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."
Its not rocket science. What you are seeing is the end of the Democrap party, which is morphing into an extremist militant leftist party.
Know your enemy. The destruction of Slick is great, but few fathom the reason why, even when its staring them in the face.
He lied then; he lies now. He has always lied.
From your lips to God's ears.....
Thanks for the addition.
All slick willy was doing was following the lead of his hero - Jack Kennedy. Didn’t the Kennedy brothers (all three of them) hire the mob to get rid of Castro after all of their military-political moves had failed to do so?
Serious question here folks. But, I am still wearing my Nomex so have fun.
It was a no-bid contract with Halliburton, and as usual they padded the books and didn't perform. At least that's what Slick Willie is saying now.
Bill baby, you can't defend the indefensible. Save your breath, it's over for you. You don't look so good.
The AP has been playing the part of "Bill Clinton's favorite intern" since 1991, if not earlier.
Thats because it is. He has never in his life had a tough interview. He is a gutless coward, and now you can see how he panics when the truth unfolds before his eyes!
Yes. Vince Foster. Hmmm.
Who do you think put John Dean as head of the DNC? They replaced Terry MacAuliffe who was a topnotch money getter with Dean. Why?
The left has always been master deceivers who celebrate the lie and honor the liars. They were the authors of "The Big Lie". They can't survive if telling the truth.
They know America will not elect the kind of leftist you describe and that the leaders of the Democrat Party have come to represent. That is why in order to get one of their own, Hillary, a true extremist, into office they must make her look different. They must seem to oppose her when they actually support her. They know she is one of them but they need to fool the mushy-middle, the moderates.
Know your enemy. The destruction of Slick is great, but few fathom the reason why, even when its staring them in the face.
Slick has not been destroyed. We have had about fifteen years to destroy Slick and Slickette. All is known about them but few know it. Only the listeners of conservative talk radio and of Internet sites like Free Republic really know the truth about them. The majority of the population either doesn't pay attention to the news except maybe the local weather, or get it from the newspapers, magazines, or network news. We know the view they get from there and it is not Clinton expose's.
The Path to Iraq wasn't that bad on Clinton and they demonetized even that. It also "forgave" Slick by criticizing Bush, too, so it wasn't harmful to Hillary. We think Hillary can't be elected because of all the dirt available on her. The same was true of Gore but the Republicans didn't use it and the media certainly didn't bring it up. They will cover for the Clintons just as they always have.
We both see the same strategy but interpret it differently.
algore?
Well put. Even though you're not predisposed to conspiracy theories in general, you have to talk in such terms when a murder conspiracy is about the only way to logically explain the credible evidence. Exhibit A: the death of Vincent Foster!
With every move he (and his evil wife) make, and with every word they utter, I am more convinced that they are quite literally of the devil.
I believe these traitors are as evil as any of the infamous tyrants throughout history, and have a peerless ability to deceive masses of naive, ignorant people.
May Bill and Hillary Clinton find their well-earned place in hell long before they are allowed back into the power they so need and crave -- and had -- before GWB swept them out.
AP contributor Karen Matthews works in the AP’s New York City bureau
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.