THURSDAY'S LETTERS: Frum and 'Axis of Evil,' Penn's Right to Express Himself, Rumsfeld and Pre-9/11 Warnings

By: E&P Staff In today's letters, a reader questions a recent column written by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, a dispute over who actually came up with the phrase "axis of evil," and support for Sean Penn's right to express himself.


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Rumsfeld and Pre-9/11 Warnings

In Donald Rumsfeld's column, "9/11 Plus Five: Let's Roll for Freedom," which appeared in Monday's News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C., Mr. Rumsfeld writes: "... we must treat every day since September 11th (2001) with the same sense of urgency we felt on September 12th if we are to ensure the safety of the American people."

The question yet to be answered is why, with all the numerous threats of imminent terrorist action which -- according to the 9/11 Commission Report -- abounded during the summer of 2001 when "the system was blinking red," that Mr. Bush and his team, contrary to their vows of vigilance, did not feel that same sense of urgency to "ensure the safety of the American people."

On this score, I refer you again to James P. Pinkerton's April 9, 2004 Newsday column, "Pre-9/11 Doings Coming to Light."

Mr. Pinkerton, a Conservative Republican who worked under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, in his column put in perspective Pres. Bush's pre-9/11 accountability. Particularly noteworthy are Mr. Pinkerton's following quotes:

"... President George W. Bush got a blunt warning five weeks before 9/11 and he did little or nothing. He even presided over a stand-down in preparations, concentrating on other concerns."

"Plenty of people in Washington had their 'hair on fire' about the terror threat in the summer of 2001. But not Bush, apparently. On Aug. 4, he went off on a working vacation to his ranch in Texas. ..."

Mr. Rumsfield's News & Observer essay could just as easily have been titled, "9/11 Minus Five (Weeks)," which, as James Pinkerton seems to imply, was the pivotal period in U.S. history when Pres. Bush turned a blind eye to the numerous reliable reports of imminent terrorist attack.

Quoting C. S. Lewis, Mr. Rumsfeld writes, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." If only Mr. Bush and his advisors had heeded "God's message" megaphoned via two CIA agents who, according to the 9/11 Commission Report, on August 6, 2001, warned the President and his team that "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." was a "current and serious" threat.

Had President Bush and his people not turned a deaf ear to the numerous reliable warnings of terrorist perils which faced us in Aug. 2001, Mr. Rumsfeld's pleadings in Sept. 2006 might well have been moot.

Dave Futornick
West Orange, N.J.

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Sean Penn's Right to Speak His Mind

I'm not exactly a fan of Sean Penn, but I believe he is entitled to his opinion, just like all of your readers. What I disagree with is the viciousness of a lot of the comments from them. We all have a right to our opinions, we may disagree but that does not make the opinions wrong.

Jeanie Horine
Union, Ohio

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David Frum the Actual 'Axis of Evil' Writer

In your latest note in E&P, you mention Michael Gerson was the author of the dreadful phrase "axis of evil." As a Canadian, I own a tiny piece of the U.S. Political Shame Map by association, in that one of ours ( previously one of ours), a particularly moronic Canuck named David Frum, is the actual author of this phrase, and you can just ask him ... to this day he doesn't get how dumb the phrase was (and is), but it was his baby and he's been running around Canuck Television ever since talking about how, as a former Bush Speech Writer, he coined the now-famous phrase. ...

I point all this out not only to take advantage of the opportunity to correct the minor error in E&P -- nor just to enjoy another opportunity to insult both Frum and Perle -- but also in some small way to prevent the accumulation of any idiot credits to Gerson he doesn't earn, and to take any idiot credits away from our most loathed countryman Mr. Frum.

A. Scott Hamilton