Dick Cheney speaks - interesting 9/11 stuff

ref · 24th July 2007, 06:31 AM

Here are excerpts from Dick Cheney's new biography, Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Controversial Vice President.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/weeklystanda...d/cheneyspeaks

There is a section concentrating on the events of 9/11. Interesting stuff there.

Quote:

Not long after he sat down, at 9:58 A.M., the small group in the bunker watched as the south tower crumbled

...

Within minutes, Cheney was told that an unidentified aircraft was 80 miles outside of Washington. "We were all dividing 80 by 500 miles an hour to see what the windows were," Scooter Libby would later say. A military aide asked Cheney for authorization to take out the aircraft.

Cheney gave it without hesitating.

The military aide seemed surprised that the answer came so quickly. He asked again, and Cheney once again gave the authorization.

The military aide seemed to think that because Cheney had answered so quickly, he must have misunderstood the question. So he asked the vice president a third time.

"I said yes," Cheney said, not angrily but with authority.

...

At 10:18 A.M., Bolten suggested that Cheney notify the president that he had communicated the "shoot-down" order. Shortly after Cheney hung up, the officials in the bunker were advised that a plane had crashed in Pennsylvania.

Everyone had the same question, says Rice. "Was it down because it had been shot down or had it crashed?" Rice and Cheney were both filled with "intense emotion," she recalls, because they both made the same assumption. "His first thought, my first thought--we had exactly the same reaction--was it must have been shot down by the fighters. And you know, that's a pretty heady moment, a pretty heavy burden."

...

At 10:28, the north tower collapsed. The building must have been charged, thought David Addington, counsel to the vice president, who was standing against the outer wall of the bunker.

Cheney, seated at the conference table, stared at the screen. Bolten and Mineta stood behind him to his left, Libby and Rice to his right. All wore virtually the same stunned expressions.

But the group in the bunker had little time to reflect on the tragedy. Two minutes later came yet another warning: An unidentified aircraft was in flight less than 10 miles out. Cheney again gave the order to shoot it down.

They waited for news. None came.

At 10:39 A.M., Cheney spoke to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for the first time. He reviewed the events of the past hour.

"There's been at least three instances here where we've had reports of aircraft approaching Washington," said Cheney. "A couple were confirmed hijack. And, pursuant to the president's instructions I gave authorization for them to be taken out."

There was quiet on the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Yes, I understand," Rumsfeld came back. "So we've got a couple aircraft up there that have those instructions at this present time?"

"That is correct," said Cheney. "And it's my understanding they've already taken a couple aircraft out."

"We can't confirm that," Rumsfeld told his former aide. "We're told that one aircraft is down but we do not have a pilot report that did it."

And so on.

Could Norman Mineta be talking about this incident, closely after 10:28, when an unidentified aircraft was less than 10 miles out and Cheney had already given the shoot down order earlier. He would without a doubt say that the orders still stand, as stated in that paragraph that he gave the order to shoot it down.

Viper Daimao · 24th July 2007, 06:56 AM

It's possible. I recently watched United 93 and remember that they had a lot of planes there were "possibly hijacked" on the big white board. They were reporting 11 was heading to Washington or something after it had crashed into the WTC, there was lots of confusion and outdated reports being passed as new info.

Alferd_Packer · 24th July 2007, 09:46 AM

Clearly there was a lot of confusion.

PhantomWolf · 24th July 2007, 03:38 PM

Actually Ref, it was more likely the first one you mentioned, where he told the aide 3 times to shoot it down. That would have been Flight 93, and the timing would be best with Mineta's memory and when they learned about Flight 77 hitting the Pentagon.

Thunder · 24th July 2007, 04:43 PM

CTist says:

"There is no way Cheney was stating that he had given the order to shoot down. Its simply impossible!!

Why...cause 9-11 was an inside job..and anything/everything that counters this concept is a lie/falsehood/hoax."

ref · 24th July 2007, 10:59 PM

Originally Posted by PhantomWolf

Actually Ref, it was more likely the first one you mentioned, where he told the aide 3 times to shoot it down. That would have been Flight 93, and the timing would be best with Mineta's memory and when they learned about Flight 77 hitting the Pentagon.

I get the impression, that the first aide asked the three questions in the same sequence one after another. Well, maybe we never know, but it was interesting to read that Cheney originally thought they had actually shot down a couple of planes.

24th July 2007, 06:31 AM	#1
ref Master Poster Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 2,663	Dick Cheney speaks - interesting 9/11 stuff Here are excerpts from Dick Cheney's new biography, Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Controversial Vice President. http://news.yahoo.com/s/weeklystanda...d/cheneyspeaks There is a section concentrating on the events of 9/11. Interesting stuff there. Quote: Not long after he sat down, at 9:58 A.M., the small group in the bunker watched as the south tower crumbled ... Within minutes, Cheney was told that an unidentified aircraft was 80 miles outside of Washington. "We were all dividing 80 by 500 miles an hour to see what the windows were," Scooter Libby would later say. A military aide asked Cheney for authorization to take out the aircraft. Cheney gave it without hesitating. The military aide seemed surprised that the answer came so quickly. He asked again, and Cheney once again gave the authorization. The military aide seemed to think that because Cheney had answered so quickly, he must have misunderstood the question. So he asked the vice president a third time. "I said yes," Cheney said, not angrily but with authority. ... At 10:18 A.M., Bolten suggested that Cheney notify the president that he had communicated the "shoot-down" order. Shortly after Cheney hung up, the officials in the bunker were advised that a plane had crashed in Pennsylvania. Everyone had the same question, says Rice. "Was it down because it had been shot down or had it crashed?" Rice and Cheney were both filled with "intense emotion," she recalls, because they both made the same assumption. "His first thought, my first thought--we had exactly the same reaction--was it must have been shot down by the fighters. And you know, that's a pretty heady moment, a pretty heavy burden." ... At 10:28, the north tower collapsed. The building must have been charged, thought David Addington, counsel to the vice president, who was standing against the outer wall of the bunker. Cheney, seated at the conference table, stared at the screen. Bolten and Mineta stood behind him to his left, Libby and Rice to his right. All wore virtually the same stunned expressions. But the group in the bunker had little time to reflect on the tragedy. Two minutes later came yet another warning: An unidentified aircraft was in flight less than 10 miles out. Cheney again gave the order to shoot it down. They waited for news. None came. At 10:39 A.M., Cheney spoke to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for the first time. He reviewed the events of the past hour. "There's been at least three instances here where we've had reports of aircraft approaching Washington," said Cheney. "A couple were confirmed hijack. And, pursuant to the president's instructions I gave authorization for them to be taken out." There was quiet on the other end of the line. "Hello?" "Yes, I understand," Rumsfeld came back. "So we've got a couple aircraft up there that have those instructions at this present time?" "That is correct," said Cheney. "And it's my understanding they've already taken a couple aircraft out." "We can't confirm that," Rumsfeld told his former aide. "We're told that one aircraft is down but we do not have a pilot report that did it." And so on. Could Norman Mineta be talking about this incident, closely after 10:28, when an unidentified aircraft was less than 10 miles out and Cheney had already given the shoot down order earlier. He would without a doubt say that the orders still stand, as stated in that paragraph that he gave the order to shoot it down.
ref Master Poster Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 2,663	__________________ 9/11 Guide homepage Conspiracy theories abound and I believe firmly that all of them are without merit. - Chief Daniel Nigro

24th July 2007, 03:38 PM	#4
PhantomWolf Philosopher Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Lost Deimos Moon Base Posts: 9,932	Actually Ref, it was more likely the first one you mentioned, where he told the aide 3 times to shoot it down. That would have been Flight 93, and the timing would be best with Mineta's memory and when they learned about Flight 77 hitting the Pentagon.
	__________________ It must be fun to lead a life completely unburdened by reality. -- JayUtah I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. -- Charles Babbage (1791-1871) My Apollo Page. 1 on 1 Debating Forum for Skeptics and sceptics.

24th July 2007, 10:59 PM	#6
ref Master Poster Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 2,663	Originally Posted by PhantomWolf Actually Ref, it was more likely the first one you mentioned, where he told the aide 3 times to shoot it down. That would have been Flight 93, and the timing would be best with Mineta's memory and when they learned about Flight 77 hitting the Pentagon. I get the impression, that the first aide asked the three questions in the same sequence one after another. Well, maybe we never know, but it was interesting to read that Cheney originally thought they had actually shot down a couple of planes.
ref Master Poster Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 2,663	__________________ 9/11 Guide homepage Conspiracy theories abound and I believe firmly that all of them are without merit. - Chief Daniel Nigro Last edited by ref; 24th July 2007 at 11:02 PM.

24th July 2007, 06:56 AM	#2
Viper Daimao Critical Thinker Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 498	It's possible. I recently watched United 93 and remember that they had a lot of planes there were "possibly hijacked" on the big white board. They were reporting 11 was heading to Washington or something after it had crashed into the WTC, there was lots of confusion and outdated reports being passed as new info.

24th July 2007, 09:46 AM	#3
Alferd_Packer Philosopher Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 7,212	Clearly there was a lot of confusion.

24th July 2007, 04:43 PM	#5
Thunder Banned Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Queens Posts: 34,947	CTist says: "There is no way Cheney was stating that he had given the order to shoot down. Its simply impossible!! Why...cause 9-11 was an inside job..and anything/everything that counters this concept is a lie/falsehood/hoax."