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August 28, 2005

Did Zelikow meet with Bush in Idaho?

While not available to talk to reporters about Able Danger and the 9/11 Commission Report:

The State Department, where Zelikow now works as a counselor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, said he was traveling and unavailable for comment.

Doctor Zelikow was able to talk to writers at the Sunny Valley Writer's Conference in Twin Falls, Idaho:

About 950 people attended the four-day conference, coming from as far away as Toronto to gorge on the written word and the ideas words can convey.

"It really comes down to the fact that words matter," said Juli Miller of Sun Valley. "Without words, how can you understand the world and how you fit into it?"

Philip Zelikow, chief architect of the 9/11 Commission Report, told how he ran the operation, scrutinizing 200 million pages of documents out of a hotel room -- there was no office, not even a telephone.

He also cautioned that the U.S. government needs to refrain from either inflating or downplaying the danger posed by Al Qaeda. "There is a problem there, but Al Qaeda is not 12 feet tall. They're not everywhere. They've been hurt and they can be hurt."

The reason the United States has not been attacked since 9-11 is not because Al Qaeda doesn't want to inflict more damage, he added. It's because they've been hampered in their ability to mete out more damage.

From the participant list:

PHILIP ZELIKOW, a lawyer, diplomat and historian, served as the executive director of the commission staff that produced THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT, which was nominated for a National Book Award. Recently appointed as counselor to the State Department, Zelikow has taught at Harvard University and the University of Virginia. He earned his Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. With Condoleezza Rice, he co-authored GERMANY UNIFIED AND EUROPE TRANSFORMED: A STUDY IN STATECRAFT, which was awarded a citation for excellence by the Overseas Press Club of America.

You might recall, that was not all that was going on in Idaho during this four day period:

August 19-22 2005
Sun Valley, Idaho
Sun Valley Writer's Conference
"Writing in Unpredictable Times"

Bush takes a vacation within his vacation:

August 22, 2005

President Bush Visits Idaho

By Sarah Lanse

Boise & Donnelly

President Bush is taking a vacation from his vacation in Texas.

He made his first trip to Idaho for some mountain biking.

This comes amid nationwide protests asking the president to bring the troops home.

The president and First Lady Laura Bush landed in Boise this afternoon, and after deplaning from Air Force One, they spent about 10 minutes shaking hands with state officials.

Governor Dirk Kempthorne arrived on Air Force One as well and joined the president on Marine One for a short trip to the Tamarack Resort in Donnelly.

Marine One landed on Tamarak's golf course, where it was greeted by nearly 50 vehicles.

But not everyone in town was happy to see him.

Around 200 people held a peace rally and protest not far from the resort.

While few details have been released about the the president's trip, it appears he will be using some of his down time for a little mountain biking in Idaho's Central Mountains.

Bush is expected to entertain members of Idaho's congressional delegation at a private dinner before returning to the Boise area.

The president will be speaking Wednesday in Nampa to members of the military and their families.

Earlier today, he delivered a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Salt Lake City.

I was wondering why Bush decided to go to Idaho of all places.

Posted by Mike at August 28, 2005 04:50 AM

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