However, reading the book “Dereliction of Duty,” by Lt. Col. Robert “Buzz” Patterson, USAF (Ret.), former Air Force Aid to President Clinton, one of the ones who carried the “nuclear football” everywhere Clinton went, I ran across the following account;
“THE WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM was buzzing. It was fall 1998 and the National Security Council (NSC) and the "intelligence community" were tracking the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, the shadowy mastermind of terrorist attacks on American targets overseas. "They've successfully triangulated his location," yelled a "Sit Room" watch stander. "We've got him."
Beneath the West Wing of the White House, behind a vaulted steel door, the Sit Room staff sprang into action. The watch officer notified National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, “Sir, we've located bin Laden. We have a two-hour window to strike.”
Characteristic of the Clinton administration, the weapons of choice would be Tomahawk missiles. No clandestine "snatch" by our Special Operations Forces. No penetrating bombers or high speed fighter aircraft flown by our Air Force and Navy forces. No risk of losing American lives.
Berger ambled down the stairwell and entered the Sit Room. He picked up the phone at one of the busy controller consoles and called the president. Amazingly, President Clinton was not available. Berger tried again and again. Bin Laden was within striking distance. The window of opportunity was closing fast. The plan of attack was set and the Tomahawk crews were ready. For about an hour Berger couldn't get the commander in chief on the line. Though the president was always accompanied by military aides and the Secret Service, he was somehow unavailable. Berger stalked the Sit Room, anxious and impatient.
Finally, the president accepted Berger's call. There was discussion, there were pauses and no decision. The president wanted to talk with his secretaries of defense and state. He wanted to study the issue further. Berger was forced to wait. The clock was ticking. The president eventually called back. He was still indecisive. He wanted more discussion. Berger alternated between phone calls and watching the clock.
The NSC watch officer was convinced we had the right target. The intelligence sources were conclusive. The president, however, wanted a guaranteed hit or nothing at all.
This time, it was nothing at all. We didn't pull the trigger. We "studied" the issue until it was too late - the window of opportunity closed. Al-Qaeda's spiritual and organizational leader slipped through the noose.
This lost bin Laden hit typified the Clinton administration's ambivalent, indecisive way of dealing with terrorism. Ideologically, the Clinton administration was committed to the idea that most terrorists were misunderstood, had legitimate grievances, and could be appeased, which is why such military action as the administration authorized was so halfhearted, and ineffective, and designed more for "show" than for honestly eliminating a threat.”
Dereliction of Duty, page 129 –131, Lt. Col. Robert ‘Buzz” Patterson, USAF (Ret.) 2003, Regenery Publishing Inc., Air Force Aid to President Clinton, May 1996 to May 1998
Is this part of the deal Mansoor Ijaz tried to broker? Where has Mansoor been anyway? Surprised he hasn't been on TV talking about this movie.
"For about an hour Berger couldn't get the commander in chief on the line. Though the president was always accompanied by military aides............."
Not when he was getting a BJ.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since his military retirement in 2001, Buzz has emerged as a vitally important voice for the American military and national security.
As the author of New York Times best sellers,
Dereliction of Duty: How Bill Clinton Compromised America's National Security,
and his recent release, Reckless Disregard: How Liberal Democrats Undercut Our Military, Endanger Our Soldiers, and Jeopardize Our Security,
Buzz has established himself as a respected, frequently requested voice for national security and military affairs.
He is the national security columnist for the respected conservative weekly Front Page Magazine and can be seen and heard on talk shows and news events across the country. He hosts "The Buzz Cut," a weekly radio show for the RighTalk Radio Network streaming live and in replays at www.rightalk.com.
His new book War Crimes: The Left's Campaign to Eliminate the Military and Lose the War on Terror debuts with Crown Forum in September of 2006.
As a career Air Force pilot seeing combat duty in far flung locales such as Grenada, Bosnia, the Persian Gulf, Somalia and Rwanda, and serving as military aide at the right hand of President Bill Clinton, he has impeccable military bona fides. As the Air Force Aide to Clinton, he carried the "Nuclear Football."
"Today CBS issued this statement, 'Although the mini-series features impressive production values and acting performances, and although the producers have sources to verify each scene in the script, we believe it does not present a balanced portrayal of the Reagans for CBS and its audience.' Well, fine, but how could CBS green light the film in the first place knowing that the producers, the director and the featured actors are all left wing thinkers?"That would be like CBS commissioning a movie about the Clintons written by Rush Limbaugh and starring Dennis Miller and Ann Coulter. Do you think that would ever happen?"
Of course, that's uncannily close to what Disney actually did -- took a fictionalized script about the attacks on 9/11 written by a "good friend" of Rush Limbaugh, and figured that even though it flatly made up entire story themes and chains of fact, they'd just throw it up on the emotionally charged anniversary."
Hunter is not the sharpest knife in the Kosslack drawer. But his inability to discern the irony within his own worthless diary-rhea is so, so telling. Particularly looking forward to the Schadenfreudic sounds of his empty head-banging after the Pubs retain the House & Senate this fall...