Lead Editorial in SF Chronicle

www.Chronwatch.com ^ | September 21, 2002 | Jim Sparkman

[TCSparkman]

Lead Editorial "Our Pathetic Spy Game" Is Pathetic

By the ChronWatch Editor, Jim Sparkman Saturday, September 21, 2002

The editors of the Chronicle keep putting stuff in their lead editorials that just has to be answered. The Friday editorial on the failures of our intelligence agencies is so typical of the liberal mind-set. Liberals--and that includes the Chron--put up every roadblock they can dream up for the U.S. intelligence activities: racial profiling, protecting civil liberties, Ashcroft is "all bad," protection of minority groups through their victimology reporting, etc. Note the editorial's words:

SINCE THE mid-1990s, Osama bin Laden lurked on the horizon as a terrorist on the rise. A string of anti-American attacks overseas was traced to him, his zealous followers and a worldwide base of operations.

With this foe looming, what was the reaction from U.S. intelligence agencies? A string of warnings that met with mealy decisions and half-baked steps, according to a damning review by a congressional intelligence panel.

The report has the advantage of 20-20 hindsight, of course, and its authors admit that even if all the famous dots were connected, the jets might still have struck on Sept. 11. In specific terms, there was no direct evidence that U.S. intelligence gatherers knew the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks were coming on the fateful day. Also, the panel is silent on who should be accountable for the worst sneak attack since Pearl Harbor.

But the study remains a revelation. There were plenty of indicators about where bin Laden's mind was headed. A growing fascination with airplane attacks, terrorist teams based here, tips, intercepted messages and flight school training were topics and clues that U.S. spy agencies knew about.

The editorial mentions Clinton, but only as a passing reference. Moreover, the Chron says it was tough enough to connect the dots with 20-20 hindsight. Here's a thought, Chron. Maybe the Clinton era emphasis on political correctness, diversity and hysteria over racial profiling contributed to the lax response. After all, that would have meant aggressively targeting Muslims and other minorities. Could you see Clinton or Gore enthusiastically embracing such a recommendation from the FBI or CIA?

Would the Clinton-era FBI or CIA even had dared make such a move? Of course not. Yes, our intelligence was a failure, but our Clinton-era obsesssion with racial political correctness contributed to this attack. Only if the Bush administration shakes off the carpings of the diversity-left will we win the war on terrorism. Bin Laden and his successors are counting on our liberal friends in the media and the courts to help his sleeper terrorist cells infest this country unhindered by the FBI and law enforcement. Only when we shake off the remmants of the "diversity" era, will we win this war.

And, let's face it, the Chron is one of the primary promoters of this diversity nonsense. They must share the blame for the resulting dampening effect it has on our terrorist intelligence activity.

For the full editorial: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/09/20/ED243352.DTL

[TCSparkman]

I don't understand why it is so important for The Chron to blame 9/11 on Bush. Most of Bin Laden's planning had to occur while Clinton was President, yet he is blameless, yet his was the administration that took the teeth out of our intelligence agencies.

Thanks, Chronwatch for setting the record straight.

[fire and forget]

Not to mention, among many other things, the fact that Clinton fluffed at least one solid opportunity to nab bin laden during his administration.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Maybe you should reconsider using the term fluffing and Clinton in the same sentence?LOL

[Cultural Jihad]

I think their headline on September 12, 2001 was: "300 Gays Killed in New York!"

[gaspar]

With the first Trade Tower bombing in 1993 the cat was out of the bag on Bin Ladin, Al Qaida, and the Sudan as the home of international terrorism. This was followed by the Somalia debacle in which Al Qaida and OBL played a major role. Then there was the AQ and OBL activity in Yemen, Eritrea, Chechnya and Bosnia in 1994. Then there was the failed attempted assasination of Egypt's Mubarak in Ethiopia in 1995, a AQ caper. Then there was the Khobar towers bombing in 1996 and the OBL "Manifesto" declaring war on the USA. What the Hell else was needed?

[bat-boy]

Also, the panel is silent on who should be accountable for the worst sneak attack since Pearl Harbor.

This is the most outrageous of all if you ask me. There ARE people responsible, and Congress knows who they are. For whatever reason though, they choose not to act by firing these clowns.

If people want to learn of the names of those responsible, all they have to do is read "Breakdown" by Bill Gertz. He names names. The folks named, for the most part, are nobodies. Incompetent beaurucrats in positions of authority they have no business being in. These incompetent boobs completely ignored evidence provided to them by subordinates.

If anyone wants to learn what happened, then I would highly suggest Gertz's book. By the time you are finished, I can guarantee that you will be more than outraged. If for no other reason than because these same folks are still in positions of authority.

[rambo316]

The Chronicle is a leftist venomous spewing rag.

[SteveH]

The editorial mentions Clinton, but only as a passing reference.

I did not see it on the page currently posted on sfgate.com.