C-SPAN3

I couldn't wake up in time to watch Tenet testify, but I did see a lot of Berger's testimony. Berger was plainly uncomfortable, and didn't do too well for himself. I'm now watching Richard Clarke, who started with an apology to the families of the victims of 9/11, unlike everyone else who started with long rambling speeches about what they did. Clarke simply said, "we failed" and apologized. Very interesting.

Oh yeah, the panel also took more time during Berger's testimony to criticize Condi Rice's refusal to testify.

If you want to watch this, go to C-SPAN's website. It looks like CNN.com also has a feed up so people can listen or watch.

Update 11:30am: James Thompson is asking the question that is the big one in the blogosphere: the August 2002 memo versus Clarke's book. Clarke said they were both true, then implied the memo was less correct because he was saying what the president had instructed him to say. Thompson asked then if Bush had told him to lie, and if Clarke had lied. Clarke responded that he "highlighted the positive aspects of what Bush had done" while playing down the negative aspects, and that he did the same thing for several presidents. The audience laughed at that, and now Clarke is replying to detailed questions about the memo from Thompson. Fascinating stuff, kiddies!

Update 12:01: "By invading Iraq the President has greatly undermined the war on terrorism." - Richard Clarke

Update 12:15: 9/11 Commission Website, I'm presuming that transcripts from these hearings will eventually show up there. Clarke is now answering questions from Roemer about the planeload of Saudis that left the US after 9/11. He says he didn't approve it, but told the Saudis to go to the FBI, and the FBI approved the flight. He also confirmed that the flight happened during the grounding.

Update 12:30: Kerrey ripped on FOX news for releasing the August 2002 memo, which he described as a "background briefing". He seemed rather peeved at FOX. Then he said the Iraq war was justified. *sigh*

Update 12:35: Thompson AGAIN accuses Clarke of lying for Bush, and Clarke says: "I don't think it's a question of morality at all. I think it's a question of politics." Much applause. Apparently everyone in the room except for Thompson understands politics.

Update: 12:45: Clarke finished testimony, and got a HUGE round of applause. I suspect his opening remarks alone made for that. No one else involved during 9/11 has ever, to the best of my recollection, apologized for failing to protect the nation. I think I'm going to skip the final testimony for today. I got comics to get, and I didn't sleep at all last night. I want a nap.