Until now, I was of the opinion that there was nothing that the Bush Administration (nor Clinton before) could have done to prevent 9/11.  But, the recent testimony of the CIA and FBI before the 9/11 commission has revealed enough information that this country's avaition and law enforcement system SHOULD have been at high alert from at least August on, concerning an Al Qaida plot against an airline.  The fact that we weren't is simply criminal negligence somewhere in the chain of command between the FBI, the CIA, and the Executive Branch of the Government.  According to the NY Times, in the article I've linked, the Commission has uncovered substantial evidence that we HAD sufficient warnings, and simply failed to take the necessary actions internally within the U.S.

Certainly, the culture of distrust and lack of communication between the FBI and CIA pre-dated even the Clinton Presidency, and Bush can't be blamed for THAT.  But the fact that the actual warnings were ignored during the BUSH administration under BUSH's watch, is now pretty darn clear.

I hear you!  I watched Frontline's "The Man Who Knew," and I was very surprised!

Joey

Couldn't find their ass with both hands and a road map. All they can do is whine about how nobody told them exactly when, where and how Al Qaeda would strike.

It was a miserable failure due to their fixation on Iraq. Oh well - at least none of those eunuchs got a blow job! That makes me proud!

Look at the consequences.  Got to ride the resulting hysteria and invade first Afghanistan, then Iraq, not to mention bluffing a couple of other countries into line by hinting they might be next on the hit list.

I can't say based on current information that Bush allowed 9-11 to happen in order to provide a climate favorable to implementing these policies.  I DO say that he and the rest of those in power are morally capable of such a maneuver.