Since the Republicans claim that Bill Clinton should have done something about OBL and didn't...........?

Question

...., why didn't Bush do something about it before 9/11 either?

Hypothetically, I would have tried to continue the quest for going after terrorists who were interested in attacking the U.S. with Richard Clark despite the opposition coming from Republicans. http://youtube.com/watch?v=ky374uh9OF8

If you think Bill Clinton had 8 years of going after him, then add another 7 years with Bush, and it has been 15 years of no mission accomplished yet.

Answer 1

They say that now but when Clinton was President they sabotaged him in everything he tried to do against al quiada and Osama. Bush ignored the warnings and inspired by their cold war mentality neocons seriously underestimated al quiada before and after the attacks.

Starting in 1995, Clinton took actions against terrorism that were unprecedented in American history. He poured billions and billions of dollars into counterterrorism activities across the entire spectrum of the intelligence community. He poured billions more into the protection of critical infrastructure. He ordered massive federal stockpiling of antidotes and vaccines to prepare for a possible bioterror attack. He order a reorganization of the intelligence community itself, ramming through reforms and new procedures to address the demonstrable threat. Within the National Security Council, “threat meetings” were held three times a week to assess looming conspiracies. His National Security Advisor, Sandy Berger, prepared a voluminous dossier on al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, actively tracking them across the planet. Clinton raised the issue of terrorism in virtually every important speech he gave in the last three years of his tenure. In 1996, Clinton delivered a major address to the United Nations on the matter of international terrorism, calling it “The enemy of our generation.”

Behind the scenes, he leaned vigorously on the leaders of nations within the terrorist sphere. In particular, he pushed Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to assist him in dealing with the threat from neighboring Afghanistan and its favorite guest, Osama bin Laden. Before Sharif could be compelled to act, he was thrown out of office by his own army. His replacement, Pervez Musharraf, pointedly refused to do anything to assist Clinton in dealing with these threats. Despite these and other diplomatic setbacks, terrorist cell after terrorist cell were destroyed across the world, and bomb plots against American embassies were thwarted. Because of security concerns, these victories were never revealed to the American people until very recently.

Clinton’s efforts were blocked by the Republican Congress:

In Congress, Clinton was thwarted by the reactionary conservative majority in virtually every attempt he made to pass legislation that would attack al Qaeda and terrorism. His 1996 omnibus terror bill, which included many of the anti-terror measures we now take for granted after September 11, was withered almost to the point of uselessness by attacks from the right; Jesse Helms and Trent Lott were openly dismissive of the threats Clinton spoke of.

Clinton wanted to attack the financial underpinnings of the al-Qaeda network by banning American companies and individuals from dealing with foreign banks and financial institutions that al Qaeda was using for its money-laundering operations. Texas Senator Phil Gramm, chairman of the Banking Committee, killed Clinton’s bill on this matter and called it “totalitarian.” In fact, he was compelled to kill the bill because his most devoted patrons, the Enron Corporation and its criminal executives in Houston, were using those same terrorist financial networks to launder their own dirty money and rip off the Enron stockholders.

Just before departing office, Clinton managed to make a deal with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to have some twenty nations close tax havens used by al Qaeda. His term ended before the deal was sealed, and the incoming Bush administration acted immediately to destroy the agreement. According to Time magazine, in an article entitled “Banking on Secrecy” published in October of 2001, Bush economic advisors Larry Lindsey and R. Glenn Hubbard were urged by think tanks like the Center for Freedom and Prosperity to opt out of the coalition Clinton had formed. The conservative Heritage Foundation lobbied Bush’s Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neill, to do the same. In the end, the lobbyists got what they wanted, and the Bush administration pulled America out of the plan. The Time article stated, “Without the world’s financial superpower, the biggest effort in years to rid the world’s financial system of dirty money was short-circuited.”

Answer 2

The republicans only say that because it distracts the people from the truth, which is that they blocked every attempt that President Clinton tried to combat terrorism.

Why did bush not do anything? Because he was looking for a reason to invade Iraq and he knew that if he let the terrorists attack the USA, he could get the people to go along with his plan to invade Iraq. Ten days into his first term, he had a cabinet meeting where the main focus was to find a way to make his plan of invading Iraq happen.

Answer 3

I really don't understand why they cut W so much slack. The dude was not engaged in doing his job for the first 9 months. Can you imagine taking on a new job and taking as much vacation as W did in the first 9 months??? Of course not...not to mention it happens to be the most important job in the country. Makes you wonder if W really wanted to be President in the first place.

Republicans love to blame everything on Clinton....but after 7 years...it's just plain ridiculous.

Answer 4

President Bush did not have the chance to OBL in custody like President Clinton did..... and just let him walk.

Besides the world will never know what exactly President Clinton did know about OBL because his attorney Sandy Burger actually stole the documents out of the national archives.

Answer 5

8 years of risky miscalculations by potential of the Clinton administration (with a leg-up from Jimmy Carter's disastrous distant places coverage in Iran) allowed Islamic extremists to advance terrorist networks effectual adequate to hold somewhat some midsection jap governments captive to their extremist and bloodthirsty ideology. for the period of 2001, the financial slowdown had grew to become right into a actual recession collectively as Clinton grew to become into nonetheless the president. while Bush took place of work, he grew to become into criticized for sticking along with his tax-decrease pledge. while Bush took place of work in January of 2001 the recession had already began. while Bush signed his tax decrease on June 7 that twelve months the financial device grew to become into shrinking much greater promptly. The Bush tax decrease grew to become into very well timed. For the 1st quarter of 2001 the financial device grew to become into shrinking by potential of better than a million/2 a %; during the 2nd quarter it grew to become into shrinking at approximately three times that fee. Then, on the tip of that quarter, Bush signed his tax decrease and the financial device grew to become the nook in basic terms approximately in the present day: the fee of shrinkage went down 2-thirds interior the subsequent quarter and the financial device has grown each quarter by using fact that then.

Answer 6

Seriously, what is the point of trying to start this argument over again. You can't change history no matter who is right or wrong. It happened, it sucked. Let's start talking about solutions instead.

Answer 7

because that would have meant admitting that the Republican majority was wrong for trimming Clinton's anti-terror, and airline security proposals about 2 years earlier.

Answer 8

I don't claim anything of the like, and I am republican. And the reason we didn't do anything about him is he was on our side, and we shere simply underprepared!!!! The same would of happened if al gore was president. Our govt is to large to snub out every threat. We have to react and play defense especially when it's something unexpected

Answer 9

President Bush has done something about it...and is continuing to do something about it, Peace and may God bless you.

Never underestimate the Power of President George Bush!!!!!

Answer 10

OK, that's history....Now I would like to know what YOU would have done?(hypothetically, of course)