The former president speaks about his attempts to nab Osama bin Laden Click to watch Tom Brokaw's interview with former president Bill Clinton on NBC Nightly News.
Posted on 09/20/2001 6:53:46 AM PDT by Teacup
The former president speaks about his attempts to nab Osama bin Laden Click to watch Tom Brokaw's interview with former president Bill Clinton on NBC Nightly News.
- In his first extended interview since the terrorist attacks, former president Bill Clinton told Tom Brokaw on NBC “Nightly News” that his administration “did what we thought we could” to hunt down Osama bin Laden after the U.S. embassy bombings in Africa in 1998.
‘All the things we stopped still don’t count for much in the end, when 5,000 people are dead. We have to have offense as well as defense.’
— FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON
IN A LIVE television interview from his Harlem office in northern Manhattan, Clinton discussed the cruise missile attacks he ordered on bin Laden and Afghan targets in August 1998: “We had quite good intelligence that he and his top lieutenants would be in his training camps. So I ordered the cruise missile attacks and we didn’t even tell anybody — including the Pakistanis, whose airspace we had to travel over — until the last minute. Unfortunately we missed him, but apparently not by much. ... I made it clear afterwards that we should take all necessary action to apprehend him and get him, but we never had another chance where the intelligence reports were reliable enough to justify another military action.”
The former president cited a number of successes his administration had in the fight against terrorism, including efforts to thwart planned attacks during the millennium celebrations and an assassination of Pope John Paul II. Even so, Clinton admitted that “all the things we stopped still don’t count for much in the end, when 5,000 people are dead. We have to have offense as well as defense.”
Clinton offered unequivocal support for the Bush administration’s efforts to form a global coalition to combat terrorism, saying, “We need to do whatever is necessary. In the end, it’s very difficult to get all this done with satellites and tapping into telephones and breaking into computers. You need to have people on the ground if you’re going to nail these people.”
To that end, Clinton said the ban on assassinations signed by then-president Gerald Ford doesn’t apply in the case of Osama bin Laden because he is not a head of state. Echoing comments by members of the Bush administration, the former president admitted that “getting Osama bin Laden is the beginning, not the end of this process. But it’s an important first step.”
Too bad he didn't follow his own advice. Then we might not have had happen what did.
Good line Tea!
Sen. Clinton: ‘We will keep going’ (WARNING! BARF ALERT!)
It's an MSNBC report on how Hillary was worried about Chelsea being 12 blocks away when the terrorist attacked. OH PUKE!!! Who gives a rat's a fart what they think? I'm with you, "Please go away!"
(Multiple projectile barf!!)
Other thoughts: Clinton: "I did not have sex with Osama or any of his camels, but damn, he does have some cute sheep."
A revelation, apparently, for Bill Clinton.
Too bad he did not have this revelatory experience when he was sworn in as President, the first time. . .
"I swear, I did not touch any lizards, llamas, or goats either."
Yeah, like all his military actions were sucessful. If I remember correctly, wasn't he always being critized for not having an "Exit Plan" most of the time?
Pray for GW and NY!
God Bless America
Oh yea! The networks need to start helping to clean up the air and stop putting this pervert's mug all over the airwaves. He's irrelivant! Let's move on!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.