Spreading the word

Published March 24, 2004 11:02PM (EST)

MoveOn.org just sent an email to its members asking for money to help fund a TV ad inspired by the revelations made in Richard Clarke's book "Against All Enemies." You can see a rough storyboard for the ad and donate money here.

This is from MoveOn: "When the World Trade Center was hit on the morning of 9/11, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice dubbed Richard Clarke, the administration's top counter-terrorism official, 'crisis manager.' As the White House, which was thought to be the next target, was evacuated, Clarke heroically stayed on, coordinating the government's response from the Situation Room in the West Wing."

"Clarke is viewed by colleagues as a hawk, a 'true believer' who doesn't play partisan politics. So the shocking facts he revealed about the Bush administration's approach to terrorism before 9/11 and its response after must be taken seriously. On Sunday, Clarke told reporters that the President and Defense Secretary downgraded counter-terrorism and ignored repeated warnings about an al Qaeda attack prior to 9/11. And, perhaps even more explosive, Clarke revealed that President Bush and senior administration officials wanted to bomb Iraq after 9/11 even though they knew that it had no connection to al Qaeda, and that al Qaeda was responsible for the attacks."

"Already, the White House spin machine is in overdrive. Since they can't rebut Clarke's facts -- which independent witnesses have confirmed -- they're trying to paint him as an angry partisan, even though he's a Republican. But Clarke's words remain a searing indictment of the Bush Administration's campaign against terrorism. Together, if we act today, we can beat back the spin by widely airing a TV ad which gets these uniquely credible comments directly to TV viewers."


By Geraldine Sealey

Geraldine Sealey is senior news editor at Salon.com.

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