new doubts on wtc collapse, page-137

re: new doubts on wtc collapse/grant62 dave, your opinion is less than nothing without EVIDENCE! OK?



The Hypocrisy Of The 9/11 Commission

The Commission is restricted to $3 million for their investigations. By comparison, the government spent over $47 million by March of 1999 investigating Clinton's Whitewater and Monica Lewinski dealings

Evan Daniel Ravitz: 04/22/03


The first public hearing of the National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks Upon the United States was held on March 31 - April 1, 2003 at
the U.S. Custom House, One Bowling Green, New York City.

The Commission is restricted to $3 million for their investigations
-see the end of http://www.9-11commission.gov/about/107-306.title6.htm

By comparison, the government spent over $47 million by March of
1999 investigating Clinton's Whitewater and Monica Lewinski dealings,
according to the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/counsel1.htm

This restriction in funds, after the Bush Administration resisted
having an independent commission, and then tried to appoint Kissinger
to head it, shows how serious they are about knowing what happened.

The following 3/31 Statement of Mindy Kleinberg to the Commission may
explain what the Administration wants to avoid. Mindy Kleinberg is a
founding member of September 11th Advocates, a family advocacy group
that spearheaded the grassroots effort for the establishment of the
independent commission on September 11th.

Americans and the world must know the truth about 9/11, for the same
reasons President Nelson Mandela established the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission to illuminate the truth about Apartheid in
South Africa. Many other countries have followed suit.

Please send this document anywhere you can!

http://www.9-11commission.gov/hearings/hearing1/witness_kleinberg.htm

First public hearing of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks
Upon the United States

Statement of Mindy Kleinberg to the National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks Upon the United States, March 31, 2003

My name is Mindy Kleinberg. My husband Alan Kleinberg, 39 yrs old, was
killed in the WTC on September 11, 2001. As I testify here today about
the 9/11 attacks, I will begin by saying that my thoughts are very
much with the men and women who are involved in armed conflict
overseas and their families who wait patiently for them to return.

This war is being fought on two fronts, overseas as well as here on
our shores; this means that we are all soldiers in this fight against
terrorism. As the threat of terrorism mounts here in the United
States, the need to address the failures of September 11 is more
important than ever. It is an essential part of "lessons learned".

As such, this commission has an extremely important task before it. I
am here today to ask you, the commissioners, to help us understand how
this could have happened; help us understand where the breakdown was
in our nation's defense capabilities.

Where were we on the morning of September 11th?
On the morning of September 11th my three-year-old son, Sam, and I
walked Jacob 10, and Lauren, 7 to the bus stop at about 8:40 a.m. It
was the fourth day of a new school year and you could still feel
everyone's excitement. It was such a beautiful day that Sam and I
literally skipped home oblivious to what was happening in NYC.

At around 8:55 I was confirming play date plans for Sam with a friend
when she said, "I can't believe what I am watching on TV, a plane has
just hit the World Trade Center." For some reason it did not register
with me until a few minutes later when I calmly asked, "what building
did you say?" "Oh that's Alan's building I have to call you back."

There was no answer when I tried to reach him at the office. By now my
house started filling with people--his mother, my parents, our sisters
and friends. The seriousness of the situation was beginning to
register. We spent the rest of the day calling hospitals, and the Red
Cross and any place else we could think of to see if we could find
him.

I'll never forget thinking all day long, "how am I going to tell Jacob
and Lauren that their father was missing?"

They came home to a house filled with people but no Daddy. How were
they going to be able to wait calmly for his return? What if he was
really hurt? This was their hero, their king their best friend, their
father. The thoughts of that day replay over and over in our heads
always wishing for a different outcome.

We are trying to learn to live with the pain. We will never forget
where we were or how we felt on September 11th.

But where was our government, its agencies, and institutions prior to
and on the morning of September 11th?

The Theory of Luck
With regard to the 9/11 attacks, it has been said that the
intelligence agencies have to be right 100% of the time and the
terrorists only have to get lucky once. This explanation for the
devastating attacks of September 11th, simple on its face, is wrong in
its value. Because the 9/11 terrorists were not just lucky once: they
were lucky over and over again. Allow me to illustrate.

The SEC
The terrorist's lucky streak began the week before September 11th with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. The SEC, in concert
with the United States intelligence agencies, has sophisticated
software programs that are used in "real-time" to watch both domestic
and overseas markets to seek out trends that may indicate a present or
future crime. In the week prior to September 11th both the SEC and
U.S. intelligence agencies ignored one major stock market indicator,
one that could have yielded valuable information with regard to the
September 11th attacks.

On the Chicago Board Options Exchange during the week before September
11th, put options were purchased on American and United Airlines, the
two airlines involved in the attacks. The investors who placed these
orders were gambling that in the short term the stock prices of both
Airlines would plummet. Never before on the Chicago Exchange were such
large amounts of United and American Airlines options traded. These
investors netted a profit of at least $5 million after the September
11th attacks.

Interestingly, the names of the investors remain undisclosed and the
$5 million remains unclaimed in the Chicago Exchange account.

Why these aberrant trades were not discovered prior to 9/11? Who were
the individuals who placed these trades? Have they been investigated?
Who was responsible for monitoring these activities? Have those
individuals been held responsible for their inaction?

The INS
Prior to 9/11, our US intelligence agencies should have stopped the 19
terrorists from entering this country for intelligence reasons, alone.
However, their failure to do so in 19 instances does not negate the
luck involved for the terrorists when it comes to their visa
applications and our Immigration and Naturalization Service, or INS.

With regard to the INS, the terrorists got lucky 15 individual times,
because 15 of the 19 hijackers' visas should have been unquestionably
denied.

Most of the 19 hijackers were young, unmarried, and un-employed males.
They were, in short, the "classic over-stay candidates". A seasoned
former Consular officer stated in National Review magazine, "Single,
idle young adults with no specific destination in the United States
rarely get visas absent compelling circumstances."

Yet these 19 young single, unemployed, "classic overstay candidates
still received their visas." I am holding in my hand the applications
of the terrorists who killed my husband. All of these forms are
incomplete and incorrect.

Some of the terrorists listed their means of support as simply
"student" failing to then list the name and address of any school or
institution. Others, when asked about their means of support for their
stay in the US wrote "myself" and provided no further documentation.
Some of the terrorists listed their destination in the US as simply
"hotel" or "California" or "New York". One even listed his destination
as "no".

Had the INS or State Department followed the law, at least 15 of the
hijackers would have been denied visas and would not have been in the
United States on September 11th, 2001.

Help us to understand how something as simple as reviewing forms for
completeness could have been missed at least 15 times. How many more
lucky terrorists gained unfettered access into this country? With no
one being held accountable, how do know this still isn't happening?

Airline and Airport Security
On the morning of September 11th, the terrorists' luck commenced with
airline and airport security. When the 19 hijackers went to purchase
their tickets (with cash and/or credit cards) and to receive their
boarding passes, nine were singled out and questioned through a
screening process. Luckily for those nine terrorists, they passed the
screening process and were allowed to continue on with their mission.

But, the terrorist's luck didn't end at the ticket counter; it also
accompanied them through airport security, as well. Because how else
would the hijackers get specifically contraband items such as
box-cutters, pepper spray or, according to one FAA executive summary,
a gun on those planes?

Finally, sadly for us, years of GAO recommendations to secure cockpit
doors were ignored making it all too easy for the hijackers to gain
access to the flight controls and carryout their suicide mission.

FAA and NORAD
Prior to 9/11, FAA and Department of Defense Manuals gave clear,
comprehensive instructions on how to handle everything from minor
emergencies to full blown hijackings.

These "protocols" were in place and were practiced regularly for a
good reason--with heavily trafficked air space; airliners without
radio and transponder contact are collisions and/or calamities waiting
to happen.

Those protocols dictate that in the event of an emergency, the FAA is
to notify NORAD. Once that notification takes place, it is then the
responsibility of NORAD to scramble fighter-jets to intercept the
errant plane(s). It is a matter of routine procedure for fighter-jets
to "intercept" commercial airliners in order to regain contact with
the pilot.

If that weren't protection enough, on September 11th, NEADS (or the
North East Air Defense System dept of NORAD) was several days into a
semiannual exercise known as "Vigilant Guardian". This meant that our
North East Air Defense system was fully staffed. In short, key
officers were manning the operation battle center, "fighter jets were
cocked, loaded, and carrying extra gas on board."

Lucky for the terrorists none of this mattered on the morning of
September 11th.

Let me illustrate using just flight 11 as an example.

American Airline Flight 11 departed from Boston Logan Airport at 7:45
a.m. The last routine communication between ground control and the
plane occurred at 8:13 a.m. Between 8:13 and 8:20 a.m. Flight 11
became unresponsive to ground control. Additionally, radar indicated
that the plane had deviated from its assigned path of flight. Soon
thereafter, transponder contact was lost - (although planes can still
be seen on radar - even without their transponders).

Two Flight 11 airline attendants had separately called American
Airlines reporting a hijacking, the presence of weapons, and the
infliction of injuries on passengers and crew. At this point, it would
seem abundantly clear that Flight 11 was an emergency.

Yet, according to NORAD's official timeline, NORAD was not contacted
until 20 minutes later at 8:40 a.m. Tragically the fighter jets were
not deployed until 8:52 a.m. -- a full 32 minutes after the loss of
contact with flight 11.

Why was there a delay in the FAA notifying NORAD? Why was there a
delay in NORAD scrambling fighter jets? How is this possible when
NEADS was fully staffed with planes at the ready and monitoring our
Northeast airspace?

Flight's 175, 77 and 93 all had this same repeat pattern of delays in
notification and delays in scrambling fighter jets. Delays that are
unimaginable considering a plane had, by this time, already hit the
WTC

Even more baffling for us is the fact that the fighter jets were not
scrambled from the closest air force bases. For example, for the
flight that hit the Pentagon, the jets were scrambled from Langley Air
Force in Hampton, Virginia rather than Andrews Air Force Base right
outside D.C. As a result, Washington skies remained wholly unprotected
on the morning of September 11th. At 9:41 a.m. one hour and 11 minutes
after the first plane was hijack confirmed by NORAD, Flight 77 crashed
into the Pentagon. The fighter jets were still miles away. Why?

So the hijackers luck had continued. On September 11th both the FAA
and NORAD deviated from standard emergency operating procedures .Who
were the people that delayed the notification? Have they been
questioned? In addition, the interceptor planes or fighter jets did
not fly at their maximum speed.

Had the belatedly scrambled fighter jets flown at their maximum speed
of engagement, MACH-12, they would have reached NYC and the Pentagon
within moments of their deployment, intercepted the hijacked airliners
before they could have hit their targets, and undoubtedly saved lives.

Leadership
Joint Chief Of Staff
The acting Joint Chief of staff on Sept 11th was on the morning of
September 11th, he was having a routine meeting . Acting Joint Chief
of staff Myers stated that he saw a TV. report about a plane hitting
the WTC but thought it was a small plane or something like that. So,
he went ahead with his meeting. "Meanwhile the second World Trade
Center was hit by another jet. Nobody informed us of that," Myers
said. By the time he came out of the meeting the Pentagon had been
hit.

Whose responsibility was it to relay this emergency to the Joint Chief
of Staff? Have they been held accountable for their error? Surely this
represents a breakdown of protocol.

Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense, was at his desk doing paperwork when AA77
crashed into the Pentagon.

As reported, Secretary Rumsfeld felt the building shake, went outside,
saw the damage and started helping the injured onto stretchers. After
aiding the victims, the Secretary then went into the 'War Room'.

How is it possible that the National Military Command Center, located
in the Pentagon and in contact with law enforcement and air traffic
controllers from 8:46 a.m. did not communicate to the Secretary of
Defense also at the Pentagon about the other hijacked planes
especially the one headed to Washington? How is that Secretary of
Defense could have remained at this desk until the crash? Whose
responsibility is it to relay emergency situations to him? Is he then
supposed to go to the war room?

President
At 6:15 a.m. on the morning of 9/11, my husband Alan left for work; he
drove into New York City, and was at his desk and working at his
NASDAQ Security Trading position with Cantor Fitzgerald, in Tower One
of the WTC by 7:30 a.m.

In contrast, on the morning of September 11, President Bush was
scheduled to listen to elementary school children read.

Before the President walked into the classroom NORAD had sufficient
information that the plane that hit the WTC was hijacked. At that
time, they also had knowledge that two other commercial airliners, in
the air, were also hijacked. It would seem that a national emergency
was in progress.

Yet President Bush was allowed to enter a classroom full of young
children and listen to the students read.

Why didn't the Secret Service inform him of this national emergency?
When is a President supposed to be notified of everything the agencies
know? Why was the President permitted by the Secret Service to remain
in the Sarasota elementary school? Was this Secret Service protocol?

In the case of a national emergency, seconds of indecision could cost
thousands of lives; and it's precisely for this reason that our
government has a whole network of adjuncts and advisors to insure that
these top officials are among the first to be informed--not the last.
Where were these individuals who did not properly inform these top
officials? Where was the breakdown in communication?


Was it luck or No Fault Government
Is it luck that aberrant stock trades were not monitored? Is it luck
when 15 visas are awarded based on incomplete forms? Is it luck when
Airline Security screenings allow hijackers to board planes with box
cutters and pepper spray? Is it luck when Emergency FAA and NORAD
protocols are not followed? Is it luck when a national emergency is
not reported to top government officials on a timely basis?

To me luck is something that happens once. When you have this repeated
pattern of broken protocols, broken laws, broken communication, one
cannot still call it luck.

If at some point we don't look to hold the individuals accountable for
not doing their jobs properly then how can we ever expect for
terrorists not to get lucky again?

And, that is why I am here with all of you today. Because, we must
find the answers as to what happened that day so as to ensure that
another September 11th can never happen again.

Commissioners, I implore you to answer our questions. You are the
Generals in the terrorism fight on our shores. In answering our
questions, you have the ability to make this nation a safer place and
in turn, minimize the damage if there is another terrorist attack.
And, if there is another attack, the next time, our systems will be in
place and working and luck will not be an issue.

Mindy Kleinberg is a founding member of September 11th Advocates, a
family advocacy group that spearheaded the grassroots effort for the
establishment of the independent commission on September 11th.

Her husband Alan Kleinberg was a NASDAQ security trader with Cantor
Fitzgerald in the NorthTower of the WTC on the 104th Floor. He was 39
and had been a NASDAQ security trader for 15 years.

Mrs. Kleinberg is a Certified Public Accountant. She met her husband
when they both worked at Deloitte-Touche, but she left the accounting
profession to become a stay-at-home mom. She lives in New Jersey with
her three children; Jacob 11; Lauren 8 and Sam 4.