Clinton Scapegoated for 911 by Larry Johnson

[Annces]

Playing the Terrorist Blame Game: Clinton Scapegoated for 9/11
by Larry C Johnson

(Posted originally at the National Interest http://nationalinterest.org/Article.aspx?id=12260)

I enjoyed watching Bill Clinton joust with Chris Wallace on Fox News yesterday, and could appreciate the former president's frustration at being the scapegoat for 9/11. As a critic of President Clinton's counter-terrorism efforts (see New York Times op-ed by Milton Bearden and Larry C. Johnson), I welcomed the arrival of the Bush Administration because Clinton, in my view, had not made combating terrorism a top priority during his tenure. For example, he left the position of the Coordinator for Counter Terrorism vacant for several months during his presidency. He could have done more. However, it was also true that the number of terrorist attacks steadily declined during Clinton's tenure.

To Clinton's credit he did allow Richard Clarke to become the de facto terrorism czar at the National Security Council. That was due principally to Clarke's skill as a bureaucratic infighter. He made himself indispensable. In that position, he was viewed by many as an aggressive and abrasive coordinator. Several of my friends in various parts of the intelligence and policy community complained at the time that Clarke was a "chicken little" and a "pain in the ass." Those same friends, however, came to lament his absence because he brought a focus and energy and could get the president's ear.

Full article
http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/09/playing_the_ter.html