Iran; in general

[xoxoxoBruce]

But Dana, you know if we don't ratify their choice it doesn't count.

[DanaC]

Ach sorry, I had forgotten that.

[TheMercenary]

In October 1993, eighteen U.S. servicemen who are part of a humanitarian mission to Somalia are killed in an ambush in Mogadishu. Bin Laden later calls Americans “paper tigers” because they withdrew from Somalia shortly after the soldiers’ deaths. – CNN website, Bin Laden timeline.

Bin Laden told John Miller of ABC News that Black Hawk Down was the turning point, and that the incident told Al-Qaeda we were weak-bellied and spineless, and could be had by a bunch of “skinnies” with rifles.

“Our people realize more than before that the American soldier is a paper tiger that run in defeat after a few blows. America forgot all about the hoopla and media propaganda, and left dragging their corpses and their shameful defeat.” -Osama bin Laden, from the book “Blackhawk Down.”

To put the timeline to this comment by Bin Laden we have this from Opinion Journal by Brendan Miniter:

“Bill Clinton’s outburst on Fox News was something of a public service, launching a debate about the anti-terror policies of his administration. It is vital that this debate be honest, but so far this has not been the case.

While this divisiveness may be good for Mr. Clinton’s reputation, it is ultimately unhealthy for the country. What we need, instead, is a cold-eyed look at what works against terrorists and what does not. The policies of the Clinton and Bush administrations ought to be put to the same iron test.

With that in mind, let us examine Mr. Clinton’s war on terror. Some 38 days after he was sworn in, al Qaeda attacked the World Trade Center. (1)

He did not visit the twin towers that year, even though four days after the attack he was just across the Hudson River in New Jersey, talking about job training. He made no attempt to rally the public against terrorism. His only public speech on the bombing was a few paragraphs inserted into a radio address mostly devoted to an economic stimulus package. He did not even vow to bring the bombers to justice. Instead, he turned the first terrorist attack on American soil over to the FBI.

In his Fox interview, Mr. Clinton said “no one knew that al Qaeda existed” in October 1993, during the tragic events in Somalia. But his national security adviser, Tony Lake, told me that he first learned of bin Laden “sometime in 1993,” when he was thought of as a terror financier. U.S. Army Capt. James Francis Yacone, a black hawk squadron commander in Somalia, later testified that radio intercepts of enemy mortar crews firing at Americans were in Arabic, not Somali, suggesting the work of bin Laden’s agents (who spoke Arabic), not warlord Farah Aideed’s men (who did not). CIA and DIA reports also placed al Qaeda operatives in Somalia at the time.

By the end of Mr. Clinton’s first year, al Qaeda had apparently attacked twice. The attacks would continue for every one of the Clinton years.

• In 1994, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (who would later plan the 9/11 attacks) launched “Operation Bojinka” to down 11 U.S. planes simultaneously over the Pacific (2). A sharp-eyed Filipina police officer foiled the plot. The sole American response: increased law-enforcement cooperation with the Philippines.
• In 1995, al Qaeda detonated a 220-pound car bomb outside the Office of Program Manager in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing five Americans and wounding 60 more (3). The FBI was sent in.
• In 1996, al Qaeda bombed the barracks of American pilots patrolling the “no-fly zones” over Iraq, killing 19 (4). Again, the FBI responded.
• In 1997, al Qaeda consolidated its position in Afghanistan and bin Laden repeatedly declared war on the U.S. In February, bin Laden told an Arab TV network: “If someone can kill an American soldier, it is better than wasting time on other matters.” No response from the Clinton administration.
• In 1998, al Qaeda simultaneously bombed U.S. embassies in Kenya (5) and Tanzania (6), killing 224, including 12 U.S. diplomats. Mr. Clinton ordered cruise-missile strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan in response. Here Mr. Clinton’s critics are wrong: The president was right to retaliate when America was attacked, irrespective of the Monica Lewinsky case.

Still, “Operation Infinite Reach” was weakened by Clintonian compromise. The State Department feared that Pakistan might spot the American missiles in its air space and misinterpret it as an Indian attack. So Mr. Clinton told Gen. Joe Ralston, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to notify Pakistan’s army minutes before the Tomahawks passed over Pakistan. Given Pakistan’s links to jihadis at the time, it is not surprising that bin Laden was tipped off, fleeing some 45 minutes before the missiles arrived.

• In 1999, the Clinton administration disrupted al Qaeda’s Millennium plots, a series of bombings stretching from Amman to Los Angeles (7). This shining success was mostly the work of Richard Clarke, a NSC senior director who forced agencies to work together. But the Millennium approach was shortlived. Over Mr. Clarke’s objections, policy reverted to the status quo.
• In January 2000, al Qaeda tried and failed to attack the U.S.S. The Sullivans off Yemen. (Their boat sank before they could reach their target)(8). But in October 2000, an al Qaeda bomb ripped a hole in the hull of the U.S.S. Cole, killing 17 sailors and wounding another 39 (9).

When Mr. Clarke presented a plan to launch a massive cruise missile strike on al Qaeda and Taliban facilities in Afghanistan, the Clinton cabinet voted against it. After the meeting, a State Department counterterrorism official, Michael Sheehan, sought out Mr. Clarke. Both told me that they were stunned. Mr. Sheehan asked Mr. Clarke: “What’s it going to take to get them to hit al Qaeda in Afghanistan? Does al Qaeda have to attack the Pentagon?”

There is much more to Mr. Clinton’s record–how Predator drones, which spotted bin Laden three times in 1999 and 2000, were grounded by bureaucratic infighting; how a petty dispute with an Arizona senator stopped the CIA from hiring more Arabic translators. While it is easy to look back in hindsight and blame Bill Clinton, the full scale and nature of the terrorist threat was not widely appreciated until 9/11. Still: Bill Clinton did not fully grasp that he was at war. Nor did he intuit that war requires overcoming bureaucratic objections and a democracy’s natural reluctance to use force. That is a hard lesson. But it is better to learn it from studying the Clinton years than reliving them.”

And finally this:

Richard Miniter, National Review Online: “One of the big myths about the Clinton years is that no one knew about bin Laden until Sept. 11, 2001. In fact, the bin Laden threat was recognized at the highest levels of the Clinton administration as early as 1993. What’s more, bin Laden’s attacks kept escalating throughout the Clinton administration.

[tw]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

There is much more to Mr. Clinton’s record–how Predator drones, which spotted bin Laden three times in 1999 and 2000, were grounded by bureaucratic infighting; ...

Number of lies in his post are so numerous as to ... well ... his defense is insanity which is why he wears aluminum to protect from the wrath of god and attacks from his mobile.

Meanwhile, Predator drones? Virtually all at that time were not operational or were lost over the Balkans. They were only prototypes and used only in limited range operations. TheMercenary was told by wackos what an observation drone was going to accomplish. Kill bin Laden by watching him? You means Clinton stopped Predators from killing bin Laden? That is the diatribe from the wacko extremist press.

TheMercenary is so brainwashed by Rush Limbaugh type propaganda as to forget to check his facts. An attack ability was not operational until some time after 2000. Even then, it was only a prototype and not yet tested for operations in such distant locations. Oh. TheMercenary assumed everyone in the Cellar is stupid? It is the nature of his posts.

When reality was issuing facts, TheMercenary was too busy ironing his aluminum foil. Looking good is more important than being honest.

TheMercenary believes what he is told. What did he forget? 1) No Predators available then. 2) No predators were capable of attack. Oh. Door number 3) was it supposed to kill bin Laden by staring bin Laden to death? TheMercenary as a good little wacko extremist must believe anything a right wing extremist will preach. Political agendas being more important than America; more important than being honest in the Cellar. Next he will claim he does not iron his aluminum. You can never know when an extremist is honest or lying. To an extremist, both are justified by a political agenda and the love for George Jr. Nixon's people did the exact same thing.

People just like TheMercenary say we should have executed a surprise attack on the Japanese Fleet in early 1940 so that Pearl Harbour would not happen. Exactly how TheMercenary thinks. Just read what he posts complete with twists that only Karl Rove would envy.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by tw

Number of lies in his post are so numerous as to ... well ... his defense is insanity which is why he wears aluminum to protect from the wrath of god and attacks from his mobile.

Meanwhile, Predator drones? Virtually all at that time were not operational or were lost over the Balkans. They were only prototypes and used only in limited range operations. TheMercenary was told by wackos what an observation drone was going to accomplish. Kill bin Laden by watching him? You means Clinton stopped Predators from killing bin Laden? That is the diatribe from the wacko extremist press.

TheMercenary is so brainwashed by Rush Limbaugh type propaganda as to forget to check his facts. An attack ability was not operational until some time after 2000. Even then, it was only a prototype and not yet tested for operations in such distant locations. Oh. TheMercenary assumed everyone in the Cellar is stupid? It is the nature of his posts.

When reality was issuing facts, TheMercenary was too busy ironing his aluminum foil. Looking good is more important than being honest.

TheMercenary believes what he is told. What did he forget? 1) No Predators available then. 2) No predators were capable of attack. Oh. Door number 3) was it supposed to kill bin Laden by staring bin Laden to death? TheMercenary as a good little wacko extremist must believe anything a right wing extremist will preach. Political agendas being more important than America; more important than being honest in the Cellar. Next he will claim he does not iron his aluminum. You can never know when an extremist is honest or lying. To an extremist, both are justified by a political agenda and the love for George Jr. Nixon's people did the exact same thing.

People just like TheMercenary say we should have executed a surprise attack on the Japanese Fleet in early 1940 so that Pearl Harbour would not happen. Exactly how TheMercenary thinks. Just read what he posts complete with twists that only Karl Rove would envy.

Please pass the popcorn.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by tw

... Door number 3) was it supposed to kill bin Laden by staring bin Laden to death?

... good stuff, the personality reintegration thing is taking hold.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by tw

Meanwhile, Predator drones? Virtually all at that time were not operational or were lost over the Balkans. They were only prototypes and used only in limited range operations. TheMercenary was told by wackos what an observation drone was going to accomplish. Kill bin Laden by watching him? You means Clinton stopped Predators from killing bin Laden? That is the diatribe from the wacko extremist press.

your fantasy as some kind of spokes person for the liberal left is failing... http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/ne...ting-osama.htm

People just like TheMercenary say we should have executed a surprise attack on the Japanese Fleet in early 1940 so that Pearl Harbour would not happen. Exactly how TheMercenary thinks. Just read what he posts complete with twists that only Karl Rove would envy.

Source.

Make some more popcorn, this should be interesting...

Hi TW:

[Ibby]

I think Bill was right; the only way to deal with a terrorist is to ignore it.