  ~~~~More important things at the White House then education in America.
The No Child Left Behind Act is only a token jester from the White House.
Take a look at the dates of when the No Child Left Behind Act was signed and when it was actually implemented …
Then take a look at the dates just before 911 and shortly after 9 11 and how quickly The White House foot was in the door. The White House only cares about their friends over in oil country.
Today, President Bush Met With Bicameral And Bipartisan Members Of Congress On The Fifth Anniversary Of The No Child Left Behind Act. In 2001, President Bush worked with Republicans and Democrats to pass the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and he was proud to sign it into law in 2002. The
States Are Successfully Implementing No Child Left Behind. As of 2006, for the first time all 50 States and the District of Columbia have accountability plans in place as well as reading/language arts and mathematics assessments
[B]THE BUILDING OF AL-UDEID (THE OFFICIAL STORY)
~~~ Published reports and official DOD statements claimed that the amazing transformation was the result of the
heroic response of US servicemen to the tragedy of 9-11. A determined military had beaten indeterminate
odds to transform a barren wasteland into a state of the art military base in order to "take the war to the
terrorists".
The true story of the building of Al-Udeid is actually quite different. The planning for the mammoth base had
in fact taken place long before Sept. 11, and actual work on the base began as early as the spring of 2001.
The building of Al Udeid turns out not to be a "miracle in the desert" in response to a heinous attack, as
touted by the military, but rather a required step on the path to regime change in Iraq.
It has long been accepted knowledge that the Bush Administration was working feverishly towards regime
change in Iraq during the 18-month period between 9-11 and the official start of the war in March of 2003.
The Downing St Minutes confirmed that the Administration was set on a path to war at least as early as
mid-summer of 2002. The accounts of Paul O'Neil and Richard Clarke verified that Iraq was a front burner
issue for the Administration from the very first day, and only intensified after the attacks. Yet finding hard
evidence to prove that planning for the war in Iraq was taking place prior to
9-11 has been hard to find. A look at the building of Al Udied can provide that evidence.
According to published reports, the groundwork for what would become Al-Udeid Air Base was first laid at a
cost of over one billion dollars in 1996 in an attempt by the Qatari government to lure the American military
to set up shop in the small Gulf nation. At the time it was built, Qatar had not yet acquired as much as a
single airplane to call the base home. Although they would later purchase an air force comprised of 12
French Mirage fighter jets, they would never actually station them at Al-Udeid. They were simply playing a
waiting game, hoping that eventually the volatile nature of the region would bring the Americans knocking at
their door. The Qatari's gamble paid off with the events of Sept. 11. In response to the attacks, the US
presence in the region needed to increase exponentially. By Sept. 29, 2001, according to the official
records, the first military teams arrived to begin looking the base over in preparation for Operation Enduring
Freedom.
On October 2, 2001 a rapid-response team of civil engineers, the 823rd RED HORSE Squadron whose specialty
is to repair and build structures such as runways and roads in remote areas, arrived. According to the
accounts of the 823rd, the Qatar base "was nothing more than a runway and a field of sand covered by
two-dozen tents and a few warehouses". Since there was no room in the warehouses for the RED HORSE
airmen to sleep, they moved into an expandable shelter on the flightline and lived and worked out of there
They had come to begin the largest construction project ever undertaken by a RED HORSE team; a $9.1
million military construction project that consisted of building a 1,240- foot by 630-foot concrete ramp with
taxiways, shoulders and lighting. While waiting for funding and approval for the ramp project, the RED HORSE
troops spent two months doing other base projects, like building the operations center and helping set up
the tent city. Finally in January 2002 ramp construction began. The completed ramp, as big as 8 football
fields, was finished in late March.
As March 2002 began, the airfield was still classified as "Secret".
Only a handwritten "Army Camp" sign marked its entrance. By the middle of the month, several thousand new
American troops were now stationed at the base. Many of these troops were supporting the large
complement of US aircraft, which included
F-16 fighters, JSTARS reconnaissance aircraft, and KC-10, KC-130 and KC-135 aerial tankers. The rapid growth
of the base made Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani decide he had to let his people know about
extent of the American presence in their country. It was agreed that the best way to announce the
presence of the base was to have Vice President Cheney visit on March 17, 2002.
Within ten days of Cheney's visit, reports were coming out of Saudi Arabia that the US was moving
communications and computer equipment from Prince Sultan Air Base to Al-Udeid in anticipation of a base
closing. US military trucks had been seen leaving the base 50 miles south of Riyadh, and arriving at the
border with Qatar in the second week of March. It was speculated that a move was being made in response
to the Saudi government's refusal to allow air raids on Afghanistan to be launched from its soil. Additionally,
in the event of a Saudi refusal to collaborate in a second phase of the US "war on terror" against Iraq, the
move would be needed to allow the US to effectively conduct an air campaign.
At the time US central command spokesman, Major Ralph Mills confirmed the equipment movements but
insisted they represented business as usual. Mills told reporters, "This is not uncommon. This is status quo.
We are moving stuff from point A to point B, this is an ongoing process." Dick Cheney also denied there were
any plans to close Prince Sultan AB, claiming no decision
|