354 slade gorton: a half century in politicsthe attack. Indeed, if actionable intelligence had appeared—which it did
not—9/11 would likely still have happened. And ironically, much of the
world would likely have called the September 11 th attack an al-Qaida re-
taliation for the U.S. provocation of capturing or killing bin Laden.”
Was there actionable intelligence much earlier? Maybe. Maybe not. But
Gorton would disgustedly conclude that the Bush White House thought
it had “all the time in the world” to deal with al-Qaida, as if Osama bin
Laden and his wily operatives were just “a bunch of people off in a cave.”
While “hindsight is always 20 -20,” Gorton said, you didn’t need glasses
to see “they screwed up.” Nothing Gorton was doing or saying endeared
him to the White House. As if he cared.^22richard a. clarKe, the counter-terrorism czar for the first Bush and
Clinton, was retained by George W. Bush but with diminished authority
and access. He placed much of the blame for that on Zelikow, who had
been a key member of Bush’s transition team. Clarke departed in 2003
to write a scathing memoir. Opening fire on CBS’ 60 Minutes, he as-
serted that the Bush administration turned a deaf ear to the terrorist
threat, then launched a half-baked war with Iraq just to show the colors.
That Zelikow, a friend of Condoleezza Rice, ended up as staff director of
the 9/11 Commission only underscored Clarke’s belief that its report
would be a whitewash of the Bush administration’s ineptitude. Clarke’s
testimony before the 9/ 11 Commission, one day after Rumsfeld’s appear-
ance, was high drama.
“I welcome these hearings because of the opportunity they provide to
the American people to better understand why the tragedy of 9/1 1 hap-
pened and what we must do to prevent a reoccurrence,” Clarke began. “I
also welcome the hearings because it is finally a forum where I can
apologize to the loved ones of the victims of 9/11. To them who are here
in the room; to those who are watching on television, your government
failed you. Those entrusted with protecting you failed you. And I failed
you. We tried hard, but that doesn’t matter because we failed. And for
that failure, I would ask, once all the facts are out, for your understand-
ing and for your forgiveness. With that, Mr. Chairman, I’ll be glad to take
your questions.”^23
At first there was stunned silence, Shenon writes. Some of the 9/ 11
family members were still returning from lunch, but as the words sank
in some in the audience gasped; others sobbed. No one of any importance
had ever apologized to them. Clarke’s critics called it political theater.^24
When it was his turn, Gorton politely but unapologetically cut to the1r.Slade Gorton.indd 354 8/23/11 8:42 AM