The Months That Changed The World Forever

http://images.askmen.com/entertainme...6218-flash.jpg
Excerpted from 500DAYS by Kurt Eichenwald. Copyright © 2012 by Kurt Eichenwald. Reprinted bypermission of Touchstone Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Uneditedby AskMen.This is the never-before-told full story of the 500 days thatfollowed 9/11, by New York Times bestselling author Kurt Eichenwald. Eichenwald,author of Conspiracy of Fools and The Informant, takes us behindthe scenes to the depths of CIA headquarters and al-Qaeda training camps. Here is anexcerpt.Crawford, TexasTwelveMonthsWith the flick of a switch, the electronic timer on a concealedbriefcase bomb flashed red, its digits counting down from five minutes. A small fanquietly whirred, generating a breath of air that could disperse enough sarin gas to killeveryone within several yards. A few feet away, George W. bush set a plate of cookies on atable, shooting a glance outside as he dropped into an overstuffed chair. His belovedranch was as tranquil as he had ever seen, with sunlight pouring through the trees instreaks of blazing heat. A cow lumbered past, attracting the fleeting attention of thegrim-faced visitors who were there to reveal some of the nation’s most sensitivesecrets to the texas governor.Thirty days earlier, bush had been selected atthe republican national convention in Philadelphia as the party’s candidate for the2000 presidential election. By tradition, the central intelligence agency provides abroad-ranging intelligence briefing during the presidential campaign to both therepublican and the democratic nominees, preparing them for the responsibilities of theWhite house. On this day, September 2, 2000, four agency officials—led by JohnMcLaughlin, the acting deputy director—had traveled to bush’s ranch outside ofWaco to present him and three of his senior advisors—Condoleezza Rice, PaulWolfowitz, and Josh Bolten—with classified information from the most closely guardedsanctums of American power. For three hours, the conversation roamed the globe—fromRussia to China, from the Middle East to Latin America. Ben Bonk, the deputy director ofthe CIA’s counterterrorist center, kept his silence, biding his time as he took themeasure of America’s would-be commander-in-chief.Bush struck him asintriguingly quirky; here was an aspirant to the highest office in the land attending hisfirst intelligence briefing decked out in full marlboro man regalia—cowboy boots,jeans with a big buckle, and a checked short-sleeved work shirt. He was unpretentious, apresidential candidate willing to fetch food from the kitchen for his guests. Just asstrikingly, the walls were plastered with tacky memorabilia, like a rubberized bass thatcould turn its head and break into song—a peculiar choice for a man seeking tobecome leader of the free world. But Bush’s down-home veneer, Bonk thought,disguised a keen mind. He had expected to be dealing with an intellectual lightweight,reliant on his aides for guidance in the subtleties of statecraft. Instead, it was Bushwho peppered the briefers with frequent and often insightful questions, while hissubordinates stayed quiet.Bonk’s plan for this day was itself atestament to the effectiveness of Bush’s aw-shucks folksiness. Because of thatreputation, Bonk had overcome his hesitance about sneaking the briefcase bomb into thehouse, providing Bush a vivid exhibit of the terrorist threat. Even though it contained nopoison gas, the device was real enough—the CIA had built it based on a design seizedfrom a Japanese terrorist cult that had used the bomb to kill thirteen commuters inattacks on Tokyo subway stations. Continue Reading

http://www.askmen.com/entertainment/better_look/500-days.html ]More...[/url]