Nothing seems as fungible as the "alliance" of terrorists with regimes. Case in point the two Pakistan Baluchs Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (mastermind of 9/11) and his "nephew" Ramzi Yousef (mastermind of WTC I 93).
Atta met with Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani in Prague April 2001. Al-Ani was second secretary of the Iraqi consulate in Prague and was working undercover as an officer in the Iraqi foreign intelligence service, the Mukhabarat. The meeting was monitored by the Czech counterintelligence service, the BIS.
Clinton's mark on the CIA is shown in its denial this meeting occurred--it was Clinton who refused Osama bin Laden when Sudan offered him.
I am not surprised to hear that Clinton lied again by arming the Bosnians rather than simply act in the open.
UN operations are always flawed by unrealistic ROEs. Clinton's UNization of Somalia by removing our Marines and ambassador and putting our Rangers under UN command without armor and air cover is a good example.
I see that October 22, 2000, George W. Bush was quoted by NYT/Reuters saying he would shift the Bosnia operation to Europe by removing U.S. forces, at that time 11,400.
He announced to Congress this January:
The U.S. force contribution to SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina is approximately 3,100 personnel. United States personnel comprise just under 18 percent of the total SFOR force of approximately 17,500 personnel. During the last half of 2001, 19 NATO nations and 17 others, including Russia, provided military personnel or other support to SFOR. Most U.S. forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina are assigned to Multinational Division, North, centered in the city of Tuzla. Other U.S. military personnel are deployed to other countries in the region in support of SFOR. These deployments include approximately 50 U.S. military personnel presently deployed to Hungary and Croatia in order to provide logistical and other support. The U.S. forces continue to support SFOR efforts to apprehend persons indicted for war crimes. In the last 6 months, U.S. forces have not sustained any combat-related fatalities.
So apparently he's cut the U.S. force there to about one fourth of what it was when he took office.
It's a move in the right direction, the direction he said he'd move. It's slow and incomplete, but it was Ike who said as soon as he found out he couldn't kill his congressional opponents he went to the golf course and left the details to Richard Nixon.
The most recent statement shows U.S. forces are now 58% of that figure, or 16% (1/6) of the U.S. force when George W. Bush took office.
The U.S. force contribution to SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina is approximately 1,800 personnel. United States personnel comprise approximately 15 percent of the total SFOR force of approximately 12,000 personnel. During the second half of 2002, 18 NATO nations and 17 others, including Russia, provided military personnel or other support to SFOR. Most U.S. forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina are assigned to Multinational Brigade, North, headquartered in the city of Tuzla. Additionally, U.S. military personnel are deployed to other countries in the region in support of SFOR. These deployments include approximately 80 U.S. military personnel deployed to Hungary and Croatia to provide logistical and other support. The U.S. forces continue to support SFOR efforts to apprehend persons indicted for war crimes and to conduct counter-terrorism operations. In the last 6 months, U.S. forces have not sustained any combat-related fatalities.
I see the direction Bush is moving and it is consistent with his campaign promise to remove the U.S. forces in Bosnia.
During that campaign Gore responded with the sounds of a cow giving birth, with apologies to the cow.