9/11 Panel Member Faults Clinton Inaction

[5stringJeff]

Interesting...


------------------
9/11 Panel Member Faults Clinton Inaction
By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A Sept. 11 commission Democrat disagreed Friday with President Clinton (news - web sites)'s assessment there wasn't enough intelligence linking al-Qaida to a deadly attack on a Navy ship to justify an attack on the terrorist organization.

Former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey said he believes Clinton should have launched a military strike against al-Qaida following the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole (news - web sites) that killed 17 sailors.

"I think he did have enough proof to take action," Kerrey said on ABC's "Good Morning America.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...409/ap_on_go_pr_wh/sept_11_commission_clinton

 

[jimnyc]

And now Bubba the weasel is trying to lie his way out of his embarassment.

Clinton Denies Taped bin Laden Admission, Blames 'Misquote'

During his private interview with the 9/11 Commission on Thursday, ex-President Bill Clinton denied that he told a New York business group in 2002 that he turned down an offer from Sudan for Osama bin Laden's extradition to the U.S., according to 9/11 Commissioner Bob Kerrey.

"Bill Clinton said yesterday that that was a misquote," Kerrey told WDAY Fargo, N.D., radio host Scott Hennen, in an interview set for broadcast on Monday.

A transcript of the exchange between Hennen and Kerrey was read on the air by national radio host Sean Hannity late Friday. It shows that the 9/11 Commission was unaware that Clinton's bombshell admission that he spurned the bin Laden offer had been recorded by NewsMax.

After Kerrey said Clinton had denied the quote, Hennen said: "But wait a minute - I heard it in his own voice. I've heard him say it. I have the tape of him saying just that."

"Really?" said a perplexed Kerrey. "Well, then - ship it to me, because Clinton said yesterday [in private 9/11 testimony] that he didn't have a recollection of that."

Clinton made the bombshell admission to the Long Island Association on Feb. 15, 2002. Though the LIA videotaped his appearance, the group has refused requests for copies from NBC News, Fox News and NewsMax.

Though NewsMax has the only publicly available recording of Clinton's remarks that day, they were also reported by Newsday the next day.

Transcript of Clinton's admission:

We'd been hearing that the Sudanese wanted America to start dealing with them again.

They released him. At the time, 1996, he had committed no crime against America so I did not bring him here because we had no basis on which to hold him, though we knew he wanted to commit crimes against America.

So I pleaded with the Saudis to take him, 'cause they could have. But they thought it was a hot potato and they didn't and that's how he wound up in Afghanistan. [End of Excerpt]

To hear ex-President Clinton make the admission that he denied making to the 9/11 Commission, click here

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/4/9/165600.shtml

 

[jon_forward]

And the drum-beat from the Democrats grows dimmer and dimmer and still dimmer

 

[Avatar4321]

What a surprise. Clinton committed perjury. Didnt see that one coming.

Got to thank the commission for supporting preemptive action though.

 

[jimnyc]

Kerrey Details Clinton's Bin Laden Denial to Commission

It what could turn out to be his most outrageous falsehood yet, ex-President Bill Clinton has told the 9/11 Commission that he never admitted passing up a chance to have Osama bin Laden arrested - even though his words were caught on tape.

As NewsMax.com reported Friday afternoon, 9/11 Commissioner Bob Kerrey revealed the Clinton denial to WDAY Fargo, North Dakota radio host Scott Hennen for an interview set for broadcast Monday.

NewsMax.com has obtained a full transcript of Kerrey's comments to Hennen, a portion of which was first publicized by national radio host Sean Hannity. The transcript shows the Nebraska Democrat had no idea when he questioned the ex-president that his denial is provably false:

HENNEN: Bill Clinton, in his own words, at a fundraiser in 2002, talked about being offered, from the Sudanese, Osama Bin Laden. And he said, and I quote:

"At the time, 1996, he had committed no crime against America so I did not bring him here because we had no basis on which to hold him, though we knew he wanted to commit crimes against America."

KERREY: He told us yesterday that, that was a misquote.

HENNEN: I have heard it in his own voice! I have heard him say it. I have the tape of him saying just that.

KERREY: Really? Well, ship it to me. Because he said yesterday that he didn't have a recollection of that.

HENNEN:: Wow. Because again, this isn't somebody recalling this. This is Bill Clinton saying it, at this fundraiser, when he was asked a question from someone in the audience.

KERREY: Was that in Long Island?

HENNEN: Yes, in 19 - eh, in 2002

KERREY: He - there were actually two references. That one, [where] he said that he didn't understand. I think he said, "I didn't understand the question. I didn't understand what the facts were. I didn't have a good recollection of what was going on." But he has since checked it and has altered his answer.

HENNEN: So he's now saying there never was an opportunity where the Sudanese actually offered . . .

KERREY: Right.

HENNEN: . . . bin Laden to us and we tried to get the Saudi's to take him and all that.

KERREY: That's right.

HENNEN: Boy.

KERREY: Regardless of what his answer is, I believe that early on if we understood the threat, that, ah, there were many moments early on, especially in the Clinton administration, when action could have been taken that wasn't taken to render both bin Laden and his chief military operators [no longer a threat to the U.S.]. And we didn't do it.

They thought, look, by the way, it's reasonable to presume that it was a great success to get him from the Sudan to Afghanistan, out in the bush in Afghanistan. That was not a friendly place for bin Laden to be going anymore. [End of Excerpt]

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/4/9/224229.shtml

 

[jimnyc]

Why did Kerrey act as if this was all new to him, that he was unaware of what Clinton stated? I wonder how come this isn't plastered all over the news? This commission now has zero credibility.

9/11 Commission Obtained Video of Clinton Confession Last Month

When ex-President Clinton told the 9/11 Commission last Thursday that he never admitted to turning down an offer for Osama bin Laden's extradition to the U.S., the Commission had already obtained a videotape of him making those remarks to the Long Island Association in Woodbury, N.Y., during the group's annual luncheon in February 2002.

"The 9/11 Commission put in a formal request for the videotape more than a month ago," Gary Wojtas, Communications Director of the Long Island Association, told NewsMax.com Tuesday morning. "And we did supply it to them."

Asked if he was prepared to make the Clinton video available to television media, Wojtas said: "That's something we're waiting on right now - that's all I'll say on that. It's not that we won't do it. It's just something we need to wait on right now."

The video shows Clinton explaining that he turned down an offer from Sudan for bin Laden's extradition to the U.S., saying, "At the time, 1996, he had committed no crime against America, so I did not bring him here because we had no basis on which to hold him."

However, by 1996, the 9/11 mastermind had already been named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing by prosecutors in New York.

On Friday, 9/11 Commissioner former Sen. Bob Kerrey, said that Clinton told the Commission during his private interview that reports of his comments to the LIA were based on "a misquote."

In an interview with North Dakota radio host Scott Hennen, Kerrey sounded stunned to learn that Clinton's remarks were on tape.

"Really?" he said, after Hennen told him about the NewsMax.com audiotape that has been widely available on talk radio and the Internet. "Well, then - ship it to me, because Clinton said yesterday [in private 9/11 testimony] that he didn't have a recollection of that."

It's not clear why Kerrey was unaware that the 9/11 Commission had already obtained videotape proof of Clinton's remarks.

Four days before Clinton's interview with the Commission, national radio host Sean Hannity played the NewsMax.com audio for 9/11 Commissioner former Navy Secretary John Lehman. Lehman made no mention that he'd seen a video of the clip of the remarks and gave no indication that he'd ever heard them before.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/4/13/100053.shtml

 

[acludem]

If you read what Clinton said, his actions made good sense at the time. We had no information on which to hold bin Laden, he simply would've been released and deported. He tried to get the Saudis to take him - bin Laden had committed crimes against that country, but the Saudis refused. Clinton's hands were tied. This was in 1996, before the Cole and before 9/11. We had nothing to hold bin Laden on. Were that we did, Clinton would've had him brought here.

acludem

 

[jimnyc]

It figures, I knew someone would come along and blindly defend Clinton's inaction.

How do you explain that Clinton said he was misquoted only to find out later that the entire thing was recorded? How do you explain Kerrey acting like he knew nothing of Clinton's words, even though the commission received a tape a month earlier?

 

[tim_duncan2000]

Tapes and other proof do not matter to them. I also like it when the Clinton supporters claim that he only lied about sex, and then we hear about things like this and you can also do quick google searches to find out more about his lies. I don't even care nearly as much about his lies about sex than I do about lies about other things.