Sept. 11 Panel Interviews Clinton in Private Session

AP ^ | 4/8/04 | Hope Yen

[Jean S]

WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal panel reviewing the Sept. 11 attacks met with former President Clinton in a private session Thursday that commissioners described as frank and informative.

The 10-member panel interviewed Clinton for nearly four hours to discuss what his administration could have done to prevent the attacks. The former president was "forthcoming and responsive," said the commission.

The panel said it didn't plan to release specific details of the meeting, saying much of it involved classified information.

Commissioners said Clinton addressed "big-picture" policy issues, including his administration's response to the October 2000 al-Qaida attack on the USS Cole. Some commissioners have criticized the Clinton and Bush administrations for failing to mount a military response to the attack, which killed 17 U.S. sailors.

"He was adamant about trying to work in a bipartisan way to fix the problems," said Democratic commissioner Timothy Roemer, a former U.S. representative from Indiana. "He was quite honest and frank."

John Lehman, a former Navy secretary under President Reagan, agreed.

"He did very well," Lehman told CNN. "He gave us a lot of very helpful insights into things that happened, policy approaches."

A spokesman for Clinton, Jim Kennedy, said the former president was pleased to talk to the commission "and believed it was a very constructive meeting."

Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore consented in February to separate private interviews; Gore is set to meet the panel in coming weeks.

President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney also will meet privately with the full panel in a joint session in coming weeks; they initially restricted the interview to one hour with two panel members, but under mounting public pressure agreed last week to a joint session with no time constraints.

AP-ES-04-08-04 1922EDT

[sport]

"....He was adamant about trying to work in a bipartisan way to fix the problems," said Democratic commissioner Timothy Roemer, a former U.S. representative from Indiana. "He was quite honest and frank...."

Bull crap!

bill clinton has never been honest.

Maybe he is considered honest by the perverts and liars in Washington D.C. But I have a different name for him.

[Skywarner]

"Some commissioners have criticized the Clinton and Bush administrations for failing to mount a military response to the attack, which killed 17 U.S. sailors."

And, might I add, some of the commissioners are also suffering from a serious lapse of presidential history. President Bush wasn't even in office when the USS Cole was almost sunk.

When are they going to start blaming GWB for the Korean War?!?!

[meowmeow]

"I did not have sex with that country..."

[samadams2000]

now mr. pres. were you actually getting the humskie when you refused obl for the 3rd time?..

[4Liberty]

LOL

The Democrats will NEVER live Clinton down. (can't believe we all survived that pathetic incompetent.) They're trying, and it's fun to watch. Spin, spin, spin....

He was the corruptest of them all - without equal (on personal, domestic, and foreign policy levels). Just like a banana republic. Can't believe Hillary was empowered after that fiasco.

Shows you how thin the Dem ranks are in terms of honest qualified people. NOBODY decent wants to affiliate or associate with those corrupt, nanny state socialist whiners!!

:(

[JimSEA]

Clinton must not have gotten any really good shot in at Bush or Ben Veniste would have leaked them by now. I am suprised.

[arichtaxpayer]

Clinton would LOVE to appear on national TV.

[DustyMoment]

I found it fascinating that the Commission pummeled Dr. Rice on the U.S.S. Cole attack and why the Bush Administration took no action. I can't help feeling that they will give Clinton, who was the Prez when the Cole was attacked, a pass for taking no action.

Partisanship? Surely you jest.

The larger question, in my mind, is why a commission empaneled to investigate 9/11 is investigating the Cole attack? Methinks, like any government entity, they have taken liberties to expand their role beyond that for which they were appointed. Otherwise, the questions about the Cole make no sense.

[Terry Mross]

Clinton was "forthcoming". Does that really mean anything when he pleaded guilty to lying under oath, was fined $800,000 and lost his law license?

[cubreporter]

Monica, Monica, Monica, Monica, Monica, Monica, Monica, Monica, Monica, Monica, Monica, Monica, Monica, Monica!!!!
Always and forever. Always and Forever. Always and forever.

[cubreporter]

Amen...but don't hold your breath.

[Limbaudda]

REALLY PISSED ME OFF! Did you hear those two RINO morons singing Klinton's praises? Talking about how forthright he was? What a bunch of crap they must have feared being Arkansized!

[NormsRevenge]

AP / Hope Yen article Update...

WASHINGTON - In the shadows of Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites)'s testimony, former President Clinton (news - web sites) met privately with the Sept. 11 commission Thursday and discussed his terrorism policies and his decision not to retaliate against al-Qaida for the 2000 bombing of a Navy ship.

Commissioners described Clinton's testimony, which lasted more than three hours, as frank and informative.

A person familiar with the session said Clinton told the commission he did not order retaliatory military strikes after the bombing of the USS Cole (news - web sites) in the autumn of 2000 because he could not get "a clear, firm judgment of responsibility" from U.S. intelligence before he left office the following January.

It wasn't until after the Bush administration took power that U.S. intelligence concluded al-Qaida had sponsored the attack on the ship. Some commissioners have been critical of the decision not to launch a retaliatory military strike.

The person, who would speak only on condition of anonymity because Clinton's testimony delved into classified materials, also said the former president explained the rationale for many of the terror-fighting policies his administration instituted and the message his administration left behind to the incoming Bush administration.

Clinton "did not indicate anything fundamentally that he would have done differently" given what U.S. intelligence knew about Osama bin Laden (news - web sites) and the al-Qaida threat, the person said.

Commission chairman Thomas Kean said Clinton told the commission he has wrestled with the issue of whether his administration could have done more. "He said he's going back in his mind over and over again about whether there was something more he could've done," Kean said.

The panel said it didn't plan to release specific details of the meeting, saying much of it involved classified information.

Commissioners said Clinton addressed big-picture policy issues.

"He was adamant about trying to work in a bipartisan way to fix the problems," said Democratic commissioner Timothy Roemer, a former U.S. representative from Indiana. "He was quite honest and frank."

John Lehman, a former Navy secretary under President Reagan, agreed.

"He did very well," Lehman told CNN. "He gave us a lot of very helpful insights into things that happened, policy approaches."

A spokesman for Clinton, Jim Kennedy, said the former president was pleased to talk to the commission "and believed it was a very constructive meeting."

Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites) consented in February to separate private interviews; Gore is set to meet the panel in coming weeks.

President Bush (news - web sites) and Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) also will meet privately with the full panel in a joint session in coming weeks. They initially restricted the interview to one hour with two panel members, but under mounting public pressure agreed last week to a joint session with no time constraints.

[skr]

What about "the big picture" would need to be classified?

[freekitty]

Is it going to be a party or will Clinton drone on hour after hour about himself and what a brilliant leader he was or both? Of course, he will conveniently leave out the truth.

[aShepard]

Well, it's been difficult, but I finally have one point that I can agree with Richard Clarke's testimony

....."A person familiar with the session said Clinton told the commission he did not order retaliatory military strikes after the bombing of the USS Cole in the autumn of 2000 because he could not get "a clear, firm judgment of responsibility" from U.S. intelligence before he left office the following January"....

Clarke says that Clinton administration was seriously concerned about Bin Laden, and that Clarke was on top of the whole situation. Well that doesn't jibe with the Toons testimony, and we all know that Clinton is lying.

Of course, the Toon wouldn't want to do anything so close to the election, because that may impact the outcome of whether the witch or the goron gets elected.

And, we now find out that AlQuida was not even mentioned in the final briefing given from the Rat to Pubbie turnover of power.

This whole F**kin scene is a political setup to f**k Bush after the last chads were counted, so Clinton could get on to more important stuff, like how many criminals should I pardon!!!

[VOA]

Clinton was "forthcoming". Does that really mean anything when he pleaded guilty to
lying under oath, was fined $800,000 and lost his law license?

Maybe I'm the last person to hear this...but I was floored when I heard this
on The Laura Ingraham Show this morning.

Bill Clinton, when testifying before the 9-11 Commission, is doing it
in private AND NOT, I REPEAT NOT, under oath.

Guess he learned enough about that perjury thang that he refuses to let his hand
make contact with a Bible (or to affirm) in a courtroom/commission proceeding.

[XHogPilot]

To: info@9-11Commission.gov
Subject: Urgent Note to 9-11 Commission: North Korea says standoff with US at "brink of nuclear war"

Body:
North Korea says standoff with US at "brink of nuclear war"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1114807/posts
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/040409/1/3jdy5.html

Urgent note to the 9-11 commission: We have a terrorist threat warning! What do you suggest?

[oceanperch]

Sounds like he was getting a Lewinsky for crying out loud.