FLASHBACK: Pre-9/11 News

Pulled from the "Sure as Hell They Knew" file is one of my favorite pre-9/11 news articles. About a month and two weeks before 9/11 CBS reports:

In response to inquiries from CBS News over why Ashcroft was traveling
exclusively by leased jet aircraft instead of commercial airlines, the Justice
Department cited what it called a "threat assessment" by the FBI, and said
Ashcroft has been advised to travel only by private jet for the remainder of his
term.

"There was a threat assessment and there are guidelines. He is acting under
the guidelines," an FBI spokesman said. Neither the FBI nor the Justice
Department, however, would identify what the threat was, when it was detected or
who made it.

I guess some people are expendable, while others are not.