Sept/11 Administration Plot
washingtonpost.com
Democrat Implies Sept. 11 Administration Plot
By Juliet Eilperin
Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) is calling for an investigation into whether
President Bush and other government officials had advance notice of
terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 but did nothing to prevent them. She added
that "persons close to this administration are poised to make huge profits
off America's new war."
In a recent interview with a Berkeley, Calif., radio station, McKinney said
"We know there were numerous warnings of the events to come on September
11th. . . . What did this administration know and when did it know it, about
the events of September 11th? Who else knew, and why did they not warn the
innocent people of New York who were needlessly murdered? . . . What do they
have to hide?"
McKinney declined to be interviewed yesterday, but she issued a statement
saying "I am not aware of any evidence showing that President Bush or
members of his administration have personally profited from the attacks of
9-11. A complete investigation might reveal that to be the case."
Bush spokesman Scott McLellan dismissed McKinney's comments.
"The American people know the facts, and they dismiss such ludicrous,
baseless views," he said. "The fact that she questions the president's
legitimacy shows a partisan mind-set beyond all reason."
In the radio conversation, McKinney delivered a stinging attack on the
administration. In 2000, she charged, Bush forces "stole from America our
most precious right of all, the right to free and fair elections." With the
September attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and in
Pennsylvania, McKinney said, "an administration of questionable legitimacy
has been given unprecedented power."
She suggested that the administration was serving the interests of a
Washington-based investment firm, the Carlyle Group, which employs a number
of high-ranking former government officials from both parties. Former
president George H.W. Bush -- the current president's father -- is an
adviser to the firm. McKinney said the war on terrorism has enriched Carlyle
Group investors by enhancing the value of a military contractor partly owned
by the firm. Carlyle Group spokesman Chris Ullman asked "Did she say these
things while standing on a grassy knoll in Roswell, New Mexico?"
During her five terms in office, McKinney has often given voice to radical
critiques of U.S. policy, especially in the Middle East. She defied the
State Department to investigate assertions that international sanctions are
brutalizing innocent Iraqis.
With her comments concerning Sept. 11, McKinney, 47, seems to have tapped
into a web of conspiracy theories circulating during the past six months
among people who believe that the government is partially -- or entirely --
to blame for last year's attacks, which killed more than 3,000 people.
"What is undeniable is that corporations close to the administration have
directly benefited from the increased defense spending arising from the
aftermath of September 11th," McKinney charged. "America's credibility, both
with the world and with her own people, rests upon securing credible answers
to these questions."
None of McKinney's colleagues has embraced her allegations, but a few said
they are familiar with the theories. "I've heard a number of people say it,"
said Rep. Melvin Watt (D-N.C.), who quickly added, "I can't say that it
would be a widely held view" among lawmakers.
Some lawmakers have a less charitable view of McKinney's penchant for
publicity. Rep. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) said McKinney is simply trying to
impress her constituents. "She's demonstrated at home an ability to win," he
said, "and she's demonstrated in Washington a total lack of responsibility
in her statements."
Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), a friend of McKinney's, said the Georgia
Democrat is adept at seizing on "red-meat" issues that resonate with her
political base and have helped her fend off a series of GOP challengers.
"She's not as random as people think," Kingston said.
"People always want to hear a political conspiracy theory."
--
http//www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34565-2002Apr11.html
|