Hey, everyone! It's August 20th. And we know what that means...
It's Republican Ignore OBL Day. Details below the fold...
At 1730 hours Zulu (1.30pm EDT) on August 20, 1998, acting on what Madeline Albright called "some excellent intelligence work", al-Qaeda locations were hit in an attempt to take out the mastermind of the August 7 Embassy bombings, Osama bin Laden. Two massive bombs detonated at US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, killing 12 Americans and hundreds of Kenyans and Tanzanians... and we struck back.
First, here are snippets of President William Clinton's speech to the nation on August 20, 1998...
Today I ordered our armed forces to strike at terrorist-related facilities in Afghanistan and Sudan because of the imminent threat they presented to our national security.
I want to speak with you about the objective of this action and why it was necessary.
Our target was terror. Our mission was clear -- to strike at the network of radical groups affiliated with and funded by Osama bin Laden, perhaps the preeminent organizer and financier of international terrorism in the world today.
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A few months ago, and again this week, bin Laden publicly vowed to wage a terrorist war against America, saying -- and I quote -- ``We do not differentiate between those dressed in military uniforms and civilians. They are all targets.''
Their mission is murder. And their history is bloody.
In recent years, they killed American, Belgian and Pakistani peacekeepers in Somalia. They plotted to assassinate the president of Egypt and the Pope. They planned to bomb six United States 747s over the Pacific. They bombed the Egyptian embassy in Pakistan. They gunned down German tourists in Egypt. The most recent terrorist events are fresh in our memory. Two weeks ago, 12 Americans and nearly 300 Kenyans and Tanzanians lost their lives. And another 5,000 were wounded when our embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam were bombed.
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We have quietly disrupted terrorist groups and foiled their plots. We have isolated countries that practice terrorism. We've worked to build an international coalition against terror. But there have been and will be times when law enforcement and diplomatic tools are simply not enough. When our very national security is challenged and when we must take extraordinary steps to protect the safety of our citizens. With compelling evidence that the bin Laden network of terrorist groups was planning to mount further attacks against Americans and other freedom-loving people, I decided America must act.
Those on the [f]right[ened] wing like to quote Sean Hannity's oft-repeated lie from his 2002 book (that Clinton had OBL in his sights three times and did nothing about it). It's only when you know why they invented this lie that a lot of their bluff and bravado makes some sense.
The cock crowed three times, sure enough. But it was the Republicans doing the crowing.
One - Senator Arlen Specter, Republican-PA (we haven't forgotten, Arlen. And unlike the conservative bloggers, we don't stand blindly with you just because you saw a shift in the wind and hooked onto Obama's sails. You need to earn that 'D'), said "there's an obvious issue that will be raised internationally as to whether there is any diversionary motivation." To this Republican, Osama bin Laden was "diversionary motivation"...
Two - Senator John Ashcroft, Republican-MO, said "there is a cloud over this presidency" because of the attempt to kill Osama bin Laden...
Three - Senator Dan Coats, Republican-IN, demanded that President Clinton should resign for daring to go after OBL. "It raises questions about whether or not he had the time to devote to this issue, or give the kind of judgment that needed to be given to this issue to call for military action", he said...
Let's not forget: we're talking about a terrorist that had already declared that "those dressed in military uniforms and civilians" were "all targets". A terrorist that had already struck US Embassies, American soil, in Africa.
What was so important to the Republicans that nothing else was to be talked about. Not the booming economy, not the idea of energy independence from oil despots, and certainly not "this issue" of Osama bin Laden. An "issue" that probably didn't even require "military action"?
Monica Lewinsky. Republicans wanted to talk blow-jobs instead of our national security.
August 20, 1998, was the first Republican "Ignore bin Laden" Day. This is its eleventh birthday. Since then, Republicans have decide to ignore OBL in other ways. The August 6 2001 memo for the President entitled "Bin Laden determined to strike in US" was thoroughly ignored. Even though it mentioned "that Bin Laden wanted to hijack a U.S. aircraft" and that "FBI information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York."
I mentioned Hannity's book, and I'd like to end on that.
Hannity's entire case came from a guy called Mansoor Ijaz, a Pakistani-American that claimed he transmitted the offer between the US and Sudan. Former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger described Ijaz as an unreliable freelancer: "Ijaz was trying to get the embargo and trade restrictions on Sudan lifted, because he had investments in Sudanese Oil. Ignoring Ijaz, the Clinton White House tried everything they could to convince the Sudanese government to hand over Osama bin Laden. Sudan wouldn't bite, though they would later kick him out of the country."
So Ijaz said Sudan was ready to hand OBL over. The US went to Sudan and they said "what? No!" The US tried every avenue to get Sudan to hand him over, and Sudan said no again. And again. And again.
Oh, the story does have a happy ending for Mansoor Ijaz. He may not have been able to take advantage of his investments in the Sudan. But he landed a job for being so loyal with his lies.
Which is nice.
One final thing: when the three Republicans had had their say in 1998, this was the response from Joe Biden.
Told of these criticisms, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, branded them "preposterous," and noted that Osama bin Laden, suspected of bankrolling the installations that were bombed, "is one bad mother."
"Even if that [a diversion] were an element, what in the hell does it do to us around the world for leading American officials to even suggest that?" Biden asked. "It is not very sound judgment to speak in terms of motivation other than national security at this moment."
Happy Ignore Osama Bin Laden Day, [f]right[ened] wing. I hope you're satisfied.