What do people make of Richard Clarke allowing Bin Ladens to leave on 9/11

[republicansarewhores]

WTF???!!!

I just read this and I have to admit I am a little shocked. I would still assume the order came from someone high up to clear the Bin Laden family for departure, but does Richard Clarke's testimony clear the chimp?

I haven't seen any mainstream press pick this up either and it happened May 26.

RAW

http://www.hillnews.com/news/052604/clarke.aspx

Clarke claims responsibility

Ex-counterterrorism czar approved post-9-11 flights for bin Laden family

By Alexander Bolton

Richard Clarke, who served as President Bush’s chief of counterterrorism, has claimed sole responsibility for approving flights of Saudi Arabian citizens, including members of Osama bin Laden’s family, from the United States immediately after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

In an interview with The Hill yesterday, Clarke said, “I take responsibility for it. I don’t think it was a mistake, and I’d do it again.”

Most of the 26 passengers aboard one flight, which departed from the United States on Sept. 20, 2001, were relatives of Osama bin Laden, whom intelligence officials blamed for the attacks almost immediately after they happened.

Clarke’s claim of responsibility is likely to put an end to a brewing political controversy on Capitol Hill over who approved the controversial flights of members of the Saudi elite at a time when the administration was preparing to detain dozens of Muslim-Americans and people with Muslim backgrounds as material witnesses to the attacks.

[rucky]

1. is this a reliable source

never hoid of it

doesn't mean it didn't happen, tho

[Zen Democrat]

2. Read further in that report ....

This new account of the events seemed to contradict Clarke’s sworn testimony before the Sept. 11 commission at the end of March about who approved the flights.

“The request came to me, and I refused to approve it,” Clarke testified. “I suggested that it be routed to the FBI and that the FBI look at the names of the individuals who were going to be on the passenger manifest and that they approve it or not. I spoke with the — at the time — No. 2 person in the FBI, Dale Watson, and asked him to deal with this issue. The FBI then approved … the flight.”

“That’s a little different than saying, ‘I claim sole responsibility for it now,’” Roemer said yesterday.

...

When Roemer asked Clarke during the commission’s March hearing, “Who gave the final approval, then, to say, ‘Yes, you’re clear to go, it’s all right with the United States government,’” Clarke seemed to suggest it came from the White House.

...

“It doesn’t seem that Richard Clarke had enough information to clear it,” Roemer said Monday.

“I just don’t think that the questions are resolved, and we need to dig deeper,” Roemer added. “Clarke sure didn’t seem to say that he was the final decisionmaker. I believe we need to continue to look for some more answers.”

[maggrwaggr]

8. yes, and in which situation was he under oath?

and which situation did we all see, and which situation was written down by a "journalist?"

I rest my case.

[napi21]

3. I heard his testimony before the 911 commission. He said he

checked for approval from the FBI, CIA, and the President & VP. I suppose once he got that approval and he was the one who issued the final OK, they he feels obliged to take responsibility for letting them go.

O don't believe this is a bog problem though. As I understand, Usama us the renegade son of the family. He was tossed out of Saudi Arabia by his family. I really can understand letting the "Family" leave the US after 911 because there would have been US terrorists out to kill them.

I'm not sure if it was the right thing to do, but it could be similar to the Una Bomber story when his own brother turned him in when he realized who it was.

It just might be a situation where you can't be held responsible for everything your kids do....especially if you've already disowned them.

I think Clarke is accepting responsibility for issuing the final order.

[johntao]

5. One member of that flight

If you read "House of Bush, House of Saud", one Saudi family individual who left in those flights may have known about 9/11 before it happened. The report is that Abu Zabaydah pointed him out as an intermediary between the House of Saud and Al Qaeda. In other words, we let a key member of the Saud family leave who could have provided key information in hunting down the terrorists. This individual died shortly after this apparent discovery. He died of a heart attack at the crisp old age of 43 in Saudi Arabia. Coincidence?

I don't know how solid this information is, but this is what the report said. Draw your own conclusions.

[still_one]

4. It's a LIE

Read his book. Just the opposite occurred...

[still_one]

6. Looking at this site, it looks and smells like a republican shrill site

Look who they feature, "dick Morris"

Clarke did not approve the Saudi Citizen flights, it was the administration pushing the FBI.

Read "Against All Enemies" and "House of Bush House of Saud"

This site is trying to create a lie to protect the administration for their relationship with the bin Laden family and Saudis

Every critisim of this administration the people who critisized them were always attacked or lied about in some way.

DO NOT BELIEVE THIS STORY!

[napi21]

7. I reading "Against All Enemies" now, but I also listened to

Clarke's testimony. See my post above.

This statement is another attempt to discredit him.

[TheWizardOfMudd]

9. CLARKE DID NOT GIVE THE OKAY

Richard was assigned the task to determine whether or not the FBI wanted to question any of the bin Laden family.

Clarke gave the information to the FBI and the FBI approved them leaving the country.

CLARKE DID NOT DO IT. The FBI did it. IT WAS NOT WITHIN CLARKE'S JURISDICTION OR POWER.

This is the third fucking time I have answered this question on this board.

He is being a man by taking responsibility. But the decision belonged to the FBI.