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Rush Limbaugh: You Can't Treat Terrorists Like Criminals
Rush Limbaugh.com ^ | March 17, 2004 | Rush Limbaugh

Posted on 03/17/2004 10:37:28 PM PST by FairOpinion

RUSH: Some of you may have seen this last night, NBC, Lisa Myers has begun a three-part series. She was the first to gain access to secret government videotapes which make it appear that Osama bin Laden was seen by CIA cameras one year before 9-11 took place. "As the 9/11 commission investigates what Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush might have done to prevent the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, one piece of evidence the commission will examine is a videotape secretly recorded by a CIA plane high above Afghanistan. The tape shows a man believed to Osama bin Laden walking at a known al-Qaida camp. The question for the 9/11 commission: If the CIA was able to get that close to bin Laden before 9/11, why wasn’t he captured or killed? The videotape has remained secret until now."

I've seen the videotape. They've shown it, and you have to just take their word for it. You can't identify anybody in this tape. One of the things that they used to say is that bin Laden is incredibly tall, he's 6'4", he's towering over all these other people, these other people are bowing down before him and acting very sycophantish, and he's in all white, flowing robes, and it looks like he's some great Imam Sheikh, and this was a big Al-Qaeda camp, and so it's apparently bin Laden. But you can't tell this. I mean trained CIA analysts, maybe, but members of the general public will just have to take their word for it.

Now, NBC News over the next three nights is going to present this footage and reveal some of the difficult questions it has raised for the 9-11 commission. Some of those questions are the '93 World Trade Center bombing, the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassies in Africa, killed 224 people. Now, in 1998 President Clinton announced we will use all means at our disposal to bring those responsible to justice, no matter what or how long it takes.

Well, that didn't happen. And that's what this is all about. When it comes to bin Laden, we know from Mansoor Ijaz of Fox News, that he personally brokered a couple attempts on the part of the Sudanese to hand over bin Laden to the Clinton administration, and do you remember why the Clinton administration said no? They said we don't have any evidence, we don't have any reason to charge him with anything. They were treating it as a legal issue which is what John Kerry just said the other day he would do if he were president. He would go after these people in Spain and go after all these other terrorists with indictments and this kind of thing, and that's what the Clinton administration was trying to do with bin Laden rather than treating them as war criminals or enemy combatants, as it were. As Lisa Myers reported last night, "NBC News has obtained, exclusively, extraordinary secret video, shot by the U.S. government. It illustrates an enormous opportunity the Clinton administration had to kill or capture bin Laden. Critics call it a missed opportunity."

This is video from one year, at least one year prior to 9/11, 2001. Bush was nothing but a candidate. Clinton was in office. So we have all these attempts by the Sudanese to hand bin Laden over, and the Clinton administration says no.

Now we've got this videotape from the CIA, apparently it's bin Laden, and they knew it. Now, you might say, well, 9/11 hadn't happened yet. Well, they knew bin Laden was behind the '93 World Trade Center. They knew bin Laden was behind the '98 embassy bombings. They knew, by the way, that bin Laden was behind Somalia. They knew all this, and all of these are things that took place on the Clinton watch. So why didn't Clinton administration go after it? That's what Lisa Myers' point is. It will be an interesting series of questions that the 9-11 commission is looking into.

She said, "The tape proves the Clinton administration was aggressively tracking al-Qaida a year before 9/11. But that also raises one enormous question: If the U.S. government had bin Laden and the camps in its sights in real time, why was no action taken against them?"

Retired general Wayne Downing, who ran counter terror efforts for the Bush administration said, "'We were not prepared to take the military action necessary. We should have had strike forces prepared to go in and react to this intelligence, certainly cruise missiles — either air- or sea-launched — very, very accurate, could have gone in and hit those targets.' Gary Schroen, a former CIA station chief in Pakistan, says the White House required the CIA to attempt to capture bin Laden alive, rather than kill him."

And it goes on to say in this story, "A Democratic member of the 9/11 commission says there was a larger issue: The Clinton administration treated bin Laden as a law enforcement problem." Not a military problem, that's why there aren't any strikes, law enforcement problem, that's the fascinating thing in the first of these three reports.

And where did we first hear this, folks, can I remind you? Bill Gertz, he's written two books, one's Betrayal and one is Breakdown and I get them confused, but we interviewed him on both. I remember the first book, it was Breakdown, connect the dots, all the intelligence. I think it was that book, and when I got to the part where he said that Janet Reno... Remember this, Janet Reno had interceded and wanted to treat all these terrorist attacks as a law enforcement problem and take all the information we learned to a grand jury, remember this? When you take it to a grand jury, CIA and FBI are not entitled to it, because grand jury proceedings are confidential. And so here they've got bin Laden, now this is another bit of evidence, in addition to the Sudanese offers of bin Laden to the Clinton administration, now we've got this videotape a year before 9-11 in real time, CIA knows at the moment, they're looking live at bin Laden, not a tape, at this place, and that's who they think it is, and nothing was done because the Clinton administration treated bin Laden as a law enforcement problem. And, you know, bin Laden was behind the '93 World Trade Center, and, yeah, we treated those guys that we caught, Ramsey Yousef and the Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman or whatever his name is, the blind sheik, these guys are convicted and they're in jail. Hasn't stopped diddly squat, has it? Because we didn't get the people actually behind it. We got the soldiers. And, now, I'm not condemning that, but this is war.

You know, these are not U.S. citizens that have rights under the U.S. Constitution. Well, apparently not. Apparently if you're not a citizen and you attack a U.S. installation or institution such as the USS Cole or World Trade Center, takes it out of the legal system, that's what Janet Reno did. Janet Reno changed all that. That's what Gertz's point was - Janet Reno changed all that and made these people something other than own combatants and just treated them as criminals. That's what interesting about this, ladies and gentlemen, is this is exactly after the Spanish blast, the Madrid blast this week, this is exactly what John Kerry said that his change would be, that the military - we're overusing, we're exaggerating terrorism and the military is not the way to do this. We need to treat this as a law enforcement problem. Well, we see how successful Democrats have been treating terrorists as law enforcement criminals or problems. It isn't working.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

RUSH: The new prime minister of Spain, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, today rebuffed an appeal from President Bush to stand by the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq which he described as a fiasco, but listen to these quotes from Mr. José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. "Fighting terrorism with bombs, with operations of Shock and Awe, with missiles, that does not combat terrorism, it only generates more radicalism. The way to fight terrorism is with the rule of law, with international legislation, with intelligence services. This is what the international community should be talking about."

Hey, loco weed, take a look, take a look at what NBC is reporting and understand just how dangerous you've made the rest of the world with your election to this country. Because this is exactly what the Clinton administration did with bin Laden all throughout the nineties. They treated him as an international criminal and they came up with the rule of law and international legislation, intelligence services, and they had him in their dead sights, real time, let him go.

Now, this is not the way you deal with people that are blowing up Baghdad. This is not the way you deal with people that are blowing up Madrid and New York City and Bali and Saudi Arabia. You can have all the stupid-ass international courts, pass all the stupid-ass international legislation you want, Mr. Zapatero, and it isn't going to do diddly squat, may as well say the same thing to Senator Kerry since Zapatero is one of the foreign leaders who has expressed a desire to meet with senator Kerry. And CNN is all upset about this story. CNN is all upset about NBC's story on this drone, the CIA drone that showed live pictures of bin Laden walking around, free as a bird in his camp, in Afghanistan, and in the year 2000.

END TRANSCRIPT


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 911commission; alqaeda; binladen; clinton; kerry; missedopportunity; oblvideotape; rush; zapatero
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Especially now, I think Rush is doing exactly what needs to be done: point out how disastrous Clinton's approach to terrorism was and how Kerry wants to follow the same disastrously failed approach.
1 posted on 03/17/2004 10:37:29 PM PST by FairOpinion
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To: FairOpinion
In other words, Kerry wants to have us sit there and take it and then lodge an appeal with the U.N and if necessary, beg terror-supporting states to extradite the terrorists. Which is exactly how he plans to "defend" America as President: by talking loudy and wielding a small stick.
2 posted on 03/17/2004 10:42:39 PM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: FairOpinion; Libertarianize the GOP
God bless Rush!

He is absolutely right!
3 posted on 03/17/2004 11:29:56 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States - and war is what they got!!!!)
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To: FairOpinion
Lisa Myers believes Juanita.
4 posted on 03/17/2004 11:36:36 PM PST by ValerieUSA
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To: goldstategop
"Which is exactly how he plans to "defend" America as President: by talking loudy and wielding a small stick."

LOL - well put!

It's good this is being made an issue. It is the one subject where Kerry has been pretty clear about his intentions, which is amazing, considering he is usually on every single side (and nuance!) of a problem. But he's dead set on ending the WAR on terror and returning to the police action on terror. And I really don't think the American people are going to buy it.

In fact, I heard a pretty encouraging caller on NPR yesterday, a presumably liberal fellow from NYC, most likely Jewish, tho' I didn't hear him say that. The host had asked for undecided voters to call in, I was at work so I only heard one or two, but the one guy said that even though he disagreed with Bush 100% on everything else, he didn't trust Kerry one bit on the defense of America or the security of Israel (that's why I figured the caller was Jewish). He specifically cited this return to a law enforcement method, he dismissed complaints over lack of WMD in Iraq as quibbles, he said he figued Saddam had such weapons and they were likely now stashed in Syria, and it seemed pretty clear that even if he was not going to vote for Bush in November, he sure as heck wasn't going to vote for Kerry.

This election is going to be a real gut-check for the American public, we remember that it is always our guys who pay the final tab for Euro appeasement.

5 posted on 03/17/2004 11:45:28 PM PST by jocon307 (The dems don't get it, the American people do.)
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To: FairOpinion
We do need to treat these illegal combatant war criminals like war criminals.

Capture, interogate, execute.

That goes for treason too, Senator Kerry.
6 posted on 03/17/2004 11:51:04 PM PST by SevenDaysInMay (Federal judges and justices serve for periods of good behavior, not life. Article III sec. 1)
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To: jocon307
Just add that this goes all the way back to Carter, who dithered after the hostages were taken in Teheran instead of hitting the mullahs hard then and there. When he did finallly decide to take action, it was too little, too late and ended in disaster for the troops involved.
7 posted on 03/17/2004 11:59:14 PM PST by RobbyS (Latin nothing of atonment)
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Comment #8 Removed by Moderator

To: FairOpinion
I can't stand Clinton. In fact, I hate him. But in a lot of ways I think John Effin' Kerry would be even a worse president.

He's as stupid as Gore, and more liberal. And that's scary.
9 posted on 03/18/2004 12:14:27 AM PST by Bullish
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To: FairOpinion
If the U.S. government had bin Laden and the camps in its sights in real time, why was no action taken against them?" Answer: It would have incited more terrorism.
10 posted on 03/18/2004 12:25:40 AM PST by dasboot
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To: FairOpinion

Good post FO.

Rush is right.
11 posted on 03/18/2004 12:26:25 AM PST by onyx (Kerry' s a Veteran, but so were Lee Harvey Oswald, Timothy McVeigh and Benedict Arnold.)
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To: onyx
Looks like that hot onyx is back...just as I decide to go to bed (I had my last 6 silver fillings from high school removed and replaced today...no biggie but I got a few buzz pills for my troubles and I'm going to go horizontal for the next 12 hours).

Oh well, there is always the weekend! ;-)
12 posted on 03/18/2004 12:32:51 AM PST by Fledermaus (Ðíé F£éðérmáú§ ^;;^ says, "Tick off France, Germany, Spain and Al Qaeda - VOTE BUSH!)
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To: Fledermaus
Looks like that hot onyx is back...just as I decide to go to bed.

Woo, "hot onyx" --- I like that. :)

Yikes. All that dental work today. I am so glad you have plenty of meds. See you tomorrow. Take care you.

13 posted on 03/18/2004 12:36:40 AM PST by onyx (Kerry' s a Veteran, but so were Lee Harvey Oswald, Timothy McVeigh and Benedict Arnold.)
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To: onyx
The technology is incredible...hour and a half and six old silver metal ones gone, six new white resin polymor ones in (they hardened them with light beams). Three hours later and the numbing is gone and I'm eating and chewing.

I'm just taking the drugs they gave me for possible pain for fun! lol


14 posted on 03/18/2004 12:40:14 AM PST by Fledermaus (Ðíé F£éðérmáú§ ^;;^ says, "Tick off France, Germany, Spain and Al Qaeda - VOTE BUSH!)
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To: Fledermaus
LOL-LOL-LOL

Oh Okay. The meds are for fun! GOOD. :)
15 posted on 03/18/2004 12:45:58 AM PST by onyx (Kerry' s a Veteran, but so were Lee Harvey Oswald, Timothy McVeigh and Benedict Arnold.)
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To: Mrs Zip
ping
16 posted on 03/18/2004 1:45:47 AM PST by zip
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To: webwizard
Snicker.
17 posted on 03/18/2004 2:36:09 AM PST by ItisaReligionofPeace (I'm from the government and I'm here to help.)
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To: FairOpinion
You know, these are not U.S. citizens that have rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Rush is perpetuating a myth:

18 USC 242. - Deprivation of rights under color of law

Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or to different punishments, pains, or penalties, on account of such person being an alien....

Notice that the law doesn't say 'secured to them', just 'secured'. So if some right is 'secured' to citizens generally, it is also 'secured' to aliens.

18 posted on 03/18/2004 3:08:55 AM PST by Grut
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To: dasboot
It would have incited more terror to take out the person who has access to hundreds of millions of dollars of Saudi oil money? But by your logic it is just as dangeous to treat him as a criminal. You would treat him more or less as a sovereign head of an organization with whom we must negotiate. Notice the recent language of the terrorists, where they declare a "truce." They are indeed seeeking political status and you would give it to them just as the British have accored it to the IRA. Has that resolved the Northern Ireland question?
19 posted on 03/18/2004 5:33:10 AM PST by RobbyS (Latin nothing of atonment)
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To: FairOpinion
Once again, El Rushbo nails it cold.

The whole idea that terrorists can be dealt with through "law enforcement" is ridiculous.

20 posted on 03/18/2004 6:55:40 AM PST by FierceDraka (Service and Glory!)
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