For 9/11?

[Straight Shooter]

Another day, another provocative statement from Donald Trump.

This time, the Republican candidate used an interview with Bloomberg Television Friday to blame former President George W. Bush for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"When you talk about George Bush, I mean, say what you want, the World Trade Center came down during his time," Trump said when asked how he would handle national tragedies if elected president.

Interviewer Stephanie Ruhle interrupted with "Hold on, you can't blame George Bush for that," but Trump wasn't deterred.

"He was president, okay? Blame him, or don't blame him, but he was president," Trump continued. "The World Trade Center came down during his reign."

Fellow Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, who has been a frequent target of Trump's digs, quickly took to Twitter to defend his brother.

http://mashable.com/2015/10/16/jeb-bush-defends-brother-trump/#cFs.U8LD65q0

Is it fair or unfair to blame George W. Bush for 9/11?

 

[Jack Davenport]

I don't think he is to blame, but Jeb! should shut up about him keeping us safe when over 3000 died on his watch during the 9/11 attacks.

 

[Jagger69]

No. The lack of coordination between federal agencies (although technically under the auspices of the executive branch) was a standard protocol that was in place that prevented us from sharing information between agencies and letting all of our intelligence and security infrastructure from knowing what we knew about the terrorists. If only there had been shared intelligence at the time there is a reasonable likelihood that the plot would have been uncovered before it came to fruition. You can blame Bush directly for that if you wish and certainly it happened on his watch but to specifically place the blame on him is unfair in my book. It was more of a systemic issue than anything. A bitter lesson to have to learn but things have changed as a result so hopefully we'll never had another 9/11-type episode take place on American soil. It's easy for Trump to play Monday-morning quarterback on this issue. I think he's wrong.

 

[Mr. Daystar]

Yes. If the people on his watch failed to due their job, he's the boss, ultimately he is responsible for his people. That, and cheney is about as greedy, and evil as it gets.

 

[sean miguel]

No. The lack of coordination between federal agencies (although technically under the auspices of the executive branch) was a standard protocol that was in place that prevented us from sharing information between agencies and letting all of our intelligence and security infrastructure from knowing what we knew about the terrorists. If only there had been shared intelligence at the time there is a reasonable likelihood that the plot would have been uncovered before it came to fruition. You can blame Bush directly for that if you wish and certainly it happened on his watch but to specifically place the blame on him is unfair in my book. It was more of a systemic issue than anything. A bitter lesson to have to learn but things have changed as a result so hopefully we'll never had another 9/11-type episode take place on American soil. It's easy for Trump to play Monday-morning quarterback on this issue. I think he's wrong.

Agreed.

And I think Jeb is referring to what Bush put in place since 9/11 in keeping us safe. Didn't the Patriot Act address the issue of inter-agency intelligence sharing and allowed the U.S. to use the same tools against potential terrorists that they'd been using for the mob for years? Then there's the enhanced interrogation that allowed us to pinpoint Bin Laden's location, Guantanamo detentions, drone strikes etc. That whole infrastructure that Bush put into place that Obama decried as a candidate but has relied on as Commander in Chief.

And if we want to lay blame, we can go further back. We had operators in Afghanistan with eyes on target on Bin Laden and were waiting for the word from Bill Clinton to take him out but he declined.

 

[ThatRedWing]

Yes, Bush gets the blame but so does every POTUS going back to WWII. Clinton didn't do enough to go after Bin Laden. Bush Sr. pissed off people in the way he handled the aftermath of the first Gulf War. Reagan armed what would become the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Carter pissed people off with the way he handled the exile of the Shah of Iran. Nixon mishandled the oil embargo. The list goes on and on.

 

[Jack Davenport]

Wasn't the Department of Homeland Security created to facilitate the sharing of information between the agencies? Among other national security interests?

 

[Straight Shooter]

Wasn't the Department of Homeland Security created to facilitate the sharing of information between the agencies? Among other national security interests?

Yes. But ironically it only created more bureaucracy by duplicating effort already being done by other departments and greatly expanded the federal government. It's time to abolish the Department of Homeland Security

 

[Ace Boobtoucher]

DHS, Education, IRS, Department of Energy, and several other departments and agencies need to be eliminated or merged as their interests either overlap or are redundant because their equivalents at the state level can or already do the job adequately. At least according to the tenth amendment, anyway. But the constitution is more of a guideline amongst establishment politicians.

As for laying blame for 9/11, I blame Islam.

 

[sean miguel]

As for laying blame for 9/11, I blame Islam.

They weren't yelling "praise Jesus!" as they slit the flight attendants' throats.

 

[zeeblofowl_1969]

The act lays at the feet of radical Islam but the fact that it somehow was allowed to actually happen is squarely on the shoulders of the lazy half assed attitude that had become the norm of the day and that was 'Mr. Vacation' George W. Bush's attitude the entire time he was in office.
Strictly a not me, not my problem, go bother someone else kind of guy.

 

[xfire]

Bush is as much to blame for 9/11 as Obama or Clinton are to blame for Benghazi. And the myth that President Clinton turned down the opportunity to "get" Bin Laden is patently false.

 

[Jack Davenport]

Bush is as much to blame for 9/11 as Obama or Clinton are to blame for Benghazi. And the myth that President Clinton turned down the opportunity to "get" Bin Laden is patently false.

At this point, I wouldn't care if GWB was hauled off before a tribunal in The Hague if Trey could stick it to that lying excuse of a SoS in a pantsuit.

 

[xfire]

At this point, I wouldn't care if GWB was hauled off before a tribunal in The Hague if Trey could stick it to that lying excuse of a SoS in a pantsuit.

Trey is already on thin ice, don't be surprised when he falls through. That's going to happen, believe it.

 

[Jack Davenport]

Trey is already on thin ice, don't be surprised when he falls through. That's going to happen, believe it.

The partisan looking glass is indeed a mixed bag. A lot of people believe he has conducted himself professionally and without prejudice throughout the life of this investigation. What is rather pathetic is Clinton hanging on the words of a dimwit house leader because she is desperate. He was one idiot with one opinion, not directly involved in the committee. Trey was a very good prosecutor in SC and he won't be tripped up by deli-boy or Clinton.

 

[xfire]

The partisan looking glass is indeed a mixed bag. A lot of people believe he has conducted himself professionally and without prejudice throughout the life of this investigation. What is rather pathetic is Clinton hanging on the words of a dimwit house leader because she is desperate. He was one idiot with one opinion, not directly involved in the committee. Trey was a very good prosecutor in SC and he won't be tripped up by deli-boy or Clinton.

What anyone believes is irrelevant. Can he withstand an investigation into his conduct? I doubt it, same goes with some of the other GOP committee chairmen, a day of reckoning looms for the bunch of them and no amount of prosecutor skills will save their asses when they're on the other end of the table.

 

[Jack Davenport]

What anyone believes is irrelevant. Can he withstand an investigation into his conduct? I doubt it, same goes with some of the other GOP committee chairmen, a day of reckoning looms for the bunch of them and no amount of prosecutor skills will save their asses when they're on the other end of the table.

If that is the case, then they will have to bring back the key players in the Iran-Contra commitee even the dead ones, and ream them all new assholes.

 

[xfire]

If that is the case, then they will have to bring back the key players in the Iran-Contra commitee even the dead ones, and ream them all new assholes.

That would be nice if it were true, unfortunately Gowdy and his cohorts don't have the luxury of hiding behind others. The truth is coming out, no surprise to anyone that didn't have partisan blinders on, and it's not looking good for those that engaged in wasting tax payer money in their deliberate targeting of Democratic political opponents.

 

[Jack Davenport]

Keep us posted on how the take down of Trey is coming along. Kinda like when you predicted the same thing for Issa. lol

 

[xfire]

Issa is keeping a low profile because he's scared his Post Office shenanigans are going to blow up in his face, and they should.