Clarke's Resignation Letter - Prepare Yourself

[Kimber Scott]

I remembered when Richard Clarke resigned from the White House his resignation letter had been floating around. I went to look for it and found these. I don't know what to think. The resignation seems to focus on cyber-worms, while the Salon article refers to a Time article in which Clarke criticized the White House in 2002 re: terrorism.

http://www.salon.com/news/col/cona/2002/08/06/bush/

Aug. 6, 2002 | Job security
How long will Richard Clarke wait before resigning? The position of the National Security Council's counterterror chief -- a nonpartisan official who has served in the White House since the first Bush presidency -- must be difficult now that his tragically unheeded warnings and plans have been detailed in Time magazine. Some of what Time reports about Clarke's efforts appeared months ago in the Washington Post, but the Newsweekly's version is more pointed. The few direct quotes from him in the Time epic are anodyne -- as when he says that the dithering policy review on the al-Qaida threat ordered by Condi Rice in early 2001 moved forward "as fast as could be expected." The story, however, portrays Clarke "livid with frustration" over the nine-month delay in approving his plan. If the White House suspects that he was the main source for Time, the only reason Clarke won't be ousted is because of what he might say were he able to speak freely.
(Link to Time article is broken.)

Here's a letter he wrote re: his resignation.
http://seclists.org/lists/politech/2003/Feb/0009.html

U.S. Cybersecurity Czar to Resign
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,57454,00.html

Here's an interesting page where there is info on all the people who have resigned this administration.

http://www.missouri.edu/~quinnl/news/bodies.html

Can anybody get the Time, or Washington Post articles?

[cmd]

1. This might be the Time article you want

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,333835,00.html

[Kimber Scott]

4. That's it! Thank you!

n/t

[alfredo]

2. His letter doesn't sound like a disgruntled employee

He sounds like he enjoyed his work.

[jackstraw45]

3. A 30 year public servant

with a distinguished career isn't going to go postal in his resignation letter - it goes in his file folks.

THINK about it.

[The Spirit of JFK]

5. AND

It makes his criticism of the administration seem more valid and carrieds mre wieght....not coming from a vindictive fomer employee full of sour grapes.

He's simply pointing out something he knows to be untrue and feels it's important to do so.

[Kimber Scott]

6. I was remembering someone else's

resignation letter, I think. It was much more scathing than this one. What's interesting about Clarke's career is how Rice basically put him on a back burner by assigning him to Cyber-terrorism, after having such a distinguished career.

Heads are going to start rolling. This makes the blood in the water hard for the media to ignore.

[keithyboy]

7. Most people who resign a highly visible post do not attack the President

in writing. They do it in books and appearances after they are out of office. It's the PC of politics.

[leftofthedial]

8. the letter is not his letter of resignation

it is the memo announcing his resignation, saying goodbye to his colleagues and subordinates.

Very different thing and almost certainly very different content from what he would say to his boss when resigning.