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Dick Morris Tells NewsMax: Lewinsky Affair Impeded Hunt for bin Laden
NewsMax.com ^
| Thursday Sept. 27, 2001; 3:57 p.m. EDT
| Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff
Posted on 09/27/2001 1:03:22 PM PDT by Jean S
Ex-President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky interfered with his ability to hunt down Twin Tower terrorist Osama bin Laden, one-time White House political guru Dick Morris tells NewsMax.com exclusively.
"My sense is that the affair made him passive and risk averse," Morris said Thursday.
"As a result, I think he was less inclined to interfere with the military or to order long term involvement," explained the man who engineered Clinton's second term election victory.
The statements of the key Clinton aide come in the wake of the ex-president's recent claims that eliminating bin Laden was one of his administration's top priorites.
"I authorized the arrest and, if necessary, the killing of Osama bin Laden," Clinton told reporters late last week. "And we actually made contact with a group in Afghanistan to do it. And they were unsuccessful."
Just two days after the Twin Tower attacks, the former president specifically denied that the risks of military committment hampered his efforts to take bin Laden out.
"No, it's not true. The best shot we had at Osama bin Laden was when I bombed his training camp in 1998 and we missed him by just a matter of hours. Maybe even less than an hour," Clinton told the Fox News Channel.
But, like many skeptics of that attack, Morris believes that the cruise missile attacks on bin Laden's camp had more to do with the burgeoning Lewinsky sex scandal than nailing the deadly terrorist.
"I also remain suspicious at the juxtaposition of the strikes and his need to show that he was an active, involved president during the scandal," he told NewsMax.com.
Last week the Boston Globe reported that Clinton was distracted by legal issues prompted by his affair with Lewinsky while he was trying to focus on taking the terrorist out.
"He met with national security and military advisors to plan the attacks between sessions with lawyers to prepare for his grand jury testimony," the paper said.
Worse still, "he authorized the attack on the same August weekend in 1998 that he confessed his affair with Lewinsky to his wife," the Globe noted, describing the predicament as "an added strain."
TOPICS: News/Current Events
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1
posted on
09/27/2001 1:03:22 PM PDT
by
Jean S
To: JeanS
Everyone hide your toes, Dick Morris juat came in.
2
posted on
09/27/2001 1:06:53 PM PDT
by
Movemout
To: JeanS
Impeded? More like covered up for his inaction.
To: JeanS
Hey Dick no sh.. Tells us somehting we don't know. Oh and I really love your latest article Dicky Boy, you know how Clinton is much brighter than Bush and much better at domestic policy but Bush's simplistic clarity is actually preferable in this war crisis. Yeah Dick and how is it exactly that you measure how bright Clinton is, I'd say he's pretty dumb, he's constantly getting cauht in his endless lies and misdeeds. And, Dick could you please spell out those domestic policies that made Clinton such a wonderful dopmestic policy wonk!
4
posted on
09/27/2001 1:10:04 PM PDT
by
marlon
To: JeanS
Worse still, "he authorized the attack on the same August weekend in 1998 that he confessed his affair with Lewinsky to his wife," the Globe noted, describing the predicament as "an added strain." The reporter wrote this with a straight face, I assume.
Pardon me but ROTFL!!!!
5
posted on
09/27/2001 1:10:54 PM PDT
by
Inyokern
To: JeanS
Hey...it was only SEX.
To: JeanS
Clinton could get away with saying he was using his head while President Of the United States.
He wasn't telling a lie.
He was absolutely truthful, and did not lie to the American people.
Of course, here it comes, it depends on the meaning of the word "head."
To: JeanS
Hey....remember when Clinton told us that "even presidents have private lives"? Remember when his democrat backers made every excuse in the book for him? All I can say is THANK GOD this miserable excuse for a man and president is no longer in charge and is now a private citizen! Now he can live his "private life"! You go have your fun now, Bill! A real man is now running the country
To: JeanS
"My sense is that the affair made him passive and risk averse," Morris said Thursday. ... "As a result, I think he was less inclined to interfere with the military or to order long term involvement," explained the man who engineered Clinton's second term election victory.What utter BS. Clinton was far, far too busy going to fund raisers and White House coffees, etc., etc., to concern himself with the real problems that go with the actual job of being president.
To: JeanS
"I authorized the arrest and, if necessary, the killing of Osama bin Laden," Clinton told reporters late last week.
WAITAMINUTE!, I thought that this was illegal!!!!! Is Clintoon ADMITTING he broke the law???!!!!
To: JeanS
So, the new dem line will be it's all the Republicans' fault? But for impeachment, Billy Jeff would have had the cahones to get Bin Laden? Plleeeeese! Billy Jeff's cahones were occupied elsewhere. A man with an ounce of decency and loyalty to the nation and the office would have resigned if he felt he was too distracted to perform the duties of office.
To: JeanS
As Jesse said, "To the Taliban I shall go.....I promise this shall be done....If W says he will not blow....my ass to kingdom come." Clinton and Jesse lying their black butts off.
To: JeanS
It has already been admitted by Clinton that they missed bin Laden by an hour or two due to trying to time it with his bombing of the Asprin factory...which he wanted to do at midnight local time. Our intelligence had his location, and Bill let him go for poor reasoning. WE HAD HIM.
13
posted on
09/27/2001 1:14:39 PM PDT
by
KC Burke
To: JeanS
Probably clouded his thinking a little. Remember how he had Monica on her knees under his desk while discussing US troop deployments to the Balkans with a Congressman?
Clinton and Morris slime to the end.
14
posted on
09/27/2001 1:15:27 PM PDT
by
Kozak
To: JeanS
Probably clouded his thinking a little. Remember how he had Monica on her knees under his desk while discussing US troop deployments to the Balkans with a Congressman?
Clinton and Morris slime to the end.
15
posted on
09/27/2001 1:15:59 PM PDT
by
Kozak
To: JeanS
Lewinsky Affair Impeded Hunt for bin LadenToo bad clintbilly didn't say "we'll just have to win" about bin Laden instead of Monica.
16
posted on
09/27/2001 1:16:21 PM PDT
by
mombonn
To: Kozak
Probably clouded his thinking a little. Remember how he had Monica on her knees under his desk while discussing US troop deployments to the Balkans with a Congressman? Sorry. That was worth repeating.
To: JeanS
Last week the Boston Globe reported that Clinton was distracted by legal issues prompted by his affair with Lewinsky while he was trying to focus on taking the terrorist out. "He met with national security and military advisors to plan the attacks between sessions with lawyers to prepare for his grand jury testimony," the paper said.
This story is 3 years too late. The globe sucks.
18
posted on
09/27/2001 1:18:34 PM PDT
by
JPJones
To: Movemout
Everyone hide your toes, Dick Morris juat came in. You beat me to it
.
19
posted on
09/27/2001 1:19:19 PM PDT
by
Elle Bee
To: marlon
And, Dick could you please spell out those domestic policies that made Clinton such a wonderful domestic policy wonk! Hey, I'll answer that one. Even before Clinton became president, Hillary got the role of Domestic Chief because she stood by her man in the Gennifer Flowers affair/coverup. That gave her power to preside over most if not all of the Cabinet. So, Billyboy wasn't doing anything domestic because Hillary was calling the shots. Eventually, Clinton complains that he doesn't have enough time to himself in the afternoon so his staffers rearrange his schedule to permit him more time to relax after lunch. He's got Madeline Allwrong doing the foriegn stuff. So, that leaves the boy time to diddle around with the ladies. What a sorry excuse for a human being let alone President of the United States. It has all come home to roost.
Dickie, say it isn't so.
20
posted on
09/27/2001 1:20:08 PM PDT
by
Slyfox
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