Wallace: When we announced that you were going to be on Fox News Sunday, I got a lot of e-mail from viewers. And I have to say I was surprised, most of them wanted me to ask you this question. Why didn't you do more to put bin Laden and al-Qaeda out of business when you were president? There's a new book out, I suspect you may have already read, called The Looming Tower. And it talks about the fact that when you pulled troops out of Somalia in 1993, bin Laden said "I have seen the frailty and the weakness and the cowardice of U.S. troops." Then there was the bombing of the embassies in Africa and the attack on the Cole.
Clinton: OK let's just --
Wallace: May I just finish the question sir? And after the attack, the book says, that bin Laden separated his leaders, spread them around because he expected an attack and there was no response. I understand that hindsight is always 20/20 --
Clinton: No, let's talk about it.
Wallace: But the question is, why didn't you connect the dots and put him out of business?
Clinton: Let's talk about it. I will answer all those things on the merits, but first I want to talk about the context in which this arises. I'm being asked this on the FOX network. ABC just had a right-wing conservative running their little pathway to 9/11, falsely claiming it was based on the 9/11 commission report with three things asserted against me directly contradictory to the 9/11 commission report. And I think it's very interesting that all the conservative Republicans who
now say I didn't do enough claim that I was too obsessed with bin Laden.
All of President Bush's neo-cons that I was too obsessed with bin Laden, they had no meetings on bin Laden for nine months after I left office. All the right wingers who now say I didn't do enough, said
I did too much, the same people. They were all trying to get me to withdraw from Somalia in 1993 the next day after we were involved in Black Hawk Down and I refused to do it and stayed six months and had an orderly transfer to the United Nations.
OK, now let's look at all the criticisms, Black Hawk Down, Somalia, there is not a living soul in the
world who thought Osama bin Laden had anything to do with Black Hawk Down or was paying any attention to it, or even knew al-Qaeda was a going concern in October 93.
Wallace: I understand.
Clinton: No, no, wait. Don't tell me that -- you asked me why didn't I do more to bin Laden, there was not a living soul, all the people who now criticize me wanted to leave the next day. You brought this up, so you get an answer. But you -- secondly ...
Wallace: .. bin Laden says, but it showed the weakness of the United States.
Clinton: Bin Laden may have said it -- but it would have shown the weakness if we left right away. But he wasn't involved in that, that's just a bunch of bull. That was about Muhammad Aidid, a Muslim warlord, murdering 22 Pakistani Muslim troops. We were all there on a humanitarian mission; we had no mission, none, to establish a certain kind of Somali government or keep anybody out. He was not a religious fanatic ...
Wallace: Mr. President ...
Clinton: ... there was no al-Qaeda ...
Wallace: With respect, if I may, instead of going through '93 and ...
Clinton: No, no -- you asked it. You brought it up.
Wallace: May I ask you (INAUDIBLE) question, and then you can answer?
Clinton: Yes.
Wallace: The 9/11 commission, which you talk about -- and this is what they did say, not what ABC pretended they said ...
Clinton: What did they say?
Wallace: They said, about you and President Bush, and I quote, "The U.S. government took the threat seriously, but not in the sense of mustering anything like the kind of effort that would be gathered to confront an enemy of the first, second or even third rank."
Clinton: First of all, that's not true with us and bin Laden.
Wallace: Well, I'm telling ... (CROSS TALK)
Clinton: Let's see what Richard Clarke said. Do you think Richard Clarke has a vigorous attitude about bin Laden?
Wallace: Yes, I do.
Clinton: You do, don't you?
Wallace: He has a variety of opinions and loyalties, but yes. (CROSS TALK)
Clinton: He has a variety of opinions and loyalties now, but let's look at the facts: he worked for Ronald Reagan, he was loyal with him; he worked for George H.W. Bush, he was loyal to him; he worked for me, and he was loyal to me; he worked for President Bush, he was loyal to him. They downgraded him and the terrorist operation.
Now, look what he said -- read his book and read his factual assertions -- not opinions, assertions. He said we took vigorous action after the African embassies, we probably nearly got bin Laden ...
Wallace: But what ...
Clinton: Now, wait a minute -- wait, wait, wait. (CROSS TALK)
No, no -- I authorized the CIA to get groups together to try to kill him. The CIA was run by George Tenet that President (Bush) gave the medal of freedom to, and he said he did a good job setting up all these counter terrorism things. The country never had a comprehensive anti-terror operation until I came there.
Now if you want to criticize me for one thing, you can criticize me for this: after the Cole, I had battle plans drawn to go into Afghanistan, overthrow the Taliban and launch a full-scale attack search for bin Laden. But we needed basing rights in Uzbekistan -- which we got after 9/11. The CIA and the FBI refused to certify that bin Laden was responsible. While I was there, they refused to certify. So that meant I would have had to send a few hundred special forces in in helicopters, refuel at night. Even the 9/11 commission didn't do that.
Now, the 9/11 commission was a political document, too. All I'm asking is, anybody that wants to say I didn't do enough, you read Richard Clarke's book ...
Wallace: Do you think you did enough, sir?
Clinton: No, because I didn't get him.
Wallace: Right.
Clinton: But at least I tried. That's the difference in me and some, including all of the right-wingers who are attacking me now. They ridiculed me for trying. They had eight months to try, they did not try. I tried. So I tried and failed. When I failed, I left a comprehensive anti-terror strategy and the best guy in the country, Dick Clark, who got demoted.
THE FULL TRANSCRIPT IS STUNNING
Post 249. MG, Petronski, that is unbelievable. It's worse than I thought it could possibly be! Chris Wallace didn't do anything but give clinton the rope. Bwhahaha!
"Let's see what Richard Clarke said."
Richard Clarke said, "We failed you", and then proceeded to blame the Bush Administration, and not himself.
OMG! That almost reads like a parody! Thank you for the transcript.
That puts his comments on the youtube bit in better perspective
DEVASTATING
Thanks for posting them.
Seems Chris poked a nerve, and Billy jumped-hard.
As Hank Hill would say: "That Boy ain't Right"
Put that on a thread all by itself...........so we can rip it apart. I'm ready.
Wallace: Do you think you did enough, sir?
Clinton: No, because I didn't get him.
Wallace: Right.
Bottom line, Clinton didn't do enough and so didn't get him.
Gosh I don't remember claiming that clinton was too obsessed.....not with bin laden anyway, do you? Nor do I remember telling him to get out of Somalia. I think we wanted to go in there and kick a$$.
Many thanks for posting!
Clinton: Bin Laden may have said it -- but it would have shown the weakness if we left right away.
Bubba is a pathetic, lost, broken man. Oh the psychoanalysis of it all.
So the Bill Clinton I know has decided to come out and play.
The very same Bill Clinton that turned me away from the Democrat Party with his moral depravity. Damn wrinkled crooked wagging finger and all.
Welcome back Mr. President. The real Bill Clinton in all his glory on display this Sunday. The very same that dragged the Democrat party, willingly as most of them may have been, through the mud and they've continued sinking since.
And the Democrats wonder why they lost the majority they owned. They should watch Clinton this Sunday. Then maybe they'll find out why my parents switched parties, and why I ceased supporting the Democrat party. And why millions switched party identification after his turn in office. Why they've lost the Faith vote. Why they've lost the South. Why they are losing former Democrat strongholds that used to be the base of the Dem party. That kept the party sane and protected from the nutjobs that now control it as the rational Americans leave them in disgust.
I hate that finger and everything it stands for and will NEVER forget the President of the United States standing before the country and lying to our face. I will never forget his assessing of the reception his lie received right before he left the room to run the poll figures. Nor will I forgive.
At this point it doesn't even matter to me that he was clearly incompetant for the position or that he wants to re-write istory. What mattered to me then most, and what matters to me now, is that he dishonors that office and the People of this country with his selfishness and lies. Most of all the lies. I'd rather the most vile words come from his mouth then hear another wagging lie be whispered.
It comes down to character for me. Always has. And whatever else Bill Clinton may be, he is a Liar.
"Few days ago the news agencies had reported that the Defence Secretary of the Crusading Americans had said that "the explosion at Riyadh and Al-Khobar had taught him one lesson: that is not to withdraw when attacked by coward terrorists".
"We say to the Defence Secretary that his talk can induce a grieving mother to laughter! and shows the fears that had enshrined you all. Where was this false courage of yours when the explosion in Beirut took place on 1983 AD (1403 A.H). You were turned into scattered pits and pieces at that time; 241 mainly marines solders were killed. And where was this courage of yours when two explosions made you to leave Aden in lees than twenty four hours! "
"But your most disgraceful case was in Somalia; where- after vigorous propaganda about the power of the USA and its post cold war leadership of the new world order- you moved tens of thousands of international force, including twenty eight thousands American solders into Somalia. However, when tens of your solders were killed in minor battles and one American Pilot was dragged in the streets of Mogadishu you left the area carrying disappointment, humiliation, defeat and your dead with you. Clinton appeared in front of the whole world threatening and promising revenge , but these threats were merely a preparation for withdrawal. You have been disgraced by Allah and you withdrew; the extent of your impotence and weaknesses became very clear. It was a pleasure for the "heart" of every Muslim and a remedy to the "chests" of believing nations to see you defeated in the three Islamic cities of Beirut , Aden and Mogadishu."
Clinton knew that AQ and Somalia were related. He is the one who changed the mission. He is the one who fled fueling bin Laden's assertion that the US was a paper tiger. And we were through Khobar Towers, the bombing of our Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the USS Cole.
Let's do just that!
See my post above!
Now if you want to criticize me for one thing, you can criticize me for this: after the Cole, I had battle plans drawn to go into Afghanistan, overthrow the Taliban and launch a full-scale attack search for bin Laden.
I wish for just ONE MINUTE Jim Robinson would let us use profanity.
There was NO "battle plan" for the USS Cole!
He is parsing again; notice Wallace asked him about Somlia and he tried to narrow it to Black Hawk down; and he most certainly did END THE MISSION the very next day!
He has gone from media darling to a reprehensible turd in about a months time.( I love it, but why?)
THIS you GOTTA know.
This is the worlk of the Howard Deans, The Michael Moores and the lefist extremists of the DNC.
The left wing Dems do not want Hillary Clinton to win the presiudential nomination in 2008. She is for continued military intervention in the Middle East.
The sudden change in the MSM is to deny Hillary the fund raising weight of her husband in her campaign for the presidency. Howard Dean controls the purse strings of the DNC, and now the Leftist MSM has decided merely telling the truth will end Hillary's chances for serious fundraising with Slick, and end any chance she might have of being widely accepted as a viable candidate for the presidencey, religating her to a female version of Senator Ted Kennedy.
So long Hillary, but BEWARE! A militant socialist appeaser of Islamofascism will be sure to take her place in the running for the Dimwit presidential nomination.
Such is the plan of the trecherous,traitorous Dimwit party.