Blast Kills Sailors on USS Cole in Yemen October 12, 2000 (New York Times photo)
"There has been some discussion on what the Bush Administration should have done about the Cole despite the fact that the attack occurred during the Clinton Administration," writes The Galvin Opinion in a cyberslide-talk reprise of those events that are now front and center in the national "debate" in the wake of Condoleezza Rice's testimony Thursday before the 9/11 commission:
The Galvin Opinion has compiled a series of resources that recount the events and political repercussions arising out of the Oct 12, 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen . . . the information below shows how Osama bin Laden was identified as the prime suspect, very quickly, after the attack while the Clinton team was still in office.
President Clinton feels soldiers' and the nation's pain but fails to act decisively in response to the terrorist attack on the USS Cole
The Galvin Opinion continues:
Despite the fact that bin Laden had declared war on America in 1998 the Clinton Administration never countered that we were at war with terrorists. In a radio address on October 14, two days after the attacks, Bill Clinton said "even when America is not at war, the men and women of our military risk their lives every day." In an October 18 memorial service, Clinton only devoted one small paragraph to the terrorists. He never mentioned any grave threat by name, not even Osama bin Laden or Al Qaeda. In a "Meet the Press" interview just 3 days after the attack, National Security Advisor Sandy Berger did not even bring up al Qaeda or the risk it posed to Americans. His neglect to address the subject of our biggest enemy came just one month before the 2000 election. Top officials like Madeleine Albright and William Cohen ignored Richard Clarke's calls for attacking al Qaeda targets for fear of derailing the Arab-Israeli peace process and creating perceptions that America is indiscriminately bombing Muslims. All of this despite the fact there was a foiled attempt on three U.S. targets on January 3, 2000, including an attack on USS The Sullivans in, of all places, the port of Aden, Yemen.
In fact, the Clinton Administration should have had knowledge of bin Laden's desire to carry out attacks on American forces. Osama bin Laden and members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad appeared in a Qatar TV tape on September 22, 2000 making specific threats to attack American ships. Osama bin Laden followed through on his promise on October 12, 2000, killing 17 Americans.
Bottom line? It's Bush's fault.
Comments