by Alexander Bolton, The Hill
EFL. Hat tip: Brothers Judd.
Richard Clarke, who served as President Bushâs chief of counterterrorism, has claimed sole responsibility for approving flights of Saudi Arabian citizens, including members of Osama bin Ladenâs family, from the United States immediately after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In an interview with The Hill yesterday, Clarke said, âI take responsibility for it. I donât think it was a mistake, and Iâd do it again.â
Not that the moonbats who think President Bush is a Saudi dupe who was paid to let them out (*cough* Michael Moore *cough*) will change their tune.
Clarkeâs claim of responsibility is likely to put an end to a brewing political controversy on Capitol Hill over who approved the controversial flights of members of the Saudi elite at a time when the administration was preparing to detain dozens of Muslim-Americans and people with Muslim backgrounds as material witnesses to the attacks. . . .
| When has the truth ever mattered to a good political controversy? |
This new account of the events seemed to contradict Clarkeâs sworn testimony before the Sept. 11 commission at the end of March about who approved the flights. âThe request came to me, and I refused to approve it,â Clarke testified. âI suggested that it be routed to the FBI and that the FBI look at the names of the individuals who were going to be on the passenger manifest and that they approve it or not. I spoke with the â at the time â No. 2 person in the FBI, Dale Watson, and asked him to deal with this issue. The FBI then approved ⊠the flight.â
| It's only a bit of perjury. Everybody does that, don't they? |
âThatâs a little different than saying, âI claim sole responsibility for it now,ââ [commission member and former Rep. Tim] Roemer [(D-Ind.)] said yesterday. . . .
| More like lying under oath |
Clarke said yesterday that the furor over the flights of Saudi citizens is much ado about nothing.
Finally! he says something we can all agree with.
âThis is a tempest in a teapot,â he said, adding that, since the attacks, the FBI has never said that any of the passengers aboard the flight shouldnât have been allowed to leave or were wanted for further investigation. He said that many members of the bin Laden family had been subjects of FBI surveillance for years before the attacks and were well-known to law-enforcement officials. âItâs very funny that people on the Hill are now trying to second-guess the FBI investigation.â
Pot --> Kettle --> Black. |