Most 9/11 Families, Disenchanted with Bush Reticence, Want Kerry
BBC NEWS | The polarisation of the 9/11 families: "'I had trusted my government before. I thought they were doing their job and our families were safe and I wasn't now going to believe they were fixing things,' Mindy told me.
Anger sparked political activism and together with two other widows, Mindy and Lorie left their young children with relatives and started a regular eight hour commute to Washington.
The 'Jersey moms' banged on doors in the male-dominated bastion of the Capitol. The Bush administration had to give in and an independent 9/11 Commission was established. The women would spend the next two years harrying the White House to release documents and allow officials to testify.
Lorie van Auken's anger was fuelled when she realised - ahead of most of the public, that President Bush had failed in his pledge to 'smoke out' the man responsible for the death of her husband and deliver Osama Bin Laden to justice 'dead or alive'.
In December 2001 Bin Laden was allowed to escape at Tora Bora. The Bush administration was unwilling to put enough US boots on the ground, fearing casualties.
They relied instead on Afghan warlords. 'I was appalled at what happened, it was very upsetting,' says Lorie. 'It would've been important to have caught him, to have sent a message to al-Qaeda - cut it out,' agrees Mindy. 'Now it doesn't make any difference.' "
Link to whole story
Anger sparked political activism and together with two other widows, Mindy and Lorie left their young children with relatives and started a regular eight hour commute to Washington.
The 'Jersey moms' banged on doors in the male-dominated bastion of the Capitol. The Bush administration had to give in and an independent 9/11 Commission was established. The women would spend the next two years harrying the White House to release documents and allow officials to testify.
Lorie van Auken's anger was fuelled when she realised - ahead of most of the public, that President Bush had failed in his pledge to 'smoke out' the man responsible for the death of her husband and deliver Osama Bin Laden to justice 'dead or alive'.
In December 2001 Bin Laden was allowed to escape at Tora Bora. The Bush administration was unwilling to put enough US boots on the ground, fearing casualties.
They relied instead on Afghan warlords. 'I was appalled at what happened, it was very upsetting,' says Lorie. 'It would've been important to have caught him, to have sent a message to al-Qaeda - cut it out,' agrees Mindy. 'Now it doesn't make any difference.' "
Link to whole story
posted by A. J. Franklin @ 09:14
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