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| Slick Willy warned Bush of Osama... |
| 2003-10-16 |
| Tip to Drudge: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former President Bill Clinton says he warned President George W. Bush before he left office in 2001 that Osama bin Laden was the biggest security threat the United States faced. I wonder when this meeting took place because of the many, MANY recounts in Florida. Speaking at a luncheon sponsored by the History Channel on Wednesday, Clinton said he discussed security issues with Bush in his "exit interview," a formal and often candid meeting between a sitting president and the president-elect. "In his campaign, Bush had said he thought the biggest security issue was Iraq and a national missile defence," Clinton said. "I told him that in my opinion, the biggest security problem was Osama bin Laden." Since he let him go on at least one occasion. Time magazine reported last year that a plan for the United States to launch attacks against the al-Qaeda network languished for eight months because of the change in presidents and was approved only a week before the September 11 attacks. Yup, Bill was going to get right on that and Al would have followed through if elected. But the White House disputed parts of that story, which was published by the magazine in August 2002. "The Clinton administration did not present an aggressive new plan to topple al-Qaeda during the transition," a White House spokesman, Sean McCormack, said at the time. So who is telling the truth here? The White House was clearly irritated by the report, which appeared to suggest that the Bush administration might not have done all it could to prevent the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. If only Clinton could have remained in office another term! At Wednesdayâs luncheon, Clinton said his inability to convince Bush of the danger from al Qaeda was "one of the two or three of the biggest disappointments that I had." Another being the lack of horny 19-year-old interns when he left office. Clinton said that after bin Laden, the next security priority would have been the absence of a Middle East peace agreement, followed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. And he would have worked on those, except he was busy with âstaffâ issues. "I would have started with India and Pakistan, then North Korea, and then Iraq after that," he said. "I thought Iraq was a lower order problem than al Qaeda." Didnât that troll go to North Korea and sign a âpeaceâ agreement with Kimmy? I think they danced too! Clintonâs vice president Al Gore, who ran against Bush in the 2000 election, did not make the threat from al Qaeda a major focus of the presidential campaign, which both candidates kept focused mainly on domestic topics. Because all the previous statements are a desperate attempt to repair the image of his Presidency. Is it me but the more you learn about the Clinton administration you feel that they did very little to safeguard our nation? The exception being that brave (but brutal) storming of that religious group in Waco. Thank god we were saved from a group of people who believed in god and wanted to live in a community together. This President (and Dimmy) makes me ill every time I hear him. If he was aware of these problems, why didnât he solve them while he WAS in office? Can we send them to some deserted island where Dimmy can build houses and Billy can molest interns? |
| Posted by:Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) |
| #17 Give one free grope to Mr. Clinton's sex history. |
| Posted by: NO MOLESTER 2003-12-21 11:45:07 AM |
| #16 OK YANK you got your talking points from Faux News--now we all know Wesley Clark was responsible for Waco--stretch the truth further--then put your lips back on |
| Posted by: RonnieRaygun 2003-10-16 11:08:30 PM |
| #15 Re: Janet Reno and accusations of child molestation. Reno made her name as a Florida prosecutor in the 1980's by prosecuting a Florida "mom & pop" daycare center where she coerced the young wife into supporting outrageous accusations against the husband of "Satanic Ritual Abuse". The man was convicted and is still in prison despite there being not a shred of physical evidence. Jeb Bush should pardon the guy and Janet Reno should roast in hell with her back broken. She is an lying opportunistic witch. When my Lib friends say Ashcroft is bad and there is a witchhunt mentality behind the Patriot Act, I point them to Reno and her witchhunt against witches! Despicable. |
| Posted by: JDB 2003-10-16 9:39:48 PM |
| #14 George Bush became President on Jan.20,2001.A complete plan that was developed 8 months before Sept.11,would have been ready about first week of January.That would have given Clinton 2 weeks to carry it out.Weeks leading up to completion of plan would have been plenty of time to prep nation for attack and get military assets into place.None of that happened.The Clinton administation never leaked/warned/hinted that infantry action was imminent(or needed).If there was a "plan"(and not merely some options the Pentagon gave Clinton)it probably followed past Clinton military actions and consisted of night- time cruise missile attacks on training camps. Little wonder Bush people ignored the "plan". As for Clinton and nuclear proliferation,for 45 years only 5 nations tested nukes and 2 were thought capable of building them.(US,Russia,France Great Britain and China.Israel and South Africa.) Under Clinton's watch Pakistan and India tested,N. Korea claimed and Japan started wanting them.It used to be assumed the US would prevent countries from getting nukes.Clinton made getting(or claim- ing you have)nukes a sure-fire way to get US aid. |
| Posted by: Stephen 2003-10-16 5:37:51 PM |
| #13 Two comments about the Waco mess. (i) David K. left the compound every Sunday (I think it was Sunday) to go to town. If he was a real threat he could have been grabbed then without much fuss. (ii) Wesley Clark was in command of the troops that involved in the Waco action. Not direct command but a step or so up the chain. I expect this to come out if he gets the Democrat nod. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-10-16 4:35:43 PM |
| #12 I remember a photo I saw on C-SPAN of Bill, Hillary and one other member of the administration taken in the White house. It was each sitting on a couch, in line, doing the 'Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil' pose. Big toothy smiles and all. Kicking the can down the road. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-10-16 4:23:53 PM |
| #11 Imagining this conversation in the Oval Office: "George, I was saving the best for last -- but I never got a chance to get around to them. Could you take care of Osama bin Ladin and al Queda for me?" "Sure, Bill... be glad to." /boggling |
| Posted by: Anonymous Coward 2003-10-16 3:19:34 PM |
| #10 The timing of Clinton's remarks may have something to do with Rich Lowry's new book Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years which was just released. The book blames Clinton for failing to take effective action against Osama bin Laden, etc. Link to book |
| Posted by: Biff Wellington 2003-10-16 2:59:15 PM |
| #9 The whole Waco mess has only one thing to do with the War on Terror - to show us that the US Government, at least once in its existence, was capable of equally stupid and degrading activity. I've seen the FLIR video, I've studied it. The words of the Clinton Administration and the film I saw have little in common except the location. I'll back my 26 years' experience in looking at reconnaissance imagery for the Air Force with anybody else's experience, if necessary. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-10-16 12:55:15 PM |
| #8 I thought Elian was number two on the threat list. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-10-16 12:48:31 PM |
| #7 Two points. (i) I remember that Clinton and Bush had a long conversation in the White House and that they got along pretty well, far better than Clinton got along with Gore. (ii) I can hardly blame Bush for not taking Clinton's word about a threat seriously when the guy had 8 years to do something and chose not to. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-10-16 12:40:14 PM |
| #6 Dr. Jal Hampson, I have never seen/heard any proof that there was child rape going on in the compound. Comrade Reno nor any other law enforcement agency has shown any proof to these claims. If I am wrong, please direct me to the site where I can learn the truth. They only thing I heard Reno say was âI was told that there was child abuse going on in the compound.â She repeated this recently on the anniversary of the Waco standoff, no proof just accusations. If this claim was proven then I maybe I forgive her a little for this debacle. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2003-10-16 12:13:03 PM |
| #5 No doubt the cult should have been broken up. But burning the lot of them to the ground was a bit drastic. |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-10-16 11:34:02 AM |
| #4 The U.S. government has blamed bin Ladenâs Al Qaeda network for the September 11 attacks. Disgusting! Reuters doesn't know that al-Qaeda has openly admitted they were behind the attacks? Thank god we were saved from a group of people who believed in god and wanted to live in a community together. Don't forget the incest and child rape that the well armed lunatic was involved in. Do you really think that all the members of that cult felt free to leave at any time, even before Reno (who I think is a total idiot buffoon) showed up knocking on their door? Think about it. Your Koresh's 14th wife, and he has just claimed your daughter as his 16th wife. You take a good look at the stockpile of weapons and fellow brainwashed cult members, and tell me you feel free to challenge Dave's authority in the cult, by leaving and taking his new bride with you. |
| Posted by: Dr. Jal Hampson 2003-10-16 11:20:03 AM |
| #3 Can't wait for his book. Tenative title: "Hey, Everybody! Look At ME!" |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-10-16 11:06:11 AM |
| #2 'Scuse me, but I thought Clinton's staff was too busy with the important work of pulling the "W" keys off all the keyboards to brief Bush's transition team on silly stuff like national security.... |
| Posted by: seafarious 2003-10-16 11:03:44 AM |
| #1 they could both be telling the truth. Clinton could well have stated the Osama was the primary threat (especially in response to GOP sponsored Ballistic missile defense) and yet failed to give any specific plan for action. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-10-16 11:02:11 AM |