MRC Tuesday August 6, 2002 "CBS and NBC on Monday night jumped on a Time magazine cover story about how the outgoing Clinton administration provided a plan to fight al-Qaeda which the Bush team failed to implement until after the 9-11 attacks. The battle over history, Dan Rather teased at the top of the August 5 CBS Evening News before declaring: Veterans of the Clinton administration say the Bush team didn't take their al-Qaeda warnings and plans seriously enough.
Rather set up the story by referring to how controversy is swirling over what did or did not happen concerning terrorism in the early months of the Bush presidency. Rather ominously intoned:
The controversy centers around serious questions raised by a counter-terrorism expert who worked for Presidents Reagan, Bush Sr., and Clinton. "
CBS thought Clarke was the source for the Time article.