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Clinton's War on Terror (Massive Clinton Spin Control)
Wash Post Page A-1 ^ | December 19, 2001 | Barton Gellman

Posted on 12/18/2001 7:36:57 PM PST by andrew

Edited on 09/03/2002 4:49:48 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

Two years ago, Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet phoned the White House. The agency had a lead, he said, on Osama bin Laden.

Reports linked the al Qaeda leader to a temporary encampment in southern Afghanistan. Overhead photographs showed a well-equipped caravan of the sort used by hunters, a commanding figure at its center, and an entourage of escorts bearing arms.


(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS:
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This article and spin were inevitable and the main beneficiary is the Queen herself.
1 posted on 12/18/2001 7:36:57 PM PST by andrew
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To: andrew
What a bunch of crap!!!!

Next they'll tell us that Neville Chamberlain got "peace in our time" from Hitler, and WWII was just a bad dream.

2 posted on 12/18/2001 8:16:38 PM PST by Militiaman7
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To: Militiaman7
Results Baby that What counts and Clinton Got no results but 9-11
3 posted on 12/18/2001 8:24:40 PM PST by scooby321
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To: andrew
Clinton's only covert actions that I recall were not in pursuit of a terrorist head of state, but in pursuit of a state of head.
4 posted on 12/18/2001 8:49:51 PM PST by zencycler
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To: andrew; Alamo-Girl
Wow. What a disgusting piece of CYA. Gobs of top secret information are spilled by the Clintonistas and unquestioningly published by their enablers at the Post.

It prints out to NINE pages. And this is just part one of TWO !

5 posted on 12/18/2001 8:52:25 PM PST by kristinn
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To: andrew
I have to believe that there was a fair amount of Top Secret/SCI information divulged in that article. Ashcroft needs to undertake another investigation and lock up some folks. The Clintonistas no longer have the authority to de-classify information. They can't just arbitrarily spout off about methods and operations.
6 posted on 12/18/2001 8:59:13 PM PST by Jolly Green
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To: CheneyChick; vikingchick; WIMom; Victoria Delsoul; susangirl; coteblanche...
From the article...

Three times after Aug. 20, 1998, when Clinton ordered the only missile strike of his presidency against bin Laden's organization, the CIA came close enough to pinpointing bin Laden that Clinton authorized final preparations to launch. In each case, doubts about the intelligence aborted the mission...

More than once, advisers recall, Clinton sounded out Gen. Henry H. Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the prospect of using Special Forces to surprise bin Laden's fighters on the ground. But Clinton declined to authorize the large-scale operation that Shelton said would be required, and he chose not to order a less ambitious option to which the general would have objected.

Amid all of the spin there are germs of truth...

I've been sitting on some info under the "loose lips" principle, but this article makes that no longer necessary. An Academy buddy of my cousin, himself a former Air Force pilot, is a Delta Force pilot. According to him, we had bin Laden "in our crosshairs" three times during the Clinton years, but couldn't get the kill order from higher up. His conclusion from the field was the reason for this failure was nothing more than a lack of the political will to get the job done.

Which leads, yet again, to the obvious question:

Would the attacks of 9/11 have happened, had President Clinton been up to the job with which he was entrusted?


7 posted on 12/18/2001 9:12:11 PM PST by Sabertooth
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To: andrew
I wonder if the Washington Post has any concept how something like this will damage their crediblility? Surely they can't believe that Americans are THAT stupid.

Oh, wait a minute, they're mostly read in Washington DC, so mayble they can get away with it there. We all know what rubes they are in the beltway.

8 posted on 12/18/2001 9:13:02 PM PST by McGavin999
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To: Sabertooth
This just makes my stomach TURN.
9 posted on 12/18/2001 9:15:43 PM PST by Neets
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To: Sabertooth
Would the attacks of 9/11 have happened, had President Clinton been up to the job with which he was entrusted?

Absolutely not, amigo. Five years ago, Sudan was practically begging Clinton to extradite him to the U.S.

10 posted on 12/18/2001 9:20:51 PM PST by JohnHuang2
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To: JohnHuang2
Yeah, my question was really rhetorical. I just don't have that much energy for Clinton anymore.

Thanks for the Sudanese link, pardner.


11 posted on 12/18/2001 9:24:37 PM PST by Sabertooth
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To: andrew
This is nothing more than CYA time. They already know Clinton goofed - and so did the rest of the advisors - by not taking the terrorist thing seriously. Now, while I doubt guilt feelings are possible for these jerks, they appear to be acting just as though they were steeped in guilt up to their eyeballs.

Of course, I don't believe a word of their little 9-page scenario. The problem I have with it is this: it's overkill to the max which only makes them look twice as guilty. The other problem I have with this is the media's complicity in the whole sharade.

12 posted on 12/18/2001 9:25:13 PM PST by Sueann
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To: Sabertooth
Thanks for the Sudanese link, pardner

You're welcome, my friend.

13 posted on 12/18/2001 9:25:42 PM PST by JohnHuang2
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To: andrew
This never would have come out unless people seriously felt they needed to cover their arses. The Senate is bound to have hearings on this subject. This was published to set the stage for those hearings. They need to get the stories straight. It is the most complicated talking points memo ever published. The problem for the cult of clinton is that the talking points are far too complicated -- in contrast to "it is only about sex." Finding lies and half truths in this story line will be like shooting fish in a barrel. Serious investigators with access to government records will have a field day.

Another very important question, as mentioned above, who the heck leaked all of this? There is a good chace this will blow field agents cover!

14 posted on 12/18/2001 9:25:45 PM PST by FranklinsTower
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To: Jolly Green
EXACTLY!
15 posted on 12/18/2001 9:26:07 PM PST by The Bolt
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To: Sabertooth
Thanks for the flag.

Shelton comes off as a good man !

Shelton, a senior colleague said, "wanted nothing to do" with a tiny incursion known in the Special Forces community as "going Hollywood." And the political leadership, the colleague said, wanted nothing to do with something larger.

Clinton's MO for sure!

16 posted on 12/18/2001 10:02:20 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: andrew
the bottom line is....

never let a dimmacrat run a war!

17 posted on 12/18/2001 11:33:47 PM PST by rockfish59
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To: andrew
I hope we can eventually see the inciminating details that were omitted by the Clinton operatives that fed this to The Washington Post.

Taking out bin Laden would have used too much of the political capital in the Middle East that Clinton wasted while attempting to purchase peace as his legacy. If intel was produced that demanded action detrimental to his agenda, Clinton simply manipulated the system or changed the rules to produce the desired result.

As always, Clinton placed his own needs before those of the nation.

18 posted on 12/18/2001 11:44:01 PM PST by SunTzuWu
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To: Sabertooth;Snow Bunny; Alamo-Girl; Republican Wildcat; Howlin; Fred Mertz; .30Carbine...
Amid all of the spin there are germs of truth...

I've been sitting on some info under the "loose lips" principle, but this article makes that no longer necessary. An Academy buddy of my cousin, himself a former Air Force pilot, is a Delta Force pilot. According to him, we had bin Laden "in our crosshairs" three times during the Clinton years, but couldn't get the kill order from higher up. His conclusion from the field was the reason for this failure was nothing more than a lack of the political will to get the job done.

Which leads, yet again, to the obvious question:

Would the attacks of 9/11 have happened, had President Clinton been up to the job with which he was entrusted?


BIG, Swelling, Bleeding, Crying, Why is this man NOT IN PRISON Bump???
(((PING))))))
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my ping list!. . .don't be shy.
19 posted on 12/19/2001 12:53:19 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
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To: andrew; Sabertooth
Bookmarked! Thanks for posting and the ping!
20 posted on 12/19/2001 1:19:38 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
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