Bill Clinton


Trying to salvage his repuation
I can't do it.

It's too easy a shot.

Even the books that he claims defend him lay out in excruciating detail something totally different from his story. So do the news stories of the time.

But Clarke’s book does not, in fact, support Clinton’s claim. Judging by Clarke’s sympathetic account — as well as by the sympathetic accounts of other former Clinton aides like Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon — it’s not quite accurate to say that Clinton tried to kill bin Laden. Rather, he tried to convince — as opposed to, say, order — U.S. military and intelligence agencies to kill bin Laden. And when, on a number of occasions, those agencies refused to act, Clinton, the commander-in-chief, gave up.

Clinton did not give up in the sense of an executive who gives an order and then moves on to other things, thinking the order is being carried out when in fact it is being ignored. Instead, Clinton knew at the time that his top military and intelligence officials were dragging their feet on going after bin Laden and al Qaeda. He gave up rather than use his authority to force them into action.

Examples are all over Clarke’s book. On page 223, Clarke describes a meeting, in late 2000, of the National Security Council “principals” — among them, the heads of the CIA, the FBI, the Attorney General, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the secretaries of State, Defense. It was just after al Qaeda’s attack on the USS Cole. But neither the FBI nor the CIA would say that al Qaeda was behind the bombing, and there was little support for a retaliatory strike. Clarke quotes Mike Sheehan, a State Department official, saying in frustration, “What’s it going to take, Dick? Who the shit do they think attacked the Cole, fuckin’ Martians? The Pentagon brass won’t let Delta go get bin Laden. Hell they won’t even let the Air Force carpet bomb the place. Does al Qaeda have to attack the Pentagon to get their attention?”

That came later. But in October 2000, what would it have taken? A decisive presidential order — which never came.

Judge for yourself. Listen to him and do some basic checking. He's counting on your short memory and you not doing research.

As it happens, I've read Richard Clarke's book. It struck me as more CYA than anything else, but if you look at what Clarke describes Clinton as doing rather than what he was saying, Bill Clinton does not look all that good.

As for the "accuracy" of the 9-11 Commission report, well, it was intended to be a whitewash for both parties, and that is exactly what was spoonfed to the American public.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Mon - September 25, 2006 at 04:40 AM  Tag


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