2 presidents' contrasting approaches to terrorism

[Khephra]

WASHINGTON - President Bill Clinton preferred reading detailed intelligence memos, which he marked up with notes and comments in order to receive written responses. President Bush sought early-morning, face-to-face briefings from CIA Director George J. Tenet.

Clinton tried to draw attention to the threat of terrorism by frequently mentioning it in speeches, but top aides would spend weeks or months arguing over the fine points in action memorandums -- which Clinton would tinker with before signing them. Bush was tired of "swatting flies" and wanted dramatic results, bristling at the tedium of interagency coordination. He saw little need for formal meetings, instead communicating with top officials via national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.

The two presidents -- and their contrasting management styles and personalities -- loom large in the report released Thursday by the Sept. 11 commission. Although the bipartisan report assigns equal blame to both administrations for failing to prevent the terrorist attacks -- and draws no conclusions on either president's abilities in dealing with the threat -- the 567-page narrative for the first time places their actions and decisions in context, drawing often upon their own recollections and words.

snip..........

On one crucial detail, the presidents' memories differ substantially. Before Bush took office, the two men met for two hours, and Clinton recalled telling Bush that "by far your biggest threat is Bin Laden and the al Qaeda." Bush told the commission that he did not remember much being said about al Qaeda, and that Clinton had emphasized North Korea and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The portrait of both men that emerges from the report is of dedicated, disciplined executives, struggling to understand and deal with a new and shadowy organization. A frustrated Clinton, in 2000, complained about the lack of military options and declared, "it would scare . . . al-Qaeda if suddenly a bunch of ninjas rappelled out of helicopters into the middle of their camp."

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5500580/

[lancdem]

1. Bush is a liar

I'm certain Clinton mentioned al-Qaida in that meeting. I'm glad they captured Clinton's commitment to the issue, even if I doubt Bush was that dedicated.

[LOVING IT]

3. Clinton's commitment....

Please explain.

To The issue of Foreign policy? Peace Keeping forces and WTO were his primary foreign policy achievements.
His domestic policy commitment greatly out weighed his foreign policy commitment.

[lancdem]

5. To fighting terrorism

The article on the commission's findings gives details on that.

BTW, you neglected to mention his tireless work on the Israeli-Palestinian issue and Northern Ireland. The longer he was president, the more involved he became in foreign policy.

[TahitiNut]

6. Such as .... ?

:eyes:

[tabasco]

7. You forgot a few items.

Are you intentionally ignorant or is it due to a learning problem?

- Helped Israel and Jordan achieve an historic peace treaty and Israel and the Palestinians fulfill their historic accord.
- Contributed to an historic cease-fire in Northern Ireland.
- Restored democratically elected Haitian President Aristide to power; will continue to stop the flow of refugees to Florida.
- Undertook, with NATO allies and UN, military and diplomatic actions to alleviate the suffering and lead the effort to broker a comprehensive peace agreement in Bosnia.
- Russian nuclear missiles are no longer pointed at our cities.
- Persuaded Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan to give up the nuclear weapons left on their land when the Soviet Union collapsed.
- Agreed to framework with North Korea that freezes and leads to the eventual elimination of North Korea s dangerous nuclear program.
- Led the international effort to secure the indefinite and unconditional extension of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) further reducing the danger of nuclear proliferation around the world.
- Working to prevent nuclear weapons from ending up in the hands of terrorists or international criminals.
- Air-lifted more than half a ton of vulnerable, highly enriched uranium, enough to make dozens of nuclear bombs, from Kazakhstan to safe storage.
- Assisted South Africa's transition to democracy, providing support for elections and development.
- Bringing the nations of Europe closer:
-- Modernizing NATO;
-- Working with Russia;
-- Reforming the former Soviet Union economies
- Waging a tough counter-terrorism campaign with stronger laws and more training for law enforcement.
- Maintaining strong sanctions against states that sponsor terrorism and defy the rule of rule, such as Iran, Iraq, Libya and Sudan.
- Sent our planes, ships and troops to turn back a new Iraqi threat to the Persian Gulf.
- President Clinton hosted the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles in September, 1993, and the signing of the Israeli-Jordan Washington Principles in July, 1994 -- historic agreements between the leaders of Israel and her Arab neighbors to settle differences by peaceful means.
- To enhance European security and stability, the Clinton Administration proposed the Partnership for Peace program, offering former Soviet republics and Central/East European states closer ties with NATO. Already, 22 nations have signed on, since NATO's adoption of the program in January, 1994.
- As of May, 1994, nuclear missiles in Russia and the United States are no longer targeted against any country. And, as a result of other Clinton Administration efforts, the Ukraine is ahead of schedule in reaching the goal of transferring 1,500 nuclear warheads to Russia for dismantlement.
- President Clinton peacefully restored democracy to Haiti, curbing the violence that threatened tens of thousands of Haitians, securing our borders, and upholding our commitments and the commitments made to us in the process.
- Signed NAFTA into law, December 8, 1993, which will create hundreds of thousands of US jobs.
- Signed GATT into law, December 8, 1994, the largest trade agreement in history.
- Secured free-trade commitments from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders.
- Hosted Summit of the Americas and agreed to negotiate a Free Trade Area of the Americas by 2005
- Developed National Export Strategy, eliminating outdated export controls on $35 billion in exports.
- Opened 15 different market sectors in Japan ranging from telecommunications procurement to rice.
- Reached historic agreement with Japan on opening its automotive market to billions of dollars worth of American cars and parts.
- Reached agreement with China to provide intellectual property rights protection for billions of dollars worth of U.S. exports.

[BrotherBuzz]

10. Splendid list...

Do you think you could compile a list of Bush* foreign policy achievments, too?

Chirp, chirp, chirp....

[Media_Lies_Daily]

12. Blammo!! Excellent list! Thanks...I'm going to save this for future use.

[eridani]

NAFTA creating jobs?

What universe did that happen in? It was the next step in the project begun by Reagan of destroying the American middle class.

[Demeter]

2. Talk About RUDE!

Drag Tenent around to issue briefings that Bush isn't going to listen to, act upon, or do anything meaningful about--Honestly!

Responsibility means being willing and able to respond. Which one was the responsibly acting president, and which "president" is responsible for the "intelligence failures" of the past 3.5 years?

[AirAmFan]

4. Great find! IMO the key paragraph here is an account of an outright lie by *

I have two questions about this paragraph:

(1) Where if anywhere in the 911 Commission report is this two-hour meeting discussed?

(2) Who if anyone else was in the room besides Clinton and Bush?

"On one crucial detail, the presidents' memories differ substantially. Before Bush took office, the two men met for two hours, and Clinton recalled telling Bush that "by far your biggest threat is Bin Laden and the al Qaeda." Bush told the commission that he did not remember much being said about al Qaeda, and that Clinton had emphasized North Korea and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

[lovedems]

8. Well, as I see it, telling Bush his biggest threat is Bin Laden and Al Q

is being direct and to the point. You don't have to "say much" when you are direct. If Bush doesn't "remember" much being said, maybe it was because much didn't have to be said! Just because he didn't get it is no reflection on The Big Dog. AAAARGH! He has gotten through life so friggin' stupid!!!!!!!!!

[AirAmFan]

11. Answer to question (1): The MSNBC paragraph is almost word-for-word

from a brief passage in the 911 Commission Report, based on closed-door testimony from Clinton, Dubya, and Cheney.

From pages 199 and 509 of http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20040722_911Report.pdf

'In December,Bush met with Clinton for a two-hour,one-on-one discussion of national security and foreign policy challenges.Clinton recalled saying to Bush,"I think you will find that by far your biggest threat is Bin Ladin and the al Qaeda."Clinton told us that he also said,"One of the great regrets of my presidency is that I didn �t get him for you,,because I tried to."(159) Bush told the Commission that he felt sure President Clinton had mentioned terrorism,but did not remember much being said about al Qaeda.Bush recalled that Clinton had emphasized other issues such as North Korea and the Israeli- Palestinian peace process.(160)...

(159). President Clinton meeting (Apr. 8, 2004).

(160). President Bush and Vice President Cheney meeting (Apr. 29, 2004).'

[dennis4868]

9. What about this statement?

"The portrait of both men that emerges from the report is of dedicated, disciplined executives, struggling to understand and deal with a new and shadowy organization. "

Bush dedicated to fighting terrorism? If he was perhaps 911 would not have happened much like the millenium bombings never happenes because Clinton "shook the tress." How can they say Bush was so dedicated when he tried to cut the counterterrorism budget and ignored the Aug. 6 PDB....WTF is this article talking about.

It was not contrasting approaches...it was Clinton saw the threat and acted on it and Bush did not care...did not put time into it....that is clear from the evidence. This article is all spin and NO FACTS!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

13. This phrase pissed me off...."dedicated, disciplined executives"...

How the heck does anyone have the nerve to describe FratBoy by that statement? What the hell has that guy EVER been "disciplined" or "dedicated" about besides running another con game to get people to invest in all of his failed businesses, as well as lying on a frequent and consistent basis to the American people?

The only thing that guy has any disciplne about is spending lots of time on vacation...like now.

[DarbyUSMC]

14. It occurs to me that one of the reasons for * 's confusion

all of the time (one of many reasons, of course) is that perhaps he is dyslexic. Doesn't like to read or finds it too hard to read? Hmmmm. Just a thought. If that is the case he surely isn't aware of it, so has never learned to use the tools that dyslexics have available to them since the learning disability has come to light more and more in the last few decades. He may have developed smirking in grade school to cover up the disability. He would have already intuitively known that Bush men can't have any flaws. His Daddy especially wouldn't approve and pleasing Daddy is number one on his list of priorities. Wonder what * was like as a kid and when did the arrogance become the dominating factor of his persona. Inquiring minds want to know. I feel sorry for any kid who lives their youth trying to live up to someone's estimation of perfection. After you get to be an adult though, people tend to leave the things of childhood behind and become their own person. I think * forgot that part of his favorite book.