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Larry Johnson and Katie Couric on 9-11

By Larry Johnson on February 2, 2009 at 11:28 AM in Current Affairs

This is not a gratuitous attempt to reopen the wounds of 9-11. I was given, for better or worse, a unique perspective of those events and their aftermath by virtue of being a “go to” pundit. On that sunny Tuesday morning more than seven years ago I was at National Airport in Washington, DC. I had checked my golf clubs and was headed to La Guardia Airport in New York City for a DEA sponsored golf tournament on Long Island. After the Towers were struck the Today Show producers called. As you will see, I was on the phone with Katie when the plane hit the Pentagon. Here’s what transpired:

I appeared the next day, September 12, as well.

I will leave you to decide whether or not I had anything germane to say.

  • Dawnelle

    Hey Larry lookin good!

    So, wow, I THINK I saw you do this interview the FIRST TIME!! Had I known THEN that I’d be here NOW? Wow.

    Anyway, so why do you think we’re STILL NOT REAL WORRIED ABOUT OBAMA OSAMA?

    I’m of the mind that he’s long since dead in the mtns of Afghanistan and we’ve been seeing pre recorded tapes and messages of look alikes. I’ve read he had many. Or was that Hussein?

    LOL I like the horse cavalry line. Too bad no one in the bubble seems to “get it” (the donkeys are as dense as the pygmy elephants)

    Keep being our light house Larry! Some of us “get it” and we get you and what you are trying to do. Keep fighting for us, PLEASE!!

    • BlueTopaz

      “Hey Larry lookin good!”

      IA, Larry, the moustache suits you!

  • Diana L. C.

    Larry,

    I think your comments were right on. But what shows my true American naivete is this: I didn’t see you at the time this was happening. I was busy teaching full-time public school English classes, which meant grading papers every night and planning lessons and doing housework on weekends, etc., etc., etc. SO—I am now surprised that we didn’t have people “going into the sewers after the rats,” to use your analogy.

    I must have seen too many movies and television shows.

    So, my questions are these:

    1. Do we have these people now?
    2. What type of person is there who is willing to do this? (I always think of myself and know I couldn’t do it without eventually breaking.)

  • Katmoon

    Larry, hopefully I am wording this correctly from you interview; “There were few tidbits then to take action on”.

    Has there been a time since, when the information came together, but there was no action taken, specifically having Bin Laden, really locating him, but not moving in order to discover more information? I don’t mean to sound like an idiot, I simply wondered if this may be a possibility?

  • Katmoon

    I think I am in the spam rinse cycle again.

    • Katmoon

      Thanks for fishing me out, :) .

      • http://americanpumainitaly.blogspot.com/ American Girl in Italy

        you’re welcome. :O)

        • Dawnelle

          roflmao!

  • NCgirl

    Larry, I was watching the Today Show when the planes hit the towers. I also remember you talking to Katie. You were the “go-to” guy then and you still are. That’s one reason I started coming here to NoQuarter. I look to you and your expertise to tell me what’s really going on.

  • mountainaires

    Just think of all that has happened since that time…none of it good. It boggles the mind. We haven’t “made the changes that need to be made,” as far as I can discern. Do we have more on the ground intel? Not necessarily. Are our ports, nuclear sites, and major transportation systems safer? I don’t think so. But we can’t carry shampoo with us on trips now.

    We have torture, renditions, and a strengthened executive branch. We have the end of posse comitatus, and a unit of the military training to patrol US streets, training for domestic crises, preparing to round up and imprison people in the case of a national emergency. We have an economic collapse.

    We have more than 4,000 dead US military members, more than a million dead Iraqis, and a war budget of about a $Trillion, still “off the books.” Do Iraqis have electricity, clean water, or gasoline for their vehicles. Not so much. And, hundreds still die every day from violence, and lack of medical care. We’re bribing our enemies to keep them quiet. The election in Iraq had a very low turnout. Afghanistan is a wreck; NATO has no more troops to help us, and no money to do so even if they wanted to help.

    And, we now have a Congress that has given themselves a $93,000 raise in the face of another depression-era fiscal crisis. We have $4 Trillion being proposed to bail out banks.

    I tell ya, my outrage meter exploded a long time ago from overheating. But that $93,000 raise really jumps the shark right now, in light of 17% unemployment, massive deficits, and a stimulus bill filled with pork that won’t stimulate a thing.

    Saturday, January 31, 2009

    Congress gave itself a $93,000 raise to “stimulate” the economy(video)

    If this doesn’t make you want to fly to Washington and slap your legislator, nothing ever will. Congress gives itself a $93,000 raise to stimulate the economy. It must be nice to have that kind of extra petty cash laying around. Instead of tightening your belt in this recession, wouldn’t you like an extra $90,000? Never mind the record deficits. Never mind that ordinary Americans are struggling to pay their bills.

    Our Congress thinks it is far more important to be able to dole out perks to itself.

    http://bloggingredneck.blogspot.com/

    • Zeke

      I was curious about the “Million Iraqi deaths” and looked it up.
      As of the end of July, 2005 there were confirmed Iraqi civilian deaths totaling just under 25,000.
      Since all major combat operations were over well before then, I must conclude, according to your figures, that somehow the remaining 975,000 have been secretly hunted down and killed since then. Busy little soldiers weren’t they?
      975 THOUSAND???? Utter, as usual, bullshit from you.
      When you pull numbers out of your ass, try to make them believable.
      That’s a guarantee about you , M ‘airres, you always spout the bullshit statistic line. I know, you’ve heard it a million times, don’t exaggerate.

  • oowawa

    Over 7 years down the road, Osama is still alive, and Obama is President of the USA. Incredible, don’t you think?

    • Dawnelle

      “Isn’t it Ironic, don’t cha think?”

      (hearing music) man that was a good song, still is

      yes – it’s been like an episode (maybe series) of twilight zone ever since 2000.

      and thank GOD I’m not alone back on the indie fence

  • TexasMirth

    I tell ya, my outrage meter exploded a long time ago from overheating. But that $93,000 raise really jumps the shark right now, in light of 17% unemployment, massive deficits, and a stimulus bill filled with pork that won’t stimulate a thing.

    Whenever I think Congress has reached the peak of gall, they manage to shock me more. What’s next? I shudder to think.

  • wodiej

    $93k raise-FOR DOING WHAT EXACTLY??

    • Katmoon

      Learning Pelosi-Reid speak.

  • yttik

    How sad. What a tragedy that day was. And scary.

    • Dawnelle

      and the pdb read something to the effect of

      bin laden

      intent on destroying America

      when did Condi get that brief? 2 wks or 2 MONTHS prior?

      of course had it said

      bin laden

      intent on crashing 2 jets into the twin towers
      one jet into the pentagon
      and another jet into the capital (twarted in PA)

      maybe we would have tightened security somewhere?
      sigh
      my brother called me just in time to tell me to turn on the tv as I did the 2nd jet struck the 2nd tower and I got this terrible feeling that they both would soon come tumbling down

      then they did

      terrrrrrrrible day

    • Dawnelle

      bin laden

      intent on crashing 2 jets into the twin towers
      one jet into the pentagon
      and another jet into the capital (thwarted in PA)

      • Idiocracy08

        Come on Dawnelle…this is the Bush Admin we’re talking about. “That didn’t give them enough information.”

        It also bothers me that we were giving money to Afghanistan ($124 million) before they hit us. Powell said it wasn’t to the Taliban, but they were the ones in charge. And it was supposed to help them not plant opium. However, the taliban banned poppy growing in 1999. Which is it?

        • Doc99

          Not taking out bin Laden when we had the chance was a truly bipartisan effort. Just ask Michael “Anonymous” Scheuer.

      • Dawnelle

        dammit

        capitol right? sheeeees

  • Mercedes

    Hmmm, I am really wondering what LJ is up to here. So much has come out since 911 questioning EVERYONE’s first impression of what happened that day. Probably only the high level people who planned this event know the full truth about it. I totally agree with what LJ said in the first tape, whoever they are and whatever country may have supported them, we, as a nation, need to go after them and bring them to justice. We haven’t done that from any perspective. We need to reopen the 911 Commission.

    As for the final comment in the second tape about the “Horse Cavalry”. I remember hearing that Bush/Cheney finally got Iraq under control because of some new super technology that allowed US intelligence to pinpoint and intercept Iraqi communications with laser accuracy. Was that disinformation? There will always be loyalties and information for sale. I have a hard time believing the US hasn’t always supported a strong market in these commodities.

    • Idiocracy08

      whoever they are and whatever country may have supported them, we, as a nation, need to go after them and bring them to justice.

      ummm….yeah….weren’t they trained here in the US and stay here as well? Weren’t we harboring them?

      That always bothered me because we’re supposed to hate any country that would have trained them to fly, but it was us! We even had an FBI agent tell people about it, but was ignored.

  • Idiocracy08

    Shhhh. don’t tell Larry about my secret crush on him! ;)

    Larry, you always have something germane to say. I completely trust your judgment.

    • http://www.cheneywatch.org/ truthtelling007

      Your secret is safe with me.

      • Idiocracy08

        Cool! I’m hoping Larry doesn’t tell you about my secrect crush on you too!

        Seriously though, I always love your posts.

  • Sassy

    Other than inflicting large casualties on this country, Osama bin Laden wanted to bankrupt us.
    If the s.o.b. is still alive, it makes me so angry that he can smirk at us now.
    What a blow he dealt us, and it continues!

    • Hot Librarian

      Yes I have always believed it was an economic attack. They were patient & yes the US will come tumbling down financially.

      They went for 3 icons
      -world Trade as economic power.(read US trade dominance via US $ as world currency)
      - Pentagon – USA as military power
      -Capitol Hill (?) political power.

      I think it is still way too smart to hail from caves in Afghanistan. Whoever was behind it was using afghanistan as a decoy.

      Thats how it looked to me then & still today .

  • andrew191

    Larry,

    Did you ever get your golf clubs back? I don’t want to seem callus, I just want to know your priorities.