Clinton and Bush are engaged in a little “he said, he said” by way of the 9/11 Commission. Call me crazy, but I think Clinton is getting the better of the end of the deal, no matter which side you believe.
While there haven’t been any on-the-record confirmations, media reports indicate that Clinton told the panel that he advised Bush to take al Queda very seriously. In fact, in advising him of international threats, Clinton put the terrorist network at the top of the priority list.
When the two spoke privately at inauguration time, Clinton put al Qaeda at the top of his list of national-security concerns, with Iraq behind the Mideast, North Korea and India and Pakistan, according to one outsider who recently heard Clinton’s account. It is confirmed by several former Clinton aides from the time.
Not surprisingly, Bush is telling a different story. According to a report in this week’s Time, Bush told the Commission that Clinton’s priority list emphasized North Korea, not al Queda.
In his interview with the 9/11 commission last week, sources tell Time, Bush testified that Clinton appeared far more passionate about the dangers of North Korea’s nuclear program and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to sources, Bush said Clinton “probably mentioned” terrorism as a national-security threat “but did not make it a point of emphasis.”
There’s a bit of a flaw in Bush’s argument.
If you believe Clinton’s version of the conversation, Bush ignored a very serious threat. If you believe Bush’s version, Bush ignored a different very serious threat. I can’t help but think that Bush hasn’t thought this one through.
After all, if the Time report is correct, Clinton was giving Bush a warning about a madman with an active nuclear program. While we can debate whether Bush was warned sufficiently about al Queda, we now know that Clinton’s advice about North Korea was a) correct and b) disregarded.
It’s really not much of a defense for Bush, when you think about it.