Tuesday, August 21, 2007

CIA Report Slams Clinton Administration Efforts against Al Qaeda

Welcome readers from Captain’s Quarters - to answer the Captain’s question, I believe that it is entirely appropriate to use this information for partisan advantage.  It is not to BLAME the Clinton Administration or any specific person for 9/11 other than the terrorists and al Qaeda.  However, the Democrats used the 9/11 Commission to hoist blame for 9/11 upon the Bush administration and will do so when we are attacked again.  We cannot allow the Democrats to fool the American people into thinking they had a “better way” under the Clinton Administration.

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"CIA Report Slams Clinton Administration Efforts against Al Qaeda"

That's how the headline would read if the media played fair, instead we get this:

CIA Watchdog Faults Agency

But if you get into the details the article's summary is devastating:

* U.S. spy agencies, which were overseen by Tenet, lacked a comprehensive strategic plan to counter Osama bin Laden prior to 9/11. The inspector general concluded that Tenet “by virtue of his position, bears ultimate responsibility for the fact that no such strategic plan was ever created.”

* The CIA’s analysis of al-Qaida before Sept. 2001 was lacking. No comprehensive report focusing on bin Laden was written after 1993, and no comprehensive report laying out the threats of 2001 was assembled. “A number of important issues were covered insufficiently or not at all,” the report found.

* The CIA and the National Security Agency tussled over their responsibilities in dealing with al-Qaida well into 2001. Only Tenet’s personal involvement could have led to a timely resolution, the report concluded.

* The CIA station charged with monitoring bin Laden — code-named Alec Station — was overworked, lacked operational experience, expertise and training. The report recommended forming accountability boards for the CIA Counterterror Center chiefs from 1998 to 2001, including Black.

* Although 50 to 60 people read at least one CIA cable about two of the hijackers, the information wasn’t shared with the proper offices and agencies. “That so many individuals failed to act in this case reflects a systemic breakdown.... Basically, there was no coherent, functioning watch-listing program,” the report said. The report again called for further review of Black and his predecessor.

But it was Bush's fault!!!

Not.

Notice my emphasis above. This concludes that President Clinton and Madeline Albright lied to the American people when they claimed to hand over detailed plans on al Qaeda to President Bush. There was no plan and no substantial analysis done during the ENTIRE Clinton administration.

Albright, the first official to testify, defended the Clinton administration against accusations that it stalled, saying it “did everything ... we could think of” to eliminate the threat posed by al-Qaida.

Albright noted that Clinton authorized U.S. forces to kill bin Laden after the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and ordered a retaliatory cruise missile attack on al-Qaida training bases in Afghanistan.

She said Clinton warned the Taliban that it would be held responsible for any further attacks against U.S. targets.

Albright urged commission members to ask Bush administration officials why they did not follow through on the threat after it was determined that the Oct. 12, 2000, attack on the guided missile destroyer USS Cole in Yemen was the work of al-Qaida.

“When there was proof that al-Qaida was connected [to the attack] ... why was there not a response?” she said.

Because you were still in office!! My Lord!

This is EPIC and the Republicans need to take down the Democrats with this information.

More to come...