Free Republic

Between 1998 and 2000, the CIA and President Bill Clinton's national security team were caught up in paralyzing policy disputes as they secretly debated the legal permissions for covert operations against Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. The debates left both White House counterterrorism analysts and CIA career operators frustrated and at times confused about what kinds of operations could be carried out, according to interviews with more than a dozen officials and lawyers who were directly involved. [Excerpted] It was common in Clinton's cabinet and among his National Security Council aides to see the CIA as too cautious, paralyzed by...

WASHINGTON - Ex-President Bill Clinton exploded yesterday when asked why he didn't get Osama Bin Laden - and revealed that he had invasion plans drawn up to topple the Taliban and get Al Qaeda. Clinton was clearly annoyed when Fox News Sunday's Chris Wallace said viewers had sent e-mails urging him to ask, "Why didn't you do more to put Bin Laden and Al Qaeda out of business?" After a string of related questions, Clinton became red-faced and, in a finger-jabbbing tirade, blamed a conspiracy of media and right-wingers for trying to blame him for Bin Laden's survival. When Wallace...

<p>FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON ON NOT CAPTURING BIN LADEN: 'At least I tried. That's the difference between me and some, including all the right wingers. They ridicule me for trying. They had eight months to try, they did not try. I tried. So I tried and failed'...</p>