NYTIMES: WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 - More than a year before the Sept. 11 attacks, a small, highly classified military intelligence unit identified Mohammed Atta and three other future hijackers as likely members of a cell of Al Qaeda operating in the United States, according to a former defense intelligence official and a Republican member of Congress. In the summer of 2000, the military team, known as Able Danger, prepared a chart that included visa photographs of the four men and recommended to the military's Special Operations Command that the information be shared with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the congressman, Representative Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania, and the former intelligence official said Monday. The recommendation was rejected and the information was not shared, they said, apparently at least in part because Mr. Atta, and the others were in the United States on valid entry visas. Under American law, United States citizens and green-card holders may not be singled out in intelligence-collection operations by the military or intelligence agencies. That protection does not extend to visa holders, but Mr. Weldon and the former intelligence official said it might have reinforced a sense of discomfort common before Sept. 11 about sharing intelligence information with a law enforcement agency.
Clinton policies and attitudes about jihadoterror ALLOWED this to happen AND ALLOWED AL QAEDA CELLS TO OPERATE IN THE USA - EVEN AFTER al Qaeda had attacked us REPEATEDLY: (1) Blackhawk Down; (2) the 1993 WTC ATTACK, (3) the Khobar Towers Attack; (4) the African Embassies Attack; (5) the USS Cole Attack. Clinton NEVER responded adequately to the terror threat. (In all fairness, neither did Bush Senior or Reagan or Carter - who was the worst offender allowing the jihadoterritst depose the Shah and allowing the USSR to invade Afgfhanistan and allowing Saddam to take over in Iraq without maing any adequate response. )
I AM DELIBERATELY CHARGING CLINTON WITH MALFEASANCE IN THIS MATTER. Clinton ALLOWED this to happen because even after repeated attacks he REFUSED to let the national intel' folks in the DIA and the CIA talk to the FBI or other domestic law enforcement folks. Clinton failed to act PROPERLY, allowing this "wall" to continue EVEN THOUGH he viewed jihadoterrorism as MERELY a "LAW ENFORCEMENT" issue. [If it was a "law enforcement issue" then why did he PREVENT the CIA from HELPING the law enforcers at the FBI arrest the jihadoterrorists, AT THE VERY LEAST!?]
Perhaps the real reason for Clinton's FAILURE TO ACT was that - (and this is ACCORDING TO RICHARD CLARKE'S BOOK) - Clinton viewed jihadoterrorism as something that interfered with his quest for a Nobel Peace Prize, a prize he thought he'd win "fer sure" for negotiating a "final settlement" between Israeli president Barak and Grand-arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat.
WELCOME ATLAS SHRUGS READERS!
4 comments:
You're absolutely right! If Clinton wasn't trying so hard to overcompensate for the Lewinski affair, he would have done nothing about terrorism at all!
Americans, afterall, overwhelmingly supported President Bill Clinton's decision in 1998 to launch missile strikes against terrorist camps in Sudan and Afghanistan, with three quarters of all Americans expressing approval. Furthermore, most Americans do not believe the military action was designed to divert attention away from the Lewinsky affair! They were wrong of course.
Other things that Clinton did to take the focus off of the Lewinski scandal:
- Sent legislation to Congress to TIGHTEN AIRPORT SECURITY. (This is before 911) The legislation was defeated by the Republicans because of opposition from the airlines and Clinton's transparent attempt to distract from the scandal.
- Sent legislation to Congress to allow for BETTER TRACKING OF TERRORIST FUNDING. It was defeated by Republicans in the Senate because of opposition from banking interests, and the tranparent attempt to detract from the ongoing Lewinski Scandal.
- Sent legislation to Congress to add tagents to explosives, to allow for BETTER TRACKING OF EXPLOSIVES USED BY TERRORISTS. It was defeated by the Republicans because of opposition from the NRA, and his blatant attempt to detract from the Lewinski Scandal.
- Developed the nation's first anti-terrorism policy, and appointed first national coordinator. An obvious attempt to suggest terrorism was more important than the ongoing Lewinski Scandal.
- Tried to kill Osama bin Laden and disrupt Al Qaeda through preemptive strikes (efforts denounced by the G.O.P. due to its obvious attempt to obfuscate the Lewinski Scandal).
- Barton Gellman of the Washington Post put it best, "By any measure available, Clinton left office having given greater priority to terrorism than any president before him" and was the "first administration to undertake a systematic anti-terrorist effort." Clearly demonstrating that Clinton used terrorism to distract from the Lewinski Scandal.
Clinton should have been impeached!
gohst dansing:
i am glad you came by, read, and posted a comment.
most of what you wrote is pure BS and a simple thoughtless regurgitation of left-wing nonsense.
(1) tagents on US explosives would DO NOTHING to stere johadoterorism; Clinton proposed it because of the Oklahoma attack.
(2) legislation to tighten airport security would have done NOTHING to deter ANY of the attacks I lised. ZERO.
(3) his anti-terror policy weas a JOKE! anti-terro [policy!?!? what?! to do NOTHING but porsecute the jiohadoterrorist after the attacks I listed!? That is laughable. His polices were wrothless. NEED PROOF? 9/11.
(4)Richard Clarke wrote in his book that Clinton and Sandy Berger vetoed any effort to assasinate OBL. Clinton passed on him twice: once the Sudan offered him to us; the second time was after the USS Cole. According to his book, Clarke recommended that we whack OBL both times but was VETOED by Clinton and Berger.
Why don't you actually use the links I providfed. You miught learn something. As I did: I'ver been a registered Democat for 30 years ands I voted for Clinton TWICE and for Al Gore in 2000.
Now Ive seen the light: Clinton was a forweign policy DISASTER: he made love to Arafat and let Binalden go free. He fiddled with Lewinski as Rwanadana died by the MILLIONS and Bismians, too.
Clinton was a DISASTER.
Wake up and join the good guys in the good fight. You'll find freeing yourself from left-wing LIES very liberating!
BTW: what did Clinton do to help the Lebanese?! Or the Georgians!?
Or the Afghanis!?
Did Clinton help anyone get MORE freedom, or democracy ANYWHERE!?
The only thing Clinton liberated was his own libido.
ghost danser: the most LAUGHABLE part of your comment is the repeated REPRISE:
"CLINTON SUBMITTED LEGISLATION>>>"
as if opne could defeat the jihadopterrorists by passing a law!
BWAHAHAHAHA! The old "law enforcement" rap! BWAHAHAHAHA!
The jihadoterrorists called AL QAEDA DECLARED WAR on us in 1998.
We needed to counter-attack, NOIT pass legislation ands get indioctments, and protect the WALL of separation betweeen the FBI and the CIA.
Instead of sending legislation to Congress --- (obviously without wnough bi-partisan consultation or it would have been passed! BWAHAHAHA!)--- Clinton SHOULD have FOUGHT BACK, COUNTER-ATTACKED!
"Sending legislation" (even passing most) is as effective at fighting terror as sending Kim Jong Il and IRAN letters asking them to "Pleasepleaseplease oh pretty please stop your nuke programs, PLEASE!?"
I am reminded of that HILARIOUS scene in that movie TEAMN AMERICA in which the Hans Blix character tells the Kim Jong Il character that if he doesn;t stop the UN will send him a letter!
BWAHAHAHAHA!
The enemy must be defeated - which measn KILLED, annihilated. Utterly defeated. Wiped out. Erased. Unconditonally surrender.
Clinton's positon that jihadoterror was a law enforcement problem is IDIOTIC. Clinton's idiotic positon was made even more USEESS by the FACT that he made DAMN SURE that the CIA COULD NOT SHARE INFO WITH THE FBI!
This just abouit GUARANTEED that al Qaeda was gong to succeed.
Clinton was a disaster.
I told you, he was just trying to detract from the Lewinski Scandal. The Republicans, happily, didn't let him get away with that!
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