Does anybody know how many times FBI Director Louis Freeh met with President Clinton?
According to Freeh's book, "My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror", 2005, p. 246, the author, responding to a question of how often he met with the President during his early years of service stated -
"To the best of my recollection, the answer is one time, maybe two,
maybe three times in the entire seven-plus years I worked under Bill
Clinton. Add in phone calls and the total might climb to a half a dozen
on the outside. Jim Woolsey, who took over the CIA at the start of the
first Clinton administration, had the same experience: virtually no
meetings, virtually no calls, essentially a wall of silence."
For those who haven't read this book, it's well worthwhile, albeit colored with a bit of typical autobiographic panache.
Clinton turned a kinda Nelsonian eye on the details of what was going on. If he didn't try to find out, and refused to communicate with those he'd appointed who knew, he could always deny having any knowledge. It's "circular logic", i.e., you're back's to the wall but they can't get you cornered.
Clinton was in serious denial for all 8 years, as in, "Nobody told me."
Clintonistas contend that Clinton was having almost daily meetings over combating terrorism. They contend that since Bush did not do likewise on taking over as President, therefore Clinton was doing more about our security than Bush. Are the number of meetings a measure of effectiveness? I wonder who attended Clinton's terrorism meetings if the FBI director wasn't there.
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 11
Great post, as usual, sir.
9. Did not think casting Rosie O'Donnell as Monica Lewinsky was funny. At all.
8. Claims he never told Vernon Jordan that "if you stare directly into Madeline Albright's face, you'll become impotent."
7. Not historically accurate like Fahrenheit 9/11.
6. The film was way too negative with all of that terrorism, and Islamic fanaticism. It did not focus on the great economy during the 1990's at all.
5. Lewinsky used the unconventional single-kneed "halftime speech" stance when performing oral sex, not the more traditional two-kneed approach that was depicted in the film.
4. Falsely depicted Clinton as a "Whopper" eater rather than a "Big Mac" man.
3. Although he thought the scene where Hillary pees standing up was "hilarious", he caught hell for laughing at it.
2. Sandy Berger wears cargo-briefs, not boxers.
1. No matter how many personal requests he made, Hillary still does not get eaten by wolves in the end.
(Disclaimer: Any similarities between TNOYF's "Top 9" lists and other organizations "Top 10" lists are purely coincidental. As you can see, our lists have 9, theirs have 10. Way different.)
Posted by Buckley F. Williams in Conservative satire
Can't imagine why but my normal opponents have not appeared on this thread -- yet.
Best regards, Ben
Author "Leading People to be Highly Motivated and Committed"
Clinton conducted cabinet level meetings on counter terrorism three times per week.
Bush conducted zero. Until one week before 9/11.
This is a toughie...which one was more focused on the job? Hmmmm...
Without the heads of the CIA and FBI those meetings must have been almost impotent which pretty well matches the record. Did they ever invite Jamie Goreleck on occasion to update how well she was doing at maintaining the wall between agencies?
Best regards, Ben
Author "Leading People to be Highly Motivated and Committed"
Certainly, Richard Clarke was one, and another was John O'Neill.
Here's an interesting list of information that was just published:
http://www.bartcop.com/clinton-terror-stopped.htm
"Just for the record, under Richard Clarke's leadership as Czar of Counterterrorism:.
· CLINTON developed the nation's first anti-terrorism policy, and appointed first national coordinator of anti-terrorist efforts.
· Bill Clinton stopped cold the Al Qaeda millennium hijacking and bombing plots.
· Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to kill the Pope.
· Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up 12 U.S. jetliners simultaneously.
· Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up UN Headquarters.
· Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up FBI Headquarters.
· Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
· Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up Boston airport.
· Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up Lincoln and Holland Tunnels in NY.
· Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up the George Washington Bridge.
· Bill Clinton stopped cold a planned attack to blow up the US Embassy in Albania.
· Bill Clinton tried to kill Osama bin Laden and disrupt Al Qaeda through
preemptive strikes (efforts denounced by the G.O.P.).
· Bill Clinton brought perpetrators of first World Trade Center bombing and CIA killings to justice.
· Bill Clinton did not blame the Bush I administration for first WTC bombing even though it
occurred 38 days after Bush left office. Instead, worked hard, even obsessively - and successfully
- to stop future terrorist attacks.
· Bill Clinton named the Hart-Rudman commission to report on nature of terrorist threats
and major steps to be taken to combat terrorism.
· Bill Clinton sent legislation to Congress to tighten airport security. (Remember, this is before 911)
The legislation was defeated by the Republicans because of opposition from the airlines.
· Bill Clinton 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.
· Bill Clinton 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.
· Bill Clinton increased the military budget by an average of 14 per cent, reversing the trend under Bush I.
· Bill Clinton tripled the budget of the FBI for counterterrorism and doubled overall funding for counterterrorism.
· Bill Clinton detected and destroyed cells of Al Qaeda in over 20 countries.
· Bill Clinton created national stockpile of drugs and vaccines including 40 million doses of smallpox vaccine.
· Of Clinton's efforts says Robert Oakley, Reagan Ambassador for Counterterrorism:
"Overall, I give them very high marks" and "The only major criticism I have is the obsession with Osama".
· Paul Bremer, current Civilian Administrator of Iraq disagrees slightly with Robert Oakley as
he believed the Bill Clinton Administration had "correctly focused on bin Laden.
· Barton Gellman in the Washington Post put it best, "By any measure available, Bill 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".
Clarence Swinney,
Political Historian "
Now, far be it for me to ever become a rabid Clinton supporter. Although his management of the country was obviously immeasurably more successful than either failed Bush, by any standard of measurement, I don't happen to think that he was "all that."
However, I also don't care to see the vicious, irrational hatred spewed towards the man by the radical right, nor do I appreciate when those on the right lie and claim that Clinton did nothing with regard to terrorism. Therefore, I feel that the Bartcop page is worth posting, if for no other reason than to put to rest this nonsense from the radical right.
If only the efforts of sound minds would unite to focus upon the establishment of a rational platform to address past errors and prevent future problems through the application of anticipation and response.
A dream? Well, it is currently four a.m.
Are you sure that Richard Clarke was a cabinet officer?
From your list, Clinton is taking credit for a lot of things he had little or nothing to do with. Great propaganda for a do nothing president, though. Very similar to his claims of being responsible for reforming welfare.
Best regards, Ben
Author "Leading People to be Highly Motivated and Committed"
I took the time to check out your assertion that -
"Bill Clinton increased the military budget by an average of 14 per cent, reversing the trend under Bush I."
Sorry to have to refute your facts, but in constant FY2005 dollars (to take into account the effects of inflation) the Defense Budget in 1992, Bush's last year, was $390.8 Billion and in Clinton's last year 2000 was $344.2 Billion.
That is a not an average of 14% per year increase but an overall decrease of 12%. Source
http://library.nps.navy.mil/home/defense%20bills-98-756.pdf
So you were totally wrong about Clinton's defense budget.
I can only assume that most of the rest of your contentions are likewise fabrications, red meat for Democrats who blindly believe the propaganda of their talking heads but thin gruel for anyone truly seeking the truth.
Best regards, Ben
Author "Leading People to be Highly Motivated and Committed"