More Bush insiders breaking silence re IRAQ vs terrorism

We keep hearing from insiders the same statements proffered by armchair provocateur; Laurie Mylroie, the Iraq war mystery woman:
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Capturing bin Laden: priority before 9/11?
Critics say Bush administration worried about Russia, China, missile defense, Iraq
By Lisa Myers
Senior investigative correspondent
NBC News
Updated: 7:43 p.m. ET March 18, 2004

When the 9/11 commission holds public hearings next week, its central focus will be the choices that U.S. presidents made in fighting terrorism before 9/11. Just how committed to taking on al-Qaida was the Bush administration before Sept. 11? Some critics, including one former counter-terrorism insider, now say there was a surprising lack of urgency.

Shortly after taking office, President George W. Bush ordered a new, more muscular policy to eliminate al-Qaida. Helping draft that policy: Roger Cressey, a terrorism expert in both Democratic and Republican administrations and now an NBC News analyst.

Now Cressey is speaking out for the first time. He says in the early days of the Bush administration, al-Qaida simply was not a top priority, "There was not this sense of urgency. The ticking clock, if you will, to get it done sooner rather than later."

Cressey and other witnesses have told the 9/11 commission of long gaps between terrorism meetings and greater time and energy devoted to Russia, China, missile defense and Iraq than al-Qaida.

For example: One document shows a key high-level National Security Council meeting on Iraq on Feb. 1, 2001. Yet, there was no comparable meeting on al-Qaida until September.

Is Cressey saying that some senior members of the Bush administration viewed Saddam Hussein as a greater threat to the United States than Osama bin Laden? "Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. It was inconceivable to them that al-Qaida could be this talented, this capable without Iraq, in this case, providing them real support."