Osama bin Laden and his terrorist related activities were well known to the United States by 1995. Clinton had an opportunity to catch him in the fall of 1998, but was unavailable. When he was finally reached, further consultation was needed with various secretaries. The two-hour window in which bin Laden could have been caught was lost.
In one of his most damning quotes Patterson opines, “This lost bin Laden hit typified the Clinton administration’s ambivalent, indecisive way of dealing with terrorism. Ideologically, the Clinton administration was committed to the idea that most terrorists were misunderstood, had legitimate grievances and could be appeased, which is why such military action as the administration authorized was so halfhearted, and ineffective, and designed more for ‘show’ than for honestly eliminating a threat.”
To read the whole thread, click
I seem to remember reading that Berger was really frustrated about the whole thing. As I recall, clintbilly purposely blew him off several times while he was partying somewhere.
I'll do a little more searching, and see if I can find that thread.