Morris: Clinton Oblivious to Khobar Towers Terror Alert

Newsmax/ Hannity Show ^ | Nov. 13, 2001 | Newsmax Staff

[spycatcher]

Former chief White House political advisor Dick Morris revealed Tuesday that his former boss Bill Clinton cared so little about global terrorism that his own Assistant Secretary of State had trouble getting him to pay attention to a bomb threat against the Khobar Towers Air Force barracks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

"In 1996, I got a phone call from Dick Holbrooke," Morris told WABC Radio's Sean Hannity. "He said, 'We're getting hard intelligence that terrorists are planning another hit on our guys in Riyadh.... They're in the exact same building they were in when it was hit last time.'"

In June 1996 the Khobar Towers military barracks had been hit by a suicide bomber believed sent by Osama bin Laden, killing 19 American airmen.

Months later, after the barracks had been repaired, U.S. military personnel reoccupied it. Holbrooke told Morris that the new U.S.A.F. tenants were "sitting ducks in that building," and then added:

"I've been trying to get a hold of the president for two weeks about this and we're getting increasing reports about (the threat). Can you call him?"

Morris said that when he reached Clinton about Holbrooke's warning, the president began cursing and complained, "You mean they're still in that building? I ordered six weeks ago for them to be dispersed."

Clinton said he would take care of the problem at a meeting with the Joint Chiefs the next day, Morris recalled. "But he didn't follow it up," the top political strategist noted. "He didn't know whether they were in the buildings or not. He was inaccessible so the guy who knew (about the threat) couldn't be in touch with him."

Morris told Hannity the oversight was typical of the way the administration worked. "Clinton was a one-issue-at-a-time guy," he said, adding that the only foreign policy issue that seemed to engage him was Bosnia.

The reference to Bosnia prompted this exchange:

HANNITY: The only time he paid attention to foreign policy was when he had Monica working -- who was he speaking, what Alabama congressman?

MORRIS: Yeah, right. But the - well, he spoke to me on one of those.....

HANNITY: Ahhhwwww!

MORRIS: He did. No, no, I'm in the Starr Report. I'm one of the four conversations (where Clinton had sex with Lewinsky while talking to others on the phone).

Citing another example of Clinton's lax attitude towards terrorism, the former White House political guru noted his boss never visited the World Trade Center after it was bombed in February 1993.

"When the bombing happened, he just issued a statement saying we'll fight them and all that. And then he gave it his Saturday radio address.... It was never a big priority."

During Clinton's second term, Morris said he was "terribly, terribly and totally distracted by impeachment. There was no way that he was going to pay enough attention to an issue like terrorism."

"In the second term," Morris said, "we didn't have a president. Now, was it his fault for Monica? Was it the Republicans' fault for impeaching? Was it his fault for not resigning? Who knows.

"But the fact is the United States didn't have a president for two years and that's why."

[ladyinred]

Would you send your list here?

[Moridin]

Yes, but the implication was his ability to multi-task.

[spycatcher]

Sadly no generals resigned on principle either. You would have thought we might have some real leaders left in the military.

[spycatcher]

I was expecting to see Bill smiling at Yassir and Hillary kissing Arafat's wife in the middle of that collage

[eFudd]

Sadly no generals resigned on principle either.

Sadly no generals took their oath seriously . . . the part about enemies foreign and domestic

[jrlc]

The CLINTON LEGACY is simple. The war against Radical Islam started under Bush I and looks like it will be concluded under Bush II. In between we had some joker who played a saxophone and tried to convert the Oval Office into a BJ PARLOR.

[Rightly Biased]

"we didn't have a president for two years and thats why" We didnt have a president for 8 years and there are so many reasons why I'd run out of .... well you get the idea.

[doug from upland]

He spent his time in office covering his crimes, assaulting women, having phone sex, staining the carpeting in the Oval Office, playing cigar games, intimidating witnesses, killing cats, threatening children, committing perjury, and playing in his sink. From the archives, this is a good opportunity to bring this back:

MIDI - IT MUST HAVE BEEN LOVE

Lonely evenings…when my wife was…with a woman…once again
Has she been a lezbo…all of her lifetime…has she always…hated men…hated men

I will miss your porcelain glow…very much

I love you my sink…but it’s over now
I love you my sink…more than Monica Cow
I love you my sink…but it’s over now
I must carry on…I will do it somehow

January’s…fast approaching…Bush will be here…it’s the end
Interns gave me pleasure…but nothing like you…it is silly to pretend

So I will miss your porcelain glow…so very much

I love you my sink…but it’s over now
Love you my sink…more than Monica Cow
I love you my sink…but it’s over now
I’ll try to carry on…somehow I’ll carry on

(short musical interlude)

I love you my sink…but it’s over now
I love you my sink…more than Monica Cow
I love you my sink…but it’s over now
Yes, I must carry on, I know…I’ll do it somehow

I’ll miss you my little sink…what are you gonna do
I am so afraid that I’m gonna see…they will be trashing you

I love you my sink…but it’s over now
You were my soulmate…you were my soulmate

I still love you
I love you my sink
I love you my sink
I still love you

=======================================

Note: for those from the RAT brigade who say that I still obsess about Clinton, you are damned right. I screamed about what he was doing to this nation for 8 long, excruciatingly painful years. I said on many occasions that the damage he was doing was incalculable. Never forget 9-11-01. He didn't give a damn about terrorism. He was too busy calculating how to fix a federal sexual harassment lawsuit so a woman would not get her day in court. He was too busy filling his big bulbous red nose with cocaine. We didn't have a president. We had a pervert who wanted to be a rock star. Unfortunately, he wasn't playing in Vegas. He was playing in our White House. Damn all you RATS to hell for bringing this scourge onto this beloved nation.

[lawdude]

DFU speaks very eloquently and emotionally FOR ME TOO!

[Alabama_Wild_Man]

[kcvl]

THE UNITED STATES DIDN'T HAVE A PRESIDENT FOR EIGHT LOOOONNNNGGGG YEARS!!! Who does MORRIS think he's kidding?!

[kcvl]

DICK MORRIS SHOULD BE RUN OUT OF THE COUNTRY FOR KEEPING THE CLINTON'S SECRETS!!! He knows MORE than he will EVER tell! That also includes Begala, Stephy, the not-so-bright-Albright, Reno, Richardson, Cohen, the MORON (let me make three points)Slater, Lindsey, Mills, etc., etc., etc.......Just thinking about these people makes my head hurt.

[aristeides]

Exactly. Jim Woolsey was Director of Central Intelligence the first two years of the Clinton administration. He was able to get a meeting with Clinton three times over those two years.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Just another RAT jumping ship. These folks have no principles, therefore, no loyalty to anyone or anything except themselves.

[Howlin]

He was able to get a meeting with Clinton three times over those two years.

Clinton did away with the daily national security briefings. He thought they were "boring."

[MHGinTN]

Ya know, I think it's terrible that sinkEmperor blackmailed the Senate Republicans to keep from being removed, to prevent the nation from having the trial the people required constitutionally ... but I'm even more pissed that the perfidious republicans could be blackmailed when it is MY NATION they were selling out! I'm sick of the whole Lott of them, the perverted bastards!

It is the gelatinous spined Senate pubbies that we have to thank for there being no trial of the deviant in chief, the sub-deviant Republicans abrogated their oath of office and the oath they took to do justice in the Senate. "Oh, but the Democrats did too," you say. And I reply, "Yes, but it is expect that criminals like the democrat party will sell their souls for power; the damn two faced pubbies tried to present themselves as different from the criminal enterprise democrat party."

[Concentrate]

Note: for those from the RAT brigade who say that I still obsess about Clinton, you are damned right. I screamed about what he was doing to this nation for 8 long, excruciatingly painful years. I said on many occasions that the damage he was doing was incalculable. Never forget 9-11-01. He didn't give a damn about terrorism. He was too busy calculating how to fix a federal sexual harassment lawsuit so a woman would not get her day in court. He was too busy filling his big bulbous red nose with cocaine. We didn't have a president. We had a pervert who wanted to be a rock star. Unfortunately, he wasn't playing in Vegas. He was playing in our White House. Damn all you RATS to hell for bringing this scourge onto this beloved nation.

Let's say it again, bump.

[Concentrate]

You are so right. And let me take this opportunity to say that I agree with all of your posts I have read up to this point. And that don't come easy. Keep up the good work!

[Skybird]

Generals did resign on principle. Chief of Staff (e.g. the top AF general), General Ron Fogleman "retired early" after SECDEF Cohen wanted a fall guy and zeroed in on Brig Gen Schwalier (commander at Khobar Towers) following the barracks destruction. Cohen wanted to hang Schwalier out to dry after the incident and Fogleman stood up to him. Schwalier had little, if any, current intel but suffered the wrath.

Fogleman was immensely popular with the troops and viewed as one of the best chiefs the AF had in years. His so-called early retirement (polite for "resignation") would be like a General Hap Arnold or Curtis LeMay leaving early. Once again, the press swept over this news.

Another group of about two dozen mid-level generals resigned en masse as a group at the Pentagon; Cohen threatened them and it, too, was not brought to light.

[spycatcher]

I guess what I mean is that they should have publicly resigned on *principle* meaning "I will not serve under this commander for the following reason(s)...he's a cancer to our nation, etc."

Americans would have not re-elected Clinton had our military woke them up a bit to actual consequences of their vote.