While members of Congress have been screaming for blood since the White House took a scalpel to 28 pages of the House-Senate Intelligence Report on 9/11, the story has shown little pulse with either the public or the press.

The thrust of the missing information appears to surround two chest-thumping conclusions. One is that the White House failed to react to clear symptoms of a bin Laden threat. Second is that an open financial valve exists between the Saudi government and terrorist networks (which the U.S. knows about but chooses to bypass).

Any fibrillation on the part of the President over this material is understandable. Saudi blood money has been pumping through the Bush circulatory system for decades. Saudi petrodollars served as a pace maker for several of President Bush’s businesses (and were there to resuscitate him when those companies were on the critical list). Also, the Bush and bin Laden families have enjoyed large profit infusions from many interrelated business operations.

Unfortunately, press treatment of the suppressed 9/11 material has been short of breath. And the coverage of Bush-Saudi conflict-of-interest has been dizzyingly light-headed (to the extent it has been afforded examining room at all).

Apparently, the pathology between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia touches so many nerves, every attempt to dissect it ends up dead on arrival. Until that examination can take place, however, the disease that broke out on 9/11 can only continue to spread.

business as usual