Why didn't Clinton blame George H. W. Bush for the 1993 terrorist attacks?

Question

President Clinton took the oath of office January 20, 1993. February, 26 - barely a month later - terrorists detonated more than 1,000 pounds of explosives under the World Trade Center, killing six and injuring about a thousand people. Bill Clinton and the Democrats never dreamed of trying to blame the outgoing George Herbert Walker Bush Administration. They just began working to keep us safe from terrorism. Why couldn't the present Bush Administration do that after 9/11?

Answer 1

Clinton believes in that old addage: "Fix the Problem, Not the Blame". Too bad more of our Republicn brothers can't learn from that example.

Instead of pointing fingers and whining about "flip-floppers", Clinton:
-- Developed the nation's first anti-terrorism policy, and appointed first national coordinator.
-- Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up 12 U.S. jetliners simultaneously.
-- Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up UN Headquarters.
-- Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up FBI Headquarters.
-- Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
-- Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up Boston airport.
-- Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up Lincoln and Holland Tunnels in NY.
-- Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up the George Washington Bridge.
-- Stopped cold the planned attack to blow up the US Embassy in Albania.
-- Tried to kill Osama bin Laden and disrupt Al Qaeda through preemptive strikes (EVERY effort denounced by the G.O.P.).
-- Brought perpetrators of first World Trade Center bombing and CIA killings to justice.
-- Did not blame Bush I administration for first World Trade Center bombing even though it occurred 38 days after they had left office. Instead, worked hard, even obsessively -- and successfully -- to stop future terrorist attacks.
-- Named the Hart-Rudman commission to report on nature of terrorist threats and major steps to be taken to combat terrorism.
-- Tripled the budget of the FBI for counterterrorism and doubled overall funding for counterterrorism.
-- Detected and destroyed cells of Al Qaeda in over 20 countries
-- Created a national stockpile of drugs and vaccines including 40 million doses of smallpox vaccine.

-- Robert Oakley, Reagan Counterterrorism Czar says of Clinton's efforts "Overall, I give them very high marks" and "The only major criticism I have is the obsession with Osama"

-- Paul Bremer, Bush's Administrator of Iraq disagrees slightly with Robert Oakley saying he believed the Clinton Administration had "correctly focused on bin Laden. "

-- Barton Gellman of the Washington Post put it best, "By any measure available, Clinton left office having given greater priority to terrorism than any president before him" and was the "first administration to undertake a systematic anti-terrorist effort."

Here, in stark contrast, is part of the Bush-Cheney anti-terrorism record before September 11, 2001:
-- Backed off Clinton administration's anti-terrorism efforts.
-- Shelved the Hart-Rudman report.
-- Appointed new anti-terrorism task force under Dick Cheney. Cheney's group did not even meet before 9/11.
-- Called for cuts in anti-terrorism efforts by the Department of Defense.
-- Gave no priority to anti-terrorism efforts by Justice Department.
-- Ignored warnings from Sandy Berger, Louis Freeh, George Tennant, Paul Bremer, and Richard Clarke about the urgency of terrorist threats.
-- Halted Predator drone tracking of Osama bin Laden.
-- Did nothing in wake of August 6 C.I.A. Reports to the President, saying Al Qaeda attack by hijack of an airliner almost certain.
-- Bush - knowing about the terrorists' plans to attack in America, warned that terrorists were in flight schools in the US, took a four week vacation to Crawford TX.
-- By failing to order any coordination of intelligence data, missed opportunity to stop the 9/11 plot as Clinton-Gore had stopped the millennium plots.
-- Blamed President Clinton for 9/11.

AFTER Sept 11, 2001 Bush:

-- Allowed relatives (and their entourages) of Osama bin Laden, the man who admitted responsibility for the attacks on Sept 11, to leave the country when everyone in the US was not allowed to fly ANY type of aircraft in US airspace. The bin Ladens were removed from the US without being debriefed about Osama Bin Laden by the FBI;
-- Spoke out against the formation of an independent 9/11 Commission, resisted handing over required paperwork to that Commission, and even refused to testify to the Commission under oath.
-- Despite Bush's repeated promises to "get" bin Laden "dead or alive", and to "smoke" bin Laden "out of his hole", Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind two successful attacks on the WTC, an attack on the Pentagon, an attack on a US Navy Destroyer, the USS Cole, and several embassy bombings around the globe, remains free and at large. The latest intel surmises bin Laden to have rejoined his family in Saudi Arabia, apparently free of fear of being extradited to the US by our Saudi 'allies'.
-- Strongly resisted the formation of the Dept of Homeland Security (actually, I totally agreed with him denouncing this additonal bureaucracy);
-- Quietly suspended the constitutional doctrine of HABEAS CORPUS under the guise of fighting the "war on terror";
-- Taken a surplus in the federal budget and turned it into an almost 9 Trillion dollar deficit, all that money spent and the Us is no more secure now than it was before Sept 11 2001

Answer 2

It wasn't finger pointing time until Clinton failed to respond the next five times the US or it's interests were attacked! It was then that the American people realized they had a shameless coward sitting in the seat of the commander in chief.

The big difference between the first and last incidents were this: George Herbert Walker Bush was out of office when the first trade center attack took place. This country was being tested by Islamic terrorists, when the first attack took place, when the second WTC attack took place, under GWB, the terrorists already believed the country would not respond because it had not, on the last five incidents.

The precedent had already been set by Clinton, to not react to attack. The man feared our own military complex more than he did the enemy. It's true, the military had little regard for the Clintons, but it would not have allowed it's dislike for them to interfere with it's military duties.

You mentioned that the Clinton administration began working to keep us safe from terrorism, that's as far fetched as a statement can possibly be. There idea of protecting the American people from terrorism was to resolve the matter in civilian courts. that's as far as Clinton ever went in fighting the enemy of today. This is the same enemy as that of 1993. Just how deep in the sand are you Clinton lovers prepared to bury your heads, before you will finally admit the Clintons are more than just losers? They are dangerous losers, because they believe they can produce a win, win situation for all, and that just ain't so.

Between 1992 and 2000, we tried Clintons social experiment of being nice to everyone. He turned the other cheek, each and every time our country was attacked. Why, he finally ran out of cheeks to turn, but still did nothing. So, don't you dare tell the American people that we need the Clinton's back, don't you fu cking dare!

Answer 3

I echo Bert T answer.

The nefarious, superficial, manipulating Bush Circus lacks class and blames all of America's problems on the Clinton Administration rather than taking responsibility. Obviously neocons exhibit their hypocrisy by advocating personal responsibility than turn away from it.

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB147/index.htm

Answer 4

You are so right! Kennedy was elected in 1960 and since than there was only 16 years of a democratic president and 31 years was republicans. In those years of Republicans were all kinds of corruption from contra,to impeachment to Iraq. It is easier to blame democrates since it works so well for them. With 31 years it looks to me like corruption gets rewarded. Maybe this time America will learn!

Answer 5

Well because Bill Clinton was a good President. He didn't feel the need to play the blame game like the Bush administration.

Answer 6

Because 9/11 wasn't Bushs fault.

Answer 7

Actually, the Bush Justice Department was investigating these individuals. A terrorist informant told his FBI handlers that he and the blind sheik were planning a terrorist attack. The FBI didn't believe them. Read the 9/11 Report.

Answer 8

`Cause We're Conservatives. We don't stoop to that level. Besides, do you see what he's having to deal with? Hurricanes, out the wazoo, Gas Prices, Wars,. And oh yeah! Nine Freakin' Eleven! He's too classy of a President to be ignorant.

Answer 9

The Islamic Jihadi's derive their motivation for terrorism from conservative Republican administrations. It was G.W.Bush, and his policies who created that motivation. These days their motivation for Jihad is derived from the administration policies of Bush's son.

Answer 10

Not right again and only the Clinton worshiping Sandy Bugler knows the answer, but he oops, destroyed the evidence in fear of ending up like Vince Foster.

Answer 11

Because the political right-wing is motivated solely by self-interest, and their sheeple happily join in the chorus.

Edit: As is proven by the right-wing responses in this thread. Start thinking for yourselves, guys, and stop repeating these silly intellectually stunted attack jobs on Clinton.