Richard Clarke Defends Himself Against Administration Attacks

White House Denounces Former Aide as Partisan

President Bush's top aides launched a ferocious assault on the former White House counterterrorism official who accused Bush of failing to act on the al Qaeda threat before Sept. 11, 2001, and strengthening terrorists by pursuing a misguided focus on Iraq.

Half a dozen top White House officials, departing from their policy of ignoring such criticism, took to the airwaves to denounce Clarke as a disgruntled former colleague and a Democratic partisan.

The furor over the allegations by Clarke, who served in the Reagan, Clinton and both Bush administrations, came as former president Jimmy Carter delivered an unusually stern rebuke of Bush over the Iraq war.

"That was a war based on lies and misinterpretations from London and Washington, claiming falsely that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11, claiming falsely that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction," Carter told the Independent newspaper of London, where the Clarke allegations were causing new trouble for Prime Minister Tony Blair, a Bush ally. Carter said Bush and Blair "probably knew that many of the allegations were based on uncertain intelligence."

In addition to Cheney, Rice appeared on all five network morning shows, and by 11 a.m. the White House had booked more than 15 interviews on cable news channels, as well as numerous talk-radio appearances, over the next nine hours. White House press secretary Scott McClellan spent much of both of his briefings yesterday arguing that Clarke's book was politically motivated and timed.

el - As a former top administration official the White House was responsible for the timing of the book and delayed it. It had to be vetted. The CIA, the FBI and others have had the book since November and could hold it up no longer.

Richard Clarke was recommended to the President by his father and is the policy maker recognized as the number one expert on counter-terrorism. He served in the Reagan administration and both Bush's.

The intensity of the attack mean this is serious and badly hurts them. Unlike other officials Clarke will not roll over.

The campaign's defense strategy was that although Clarke could not be roundly refuted on the facts, enough doubt about the issue could be raised by portraying him as reckless and partisan.

Beers, [Kerry advisor], said in an interview that Clarke is his best friend but that he did not see the book until Saturday. Beers said he believes that the White House has responded with such vehement and personal attacks because the book "undermines their entire election strategy on the national security side, which is that George Bush is an effective commander in chief who rallied the nation after the 11th of September and is successfully fighting the war on terrorism."

el - Another close friend of Richard Clarke is CIA director George Tenet. On Charlie Rose, Clarke said that Tenet speaks to Bush every day and tried to get Bush to take action on Al-Qaeda repeatedly, as Clarke did. Only lower level meetings were held.

Clarke also said Howard Dean was right, the United States is no better off with Saddam captured. The invasion of Iraq was an immense recruitment tool for Al-Qaeda. The best case now is that we might get a democratic Iraq but have greatly strengthened terrorism worldwide. The worst case is that Iraq itself will breed terrorists and we get the great clash of civilizations a few people want. He also said that the administration consciously linked Iraq and 9/11 in speeches and exaggerated the threat posed by possible WMDs in Iraq.

All the Dean arguments, all of my arguments, coming from a highly-respected high government official that the media actually listens too.

The Book on Richard Clarke.

Most acquaintances do not regard him as a partisan. "You can't accuse him of being passive or too liberal on foreign policy," said Vince Cannistraro, a former CIA official who worked with Clarke in the Reagan years.

Minutes after the second jetliner hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, Richard A. Clarke recounts in his new book, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice anointed him "crisis manager."

Rice and other senior officials had so much confidence in Clarke, they entrusted him with a key leadership role after the hijackings.


Charlie Rose also had on RASHID KHALIDI who discussed the assignation by Israel of SHEIKH AHMED YASSIN and over ten others while they were leaving prayer.

Khalidi pointed out that Sharon's hard line military tactics had destroyed all moderate Palestinian groups and the PLO and the PA and is now targeting the more moderate elements of the more radical groups. Hamas since Sharon has gone from 20% approval in Palestine to over 40% before this attack. I think it is over 50% now. He sees no hope for a two-state solution, no hope for any peaceful solution now.

el - The thing I am struck by in all the interviews of both Jews and Palestinians is how the authoritarian response has taken hold. There is no seeing the other side's position. If Hamas had sent a suicide bomber against a Jewish rabbi while he was leaving his synagogue because he was actively urging people that the solution to the Palestinian problem was to remove all the Palestinians by force or otherwise I would condemn that. I also condemn this attack. People write to me, "that is not fair, this Hamas leader encouraged and had an active role in bomb attacks where innocent people were killed. Israel only targets terrorists and people near them." I say there is blood on all sides, and targeting of innocents on all sides in this conflict and we should wash our hands of this until some more sensible people take power on both sides.