Wolf Blitzer interviewing Peter Bergen, CNN's terrorism expert Peter Berge, who says, " Best opportunity to get Bin Laden in 1999, hunting party, hesitated so as not to kill Saudi rulers there with him. The Cleanest shot."
Bergen continues: "Lack of response to Cole attack by both presidents, most striking. That lack of response empowered terrorists to act again."
Blitzer says Richard Clarke offered damning assessment of Bush administration. (I heard Judy Woodruff say the same thing earlier.)Blitzer reports: " Clarke says Bush dropped the ball".
Blitzer does show one 1/2 a sentence by Lehman. no more than that.
Retired Army General Wayne Downing on MSNBC the BEST rebuttal to Clarke!!! bar none!!! Downing says "Dick was not in those forums, doesn't know the discussions, debate that took place". He may have been in top meetings in Clinton administration, but he wasn't in the Bush administration. " "Dick is offering an opinion..he's a good man...I'm not attacking him...but he only knows one part of what went on, and I don't think he really knows what went into those decisions. "
Georgia senator, Saxby Chambliss on FOXNews reminds viewers that Clarke is selling a book.
Blitzer asks CNN's White House reporter Dana Bash "how scared is the White House about what Clarke is saying?" She thinks so, based on how much info they are putting out.
Blitzer asks Bergen if this administration put enough time into terrorists before Sept 11. Bergen says the answer to that is muddled after we've seen what Clarke has said other places.