Posted on 08/19/2005 7:52:43 AM PDT by Maria S
The CIA's former Bin Laden desk chief revealed Thursday night that Clinton administration lawyers warned counterterrorism agents that Osama bin Laden had to be kept as comfortable as possible if they captured him during planned raids into Afghanistan.
"The lawyers were more concerned with bin Laden`s safety and his comfort than they were with the officers charged with capturing him," former Bin Laden desk chief Michael Scheuer told MSNBC's "Hardball.
"We had to build an ergonomically designed chair to put him in, [for] special comfort in terms of how he was shackled into the chair," Scheuer explained. "They even worried about what kind of tape to gag him with so it wouldn`t irritate his beard."
"The lawyers are the bane of the intelligence community," the former CIA man lamented.
Concerns like that, as well as foot dragging by the White House, resulted in one missed opportunity after another to get the al Qaida terror mastermind, Scheuer said.
"We had at least eight to 10 chances to capture or kill Osama bin Laden in 1998 and 1999. And the government on all occasions decided that the information was not good enough to act," he claimed.
Although sharply critical of President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq , the CIA counterterrorism specialist put the blame for bin Laden's escape firmly on Mr. Clinton.
"In terms of which administration had more chances, Mr. Clinton`s administration had far more chances to kill Osama bin Laden than Mr. Bush has until this day," Scheuer said.
Insanity.
["The lawyers are the bane of the intelligence community," the former CIA man lamented.]
Bush should issue an executive order to fire all of them en masse.
You just can't make up stuff like this....
And yet, at first glance, I thought it was satire or part of Friday silliness. Slick Willy really feels OBL's pain. Too bad he didn't feel ours, or the Iraqis, or the Afghanis, or the Rwandans, etc...
Ping.
Walks over, thank you for your support.
This bunch sounds like the spineless pansies I work for.
Finally, the liberal's baseline definition of torture.
Great post! BUMP
I'm sorry, but this story is so bizarre, I just have to laugh.
Lawyers. Obsession with legalities, constitutionalities, amendments, rights, "social justice" (whatever the hell that means!), due process, etc (all observed here as well.)
Lawyers!
elbucko, I won't even have lunch today. This sickens me.
efing lawyers and PC!
-
But, TGIF!
"We had at least eight to 10 chances to capture or kill Osama bin Laden in 1998 and 1999."
There's a quote for the front page of the New York Times. Never get there, though.
We all knew who's fault 9/11 was the minute we turned the TV on that day. Even the Democrats knew.
On a somewhat related note (researching another CIA person), how high in the chain would a GS-15 be?
Are you sure this isn't from Scrappleface or the Onion? It's just too bizarre.
And you know something? Clinton is going to come out of this smelling like a rose. The MSM carry his water for him and they'll never let anything tarnish his image in the public's eyes. You'll only ever see revelations like this in the Alternative Conservative Media (ACM, from now on) -- unless some Congress critter decides to lodge an indictment against Clinton. And, even then, the MSM will do its utmost to make sure Clinton walks and his accuser is destroyed.
RE: Tape and Beards
Why am I suddenly seeing a Osama-variant of the hair-waxing scene from the commercial for "The 40-year-old Virgin" ??
AND. . . when yanking beard hairs out, would Osama ALSO scream "Kelly Clarkson" ?????? (evil grin)
You are exactly right. I find it difficult to put my anger and frustration into words but it makes me really sad to see this is what has become of our country as far as some are concerned.
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