contrapositive

HOUSE OF SAUD The invaluable Alexander Bolton over at The Hill has a story documenting the Bush administration's refusal to answer 9/11 Commission questions about the Saudis who flew around--and then out of--the country in the days just after September 11, 2001.

The central questions about some of the flights (specifically, those that took place during the FAA prohibition on air travel): Who organized them? Who authorized them?

Former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.), vice chairman of the independent, bipartisan commission, disclosed the administration’s refusal to answer questions on the sensitive subject during a recent closed-door meeting with a group of Democratic senators, according to several Democratic sources.

[...]

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said she asked Hamilton and Lehman if they were able to find out who in the administration authorized the Saudi Arabian flights.
“Who did this? Why would the Saudis want to get out of the country? They said [those questions have] been part of their inquiry and they haven’t received satisfactory answers yet and they were pushing,” Boxer said.

Another Democrat in the meeting who confirmed Boxer’s account reported that Hamilton said, “We don’t know who authorized it. We’ve asked that question 50 times.”

Boxer said she obtained a commitment from Hamilton that the commission will state in its final report if the White House refused to answer questions about who authorized the Saudi flights after the 2001 attacks.

UPDATE: Richard Clarke, disavowing previous denials of involvement, has now taken sole responsibility for authorizing post-9/11 flights for Saudis.

When do you suppose the horse's head arrived in his bed?