A Pattern of Failure of Leadership

This past weekend, I saw a program about Flight 93 on the 4th anniversary of 9/11. I've read quite a bit about the various programs that have been made about Flight 93 recently, mostly praise by conservative columnists and bloggers, who have wrapped themselves up in 9/11.

Yet, these right-wingers seem to be ignorant of the fact that the tragedy of Flight 93 very easily could have been avoided if the nation had had a confident and decisive leader that day.

The proof is right there in the 9/11 Commission Report (a document, I've come to find out, very few right-wingers have actually read, which is somewhat ironic, considering how often they cite 9/11 as a defense of this administration. Yet the 9/11 Commission Report is extremely damning of the criminally negligent response of the Administration to Al Qaeda before 9/11, so it would only make sense that the right would conveniently choose to ignore unfortunate facts.)

The 9/11 Commission Report details, on page 38, that, at 9:05 am, Andy Card told Bush that a second plane had hit the towers. As Michael Moore made clear to the world in Fahrenheit 9/11, Bush then "remained in the classroom for another five to seven minutes while the children continued reading." According to the Report, Bush told the Commission that he remainded in the classroom reading "My Pet Goat" because he felt he should "project strength and calm," and "not to have the country see an excited reaction in a moment of crisis." Yet, as the Report also details matter-of-factly, Bush saw the press behind the schoolchildren and saw their phones and pagers start to ring. Yet Bush chose to do NOTHING.

By freezing under pressure, Bush ensured that Flight 93 would have no chance, as Bush did not immediately order all aircraft to be grounded once he learned of the second plane hitting the towers. This decision had grave consequences for the victims on Flight 93, for, at this time, the hijackers had not yet attempted to take over the flight. Indeed, as outlined on page 33 of the Report, it was not until 9:28 that hijackers likely took over the flight.

If Bush had immediately ordered all flights grounded, the pilots and crew of Flight 93 would have been on alert and the pilots would had been given an opportunity to land the plane, without anyone being hurt. Quite possibly, after seeing that people were onto the plot, the hijackers would not have attempted to take over the plane. It is possible that, seeing that the plane was going to be emergency-landed, the hijackers might have panicked and still tried to take over the plane. But it is certainly less likely that they would have been successful in reaching the cockpit.

Let us not think that Bush's response to Katrina is an isolated event -- it is yet another example of Bush's failed leadership.
- posted by Joshua @ 10:41 PM