Posted on 03/23/2004 2:59:45 PM PST by Pukin Dog
WASHINGTON - The White House, seeking to cool criticism from a former top anti-terror adviser, said Tuesday that Richard Clarke's resignation letter praised President Bush's "courage, determination, calm and leadership" on Sept. 11, 2001.
"It has been an enormous privilege to serve you these last 24 months," said the Jan. 20, 2003, letter from Clarke to Bush. "I will always remember the courage, determination, calm, and leadership you demonstrated on September 11th."
The letter was stamped "the president has seen" the next day.
Clarke, who left the Bush administration in March 2003 after 30 years in government service and 11 years at the White House, has written a book in which he criticizes the president and his administration for ignoring repeated warnings about al-Qaida before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and acting ineffectively afterward, primarily because of a preoccupation with Iraq (news - web sites).
On Monday, the day Clarke's "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror" hit stores and the day after he promoted it in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes," the White House went to great lengths to dismiss Clarke's accusations. Administration officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites), appeared on television and radio to argue that Clarke was inaccurate, politically motivated, disgruntled over bureaucratic changes that reduced his influence, merely trying to sell books — or all four at once.
That White House campaign continued Tuesday with the release of Clarke's letter announcing his intention to step down.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan suggested Clarke's praise belies his later criticism of Bush's handling of the crisis.
"At this time period, when he was leaving, there was no mention of the grave concerns he claims to have had about the direction of the war on terrorism, or what we were doing to confront the threat posed by Iraq, by the former regime," McClellan said.
But the letter contains no praise of Bush's anti-terror actions before or after the attacks — only on the day of. Clarke does commend Bush for his "intuitive understanding" of the importance of cybersecurity.
Clarke's job as the White House's counterterrorism chief was split in two early in the Bush White House, with Clarke put in charge of cybersecurity and others brought in for the anti-terror role.
"You had prescience in creating the position of Special Adviser to the President for Cyberspace Security and I urge you to maintain that role in the White House," Clarke wrote.
Also, even though the White House argued that Clarke's memoir was released to do the maximum political damage to Bush in a presidential election year, McClellan would not say when the required national security review of the book was completed, allowing its publication to proceed. Publications by administration officials are routinely vetted to make sure that nothing is released that compromises classified information or national security.
I'm sitting here listening to Gorton and Kerrey on Chrissy Mathews show complaining that Condi won't testify
HELLO .. she met with the commission for 4 HOURS!!!
But, then they'd have NOTHING!
I hope I'm wrong but it seems to me that this letter can be easily explained away by saying he was being polite, professional, and trying not to burn any bridges.
I don't believe it but the partisan media is just dying to explain this letter away so they can get back to their Bush bashing.
Congratulations, you get your wish. You ARE wrong. Picture those idiots holding Clarke's book during the hearings today. Picture them pissed off right about now. Picture Clarke looking for a slow train out of town tonight.
True .. but then he went on to say he agreed with Kerrey and said she should have appeared
The ONLY reason the libs want her is so they can attack her on TV
Except in his letter Clarke praises the President's "determined, calm leadership" on 9/11. In his book Clarke accuses the President of "intimidation" on 9/11---ordering Clarke to find a link between the attacks and Iraq.
Clarke's lying in one of them.
Besides, if you're concerned about not burning bridges, would you write this book?
Something's rotten in Denmark. And it's spelled "Clarke".
Richard Clarke told author Richard Miniter that Clinton, Albright, Berger, Cohen, Reno, Tenet, and Freeh all refused Clarke's urging to attack Osama bin Laden when OBL was shown on hours of clear video from a Hellfire-equipped Predator in September-October 2000.
On page 227 Michael Sheehan [State Department head of counterterrorism] told Clarke after the Cole bombing, "What's it going to take to get them to hit al Qaeda in Afghanistan? Does al Qaeda have to attack the Pentagon?"
Clarke fails to note the offers of Sudan to deliver OBL on a platter brokered by Mansoor Ijaz major Clinton donor and fundraiser (not agent of the "Republican attack machine").
Ijaz challenged Clarke to a face-to-face, but after this warm, personal letter has been released, Clarke has no face.
His incestuous relationship with Rand Beers and Jean-Fraud is pathetically obvious, as is that between his publisher Simon & Schuster, his chief megaphone CBS, and their puppetmaster, Viacom.
Someone left Clarke's cake out in the rain,
I don't think that he can fake it,
For it took so long to half-bake it,
and he'll never have the semblance of a brain.
And, Dick, Condi thinks you're a twinkie, too, Dude.
HELLO .. she met with the commission for 4 HOURS!!!
Slade Gorton pointed this out quite emphatically.
Chris was saying what would Rice say and now will she have to come before them and Gorton said "We KNOW what she would say. She's met with us in private and answered every question".
And, of course, momma = ABCNNBCBS
Something's rotten in Denmark. And it's spelled "Clarke".
I don't for a moment believe Clarke's assertions in his book. I just think the media is going to explain this letter away and continue to attack.
The media doesn't care if it is true, they only care if it will hurt Bush.
UPDATE: '60 MINUTES' executive producer Don Hewitt said not identifying VIACOMCBS's ownership of Richard Clarke's book was an oversight... Developing...
An oversight by Don Hewitt? What he means is that he oversaw the production and made sure they didn't include the Viacom ownership.
DON HEWITT ( Executive Producer, " 60 Minutes"): And they came to us because they were in big trouble in New Hampshire. They were about to lose right there and they needed some first aid. They needed some bandaging. What they needed was a paramedic. So they came to us and we did it and that's what they wanted to do. When I told Tim Russert that I was persona-non-grata at the White House, he said, "Why?" I said, "The Gennifer Flowers interview." He said, " You got him the nomination." I said, " I know that." As far as I know from the conversations I've had, Bernie Nussbaum knew that, Gergen knows that, Lloyd Cutler certainly knows it 'cause Lloyd had a hand in his coming on that night. You know it was strong medicine the way I edited it but he was a very sick candidate. He needed very strong medicine, and I'm not in the business of doctoring candidates but he got up out of a sick bed that night and walked to the nomination and as I said to Mandy, " You know if I'd edited it your way, you know where you'd be today? You'd still be up in New Hampshire looking for the nomination." He became the candidate that night.57 posted on 03/22/2004 10:40:40 PM EST by Senator Pardek
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