How Did 9/11 Influence Bush's Image

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About eight months into his first term as president Bush had to deal with one of the worst tragedies in U.S. history, the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Although many of his moves during this time of turmoil in the United States were viewed as necessary and patriotic, a few years after the attacks information surfaced that completely destroyed Bush’s image. Long before the 9/11 attacks in 2001, during the Clinton administration, intelligence was collected that connected Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin-Laden to the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa. The Bush administration was warned by outgoing Clinton officials about Al-Qaeda, but information provided by Richard Clarke was the most sincere and frightening. Clarke, who remained from the Clinton …show more content…

Had the president ordered a root and branch search of information government agencies had on potential strikes by Al-Qaeda in the US, what was known about Moussaoui and the Arizona flight school would have been of great interest. Perhaps they would have also unearthed an intelligence memo written in 1998 that said, “We also learned that the agencies had uncovered a message between al Qaeda operatives in the United States, dated December 1998, that read, “Plans to hijack U.S. aircraft proceeding well. Two individuals have successfully evaded checkpoints in dry run at NY airport.” Or maybe another memo would have been found that stated, “CIA and the FBI are investigating a call to our embassy in the UAE in May saying that a group of bin Laden supporters was in the U.S. planning attacks with explosives.””(Drew) Unfortunately, none of this happened. 9/11 was the largest attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbor. Inexplicably, Bush stood idly by as it unfolded right in front of him, and once the news of such inaction and obstinacy surfaced, Bush fell from grace with both the media and U.S.

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