Clinton Discounts 1999 Report That Warned of Possible Suicide Hijackings Into Federal Buildings

HONOLULU (AP) - Former President Clinton said Friday he knew about the dangerous potential of Osama bin Laden but discounted reports that a 1999 analysis should have alerted his administration to a terrorist attack on the scale of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The analysis warned that members of bin Laden's al-Qaida organization could hijack an airliner and fly it into government buildings like the Pentagon on suicide missions.

"That has nothing to do with intelligence," said Clinton, who was in Hawaii on a two-day stopover en route to East Timor. "All that says is they used public sources to speculate on what bin Laden might do.

"Let me remind you that's why I attacked his training camp and why I asked the Pakistanis to go get him, and why we contracted with some people in Afghanistan to go get him, because we thought he was dangerous," he said. "But that's not the same thing as having intelligence about specific things."

The Bush administration has asserted that no one in government had envisioned a suicide hijacking before it happened.

"That was a report by a congressional research service and the Library of Congress using public information and it basically says he's a dangerous guy that might do a lot of things," Clinton said. "So we tried to get him. That doesn't have anything to do with what the intelligence people, the CIA or the FBI, tell the administration.

"That's why I did everything I could to get bin Laden, because I thought he was a dangerous man," he said. "And as we've seen, he is."

President Bush on Tuesday named Clinton to head a delegation representing the United States at the inauguration of East Timor President-elect Xanana Gusmao. East Timor, a former Indonesian territory, separated from Jakarta in 1999 during Clinton's term.

Apparently Clinton has more political lives than Morris the Cat (smirk). Here's a report on Clinton's activity in Hawaii (and if you believe this report, I've got underwater land rights to see you).

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2002/May/18/ln/ln01a.html

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Former President Bill Clinton, on a Honolulu stopover en route to Asia, put on a pair of shorts, lit a cigar and played a leisurely round of golf yesterday with Gov. Ben Cayetano and two former Hawai'i governors at the Waialae Country Club.

With Gov. Ben Cayetano looking on, former President Clinton practices his stroke at the first tee at the Waialae Country Club.

Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

"It's always wonderful to be back here with old friends," Clinton said, as he stopped to shake hands with a small group of onlookers beyond the fence at the sixth tee. "I love this place."

The former president, whose last extended trip to Hawai'i was in 1996, clinched a large cigar between his teeth as he played with Cayetano, John Waihee and George Ariyoshi. The play was casual, and Clinton hugged Ariyoshi as the former governor took his leave of the group after holing out on the fifth green.

The semi-official scores leaked off the course had Cayetano 91, Waihee 89 and Clinton 84. Par for the course is 72.

The game lasted nearly five hours. According to other golfers and onlookers, Clinton took his customary "mulligans" — hitting another ball if he didn't like where the first one landed — here and there.

"On the first hole," reported Jeff Arce, a golfer who played ahead of Clinton.

Clinton will leave Hawai'i early today and lead a delegation to East Timor, where independence is being celebrated and the newly liberated nation will inaugurate its first president, Xanana Gusmao.

"I'm very excited," Clinton said. "I was very pleased when the White House asked me to go. We've sponsored the first new nation of the 21st century."

Clinton sent U.S. troops to work alongside Australian soldiers when the former Indonesian territory separated from Jakarta in 1999, as part of a United Nations peace mission launched to safeguard East Timor's independence.

"It's a small place," Clinton said yesterday. "They have some problems and they'll need some help, but they have taken a big step forward for independence and liberty.

"I think this augers well for the future of Asia," he said.

Clinton said he hopes continued U.S. support of nations in need, including East Timor, Bosnia, and the Kosovo region of Yugoslavia, remains a national priority.

"We've learned from Afghanistan, after the pullout, that when you start these things, you have to stay with them," he said.

Photos of Bubba

Bubba with Hawaii Gov. Cayetano (it's ok gang...Cayetano's a lame duck gov.).

Condi said no one thought about planes being used to fly into buildings.

She said it over and over in different ways.

The administration is probably stupid enough to go on all the Sunday talk shows and repeat that.

The intelligence chain of command is broke, big time!

We see that there have been "changes" in it.

There are articles here on FR about them.

But all the firings, shifts in titles,new guys on board wont change the historical facts as we saw and see them live on 24/7 cable news ....Using planes as bombs to fly into buildings was public nfo EXCEPT TO THE PRESIDENT IN ANY BRIEFING!

Fire Condi and all those beneath her who failed in their missions!

The Washington Times
Dec.10,2001
Author:Mona Charon

But far more damning than his solipsistic response to the nation's anguish is the abundant evidence that he did almost nothing to protect us while he had the chance. In 1996, as Monsoor Ijaz relates in the Los Angeles Times, Sudan offered to extradite Osama bin Laden to the United States. The Clinton administration declined the offer.[arggggggggggggggggggggggggggh!]

Demonstrating the lawyerly folly of the administration's approach to international terror, former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger explained that the United States feared it did not have the evidence to convict him in our courts. [IMHO-this is huge!]

Even as late as 2000 - after the two African embassy bombings and well after it was known that bin Laden was behind the Khobar Towers attack - an Arab nation approached the Clinton White House through Mr. Ijaz, offering to collar bin Laden and eventually deliver him to the United States.

The Arab nation, which Mr. Ijaz declined to name, also offered to give key information to the United States about Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Hezbollah - the groups that taught bin Laden the terror ropes. Again the Clinton administration failed to act.

Worth repeating. This is so astoundingly important....our nation DESERVES to know this about bill klinton and his pack of fools.

Aren't you just arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh over this? I know I am!

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