Back in May, the U.S. announced a $43 million "aid" package for
Afghanistan.....now, in September, we seem to be planning an
attack against that same government. Are we witnessing a total
failure of intelligence gathering and analysis ?

http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/05/17/us.afghanistan.aid/
Note: link above resolved to the $43 million "gift" story, but it
now seems that CNN "pulled" the content at the link.

You can still view it at the google "cache" link:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:smRGVD4dQAA:www.cnn.com/2001/US/05/17/us.afghanistan.aid/+may+17+afghanistan+powell&hl=en
(You may have to "copy and paste" the link into you browser's
address box.)

Excerpt and link from an L.A. Times coumnist in regard to the
above May, 2001 news story:
<a href="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n922/a09.html"><H4>Enslave your girls and women, harbor anti-U.S. terrorists, destroy every vestige of civilization in your homeland, and the Bush administration will embrace you. </H4></a>

I urge everyone to use the internet to help you seperate facts
from fiction and half truths. Question authority. Challenge all
attempts by your government to "relax" or suspend our
constitutional rights in the name of "national emergency" or of
"security considerations". I love America, but I lived through the
announcements and decisions by our government during the
Viet Nam war and later watched the exposure of the lies and
deceptions of our leaders, culminating in the resignation of
President Nixon in disgrace. We must question our government
and make our leaders practice disclosure and accountability. We
cannot just follow blindly while we grant our President and his
appointees a blank check to send members of our brave volunteer military to their deaths in ill advised and questionable
military campaigns against newly designated "rougue nations".

Originally posted by yellowed
I love America, but I lived through the announcements and decisions by our government during the Viet Nam war and later watched the exposure of the lies and deceptions of our leaders, culminating in the resignation of President Nixon in disgrace.
That is exactly why I am proud to have Bush in office during these challenging times. Although he is certainly not the most eloquent speaker, his words do come from the heart, and I do not find myself questioning his truthfulness, nor his intentions. I am sure that the rest of the world will find it easier to support an American President who is not plagued by a history of lies, half-truths, dubious moral character, or seedy business deals.

As an American, I will not blindly follow or support the policies of any administration, but I will take the following facts into consideration when evaluating our country’s eventual response to recent terrorist actions: Fundamentally, Bush is a caring, compassionate person who places great value on human life and individual liberties. He has surrounded himself with experienced, knowledgeable staff and advisors who will ensure that America takes action in a responsible and appropriate way.

You don't actually expect the government to tell you everything.

Originally posted by Palm
You don't actually expect the government to tell you everything.
Not everything, but what they tell us should be the truth. Something lost in the last administration.

I agree that young Bush seems to be a nice guy, but I must admit that I get concerned seeing his dad hanging around all the time, and giving advice... Bush the elder has the rather horrible reputation from his CIA days of having little or no regard for the ordinary citizen anywhere, USA or otherwise.. no wild conspiracy stuff here either.. anyway, it won't hurt the world to eliminate terrorism globally, whoever was responsible for the massive and unforgiveable atrocity committed on New York, so as long as more innocents don't get whacked...

The American 'people' deserve unconditional support here, but they, as with everyone else, should be watching their leaders carefully for any other agenda that may take advantage of the high level of emotion that exists right now.. nowadays I always ask.. "who actually could benefit from this situation?" when considering world affairs..