State Dept. Says It Warned About bin Laden in 1996

NY Times ^ | August 17, 2005 | ERIC LICHTBLAU

[Homer1]

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 - State Department analysts warned the Clinton administration in July 1996 that Osama bin Laden's move to Afghanistan would give him an even more dangerous haven as he sought to expand radical Islam "well beyond the Middle East," but the government chose not to deter the move, newly declassified documents show.

[Theresawithanh]

Hi, Fudd Fan! I'd forgotten about that picture entirely! LOL!

I'm amazed that they'd let a picture like that be taken. Some enterprising person could make that into a large sign with a caption like the one for this article and take it to wherever Bil is appearing.

[longtermmemmory]

The left wing dominated lower echelon of the state department is just doing some serious CYA.


Seems Clinton now means expendable whipping boy.

[Fudd Fan]

NO WAY do the scumbag Marxists at State volunteer this kind of information unless they KNOW that the information is forthcoming anyway

OR the forthcoming info could be even worse.

[Stellar Dendrite]

hear hear, great minds think alike, see #49!

[Diddle E. Squat]

Perhaps the NY Times is reaching the conclusion that Hillary isn't their best shot at retaking the White House.

Perhaps not.

[Darkwolf377]

"In the United States, we have this thing called the Constitution, so to bring him here is to bring him into the justice system. I don't think that was our first choice."

No, your first choice was to eat cheeseburgers and do nothing.

[Fudd Fan]

It's beyond description how INEPT the Klintoon administration was.

[bd476]

Mo1 wrote: "OK .. why is the Slimes reporting this This is ... well very out of character for them"

There must have been a cold snap in the nether regions today.

[GloriaJane]

Ok, my mouth is on my chest. This from The New York Times? "THE" New York Times?

Somebody wake me up... I must be dreaming!

[mplsconservative]

They are defusing Able Danger' specific identification of Atta by saying the threat posed by Al Queada was "common knowledge." That's akin of like saying 'We knew Japan was a threat,' when the news comes to light that someone might have been sitting on foreknowledge of an attack on Pearl Harbor.

This story is chaff.

What you say makes a lot of sense.

The story coming from the NYT sure seems like a diversion tactic. Guess I'll put the smelling salts away. (o:

[jveritas]

I do have the same feeling but we shall see.

[Yaelle]

CLINTON: And I mis - what I said there was wrong. What I said was in error. I went back now and did all this research from my book. And I'd said that we were told we couldn't hold him, implying that we had a chance to get him, but we didn't. That's not factually accurate.

"It all depends on what the meaning of the word "offered" is."

Oy vey! The man can trip over his own tongue like a 2nd grade girl double-dutch rope jumping.

[Fudd Fan]

I thought he was going to "take Bin Laden out"?
------
He did. To dinner.

Well when could Klintoon resist anything in a dress?

[AD from SpringBay]

Feels like it's starting to hit the fan.

[InvisibleChurch]

But Clinton administration diplomats have adamantly denied that they received such an offer, and the Sept.

but even bill himself, a month or so after 911, admitted that his biggest mistake wasn't taking bin laden when offered .... who ARE these people?

[AD from SpringBay]

Several former senior officials in the Clinton administration did not return phone calls this week seeking comment on the newly declassified documents.

But did they check Sandy Berger's pants?

[bd476]

Another bump for good measure.

[InvisibleChurch]

if only clinton would follow his own lead

[Enchante]

Berger: "In the United States, we have this thing called the Constitution, so to bring him here is to bring him into the justice system."

That is exactly why the option of treating terrorists as an "enemy combatant" or some similar designation is essential, and why the Bush administration is so much better than its critics. When terrorists are operating across the world and it can be difficult to impossible to assemble the kind of evidence that meets the usual criminal justice standards, it's INSANE to not be able to handle a Bin Laden outside the domestic legal system (even pre-1998, he was clearly a major terrorist, and in fact had links to the 1993 WTC bombing). The Klintoons couldn't handle Bin Laden because they could only allow for him to be safely and gently captured (don't hurt a hair on his head), brought to the USA, given the ACLU lawyers and Ramsey Clark + Lynne Stewart as counsel, and then watch him slip away like OJ........

[section9]

Something's going on. NO WAY do the scumbag Marxists at State volunteer this kind of information unless they KNOW that the information is forthcoming anyway. This is a pre-emptive strike, no doubt launched so that they have first crack at the spin.

This might be Condi trying to protect one of her people.

Philip Zelikow is a strategic studies analyst who happened to have been on the staff of the 9/11 commission.

Bad job choice, in retrospect, especially if Philip might have come accross any ABLE DANGER information and have conspired to suppress it to protect Gorelick. He immediately becomes a liability that Condi can't keep on. UNLESS Rice has uncovered a treasure trove of incriminating State Documents that add to ABLE DANGER and begin to flesh out the criminal negligence of the Toon national security apparatus, from Berger to Albright to Gorelick on down.

Her buddy Zelikow may have been threatened, in which case Condi, ever the analyst and academic, may have decided to start doing research. There are all sorts of documents concerning Bin Laden's stay in the Sudan that could be unearthed.

No choice on Zelikow. If he conspired to suppress ABLE DANGER to protect Gorelick, he's toast, and should be. Condi can't keep him around. But she'll find a way, you can be sure, to make sure that the 9/11 Commission members who tried to bring her down are damaged in the process.

And they'll never know what hit them when some documents start showing up that concern Gorelick.

Shoot, they could even find their way to Curt Weldon's mailroom.

This stuff from State and the ABLE DANGER affair is showing up in the NYT. That's what's got me spooked. Why aren't the libs covering this up? This kind of thing could directly effect the Missus' electoral prospects.

Be Seeing You,

Chris