What Condoleezza Rice didn't know

Be honest. Would you trade all the knowledge that is swimming around in that tidy little brain of yours for what's in the head of National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice?

I would. In fact, I'd trade all the knowledge I've accumulated for just half of what is contained in her gray matter.

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With that said, what struck me most about her April 8 testimony before the 9-11 Commission was not what she knew about security issues before 9-11, but what she didn't know.

The most chilling exchange was not a hostile one. It occurred between Dr. Rice and John Lehman, who was secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan.

Lehman: Were you told that there were numerous young Arab males in flight training, had taken flight training, were in flight training?

Rice: I was not. And I'm not sure that that was known at the [Counter-Terrorism] center.

Lehman: Were you told that the U.S. Marshal program had been changed to drop any U.S. marshals on domestic flights?

Rice: I was not told that.

Lehman: Were you told that the Red Team in FAA – the Red Teams for 10 years had reported their hard data that the U.S. airport security system never got higher than 20 percent effective and was usually down around 10 percent for 10 straight years?

Rice: To the best of my recollection, I was not told that.

Lehman: Were you aware that INS had been lobbying for years to get the airlines to drop the transit without visa loophole that enabled terrorists and illegals to simply buy a ticket through the transit-without-visa-waiver and pay the airlines extra money and come in?

Rice: I learned about that after Sept. 11.

Lehman: Were you aware that the INS had quietly, internally, halved its internal security enforcement budget.?

Rice: I was not made aware of that. I don't remember being made aware of that, no.

Lehman: Were you aware that it was the U.S. government established policy not to question or oppose the sanctuary policies of New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, San Diego for political reason, which policy in those cities prohibited the local police from cooperating at all with federal immigration authorities?

Rice: I do not believe I was aware of that.

Lehman: Were you aware – to shift a little bit to Saudi Arabia – were you aware of the program that was well established that allowed Saudi citizens to get visas without interviews?

Rice: I learned of that after 9-11.

Lehman: Where you aware of the activities of the Saudi ministry of religious affairs here in the United States during that transition?

Rice: I believe that only after Sept. 11 did the full extent of what was going on with the ministry of religious affairs became evident.

Lehman: Were you aware of the extensive activities of the Saudi government in supporting over 300 radical teaching schools and mosques around the country, including right here in the United States?

Rice: I believe we've learned a great deal more about this and addressed it with the Saudi government since 9-11.

Lehman: Were you aware at the time of the fact that Saudi Arabia had – and were you told that they had – in their custody the CFO and the closest confidant of al-Qaida – of Osama bin Laden, and refused direct access to the United States?

Rice: I don't remember anything of that kind.

Lehman: Were you aware that it was the policy, and I believe remains the policy today, to fine airlines if they have more than two young Arab males in secondary questioning because that's discriminatory?

Rice: No, I have to say that the kind of inside arrangements for the FAA are not really in my ...

Lehman: Well, these are not so inside. Were you aware that the FAA up until 9-11 thought it was perfectly permissible to allow four-inch knife blades aboard?

Rice: I was not aware.

Because of the circumstances surrounding the 2000 presidential election, this was the shortest political handover in history and virtually all of the national and domestic security agencies and executive action agencies remained the same.

Politics aside, the security of this country is supposed to be the No. 1 priority of all the people in these agencies – both political appointees and career employees. Why wasn't Dr. Rice – the person responsible for briefing the president on these issues – told about these urgent matters before 9-11 and why was Dr. Rice still in the dark on some of them?

Why are we straining at the Aug. 6 Presidential Daily Briefing gnat?

Why weren't these lapses the headline from that hearing?

Does anyone care?