Yahoo! News - Rice: There Was No Silver Bullet to Avert Attacks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - National security adviser Condoleezza Rice told the Sept. 11 commission on Thursday that four U.S. presidents including George W. Bush failed to fully mobilize against terrorism, but there was no "silver bullet" that could have averted the deadly attacks on America.

Commissioner Richard Ben-Veniste, a Democrat, was the first to take Rice on, focusing on a briefing given Bush on Aug. 6, 2001, at which a document was presented titled "(Osama) Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States."

As members of the audience -- including some family members of 9/11 victims -- applauded, Ben-Veniste demanded the report be declassified.

Commissioner Bob Kerrey, a former U.S. Democratic senator, revealed some of the still-classified memo.

"This is what the August 6 memo said to the president -- that the FBI indicates patterns of suspicious activity, and I'd say it's consistent with preparations for hijacking," Kerrey disclosed.

The White House said later it was actively looking into declassifying the 1 1/2-page document.

I'll bet they are...

Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were due to meet together privately with the panel. No date has been announced.

On the next episode of "As The 9-11 Commission Turns"



Same time, same station.