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09-24-2006, 01:41 AM
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#1 |
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Mo' holla fo' yo' dolla!
Join Date: Dec 2002
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Bill Clinton gives both barrels to Chris Wallace
What an amazing exchange. Wallace tried to ambush Clinton with some sleazeball questions and found out he wasn't dealing with the typical p*ssy Dem. Imagine if all democrats treated the whore media like this.
------ WALLACE: When we announced that you were going to be on fox news Sunday, I got a lot of email from viewers, and I got to say I was surprised most of them wanted me to ask you this question. Why didn’t you do more to put Bin Laden and al Qaeda out of business when you were President. There’s a new book out which I suspect you’ve read called the Looming Tower. And it talks about how the fact that when you pulled troops out of Somalia in 1993, Bin Laden said I have seen the frailty and the weakness and the cowardice of US troops. Then there was the bombing of the embassies in Africa and the attack on the USS Cole. CLINTON: OK.. WALLACE: …may I just finish the question sir. And after the attack, the book says, Bin Laden separated his leaders because he expected an attack and there was no response. I understand that hindsight is 20 20. CLINTON: No let’s talk about… WALLACE: …but the question is why didn’t you do more, connect the dots and put them out of business? CLINTON: OK, let’s talk about it. I will answer all of those things on the merits but I want to talk about the context of which this…arises. I’m being asked this on the FOX network…ABC just had a right wing conservative on the Path to 9/11 falsely claim that it was based on the 911 commission report with three things asserted against me that are directly contradicted by the 9/11 commission report. I think it’s very interesting that all the conservative Republicans who now say that I didn’t do enough, claimed that I was obsessed with Bin Laden. All of President Bush’s neocons claimed that I was too obsessed with finding Bin Laden when they didn’t have a single meeting about Bin Laden for the nine months after I left office. All the right wingers who now say that I didn’t do enough said that I did too much. Same people. They were all trying to get me to withdraw from Somalia in 1993 the next day after we were involved in black hawk down and I refused to do it and stayed 6 months and had an orderly transfer to the UN. Ok, now let’s look at all the criticisms: Black hawk down, Somalia. There is not a living soul in the world who thought that Bin laden had anything to do with black hawk down or was paying any attention to it or even knew al Qaeda was a growing concern in October of 1993. WALLACE: …I understand… CLINTON: No wait…no wait…Don’t tell me. You asked me why I didn’t do more to Bin Laden. There was not a living soul…all the people who criticized me wanted to leave the next day. You brought this up so you get an answer. WALLACE: I’m perfectly happy to. Bin Laden says… CLINTON: And secondly… WALLACE: Bin Laden says… CLINTON: Bin laden may have said that… WALLACE: Bin Laden says it showed the weakness of the US… CLINTON: It would have shown the weakness if we left right away but he wasn’t involved in that. That’s just a bunch of bull. That was about Mohammed Adid, a Muslim war lord murdering..thousands of Pakistani Muslim troops. We were all there on a humanitarian mission. We had not one mission — none — to establish a certain kind of Somali government or to keep anybody out. He was not a religious fanatic. WALLACE: But Mr. President… CLINTON: There was no Al Qaeda… WALLACE: …with respect if I may. Instead of going through 93. CLINTON: You asked you. It you brought it up. WALLACE: May I ask a general question that you can answer. The 9/11 Commission, which you talk about, and this is what they did say, not what ABC pretended they said… CLINTON: Wait, Wait… WALLACE: …they said about you and 43 and I quote, “The US government took the threat seriously, not in the sense of mustering anything like that would be….to confront an enemy of the first, second or third rank” CLINTON: That’s not true with us and Bin Laden… WALLACE: …the 9/11 commission says… CLINTON: Let’s look at what Richard Clarke says. You think Richard Clarke has a vigorous attitude about Bin Laden? WALLACE: Yes I do CLINTON: You do? WALLACE: I think he has a variety of opinions and loyalties but yes. CLINTON: He has a variety of opinion and loyalties now but let’s look at the facts. He worked for Ronald Regan. He was loyal to him. He worked for George Herbert Walker Bush and he was loyal to him. He worked for me and he was loyal to me. He worked for President Bush; he was loyal to him. They downgraded him and the terrorist operation. Now, look what he said, read his book and read his factual assertions — not opinions, assertions. He said we took vigorous action after the African embassies. We probably nearly got Bin Laden. WALLACE: … CLINTON: Now wait a minute… WALLACE: ..cruise missiles.. CLINTON: I authorized the CIA to get groups together to try to kill him. The CIA was run by George Tenet who President Bush gave the medal of freedom to and said he did a good job.. The country never had a comprehensive anti terror operation until I came to office. If you can criticize me for one thing, you can criticize me for this, after the Cole I had battle plans drawn to go into Afghanistan, overthrow the Taliban, and launch a full scale attack search for Bin Laden. But we needed baseing rights in Uzbekistan which we got after 9/11. The CIA and the FBI refused to certify that Bin Laden was responsible while I was there. They refused to certify. So that meant I would have had to send a few hundred special forces in helicopters and refuel at night. Even the 9/11 Commission didn’t do that. Now the 9/11 Commission was a political document too. All I’m asking is if anybody wants to say I didn’t do enough, you read Richard Clarke’s book. WALLACE: Do you think you did enough sir? CLINTON: No, because I didn’t get him WALLACE: Right… CLINTON: But at least I tried. That’s the difference in me and some, including all the right wingers who are attacking me now. They ridiculed me for trying. They had eight months to try and they didn’t….. I tired. So I tried and failed. When I failed I left a comprehensive anti-terror strategy and the best guy in the country, Dick Clarke… So you did FOX’s bidding on this show. You did you nice little conservative hit job on me. But what I want to know.. WALLACE: Now wait a minute sir… CLINTON:.. WALLACE: I asked a question. You don’t think that’s a legitimate question? CLINTON: It was a perfectly legitimate question but I want to know how many people in the Bush administration you asked this question of. I want to know how many people in the Bush administration you asked why didn’t you do anything about the Cole. I want to know how many you asked why did you fire Dick Clarke. I want to know… WALLACE: We asked.. CLINTON:.. WALLACE: Do you ever watch Fox News Sunday sir? CLINTON: I don’t believe you ask them that. WALLACE: We ask plenty of questions of… CLINTON: You didn’t ask that did you? Tell the truth WALLACE: About the USS Cole? CLINTON: tell the truth. WALLACE: I…with Iraq and Afghanistan there’s plenty of stuff to ask. CLINTON: Did you ever ask that? You set this meeting up because you were going to get a lot of criticism from your viewers because Rupert Murdoch is going to get a lot of criticism from your viewers for supporting my work on Climate Change. And you came here under false pretenses and said that you’d spend half the time talking about… WALLACE: CLINTON: You said you’d spend half the time talking about what we did out there to raise $7 billion dollars plus over three days from 215 different commitments. And you don’t care. WALLACE: But President Clinton… CLINTON: WALLACE: We were going to ask half the question about it. I didn’t think this was going to set you off on such a tear . CLINTON: It set me off on such a tear because you didn’t formulate it in an honest way and you people ask me questions you don’t ask the other side. WALLACE: Sir that is not true… CLINTON: …and Richard Clarke… WALLACE: That is not true… CLINTON: Richard Clarke made it clear in his testimony… WALLACE: Would you like to talk about the Clinton Global Initiative? CLINTON: No I want to finish this. WALLACE: Alright CLINTON: All I’m saying is you falsely accuse me of giving aid and comfort to Bin Laden because of what happened in Somalia. No one knew al Qaeda existed then… WALLACE: Did they know in 1996 when he declared war on the US? Did no one know in 1998… CLINTON: Absolutely they did WALLACE: When they bombed the two embassies… CLINTON:… WALLACE: Or in 2000 when they hit the Cole. CLINTON: What did I do? I worked hard to try and kill him. I authorized a finding for the CIA to kill him. We contracted with people to kill him. I got closer to killing him than anybody has gotten since. And if I were still president we’d have more than 20,000 troops there trying to kill him. Now I never criticized President Bush and I don’t think this is useful. But you know we do have a government that think Afghanistan is 1/7 as important as Iraq. And you ask me about terror and Al Qaeda with that sort of dismissive theme when all you have to do is read Richard Clarke’s book to look at what we did in a comprehensive systematic way to try to protect the country against terror. And you’ve got that little smirk on your face. It looks like you’re so clever… WALLACE: CLINTON: I had responsibility for trying to protect this country. I tried and I failed to get bin laden. I regret it but I did try. And I did everything I thought I responsibly could. The entire military was against sending special forces in to Afghanistan and refueling by helicopter and no one thought we could do it otherwise…We could not get the CIA and the FBI to certify that Al Qaeda was responsible while I was President. Until I left office. And yet I get asked about this all the time and they had three times as much time to get him as I did and no one ever asks them about this. I think that’s strange. WALLACE: Can I ask you about the Clinton Global Initiative? CLINTON: You can. WALLACE: I always intended to sir. CLINTON: No you intended to move your bones by doing this first. But I don’t mind people asking me. I actually talked o the 9/11 commission for four hours and I told them the mistakes I thought I made. And I urged them to make those mistakes public because I thought none of us had been perfect. But instead of anybody talking about those things. I always get these clever little political…where they ask me one sided questions… It always comes from one source. And so… WALLACE:… CLINTON: And so… WALLACE: I just want to ask you about the Clinton Global Initiative but what’s the source? You seem upset? CLINTON: I am upset because.. WALLACE: …and all I can say is I’m asking you in good faith because it’s on people’s minds sir. And I wasn’t… CLINTON: There’s a reason it’s on people’s minds. That’s the point I’m trying to make. There’s a reason it’s on people’s minds because they’ve done a serious disinformation campaign to create that impression. This country only has one person who has worked…against terror…under Regan…only one, Richard Clarke. And all I’d say anybody who wonders whether we did wrong or right. Anybody who wants to see what everybody else did, read his book. The people on my political right who say I didn’t do enough spent the whole time I was president saying why is he so obsessed with Bin Laden. And that was wag the dog when he tried to kill him. My Republican sec of defense — and I think I’m the only person since World War II to have a Secretary of Defense from the opposite party — Richard Clarke, and all the intelligence people said that I ordered a vigorous attempt to get Osama Bin Laden and came closer apparently than anybody has since. WALLACE: alright… CLINTON: And you guys try to create the opposite impression when all you have to do is read Richard Clarke’s findings and you know it’s not true. It’s just not true. And all this business about Somalia — the same people who criticized me about Somalia were demanding I leave the next day. Same exact crowd.. WALLACE: one of the… CLINTON: …So if you’re going to do this for gods sake follow the same standards for everybody. http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/910 |
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09-24-2006, 02:02 AM
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#2 |
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Mo' holla fo' yo' dolla!
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: In a bunker in an undisclosed location
Posts: 52,694
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09-24-2006, 09:06 AM
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#3 |
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Sauced...
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 15,120
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Sadly, that is one of the more accurate political cartoons i've seen.
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09-24-2006, 09:13 AM
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#4 |
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Ring of Famer
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Earth
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Interesting - Clinton and his administration just knew when OBL was having a bowel movement, and they still couldn't get him nor impede al-Qaeda's operations.
Knowing and doing are two different things. |
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09-24-2006, 04:49 PM
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#5 |
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Mo' holla fo' yo' dolla!
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: In a bunker in an undisclosed location
Posts: 52,694
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Intersting how the people (read: right-wingers like W*GS and the republicans he defends) who claim Clinton didn't try hard enough to snuff Bin Laden are the same people who attacked and ridiculed Clinton for trying when he was president. That is, the same right-wingers who opposed nearly every piece of CT legislation Clinton tried to pass, whether it was airport security, going after terrorists' funds, or tracking explosives.
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09-24-2006, 06:14 PM
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#6 | ||
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Ring of Famer
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Earth
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Quote:
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Your problem (of many) LABF is that your ideology is so one-sided that you can't see properly. |
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09-24-2006, 09:02 PM
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#7 |
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Mo' holla fo' yo' dolla!
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: In a bunker in an undisclosed location
Posts: 52,694
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Ha ha ha!
 Exposing W*GS as a purveyor of lies and right-wing disinformation couldn't be easier. Don't you love it? The republicans W*GS defends derail the president and the country for two whole years over a minor sex scandal in the White House - magnifying one act of oral sex into a full time, $50 million Independent Counsel investigation, weeks of House Judiciary Committee hearings, impeachment by the House of Representatives and trial in the Senate - and then they accuse Clinton of not staying focused on government business! Clinton sponsored legislation to freeze the financial assets of international organizations suspected of funneling money to bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network -- identical to orders given by President Bush after 9/11 - but it was killed, on behalf of big banks, by Republican Senator Phil Gramm (Enron's go-to guy) of Texas. Clinton sent anti terrorism and airport security measures to the house in 96, 97, 98, 99 and 2000. Every measure was killed by the house Republicans without even bringing them up for debate. (They were too busy being perverts, trying to look into the president's bedroom window.) The sad thing about it, they contain some of the same recommendations that GeeDubya wanted to implement AFTER September 11th. Clinton stopped all trade and aid to the Taliban for letting bin Laden thrive in their nation. Bush reversed that policy and gave the Taliban $43 million dollars in aid just three months before the attacks on New York City. So, despite numerous warnings, and 234 days to do something about the terrorist threat, Bush spent the first 9 months of his term either on vacation or trying to get his personal agenda passed as paybacks for his special interests donors and giving millions of dollars to our enemies. Clinton sent legislation to Congress to allow for BETTER TRACKING OF TERRORIST FUNDING. It was defeated by Republicans in the Senate because of opposition from banking interests. Clinton sent legislation to Congress to add tagents to explosives, to allow for BETTER TRACKING OF EXPLOSIVES USED BY TERRORISTS. It was defeated by the Republicans because of opposition from the NRA. -Clinton increased the military budget by an average of 14 per cent, reversing the trend under Bush I. Clinton tripled the budget of the FBI for counterterrorism and doubled overall funding for counterterrorism Clinton detected and destroyed cells of Al Qaeda in over 20 countries Clinton created national stockpile of drugs and vaccines including 40 million doses of smallpox vaccine. Of Clinton's efforts says Robert Oakley, Reagan Ambassador for Counterterrorism: "Overall, I give them very high marks" and "The only major criticism I have is the obsession with Osama." Paul Bremer, current Civilian Administrator of Iraq disagrees slightly with Robert Oakley as he believed the Clinton Administration had "correctly focused on bin Laden. Barton Gellman in the Washington Post put it best, "By any measure available, Clinton left office having given greater priority to terrorism than any president before him" and was the "first administration to underatake a systematic anti-terrorist effort" Here, in stark contrast, is part of the Bush-Cheney anti-terrorism record before September 11, 2001: -- Backed off Clinton administration's anti-terrorism efforts. -- Shelved Hart-Rudman report. -- Appointed new anti-terrorism task force under Dick Cheney. Group did not even meet before 9/11. -- Called for cuts in anti-terrorism efforts by the Department of Defense -- Gave no priority to anti-terrorism efforts by Justice Department. -- Ignored warnings from Sandy Berger and Louis Freeh about the urgency of terrorist threats. -- Halted Predator drone tracking of Osama bin Laden. -- Did nothing in wake of August 6 C.I.A. report to president saying Al Qaeda attack by hijack of an airliner almost certain. ----Now we've got Bush knowing about the terrorists plans, and the fact that they were in flight schools in the US, and little Georgie takes a four week vacation.. -- By failing to order any coordination of intelligence data, missed opportunity to stop the 9/11 plot as Clinton-Gore had stopped the millennium plot. --Blamed Clinton for 9/11. |
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09-24-2006, 10:33 PM
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#8 |
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Ring of Famer
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The transcript doesnt do the interview justice. Ole Billy boy was fired up man. I had to miss an hour of church to finish watching it
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09-24-2006, 10:40 PM
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#9 |
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Mo' holla fo' yo' dolla!
Join Date: Dec 2002
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Posts: 52,694
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It would be nice if the p_ssies in the Democratic party would watch and learn, but I'm not holding my breath.
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09-25-2006, 01:21 AM
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#10 |
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Mo' holla fo' yo' dolla!
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: In a bunker in an undisclosed location
Posts: 52,694
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Here's the video of Clinton putting the smackdown on the Faux News pre$$titute:
http://movies.crooksandliars.com/fox...4a_320x240.wmv http://movies.crooksandliars.com/fox_fns_clinton_.mov |
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09-25-2006, 01:34 AM
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#11 |
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***************
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Seattle
Posts: 25,440
Adopt-a-Bronco: QUANTERUS SMITH |
Wow!! ... that is one freaking amazing interview. Freaking amazing!!!
Best points: 1) Not only was Richard Clarke highly placed, he was loyal to Reagan, Bush I, himself and current Bush. We can trust him. 2) Wallace's 'stridency' can well be placed at Murdoch's feet. He had to do something to maintain his reputation while he 'played footsie' with the liberals this week at CGI ... (especially with the election coming). NOW I remember what it was like to have a President who can think on his feet ... you know what? I liked it better that way.  |
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09-25-2006, 01:57 AM
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#12 | ||
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Mo' holla fo' yo' dolla!
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: In a bunker in an undisclosed location
Posts: 52,694
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Quote:
 Quote:
This video should be used as a training video for all Dems facing elections in the future. |
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09-25-2006, 03:37 AM
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#13 |
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***************
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Seattle
Posts: 25,440
Adopt-a-Bronco: QUANTERUS SMITH |
In all fairness, though ... he must've known what was coming. He had a chance to plan some. Not like he NEEDS to plan, he's too freaking sharp to need any warning, but his "spirited" manner couldn't possibly have come from surprise.
Remember when George BUsh 41 was lying in the grass for that idiot Dan Rather in 88? Crush that 'wimp factor', Pop!" This wasn't that, exactly ... Clinton doesn't need an Atwater or a Rove, of anybody to tell him what to say. I'm just saying that his emotional defense wasn't just "off the cuff." |
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09-25-2006, 03:49 AM
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#14 | |
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Mo' holla fo' yo' dolla!
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: In a bunker in an undisclosed location
Posts: 52,694
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Quote:
When he met Wallace, he was probably still on the defensive and still pissed about all the gratuitous shots the swift boat vermin took at him in their little crockumentary. |
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09-25-2006, 05:57 AM
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#15 |
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Ring of Famer
Join Date: Jan 2004
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Like I've said, LABF...
Clinton and his administration just knew when OBL was having a bowel movement, and they still couldn't get him nor impede al-Qaeda's operations. Knowing and doing are two different things. and: You'd support the PATRIOT ACT if it had come from Clinton, but when Bush did it, it was just to enhance his power and stomp on our rights. But since we know that Clinton's pathetic counterterrorism program (it's pathetic because al-Qaeda's operations weren't hindered in any way) is one of your hot-buttons, and any disparagement of it gets your panties all in a twist, thanks for playing. As per the SOP of a Clinton-worshipper, blaming all of his problems on the GOP is as expected. |
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09-25-2006, 06:11 AM
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#16 |
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Partisan
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Twixt Hell & Highwater
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Having read Clark's book (and Woodward's and Paul O'Neil's which all agree on the key points), I agree with Clinton. The main point Clark makes is that Bush and the neocon cabal came into office fixated on Saddam. Clark said that it was as if the previous 8 years had not happened. They were stuck back in '91. They even instructed him to focus on Iraqi terrorism. Clark, in that meeting, told them that the Iraqis were not committing any acts of terrorism and turned to one of the CIA honchos in the room who agreed with his assessment. He warned them for 8 months that Bin Laden and Al Queda were the key, and they ignored him. Sandy Berger left them with the complete dossier on Al Queda and told them that Bin Laden would be their number one foreign policy concern. They ignored him. Even after 911, they couldn't focus. Bush personally told him to find the linkage between 911 and Iraq. Cheney and Rumsfeld told the CIA to find the linkage to Saddam and 911. Went they sent up a report saying there was no evidence, they sent it back and said, "Do it again."
It's a shame that the lying slime at Fox News, like Chris Matthews (who's father must be ashamed that his own son could become a Rupert Murdoch pimp) and most of the other so-called news services keep hammering out the lie that Clinton is somehow responsible for 911 because he didn't get Bin Laden. It's the same old Rove BS: Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth. The truth is, 911 could have been stopped. George Bush and the neocons in the WH did absolutely nothing, despite numerous opportunities and warnings, to stop it. It didn't happen on Clinton's watch. It happened 9 months into Bush's. Last edited by Rohirrim; 09-25-2006 at 06:13 AM.. |
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09-25-2006, 06:14 AM
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#17 | |
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09-25-2006, 07:10 AM
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#18 |
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Partisan
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Twixt Hell & Highwater
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Contrary to the Right Winger's delusional thinking - I'll say it again - 911 did not happen on Clinton's watch, IT HAPPENED NINE MONTHS INTO BUSH'S WATCH AND HE DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN THOSE NINE MONTHS TO STOP IT.
Let's reason together. Say one of Clinton's cruise missiles had taken out Bin Laden in 1998. Unfortunately, the conspirators of 911 were already in the U.S. Now let's all join hands and sing "Kumbaya" because we know that the death of Bin Laden would have caused Atta and his pals to suddenly find peace in their hearts and turn away from their planned assault. Right? Let's say this all together to counteract the Rove brain wash: DESPITE NUMEROUS WARNINGS, BUSH DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO STOP 911! There. I knew you could.  |
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09-25-2006, 08:06 AM
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#19 |
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Ring of Famer
Join Date: Jan 2004
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So, if the Bush administration is solely to blame for 9/11, and if Clinton truly took OBL and al-Qaeda as seriously as is claimed, how come the planning for 9/11, and all the logistics involved, which started during Clinton's watch, wasn't impacted in the slightest?
What Clinton did was amass knowledge and intelligence on OBL. Where he failed was in actually doing anything with it. al-Qaeda wasn't seriously impacted, nor its operations significantly curtailed, in any way, during Clinton's presidency. Clinton and his administration completely failed to turn what they allegedly knew into action. Period. |
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09-25-2006, 08:18 AM
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#20 | |
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Partisan
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Twixt Hell & Highwater
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Quote:
 By Bill Press Tribune Media Services WASHINGTON (Tribune Media Services) -- Here is one of the first rules of politics: It’s not enough that I do well; I must also destroy my enemy. Sadly, even in America’s war against terrorism, that rule still drives a lot of Republicans. I see it on the op-ed pages. I get avalanches of it in my e-mail. I hear it in their public statements. For them, it's not enough that most Americans give George W. Bush credit for doing a good job in leading the nation against Osama bin Laden. They're not satisfied unless everybody also holds Bill Clinton responsible for getting us into this mess. Yet the evidence shows his detractors have more to answer for than he does. The attacks of September 11 were only a few hours old when conservative Congressman Dana Rohrbacher, R-California, blamed Clinton, not the terrorists: “We had Bill Clinton, backing off, letting the Taliban go, over and over again.” Talk-show host Rush Limbaugh trumpeted on the pages of the Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Clinton can be held culpable for not doing enough when he was commander-in-chief to combat the terrorists who wound up attacking the World Trade Center and Pentagon.” Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who resigned in disgrace, also chimed in, citing Clinton’s “pathetically weak, ineffective ability to focus and stay focused.” Don't you love it? Gingrich and company derail the president and the country for two whole years over a minor sex scandal in the White House -- magnifying one act of oral sex into a full time, $50 million Independent Counsel investigation, weeks of House Judiciary Committee hearings, impeachment by the House of Representatives and trial in the Senate -- and then they accuse Clinton of not staying focused on government business! Have they no shame? The truth, of course, is just the opposite. Given how distracted he was by the Lewinsky scandal, (which was of his own making, but blown out of proportion by his political enemies), it’s amazing Clinton was able to continue governing at all. And during that time, as The Washington Post reveals, he did a great deal to combat terrorism, much of it behind the scenes. Clinton’s most public response, of course, were the cruise missile attacks of 1998, directed against Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and the Sudan, following the terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Operating on limited intelligence -- at that time, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tazikistan refused to share information on the terrorists whereabouts inside Afghanistan -- U. S. strikes missed bin Laden by only a couple of hours. Even so, Clinton was accused of only firing missiles in order to divert media attention from the Lewinsky hearings. A longer campaign would have stirred up even more criticism. So Clinton tried another tack. He sponsored legislation to freeze the financial assets of international organizations suspected of funneling money to bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network -- identical to orders given by President Bush this month -- but it was killed, on behalf of big banks, by Republican Senator Phil Gramm of Texas. Those actions, we knew about. Others, we did not, until recently. Starting in 1998, for example, Clinton gave the CIA a green light to use whatever covert means were necessary to gather information on Osama bin Laden and his followers, and to disrupt and preempt any planned terrorist activities against the United States. As part of that effort, the CIA, under Clinton, trained and equipped some 60 commandos from Pakistan to enter Afghanistan and capture bin Laden. The operation collapsed when Pakistan experienced a military coup and a new government took over. In 1998, Clinton also signed a secret agreement with Uzbekistan to begin joint covert operations against Osama bin Laden and Afghanistan’s Taliban regime. U.S. Special Forces have been training there ever since, which is why the Pentagon was immediately able to use Uzbekistan as a staging area for forays into Afghanistan. Clinton targeted bin Laden even before he moved to Afghanistan. In 1996, his administration brokered an agreement with the government of Sudan to arrest the terrorist leader and turn him over to Saudi Arabia. For 10 weeks, Clinton tried to persuade the Saudis to accept the offer. They refused. With no cooperation from the Saudis, the deal fell apart. Conclusion: Rohrbacher, Limbaugh, Gingrich are dead wrong when they blame Bill Clinton for September 11. Did Clinton get Osama bin Laden “dead or alive?” No, but he came close, several times -- long before tracking down terrorists became a national priority. Now, let's compare what Clinton did to what Bush did. Ooops. You can't compare something to nothing, can you? |
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09-25-2006, 08:30 AM
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Mr Diplomacy
Join Date: May 2001
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09-25-2006, 08:33 AM
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#22 | |
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09-25-2006, 08:35 AM
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#23 | |
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09-25-2006, 08:38 AM
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09-25-2006, 08:39 AM
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#25 | |
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