EDITION: U.S.
 
CONNECT    

Kristen Breitweiser
GET UPDATES FROM Kristen Breitweiser
 
Kristen Breitweiser, 9/11 widow and activist, is known for pressuring official Washington to provide a public accounting to the American people of what went wrong on the morning of September 11 and in the months leading up to the disaster that claimed the life of her husband and more than 3000 others.

Breitweiser did not seek to be an activist. She was a stay-at-home mother in suburban New Jersey and a George Bush supporter. Yet Breitweiser and the other so-called "Jersey Girls" transformed by their grief and outraged by a lack of accountability are widely credited with forcing the creation of the 9/11 Commission and were instrumental in insuring the passage in Congress of the national security reforms it recommended.

She testified before the Joint Inquiry of Congress in September 2002 and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee in August 2004 with regard to national security reforms. She campaigned as a primary surrogate for the Kerry-Edwards Presidential Campaign in 2004 and actively supported Hillary Clinton for President in 2008.

Breitweiser currently resides in NY with her 12-year-old daughter, Caroline Whitney and their three retrievers, Cooper, Scout and Huck.

She can be contacted at kdianbreit@aol.com and followed at kdbreitweiser@twitter.com.

Blog Entries by Kristen Breitweiser

Deja Vu-doo: The Fuse of Iran?

Posted January 26, 2012 | 1/26/12

In National Journal yesterday, Michael Hirsch wrote,

The Obama camp knows it has only a so-so case to make, at best, that the president's performance on the economy qualifies him for a second term. So the White House and Obama's Chicago-based campaign staff is preparing a...
Read Post

The Blind Lion Who Never Roared

Posted November 10, 2011 | 11/10/11

Want to know what starting a war on lies and getting away with it because nobody has the guts to stand up and yell stop does to a nation?

Want to discuss what happens when a country that prides itself on a bill of rights, starts torturing people?

Care to...

Read Post

No Place To Go But Up: Howard Schultz' Upward Spiral 2011

Posted September 4, 2011 | 9/4/11

It's seven days before the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

Usually during the week-long build-up to the anniversary of my husband's death, I stay away from television and newspapers. Too depressing. Too much of a reminder. Just too much in my face.

So with trepidation, I picked up my morning...

Read Post

Hacking the Saudis

Posted July 16, 2011 | 7/16/11

Breathlessly, six members of Congress have requested that the FBI investigate the "outrageous" allegations that News Corp might have hacked into the cell phones of 9/11 victims and their families. Lickety split, the Justice Department has done so.

First off, does it surprise me that a corporation like News...

Read Post

The Red Line of Pakistan's Complicity?

Posted May 9, 2011 | 5/9/11

There are many unanswered questions and potential uncomfortable truths swirling around OBL's death.

While Pakistan's role in bin Laden's living conditions for the past seven years should absolutely be scrutinized (see below), please let's first examine the role of the entities that we actually had a reasonable expectation in...

Read Post

Today Is Not a Day of Celebration for Me

Posted May 2, 2011 | 5/2/11

When my husband was killed on the morning of 9/11, television stations around the world ran split-screen video. They showed the buildings still burning juxtaposed against young Arabs celebrating in the streets. That disturbing vision left me incredulous; it was forever emblazoned on my psyche.

Ten...

Read Post

Justice for My Husband

Posted May 2, 2011 | 5/2/11

The news of the death of Osama bin Laden gives me a sense of long-awaited, meaningful closure.

Ten years since the senseless, heartless murder of my husband and 3,000 innocent others, final justice has been meted out -- though not swift it is certainly sweet.

My 12-year-old daughter will wake...

Read Post

The Sad Defeat of Our Constitution

Posted April 4, 2011 | 4/4/11

Today I was given two hours of "advance notice" regarding DOJ's decision to not prosecute the remaining alleged 9/11 conspirators in an open court of law. According to DOJ's statement, the remaining individuals will be sent to military tribunals.

I recognize that there are...

Read Post

Representative Peter "King: of Hypocrites"

Posted March 10, 2011 | 3/10/11

According to The Hill, Peter King will be holding hearings this morning to fulfill his "congressional duty and probe one of the most serious threats to national security."


Really? That's interesting because back in 2002 when 9/11 families were fighting for the creation of the 9/11 Commission, Peter...

Read Post

Rooting for Egypt

Posted February 11, 2011 | 2/11/11

Today's victory of the peaceful Egyptian protesters torpedoes the notion that the only effective means to an end in the Middle East must center on violence.

For two weeks now, the news covering the Egyptian Revolution has been split between two very clear groups: those who...

Read Post

Egypt: Skin in the Game

Posted February 2, 2011 | 2/2/11

How absolutely exhilarating to watch the events unfold in Egypt. As I sit with my daughter who has been studying Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia telling her to watch closely since history is unfolding right before our eyes, I can't help to worry and wonder what impact this will have on...

Read Post

The CYA Mentality of Rahm, and Why Enough Is Enough

Posted October 4, 2010 | 10/4/10

Dear Interim White House Chief of Staff Peter M. Rouse:

Please allow me to introduce myself -- I am a 9/11 widow who once spent a large amount of time fighting for the release of information related to the 9/11 attacks. One document, in particular, was...

Read Post

America Can't Wait for Chemical Disaster Prevention

Posted September 9, 2010 | 9/9/10

Nearly nine years have passed since the tragedy of 9/11. Although it was the farthest thing from my mind at the time, the terrorist attacks would mark the beginning of my political education as a 9/11 widow. It is an education I did not and would not choose for myself.

...
Read Post

Three Mosque Questions

Posted August 31, 2010 | 8/31/10

Quick question 1: Who hired the Democrats to do PR work for the Muslims?

Quick question 2: In the 1400 years of the Islamic faith did Muslims ever need anyone -- let alone a group of goat-rodeo-herding Democrats -- to secure them their religious freedom?

Read Post

Bull's-Eye in Your Backyard: Chemical Plant Security 2010

Posted July 25, 2010 | 7/25/10

Friends at Greenpeace asked me to visit Washington this week to meet with some key Senators who will be voting soon on chemical plant security.

While admittedly only one on a list of many potential terrorist targets across this country, chemical plants must be given greater attention since from...

Read Post

Six Specifics on BP -- Pass It On

Posted June 16, 2010 | 6/16/10

1. Why didn't BP immediately shut off the Deepwater Horizon well valve by permanently sealing it off with cement? Were fiscal considerations ever at stake with BP's decision to not do this?

2. In cementing off the leaking valve, are relief lines really necessary? Or is BP relying on these...

Read Post

Sadness: Barack Obama's Convictions

Posted March 5, 2010 | 3/5/10

A little over a year ago, I was in the Executive Office Building having a meeting with President Obama. The topic of the meeting was Gitmo and prosecuting 9/11 terrorists and the bombers of the USS Cole.

Before the meeting, President Obama "worked the room," shaking hands and briefly saying...

Read Post

So Who's Getting Fired???

Posted January 8, 2010 | 1/8/10

I am a 9/11 widow who fought long and hard to learn lessons from 9/11 so that our nation would be safer from a terrorist attack. How is it possible that the same exact mistakes that were made 8 years ago have been repeated? How is it possible that like...

Read Post

President Obama, Find Peace Through Truth

Posted December 10, 2009 | 12/10/09

Let me state this at the outset: I do not think President Obama deserves his Nobel Peace Prize. I believe that awards and honors should be earned by concrete past actions, not vacuous future hopes. But I listened to Obama's acceptance speech anyway.

I was immediately struck by the amount...

Read Post

Justice American Style

Posted November 16, 2009 | 11/16/09

Even after witnessing the horrors of 9/11 that included me helplessly watching the murder of my husband on live television, I still believe that we are a civilized nation of laws. And like the Nuremberg trials that brought the murderers of millions to justice, now more than ever, Americans need...

Read Post