Can't Tell the Players Without a Program

Sen John McCain (R-AZ) wrongly claimed Iran was allowing al Qaeda fighters to train in Iran before they go to fight in Iraq.

Sen Joe Lieberman (I-NJ) had to set him straight.

Iran is predominately Shiite. And al Qaeda is a Sunni outfit. They don't like each other. They have different agendas for Iraq -- which are in conflict with one another.

Sen McCain didn't let the foreign affairs flub faze him. "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?" (AP)

Report: CIA Blasted for 9/11 Failures

A newly de-classified portion of an Inspector General's report faults former CIA Director George Tenet and the intel community in general for failing to have an effective strategy agains al Qaeda before the 9/11 attacks.

The report was completed in June, 2005. It's executive summary was just de-classified today.

It found no "silver bullet" that would have stopped the 9/11 attacks. But it says intel leaders failed to do their job to create an umbrella strategy to deal with al Qaeda.

Obama's Tough Talk

"There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again. It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al-Qaida leadership meeting in 2005. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will." -- Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) in a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center

It's September 10 All Over Again

A new federal report says al Qaeda is back to pre-9/11 levels.

Al-Qaida Better Positioned to Strike the West was prepared by the National Counterterorism Center. The five-page threat assessment says al Qaeda is gaining strength and training new terrorists in a safe haven of western Pakistan.

The report echoes testimony from National Intelligence Director Admiral Mike McConnell to Congress in March.

Six years, a half trillion dollars, and a new cabinet department. And we're right where we were on September 10, 2001. (WaPo)

2000 Days

Today, Sunday, March 4, 2007, marks 2000 days since 9/11.

That's 2,000 days Osama bin Laden -- perhaps the worst mass murderer in American history -- has been free. Earlier this weeek, White House spokesman Tony Snow said he didn't know if OBL is even al Qaeda's leader.

But National Intelligence Director Admiral Mike McConnell testified before Congress last week that Osama bin Laden was alive and well and rebuilding al Qaeda in Pakistan.

Adm McConnell suggested al Qaeda may already be back to it's pre-9/11 strength, protected by the US and NATOs inability to cross the border into Pakistan to stike at them. He warned that the training camps had been rebuilt and a new generation of al Qaeda were learning the ropes -- and likely the infamous monkey bars.