If Clinton did nothing to stop 9/11, what exactly did Bush do?

Question

Yeah, Bill Clinton deserves some of the blame for 9/11 for his actions on terrorism, and passing on chances to get Bin Laden but what about Bush?

Don't give me any crap about "he didn't have enough time." He was in office for seven and a half months before 9/11. How much time did he need? If 9/11 had been 2/11 I'd be a bit more sympathetic.

Plus, Bush's pre 9/11 actions regarding terrorism don't exactly argue in his favor.

Reducing Counterterrorism czar from a cabinet level job.

Refusing to be briefed by Counterterrorism Czar Richard Clarke, who had requested to brief him on Al-Qaeda.

Ignoring a memo that Clinton left him entitled "Strategy For Eliminating the Threat of the Jihadist Network, Al-Qaeda."

Cutting anti-terror funding.

Taking the month of August off.

Not holding any cabinet level meetings on terrorism until September 4th.

Focusing on missle defense even though the attack on the USS Cole was carried out by suicide bombers.

dex604, are you sure you didn't mean to post on a different board? Your response started off as one to my question, and then you changed subjects.

Answer 1

Under that construct, Bush did less than nothing...

Answer 2

AS former Military what do I know right? but I am sure that Osama and the boys Attepted to blow up the world Center in 93, I do know They Killed 19 Airman and wounded 300 Airman in 96 at Khobar Towers, I do know, That Osama and the Boys Blew up 2 U.S. Embassy's in Africa in 98, I do know that Osama and the boys Blow a Hole in the U.S..S Cole in 2000. I do know that 3,000 Americans were killed by Osama and the Boys on 9-11, 9-11 took 6 to 8 years to plan and train who was president for 99% of that time? So If we leave and they win, and they gain strengh and more followers, there gonna come fast and hard against us, so if people want to live in a left wing nut world where everything is America's Fault, someday they may realize one morning were fighting these Terrorists for our WAY OF LIFE at least Bush is doing something about it!!!!!!! Heck CLINTON did nothing about it, expect LIE ABOUT HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH A GIRL IN WOULDN'T HAVE TOUCHED IN HIGH SCHOOL, and spent more time worrying about LYING ABOUT scandals like Whitewater, PREJURE, THAN MAYBE he would have taken Bin Laden into custody in 98 when the Sudan was willing to hand him over.

Here's another one for ya, Bush Sr. and Clinton
During the Saddam's time as Dictator of Iraq, he did the following,

Invaded His Neighbor we call that The Gulf war
Gassed his own People, with mustard gas
Straved and Brutally ruled his people with terror,
VIOLATED 17 U.N. LAWS FOR 17 YEARS!!!
Refused to allow U.N. WEAPONS INspectors to do there job
Was Bombed in 98 by Clinton with the same intell Bush and CONGRESS HAD TO INVADE.
His savagely beat and killed who ever opposed him
Bought weapons with oil money from France and Russia that was supossed to feed his people.
HARBORED TERRORISTS CAMPS AND WAS A STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM OF THE WEST.
Has a plot to Kill George Bush our President

Is that enough reasons for you
Yeah we should have let Saddam stay in power he was a GREAT GUY, glad he is dead, and most sane people are.

Answer 3

People need to read the 9/11 report. The Clinton administration did not verify that Bin Ladin was responsible for the previous attacks against the U.S. until December of 2000. Instead of starting a war and handing it off to the Bush Administration, Clinton decided to just hand the Bush Administration the intel and allow them to deal with it as they wished.

The Bush Administration sat on it and took no action against Al Queda.

Answer 4

Bush had been in office for 6 months, then took the whole month of August off for a vacation in Crawford. Average Americans have to work every week for a year before they get a week off. Meanwhile the FBI suppressed field intelligence about the specific threat in American fight schools.
When he was first informed of the attacks Bush did not think it was serious enough to break away from a group of elementary school students.....why in the hell was he visiting an elementary school, anyway? Then in the days after 9/11 he allowed hundreds of Saudi nationals to fly home, at the same time average Americans couldn't even approach an airport.
To blame Clinton for anything related to 9/11 is an attempt to divert attention from all of these facts.

Answer 5

Bin-Laden had nothing to do with it so Clinton is in the clear.

Bush orchestrated the whole thing so he's to blame. Bush needed a national disaster to make the country look to the government for help. The response was the Patriot Act, nice sound to it huh? It gives Bush the power to suspend elections if the country is in a state of emergency (we are currently). Bush also needed this to happen so he could start this war for oil and make tons of money through his profiting on the US defense companies which he owns 5% of.

Bush is also in bed with the Saudi's. The Saudi's own 7% of US defense companies so this war was in their interest as well.



Hey Dez604, you know all this huh? Just because you were military makes you so much more knowledgable than the informed American? I highly doubt that. In fact you were more subject to the propaganda of this countries worst asset (the military). You were convinced to risk your life for other people's agendas. Every day there is a secret war being fought somewhere that is in the interest of some high up person who got there because he plays golf with the CEO of Mobil. Just stating that your military shows your level of intelligence. Why not take a different path in life? Educate yourself and advance civilization peacefully. Wow.

Answer 6

bush justs wants the fame and money. that's wat i think. Well i don't know much on the subject on bill clinton and terrisom but i still say that if bill clinton was in for a bit longer some changes could have been made to stop it. All bush did with terroism is make a non stop war start now. Everyday on the news now there is a little part for war in iraq. I also think bush wanted to show that america is strong to go in and fight. I support all our troops in iraq but well i want to say that it's brains over bronzes in our technology growing world. Bush could have made a stategy or something thing go in. i think we'll see some real changes when we get a new president. Also with this war going on our goverment has decided to deflate the value of our american dallor by investing in other county money. Bush isn't the only to blame here though but he's all i can think of 2 blame.

Answer 7

If you don't think Bush wishes he could have gotten OBL before 9/11 I think you are naive. No one has suggested that agents in the field had OBL in their sites and GW went out to play golf rather then answer their request to kill him; and no one has suggested two foreign nations communicated with the Bush White House offering them OBL only to have lawyers suggest there was nothing we could do with them. Those accounts fall on BJ Clinton.

Answer 8

Soooo then it is all Bush? Why is he the only name being thrown out here for bashing? What about everyone else in the two administrations who if not part of Bush's admin, should have passed their knowledge on?

It isn't like the USA operates by one SINGLE person, so lets start placing the blame on more than the President....

Come on, name some names, it will make you feel better.

Answer 9

Much of the lack of intelligence with regards to the upcoming 9/11 attack could be traced to Clinton's Deputy Attorney General, Jamie Gorelick. Gorelick later got a seat on the 9/11 commission, probably doing damage control.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05226/553271.stm

Answer 10

Clinton pretended to be president while Atta and his buddies were IN THE US learning to fly.

Sickening reflection on Clinton and the Dems. Right?

Answer 11

I agree there was more that he could have done, but he deserved maybe 8 months of blame as compared to 8 years that Clinton had.

By the way, when a President, no matter who, goes on "vacation" its not like you and I who get to relax and bum around. He is briefed every day and has his staff there with him. Camp David and his ranch all have fully equipped offices and the minute something happens he jumps into action.