Wesley Clark is blasting the Bush Administration’s for its "responsibility for 9-11.
Excuse me, Mr. Clark, but under what administration was our HUMINT gathering capability systematically weakened? (Hint, not this one?)
Which administration had the opportunity to capture Osama bin Laden in Sudan in 1996 but did not do so because they feared the international backlash?
Which administration displayed a wanton attitude towards the military?
The fact is that the Clinton Administration allowed a series of attacks, from the first World Trade Center attack, to the bombings of our Kenyan and Tanzanian embassies, to the Khobar Towers bombing, to the USS Cole and nothing was done to effectively limit al-Qaeda’s funding or reach. In the eight years that Clinton was in office several Muslim charities were shown to have connections with terrorism – but AG Janet Reno wouldn’t touch it to avoid “offending the Muslim community.” The Clinton Administration could have stopped al-Qaeda in their tracks had they the political will to do so – but they did not. As both Lt. Col. Robert Patterson (USAF-Ret.) and National Review‘s Rich Lowry have document at great length, the Clinton Administration’s unwillingness to pursue al-Qaeda allowed them to engage in an series of escalating terror attacks culminating in the September 11 atrocity.
Of course, Clark doesn’t care about the facts, he’s only seeking political advantage by slandering the Bush Administration. However, that line of argumentation is foolish for the Democrats considering that their weakness on national security is their Achilles Heel. If I were them I wouldn’t be emphasizing that weakness at every available opportunity.
The Sudan myth is about as true as the forged Niger documents, and that’s been covered many times before in right wing and left wing outlets.
Clinton tried killing bin Laden in 1998. Bush took the month of August off in 2001, when memos were piling up concerning an increased threat from al-Qaeda. The intelligence was there: it was just left at the bottom of the stovepipe. It was there when Bush was wrong about WMD claims, but it was left at the bottom of the stovepipe.
Don’t complain about a lack of intelligence when selective vetting of what intelligence we have is the root of the crisis.