"It's dismaying, but there it is," said Ms. Regenhard, who has been one of the dozens of family members of Sept. 11 victims who have visited the Virginia courtroom to observe the trial. "There were discrete warnings known to the government. People don't realize this."
Even if you've read the guilty plea signed by Mr. Moussaoui, even if you believe him to be wholly in command of his faculties -- truthful, and guilty as hell -- what we've learned from his sentencing hearings has been startling.
Not because of "discrete warnings." Ms. Regenhard is wrong: people do indeed realize this. Anyone who's followed the aftermath of 9/11, has paid close attention to the findings of the Commission, would have to conclude that from the President on down the government had all the warnings it needed that such an event was about to occur. Even if they couldn't pinpoint the day and hour (which they probably could have... and may have) they could have been considerably more prepared and effective. Way more.
Whether Moussaoui is put to death or given a life sentence, the Moussaoui trial is going to be remembered not for Moussaoui-the-terrorist but for the gross dereliction of duty by President Bush, his advisors, and the agencies that could have stopped the attacks. A future Democratic Congress may spell out painfully and precisely exactly how badly they all behaved.
What this phase of the Moussaoui is telling us is that morally there's hardly any space between Moussaoui and our government.
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