FAILING THE USS COLE - A GALVIN OPINION INVESTIGATION

The Galvin Opinion | April 11, 2004 | Thomas Galvin

[Thomas Galvin]

Sept. 22 2000, bin Laden said he would attack U.S. ships - Oct 12 2000 he struck the USS Cole

The Galvin Opinion has compiled a series of resources that recount the events and political repercussions arising out of the Oct 12, 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen. There has been some discussion on what the Bush Administration should have done about the Cole despite the fact that the attack occurred during the Clinton Administration. But, the information below shows how Osama bin Laden was identified as the prime suspect, very quickly, after the attack while the Clinton team was still in office.

Despite the fact that bin Laden had declared war on America in 1998 the Clinton Administration never countered that we were at war with terrorists. In a radio address on October 14, two days after the attacks, Bill Clinton said "even when America is not at war, the men and women of our military risk their lives every day." In an October 18 memorial service, Clinton only devoted one small paragraph to the terrorists. He never mentioned any grave threat by name, not even Osama bin Laden or Al Qaeda. In a "Meet the Press" interview just 3 days after the attack, National Security Advisor Sandy Berger did not even bring up Al Qaeda or the risk it posed to Americans. His neglect to address the subject of our biggest enemy came just one month before the 2000 election. Top officials like Madeleine Albright and William Cohen ignored Richard Clarke's calls for attacking Al Qaeda targets for fear of derailing the Arab-Israeli peace process and creating perceptions that America is indiscriminately bombing Muslims. All of this despite the fact there was a foiled attempt on 3 U.S. targets on January 3, 2000, including an attack on "The Sullivans" in, of all places, the port of Aden, Yemen.

In fact, the Clinton Administration should have had knowledge of bin Laden's desire to carry out attacks on American forces. Osama bin Laden and members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad appeared in a Qatar TV tape on September 22, 2000 making specific threats to attack American ships. Osama bin Laden followed through on his promise on October 12, 2000, killing 17 Americans. . . . .

[Thomas Galvin]

You can read the rest of the article with its NYTimes, Washington Post, State Department and other links, right here, The Galvin Opinion.

[Thomas Galvin]

Many thanks to Mark Bosely for originally posting my article on Saturday. This is for those of you who missed it, over the weekend.

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

There has been some discussion on what the Bush Administration should have done about the Cole despite the fact that the attack occurred during the Clinton Administration.

Is Condi Rice scheduled to go back before the Kangaroo Court Commission to explain George W. Bush's slow response to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor?

[Sabatier]

The problem with spitting in the wind...in their mad attempts to slime Bush all that hooey comes right back in the faces of the Democrats and Clinton in particular.
There was no political will to fight terrorism - spend money on fighting terrorism - during the Clinton years. He practically laid out a doormat of appeasement in the grand tradition of Jimmy Carter.
The Democrats realize they've misstepped. This weekend Kevin Phillips lamely protested on TV that Bush's family was in the oil business so...well, Phillips ground to a halt at that point. Mumbled something about the Bush family interests. Blah, blah. The Democrats are sinking in the pool of goo they themselves generated.

[LiteKeeper]

read later

[Greenpees]

I guess it just wouldn't have fit together with Bill Clinton's top priority which was his "legacy". He was so busy looking for a photo op with Barak and Arafat that he just couldn't go after Islamic fundementalists that were out to kill us.

He'd rather sit with one of them and have tea and crumpets.

The fact that he put his personal wants above his country should be his real legacy, but we live in a Mad Hatter world, where they blame the good for the bad, and the bad for the good.

[7.62 x 51mm]

The hypocrisy of the NYSlimes and Klintoon Kriminals is deafening. I sure hope America is listening and understanding what is going on. I fear not, though.

[mass55th]

I was arguing with my son over the weekend about the FBI investigation on the USS Cole. He said that President Bush ordered FBI agents back to this country without allowing them to do a proper investigation. I argued back that that wasn't true, that I'd heard Ambassador Bodine was blocking the FBI from conducting a proper investigation. What's the real deal? I tried to locate specific info on each angle, but was unable to find anything to thoroughly support either side. Does anybody have any decent links I can check out? Thanks.

[sport]

Bump

[WOSG]

You are so right. Fact is, the country didnt feel at war. Clinton would have had to show leadership and explain to America what we were up against. He didnt do that - his 'legacy' required sweeping such ugly stuff under the rug, so he could go off and kiss Arafat's butt. Slamming onf OBL would have ruined that.

"This weekend Kevin Phillips lamely protested on TV that Bush's family was in the oil business so ..."

And Kevin Phillips is in the business of being a former-conservative-now-critic-of-anything-Republican business, which pays real well these days...

lame, real lame, Kevin...

[SpyGuy]

Sandy Berger did not even bring up Al Qaeda or the risk it posed to Americans. His neglect to address the subject of our biggest enemy came just one month before the 2000 election. Top officials like Madeleine Albright and William Cohen ignored Richard Clarke's calls for attacking Al Qaeda targets for fear of derailing the Arab-Israeli peace process and creating perceptions that America is indiscriminately bombing Muslims.

The main reason Clinton did nothing about Al Qaeda wasn't for fear of the upcoming election (he couldn't give a damn about Gore compared to his own self interests), but for fear of not winning "his" Nobel Peace Prize to which he felt entitled--and which would have given him the legacy he so desperately sought.