Posted on 09/26/2006 9:05:47 AM PDT by areafiftyone
WASHINGTON - Former advisers ridiculed ex-President Bill Clinton yesterday for saying he had a plan to invade Afghanistan, topple the Taliban and kill Osama Bin Laden after jihadists nearly sank the destroyer Cole.
"The only order we got from [Clinton] after the Cole was to put together a target list for air attacks," said Michael Scheuer, who led the CIA's hunt for Osama Bin Laden under Clinton.
"What I was involved in could in no way be called a full-fledged plan to attack and overthrow the Taliban," he said.
In his fiery interview on "Fox News Sunday," Clinton claimed he did more than President Bush to get Bin Laden before 9/11, disclosing that he had a secret plan to invade Afghanistan and wipe out the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Clinton insisted he never ordered that invasion because the CIA and FBI could not "certify" that Bin Laden was involved in the Oct. 12, 2000, attack on the Cole in a Yemeni harbor.
Scheuer, who wrote the book "Imperial Hubris," said he met every 10 days with top members of Clinton's anti-terror team and plans for an invasion were never presented or discussed.
He also lashed out at Clinton for blaming subordinates for the failure to get Bin Laden, saying they had 10 chances to kill or capture the terror kingpin before 9/11.
"I was responsible for sending men and women into harm's way to get information he didn't use," Scheuer added.
Fran Townsend, a former top intelligence adviser in Clinton's Justice Department and now Bush's anti-terror czar, rolled her eyes when asked about Clinton's invasion plan.
"There were lots of things that seemed new" in Clinton's recollections on Fox, Townsend said.
Still, Team Clinton stood by its story. "A plan existed, but the ability to act on it was not corroborated by intelligence until after President Clinton left office," said Clinton spokesman Jay Carson.
P.J. Crowley, spokesman for Clinton's National Security Council and a retired Air Force officer with a security clearance, said many contingency plans existed at the Pentagon.
"It wasn't that there was a lack of plans, it's that there was a lack of actionable intelligence," Crowley said.
Scheuer and a retired senior FBI official agreed that they knew almost immediately that Al Qaeda was behind the Cole bombing. "We all said this was definitely Bin Laden," the ex-FBI official said. "But we couldn't take it to court and get an indictment."
Two sources that Clinton repeatedly cited in the Fox interview - the 9/11 commission report and Richard Clarke's book, "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror" - never mention plans to invade Afghanistan.
Originally published on September 26, 2006
Jay Carson......a Liar's paid liar.
why let facts get in the way of a good finger wagging...
Clinton remembered burning churches in Arkansas when he grew up, too. Not a single one was ever documented.
bump
P.J. Crowley, spokesman for Clinton's National Security Council and a retired Air Force officer with a security clearance, said many contingency plans existed at the Pentagon.
"It wasn't that there was a lack of plans, it's that there was a lack of actionable intelligence," Crowley said.
Sounds like this Crowley is also a Bill Clinton Buttboy as well.
Clinton sounded like a drowning fool flailing about for a lifeboat; every word he spoke reeked with the stench of untruth.
Clinton and Kerry have lots in common it would seem...
What a pathetic POTUS he was... Almost as pathetic as Carter!!! (see my tagline)
I see a tripod in your future! LOL
I had a really crappy morning - all these Clinton stories have cheered me right up!
The 'toons are collapsing under the weight of their own crap!
_________________________________________________ "Al qaeda grew while Monica blew"
Gary Schroen who wrote Jawbreaker was on with Blitzer yesterday and he said Clinton KNEW that bin Laden was responsible for the Cole bombing in December of 2000.
Maybe seared in his brain.
Well, well; yet another lie to add to the pile.
"Yeah, thats the ticket! We had a plan to take him out but those idiots didn't do it".
And they wonder why the military hates them.
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