NY Times: Former Terrorism Official Criticizes White House on 9/11

[gristy]

Here's the NY Times story on the 60 minutes interview with Richard Clarke. Just posted at their web site. What do y'all think of the reporter who got to write this story?

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Former Terrorism Official Criticizes White House on 9/11
By JUDITH MILLER

Published: March 22, 2004

In a new book, Richard A. Clarke, who was counterterrorism coordinator for President Bill Clinton and President Bush, asserts that while neither president did enough to prevent the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration has undermined American national security by using the 9/11 attacks for political advantage and ignoring the threat of Al Qaeda in order to invade Iraq.

Mr. Clarke, who has spent more than 30 years as a civil servant in Republican and Democratic administrations, issues a highly critical assessment of the Bush White House in "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror," which is being released on Monday.

Mr. Clarke resigned from government in March 2003.

In an interview Sunday evening, Dan Bartlett, the White House communications director, dismissed Mr. Clarke's charges as "politically motivated," "reckless" and "baseless."

MORE

[Teddy_Salad]

1. Wow!!!

A Judith Miller article without a Ahmed Chalabi quote!

Wonders never cease to amaze.

[roguevalley]

2. she's usually a dink if I remember

[cliss]

3. What more does the public need?

Here we have an "insider", yet another government official who has blown the lid off the Bush administration. Like a long line of disgusted, disillusioned officials, Mr. Clarke has shared his recollections of his years with The Criminals in Charge.

I'll try to get his book, but there are so many! I still need to get the Paul O'Neil book.

[gristy]

4. Tomorrow's front page still not up on their web site

I'm anxiously awaiting to see if it will be the lead story (in the upper RH corner on page 1).

[Teddy_Salad]

6. What page.....?

.....I'm predicting on the penultimate page of the sports section.......just after yesterdays spring training results from the Cactus League.

Of course, the Clarke story could be pushed entirely from that page should Barry Bonds have anything more to say on the baseball steroids scandal.

[bain_sidhe]

5. "while neither president did enough to prevent the attacks"

I wonder if she gets dizzy? Does she ever puke all over her keyboard? I know all that spinning would make ME upchuck. In fact it almost did, and I wasn't even the one doing it!

Note that, while there was room for her to write:

Steven Hadley, the president's deputy national security adviser, denied that anyone at the White House had tried to intimidate Mr. Clarke into finding a link between 9/11 and Iraq.

...there was apparently not enough room to note that CBS had two people corroborate the story - one of whom was actually THERE, unlike Hadley.

But, there was room to also note that:

Mr. Clarke's book also accuses the Clinton administration of having done too little to fight the threat of Al Qaeda. But he attributes this to the fact that Mr. Clinton had been "weakened by continuing political attack" stemming from his involvement with a White House intern and by other scandals.

which is obviously so much more important than the fact that Clarke's allegations were corroborated by eyewitnesses.

:eyes:

[iam]

7. I've never heard anything so damn damning dammit.

Watch for a strike by the bush* psycho squad. They're cornered and will attack like any animal.

[sadiesworld]

8. Starts and ends with "Clinton didn't do enough either" and sour grapes

BS. A casual reader will read the first couple of paragraphs and move on. Miller is a NYT whore.

[soleft]

9. Please continue here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x436441