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Clinton defends himself in Fox interview
Associated Press ^ | 09/24/06

Posted on 09/24/2006 7:23:51 PM PDT by presidio9

In a combative interview on "Fox News Sunday," former President Clinton defended his handling of the threat posed by Osama bin Laden, saying he tried to have bin Laden killed and was attacked for his efforts by the same people who now criticize him for not doing enough.

"That's the difference in me and some, including all of the right-wingers who are attacking me now," Clinton said in the interview. "They ridiculed me for trying. They had eight months to try, they did not try."

Clinton accused host Chris Wallace of a "conservative hit job" and asked: "I want to know how many people in the Bush administration you asked, 'Why didn't you do anything about the Cole?' I want to know how many people you asked, 'Why did you fire Dick Clarke?'"

He was referring to the USS Cole, attacked by terrorists in Yemen in 2000, and former White House anti-terrorism chief Richard A. Clarke.

Wallace said Sunday he was surprised by Clinton's "conspiratorial view" of "a very non-confrontational question, 'Did you do enough to connect the dots and go after Al Qaida?'"

"All I did was ask him a question, and I think it was a legitimate news question. I was surprised that he would conjure up that this was a hit job," Wallace said in a telephone interview.

Clinton said he "worked hard" to try to kill bin Laden.

"We contracted with people to kill him. I got closer to killing him than anybody's gotten since," he said.

He told Wallace, "And you got that little smirk on your face and you think you're so clever, but I had responsibility for trying to protect this country. I tried and I failed to get bin Laden. I regret it, but I did try and I did everything I thought I responsibly could."

The interview was taped Friday during Clinton's three-day Global Initiative conference.

On NBC's "Meet the Press," also taped Friday and aired Sunday, Clinton told interviewer Tim Russert that the biggest problem confronting the world today is "the illusion that our differences matter more than our common humanity."

"That's what's driving the terrorism," he said. "It's not just that there's an unresolved Arab-Israeli conflict. Osama Bin Laden and Dr. al-Zawahiri can convince young Sunni Arab men, who have — and some women — who have despairing conditions in their lives, that they get a one-way ticket to heaven in a hurry if they kill a lot of innocent people who don't share their reality."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government; Israel; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: binladen; chriswallace; clinton; clintonlegacy; formerfirstrapist; foxnewschannel; heletbinladengo; republicannonsense; smirkforthebigjerk; x42
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1 posted on 09/24/2006 7:23:52 PM PDT by presidio9
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To: presidio9
President Clinton, in a February 2002 speech to the Long Island Association, said that the United States did not accept a Sudanese offer and take Bin Ladin because there was no indictment. President Clinton speech to the Long Island Association, Feb. 15, 2002 (videotape of speech). But the President told us that he had “misspoken” and was, wrongly, recounting a number of press stories he had read.After reviewing this matter in preparation for his Commission meeting, President Clinton told us that Sudan never offered to turn Bin Ladin over to the United States.President Clinton meeting (Apr.8, 2004). Berger told us that he saw no chance that Sudan would have handed Bin Ladin over and also noted that in 1996, the U.S. government still did not know of any al Qaeda attacks on U.S. citizens. Samuel Berger interview (Jan. 14, 2004).
2 posted on 09/24/2006 7:24:59 PM PDT by P-40 (Al Qaeda was working in Iraq. They were just undocumented.)
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To: presidio9

Hallucination on parade!
Go BJ


3 posted on 09/24/2006 7:25:17 PM PDT by acapesket (never had a vote count in all my years here)
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To: presidio9

"I tried harder than any man on earth before me to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden

4 posted on 09/24/2006 7:25:40 PM PDT by A CA Guy (God Bless America, God bless and keep safe our fighting men and women.)
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To: A CA Guy

You seem like a creative guy, any chance you could put the following together and post it at YOUTUBE.com?

Do you know what I would like to see on YOUTUBE.com? I'd love it if someone could put together side-by-side screens: on the left, the footage of Bill Clinton emphatically stating that he did not have sex with that woman & on the right, Bill Clinton emphatically stating that he did all he could to bring Osama to justice. I swear he has the same angry posturing and facial features in both because HE KNOWS HE'S LYING while the words are coming out of his mouth. If you didn't put sound to either one, it would look identical. Just put subtitles under each and call it LYING AGAIN!


5 posted on 09/24/2006 7:27:41 PM PDT by anonsquared
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To: A CA Guy

I really love the title of the AP story.
They act like tough questions of Clinton is somehow an "attack".


6 posted on 09/24/2006 7:28:11 PM PDT by roostercogburn
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Comment #7 Removed by Moderator

To: anonsquared; Froufrou

8 posted on 09/24/2006 7:29:28 PM PDT by presidio9 (Make Mohammed's day: Shoot a nun in the back.)
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To: roostercogburn

He pointed the Slick Willie fickled finger of fate and tried to fabricate the past and his legacy.


9 posted on 09/24/2006 7:29:59 PM PDT by A CA Guy (God Bless America, God bless and keep safe our fighting men and women.)
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To: presidio9
He was referring to the USS Cole, attacked by terrorists in Yemen in 2000...

Yeah! If Bush cares so much about national security, why doesn't he travel back in time, take over the Oval Office, and let Clinton focus on Monica? Idiot.

10 posted on 09/24/2006 7:30:23 PM PDT by RedRover (Stand up and be counted: Johnstown, PA, October first!)
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To: RedRover

The story tries to add to Clinton's claim that it was a hit piece by Wallace.
The media continues to sicken me.


11 posted on 09/24/2006 7:31:51 PM PDT by roostercogburn
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To: presidio9
"We contracted with people to kill him."

Has anyone but me thought this line was the most thought provoking line in the interview? Who was "contracted"? Was that "contract" legal? Did those "contractors" fail or did they sabotage the effort? Where are they now? Are they still on the job? Did GWB stop that effort? I could think of many more questions but you get the point. I believe this line needs serious investigation.
12 posted on 09/24/2006 7:31:52 PM PDT by hophead ("Enjoy Every Sandwich")
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To: A CA Guy

I could have done without the red drips ... but the nose is a nice touch!


13 posted on 09/24/2006 7:32:16 PM PDT by BunnySlippers (Never Forget)
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To: BunnySlippers

He's got a lot of blood on his hands, we don't ever see the tens of thousands of bodies he has probably caused either Bunny.

I know it is tough to see, but that is about 3% of reality IMO, but I do get your point as well. :-)


14 posted on 09/24/2006 7:33:40 PM PDT by A CA Guy (God Bless America, God bless and keep safe our fighting men and women.)
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To: presidio9
"We contracted with people to kill him. I got closer to killing him than anybody's gotten since," he said.

Foreign policy by hit man

Leave it to Bill to come up with this.

15 posted on 09/24/2006 7:33:44 PM PDT by CaptRon (Pedecaris alive or Raisuli dead)
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To: presidio9

The Left Wing of the Dimocrap party wants Hillary gone.
1) They do not want any presidential candidate in favor of continued military intervention in Iraq , Afghanistan and possibly Iran and Israel.

2) Howard Deaniac, Vermont's Village Idiot, is in charge of the DNC purse strings and will see that Hillary gets very little money.

3) The MSM Slimes have congealed a uniform policy, prompted by Dimocrap leftists,to tell the truth about Slick Willy ( The Path to 9/11 and talk shows) so that his viability as a fund raiser for Hillary's presidential run will be weakened or destroyed.

Hillary Clinton will NEVER become POTUS.

We will get something much worse, if you can imagine that.

The Dems intend to nominate a socialist liberal for the Presidency, one who:

1) will preach the new age doctrine of Global Warming,

2) socialized control of industry,

3)socialized medicine,

4)the conversion of the US military into a minimally armed peace corps,

5)and the creation of hate speech laws which limit our freedom of speech(including blogs like free republic),

6) and a gun control policy which will require the registration of all firearms in the USA and a limitation on who can purchase guns ( only dems).

7) Lead an appeasement of Islamofascism policy through the UN.

8) Bring in an Equal rights Amendment to the Constitution for Women.

9) Make Lesbian and Homosexual Marriage a protected right

10) Allow continued unregulated migration by millions of Mexicans and South Americans into the USA.

That leftist Demoncrap Presidential candidate will be much worse than Hillary EVER hoped to be.

The Leftists Dims are now bent on the destruction of the Clintons for the benefit of their own leftist/socialist agenda.

But it also signals something far more ominous: militant leftist Democraps.

Watch for it.

Hillary and her husband are being destroyed politically as we watch, by the left wing of the Democrap party and their MSM running dogs.

I love it, but Beware the treacherous DNC.They have a leftist socialist agenda, and a candidate planned to foist it on the American people.


16 posted on 09/24/2006 7:33:58 PM PDT by Candor7 (Into Liberal flatulance goes the best hope of the West, and who wants to be a smart feller?)
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To: hophead
Who was "contracted"?

I assume he is talking about the Northern Alliance.
17 posted on 09/24/2006 7:34:35 PM PDT by P-40 (Al Qaeda was working in Iraq. They were just undocumented.)
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To: hophead
Who was "contracted"?

Every president has those people with whom they can "contract with" to do special work...for the country, of course.

18 posted on 09/24/2006 7:35:28 PM PDT by Snardius
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To: Hi-Tech Burrito
Did they watch the same show?

They know what they saw: They just know that they have nothing BUT a pretense of bravado to "defend" this low, trashy behavior.

19 posted on 09/24/2006 7:36:52 PM PDT by bannie (HILLARY: Not all perversions are sexual.)
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To: hophead
That line really is the most provocative in the entire interview. What he did is against the law. At first I thought he misspoke, but than he said it again. What an a$$ this guy is.
20 posted on 09/24/2006 7:37:28 PM PDT by CremeSaver (Clinton has ugly man-hands.)
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