Posted on 08/11/2002 8:22:39 PM PDT by kattracks
Disabled Vietnam vet retired Cat. James Smith, whose son James was killed during the disastrous raid in Somalia memorialized in the movie "Black Hawk Down," took exception Sunday to ex-President Clinton's recent attempt to blame President Bush's father for the 1993 debacle during a recent interview with Washington, D.C. TV station WJLA.
"He seems to forget that when Bush number one sent troops into Somalia he sent them in by the tens of thousands. And they had complete armor, mechanized infantry, artillery, air cover support," Smith told WABC Radio's Steve Malzberg.
While Bush the elder was president, the Somali warlords "decided to keep a low profile because they knew if they stuck their head up they were going to get it shot off," he insisted, adding, "So Bush number one did it correctly."
But things changed when President Clinton took over, the former soldier told WABC.
When his son's Ranger unit was sent to Mogadishu to capture notorious Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Adid, they didn't have the artillery, helicopter gunship or tactical air support they needed, he told Malzberg.
Smith's comments were prompted by Clinton's recent attempt to dodge responsibility for the episode, where he told WJLA, "Now, you know, I didn't blame (President Bush's) father for Somalia, when we had that awful day memorialized in 'Black Hawk Down.' I didn't do that."
Although then-Defense Secretary Les Aspin was forced to resign over the deadly blunder, Smith said he had no doubt that the decision to under-equip his son's unit came directly from the White House.
When he testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the episode, the former soldier said reporters privately agreed, telling him, "Les Aspin had nothing to do with this. This was a White House decision."
"They knew how the White House works. They knew there was no way Les Aspin made that decision on his own."
Smith recounted his trip to the White House to meet Clinton, an invitation he suspects was prompted by advanced word on his damaging Senate testimony.
Instead of taking responsibility, the Vietnam vet said the president "blamed Les Aspin, he blamed the Defense Department, he blamed the Joint Chiefs.... he blamed everybody except himself."
At one point, Smith recalled, Clinton even attempted to blame the Rangers "for being too aggressive."
"There were three fathers there," he told Malzberg. "The three of us just leaned over instantaneously and he backed off of that one."
After the exchange, Smith refused to shake the Commander in Chief's hand, handing him instead a 3rd Ranger Battalion patch.
"Don't forget them," he remembered telling Clinton.
"I honestly believed that the Rangers had died in vain; that the failure to provide proper combat support would have made the difference," he lamented.
Capt. Smith also revealed that he has another soldier son now in Special Operations who recently served in Afghanistan.
During a recent conversation with his son's Special Ops commander, he asked, "Sgt. Major, are we doing this one right or is this just a knee-jerk reaction?"
After a moment's hesitation, Smith said the commander responded, "Sir, we've got a real Commander-in-Chief this time. This time we're doing it right."
Listen to Steve Malzberg on WABC, weekdays 6 to 8 p.m. ET with Richard Bey on "The Buzz," and 9 a.m. to 12 noon ET Sunday.
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Please tell me you're not saying that Clinton will be buried in Arlington.
"Sir, we've got a real Commander-in-Chief this time. This time we're doing it right."
God bless our troops!
He most likely gave it to his main pig squeeze to add flair to her beret...
I'm saying that they stuff enough ballots that it takes a massive turn out of Republican voters to over ride their theft. Any other influence like people voting for Perot will of course cause the Republican to lose part of the massive number of votes he must receive to over ride the vote fraud factor.
Here is a site that puts it all in perspective:
Copyright 1993 Newsday, Inc.
December 8, 1993, Wednesday
By Patrick J. Sloyan.
For President Bill Clinton, the results of his policy decisions in Somalia came into sharp focus during a Sunday-morning visit to soldiers wounded in Mogadishu.
Reporters were barred from Walter Reed Army Medical Center during the Oct. 24 session when an uneasy Clinton met with some of the 77 Americans wounded during an Oct. 3 battle that marked the end of a covert operation to seize Gen. Mohamed Farrah Aidid . . . .
One soldier had lost his left hand, right leg, sight and hearing. Another had had his hand grafted to his stomach so a shattered arm could heal. Bullets, shrapnel and fire had maimed a young private. A sergeant had his leg in a steel birdcage after the first of a series of bone grafts . . . .
. . . Sgt. John Burns, 26, of Philadelphia, whose leg was shattered, balked at an offer to have his picture taken with the president. "I don't want to end up in some political propaganda picture - you know, 'President Visits Wounded Soldier,' " Burns said while Clinton was in his room. of a damage-limitation strategy devised by David Gergen, Clinton's adviser . . . .
. . .[T]he president's visit to the hospital was prompted by a call from an angry Walter Reed physician. According to hospital sources, the doctor called the White House. "He said these men have been here for three weeks, and no one had paid any attention to them," said a source informed of the exchange. "The White House called back and said, 'The president will be there tomorrow morning.' "
. . . Burns, who balked at the White House photographer, resents the perception that his mission in Mogadishu was a failure. "That's what kills me," he said in an interview later. "We did our job. My friends did not die in vain."
. . . Within the administration, there was even a debate over whether Clinton should write the families of the 18 men killed in Somalia on Oct. 3. "Some argued the letters should be written by [Defense Secretary Les] Aspin - not the president," said one insider. In the end, Clinton wrote personal notes to everyone.
. . . . Clinton is scrambling to achieve a political settlement there before his March 31 withdrawal deadline for remaining U.S. combat troops.
As had Lake, Christopher had seen covert efforts backfire on presidents before. He was No. 2 at the State Department when President Jimmy Carter ordered a Delta Force unit to rescue U.S. hostages in Iran in 1980. The Desert One disaster contributed to Carter's election defeat later that year.
So far, Aspin has been the focus of criticism for the disaster in Somalia. The defense secretary admitted it was a mistake for him to turn down requests for armored vehicles to protect U.S. troops there. Some members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would like to see Aspin fired.
For Aspin there has been trouble at every turn - including at Walter Reed. The day after Clinton's visit to the hospital, the defense chief showed up there.
One soldier Aspin visited was Sgt. Christopher Reid, 24, of Brooklyn. On Sept. 25, while retrieving the bodies of three Americans killed when their helicopter was shot down in Mogadishu, Reid was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. The blast blew off his left hand and right leg and riddled his groin with shrapnel. The explosion broke his eardrums and blinded him.
His hearing has returned, and after a series of operations, most of his vision was restored. But Reid had to shield his eyes from the overhead light when he talked to Aspin.
"We could have used that armor, sir," Reid said.
* * * * *
Complete article here.
Aspin didn't decide on his own. Clinton was involved in every bungled, crass decision.
The GPS was found in Afghanistan with "G. Gordon" written on it. It was originally thought to belong to Sgt. Gary Gordon, KIA in Mogadishu. But it belonged to another soilder in Afghanistan, whose nickname was "G. Gordon" (after G. Gordon Liddy).
Re post 49 I concur wholeheartedly. I love GWB (not conservative enough, but a man of integrity, humility, and respect), but if I were POTUS I would have personally led the troops into that cesspool and let the world recoil in horror at our vengeance.
He was trash, he is trash and will die of old age as trash IMHO. While active duty I served under Nixon , Ford, Carter, Reagan, GHWB and X42 and note with first hand experience that only under Carter and X42 was the military ever unable to complete it's assigned mission due to inept executive leadership ability.
Les Aspin's death was real timely for bubbafucco who was circling his wagons against the sure to come finger pointing for Mogadishu's unwarranted deaths. X42's blame of Aspin was just too "slick".................
Stay Safe Gretchen , thank you for the heads up. !
I know this evil man will be judged and will be punished for the lives lost, and the damage done to this country. Sometimes I just really want it to happen now......before he can open his mouth again and spew forth more lies. Patience is not one of my strongsuits.
His implication (not so subtle) that the honorable Bush41 was somehow responsible for his self-absorbed ineptness that caused these brave men's deaths, makes me absolutely furious!
My first thought was they know they must keep his burial site away from the general public.
(Plus he gets to feel like a king planning it as it is sure to be a gaudy monstrosity).
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