Losing bin Laden
Robert Novak reviews a new book that details the Clinton administrations response tothe bombing of the USS Cole. It was not Clinton refusing to act so much as all the libs around the table telling him he should not.
"...This startling story is told for the first time in a book by Brussels-based investigative reporter Richard Miniter to be published this week. 'Losing bin Laden' relates that Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of Defense William Cohen, Atty. Gen. Janet Reno and CIA Director George Tenet all said no to the attack. I have contacted enough people attending the meeting to confirm what Miniter reports. Indeed, his account is based on direct, on-the-record quotes from participants."
"...Clarke proposed already targeted retaliation against bin Laden's camps and Taliban buildings in Kabul and Kandahar. At least, they would destroy the terrorist infrastructure. A quick strike might also get Osama bin Laden. 'Around the table,' Miniter writes, 'Clarke heard only objections.' As related by Clarke, the meeting exemplified ministerial caution.
"Atty. Gen. Reno, told by the FBI that the terrorists were still unidentified, argued that retaliation violated international law. Reno and the CIA's Tenet wanted more investigation. Secretary of State Albright is quoted as saying that with renewed Israeli-Palestinian fighting, 'bombing Muslims wouldn't be helpful at this time.' (Albright later told Miniter she would have taken a different position if she had 'definitive' proof of bin Laden's involvement.)"
"What's it going to take to get them to hit al Qaeda in Afghanistan? Does al Qaeda have to attack the Pentagon?" the State Department's Sheehan said.
Robert Novak reviews a new book that details the Clinton administrations response tothe bombing of the USS Cole. It was not Clinton refusing to act so much as all the libs around the table telling him he should not.
"...This startling story is told for the first time in a book by Brussels-based investigative reporter Richard Miniter to be published this week. 'Losing bin Laden' relates that Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of Defense William Cohen, Atty. Gen. Janet Reno and CIA Director George Tenet all said no to the attack. I have contacted enough people attending the meeting to confirm what Miniter reports. Indeed, his account is based on direct, on-the-record quotes from participants."
"...Clarke proposed already targeted retaliation against bin Laden's camps and Taliban buildings in Kabul and Kandahar. At least, they would destroy the terrorist infrastructure. A quick strike might also get Osama bin Laden. 'Around the table,' Miniter writes, 'Clarke heard only objections.' As related by Clarke, the meeting exemplified ministerial caution.
"Atty. Gen. Reno, told by the FBI that the terrorists were still unidentified, argued that retaliation violated international law. Reno and the CIA's Tenet wanted more investigation. Secretary of State Albright is quoted as saying that with renewed Israeli-Palestinian fighting, 'bombing Muslims wouldn't be helpful at this time.' (Albright later told Miniter she would have taken a different position if she had 'definitive' proof of bin Laden's involvement.)"
"What's it going to take to get them to hit al Qaeda in Afghanistan? Does al Qaeda have to attack the Pentagon?" the State Department's Sheehan said.
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