Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice can rock the ivories and keep up with Aretha Franklin – who knew?! The Huffington Post reports that last night, the two ladies played a sold-out benefit concert together in Philadelphia to raise money for inner-city music education. Aretha sang while Condi played the piano. The event raised a total of $582,000.
Later, both Condi and Aretha sat down with Good Morning America to talk about their political views and the importance of music. Check it the video:
You might be surprised at the pairing, considering Aretha provided the soundtrack for President Obama’s inauguration…but Condoleeza didn’t seem worried about any political differences. “We’re all Americans, and President Obama is my president,” she said with a smile.
Aretha is up for anything, too – even opera! She’s about to record her first classical music album. “This particular album allows me to expand my musical horizons,” she said.
Condi Rice told the 9/11 Commission and the 9/11 Widows under oath that the “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US” memo was not a warning. It warned of preparations for hijackings and planned attacks in the US.
On July 10, 2001, CIA director George Tenet warned Condi that al Qaeda attacks were coming in the next few weeks. Later he said acting on those warnings might have prevented 9/11. Cofer Black said “The only thing we didn’t do was pull the trigger to the gun we were holding to her head.”
The UK, Germany, Italy, and Egypt warned of aircraft as weapons; Russia of suicide pilots; Jordan and the Cayman Islands of attacks involving airlines. 13 foreign countries and 3 FBI offices warned. Israel warned of 19 terrorists plotting inside the USA, and named at least 4 of the alleged hijackers.
The German press reported that the August 6 PDB was actually 11-1/2 pages long, not the 1-1/2 pages we’ve seen.
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