bt8624- I don't want to pile on, but before you make wild accusations about Clinton's actions, you should do some research into Clinton's approach to international terrorism first. Clinton was Osama-obsessed before it was popular to be- which is kinda why Osama is still alive. The general public didn't believe bin Laden was a threat before 9/11, that doesn't mean the White House didn't.
For example:
AP 8/20/98 Statement by President Clinton "Today, I ordered our armed forces to strike at terrorist-related facilities in Afghanistan and Sudan because of the threat they present to our national security. I have said many times that terrorism is one of the greatest dangers we face in this new global era. We saw its twisted mentality at work last week in the embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, which took the lives of innocent Americans and Africans and injured thousands more. Today, we have struck back. The United States launched an attack this morning on one of the most active terrorist bases in the world. It is located in Afghanistan and operated by groups affiliated with Osama bin Laden, a network not sponsored by any state but as dangerous as any we face. We also struck a chemical weapons-related facility in Sudan. Our target was the terrorists' base of operation and infrastructure. Our objective was to damage their capacity to strike at Americans and other innocent people.."
http://www.alamo-girl.com/0113.htm
Of course, most of America reacted as though Clinton was just trying to distract them from Monica Lewinsky... so, logically, we were more concerned with a BJ than with the "terra" Bush crows about constantly.
Most folks know about Bush's month-long Crawford getaways, and have heard this story:
'July 10, 2001, Phoenix, Ariz., FBI agent Kenneth Williams sends headquarters a memo about Middle Eastern students at an Arizona flight school, theorizing al-Qaeda could be trying to infiltrate U.S. aviation [and CIA Director] Tenet brief[ed] Bush in Crawford, Texas, with an analytic report on al-Qaeda. It is based largely on old intelligence but raises hijackings as a possible threat,' on August 6, 2001.
Of course, the attack came a month later. Folks blaming this on Clinton or Bush are missing the obvious fact that our intelligence agencies were flawed, and continued to be with Iraq. Bush Sr. should've been the one to overhaul them, I'd guess, as he had experience at the head of the CIA, and if he didn't realize they needed a good flushing, why would Clinton or Bush, neither of who had any experience in intelligence? (Or, some would argue, *WITH* intelligence)
The only obvious wrongdoing I saw was Bush's lack of questioning the US-based bin Ladens. Letting his family get up and flee without proper questioning is inexcusable- any information they could have provided to help catch him would have been welcomed.
"NEW YORK, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- The bin Laden family were granted extraordinary White House privileges to fly out of U.S. airspace following the attacks of Sept. 11th, 2001.
Former White House counter terrorism expert Richard Clarke told Vanity Fair the Bush administration decided to allow a group of Saudis to fly out of U.S. airspace just after Sept. 11 -- a time when access to the United States was still restricted and required special government approval.
According to the magazine's sources, at least four flights with about 140 Saudis, including roughly two-dozen members of the bin Laden family, flew to Saudi Arabia that week without even being interviewed or interrogated by the FBI.
Clarke, who headed the counter terrorism security group of the National Security Council, said he does not now recall who initiated the request for approval. He said it was probably either the FBI or the State Department, both of which have denied playing any such role. "