Herald news services
NEW YORK — Some relatives of Sept. 11 attack victims are seething over revelations that President Bush got advance warnings — not shared with the public — that Osama bin Laden’s terror network might hijack U.S. planes.
"My wife, had she known, would not have taken that flight," said Stephen Push, whose wife of 21 years, Lisa Raines, was killed aboard the hijacked jetliner that hit the Pentagon.
"It’s shameful that they know as much as they did and didn’t warn anyone," said Push, of Great Falls, Va. "They put the business interests of the airlines above the lives of the citizens."
The disclosure that Bush was briefed more than five weeks before the attacks about al-Qaida’s appetite for air piracy represents a third distinct stream of internal government intelligence that has come to light in recent days.
The first two — the FBI Arizona field office’s memo to headquarters in July reporting that a number of Arabs were seeking training at U.S. flight schools and recommending checks on such facilities, and the August arrest of Zacarias Moussaoui on immigration charges after a flight school reported his erratic behavior to the FBI — are already being studied by investigators for congressional intelligence committees.
Several relatives expressed hope Thursday that the revelations would intensify pressure for a high-powered investigation into possible intelligence and security failures preceding the attacks.
"For the safety of ourselves and our fellow citizens, we want an investigation to make sure something like Sept. 11 never, ever happens again," said Kristin Breitweiser, whose husband, Ronald, died at the World Trade Center.
She is part of group of Sept. 11 widows from New Jersey who are organizing a rally for victims’ families and friends on June 11 at the U.S. Capitol. The purpose is to support a bill introduced by Sens. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and John McCain, R-Ariz., that would establish a national commission to investigate the attacks.
"I want accountability," Breitweiser said.
Breitweiser said she became convinced shortly after the attacks that U.S. authorities mishandled clues that could have helped avert the carnage. She also contended that Bush, if he had received private advance warnings, should have acted more decisively at the first signs of trouble on Sept. 11.
"They said they couldn’t connect the dots, but once the dots were connected and the picture was drawn on the morning of 9/11, why did they do nothing?" she asked. "Why was the president allowed to sit for 35 minutes with a group of second-graders when this country was under attack?"
Donn Marshall of Marbury, Md., whose wife, Shelley, died at the Pentagon, also questioned Bush’s actions.
"It sort of makes you wonder where the get-tough president was when he was getting all this information, why they didn’t react act more vigorously," Marshall said. "The notion that American planes might be hijacked, that should have caused more concern, even if we didn’t think that they might be flown into things."
Yet some relatives refused to blame Bush or his administration for any security lapses.
"The groundwork for us winding up with a weak CIA and FBI, the weakening of our defense systems based on political correctness and expediency, happened long before Bush took office," said Sally Regenhard, whose son, Christian, was among the firefighters killed in New York.
She strongly endorsed the push for a high-level investigation.
"It’s too late now for my son," she said. "But I do want to make the country safe. Right now, we’re not there."
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