Dubya's Excellent Vacations
The lengthy "working vacations" which President George W. Bush has enjoyed at his Crawford, Texas, ranch have helped prepare him (if not the USA) for some big surprises....
| “Nine-Eleven” |
WHEN
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WHERE
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WOW |
| September 1999 |
National Intelligence Council, an affiliate of the CIA |
Report warned that terrorists associated with bin Laden might hijack an airplane and crash it into the Pentagon, White House or CIA headquarters. The report recounts well-known case studies of similar plots, including a 1995 plan by al Qaeda operatives to hijack and crash a dozen U.S. airliners in the South Pacific and pilot a light aircraft into Langley. "Suicide bomber(s) belonging to al-Qaida's Martyrdom Battalion could crash-land an aircraft packed with high explosives (C-4 and semtex) into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), or the White House." |
August 6, 2001
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Top-secret CIA briefing memo presented to President George W. Bush carried headline "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." and listed Al-Qaeda terrorist activity in USA consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of Federal buildings in New York. Briefing was followed by President going fishing. |
September 11, 2001
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Destruction of both World Trade Center towers, New York City
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 "It's 9-11, Where's Dubya?" |
| May 17, 2002 |
CBS NEWS - Article " '99 Report Warned Of Suicide Hijacking" |
Condoleezza Rice claims (after 9-11 attacks) "I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center, take another one and slam it into the Pentagon; that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile..." |
| “Hurricane Katrina” |
WHEN
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WHERE
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WOW |
| October 2004 |
National Geographic magazine |
Article notes that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) lists a hurricane strike on New Orleans as one of the most dire threats to the nation, up there with a large earthquake in California or a terrorist attack on New York City. Even the Red Cross no longer opens hurricane shelters in the city, claiming the risk to its workers is too great. |
August 6, 2005
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Cindy Sheehan (anti-war protestor whose son was killed in Iraq war) begins vigil near "Prairie Chapel Ranch," Crawford, Texas, at start of George Bush's vacation there
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Four-year anniversary of CIA briefing (at Crawford, Texas, ranch) which warned vacationing George W. Bush of Al-Qaeda plans to attack inside the USA. |
| August 26-27, 2005 |
Hurricane Katrina grows to a Category 2 hurricane with 90 knot (103 mph) winds, predicted to veer north and west toward Mississippi and Louisiana. |
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco declares a state of emergency. National Hurricane Center staff fully brief Bush Administration officials on impending dangers — including the likely breach of the New Orleans levees. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warns: "Dangerous Hurricane Katrina threatens north central Gulf Coast ... Hurricane Warning issued." Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour declares a state of emergency and asks President Bush to do the same and free up Federal resources. Governor Blanco writes to President Bush, asking for Federal declaration of emergency and Federal assistance. Bush remains on vacation at Crawford, Texas. |
| August 28, 2005 |
Video conference with National Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield specifically warns George Bush and FEMA staff that Katrina might breach New Orleans' levees, flooding and devastating the city. |
After the video conference, Bush tells the media "I want to assure the folks at the state level that we are fully prepared to not only help you during the storm, but we will move in whatever resources and assets we have at our disposal after the storm to help you deal with the loss of property. And we pray for no loss of life, of course." Bush did not participate in the next day's briefing (August 29). |
| August 30, 2005 |
Hurricane Katrina devastates coastal areas of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. |
Hurricane death toll in Mississippi rises to more than 100. Second levee breaks in New Orleans, flooding covers 80 percent of city. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco says everyone still in New Orleans — 50,000 to 100,000 people — must be evacuated. Crowds swell at Superdome and convention center. Rescuers in helicopters and boats pick up hundreds of stranded people. Reports of looting, gang attacks. |
August 31, 2005
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George Bush cuts short his summer vacation in Crawford, Texas, to return to White House.
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New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin estimates New Orleans' death toll: "Minimum, hundreds. Most likely, thousands." |
| September 2, 2005 |
ABC NEWS report "New Orleans Levee Warnings Went Unheeded: For Years, Calls to Improve Louisiana Levee System Were Ignored" |
"For years, Louisiana officials have been warning of the tragedy that could result if the levees surrounding New Orleans were breached. Every year, they begged for more money to strengthen the walls that kept the waters of Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River from overwhelming the Big Easy..." |
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Bush flies to New Orleans to visit the devastated region.
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''I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees," President Bush said while touring the devastated Gulf Coast after the storm struck. ''They did appreciate a serious storm, but these levees got breached, and as a result much of New Orleans is flooded and now we're having to deal with it and we will." |
| September 12-13, 2005 |
Bush tours Louisiana and Mississippi. |
Director Michael Brown in Washington announces his resignation from Federal Emergency Management Agency. The White House replaces him with R. David Paulison, a top agency official with disaster-recovery experience. Officials report 515 deaths from Hurricane Katrina so far, including more than 40 bodies found in a New Orleans hospital. Bush addresses the Federal response to the storm: "To the extent the Federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility." |
More than 1,300 people were killed by Hurricane Katrina
in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
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