Dereliction of Duty?
By Bill O'Reilly
Recently released classified documents paint a stark picture as to how Al Qaeda (search) was able to start the War on Terror. Let's walk through it.
The group Judicial Watch (search) has been tracking Usama bin Laden and filed a Freedom of Information request for a State Department report that detailed bin Laden's activities. It took Judicial Watch four years, but this week they finally got the secret documents and they are devastating.
Two memos written in July and August 1996 warned the Clinton administration that, "(bin Laden) can retain the capability to support individuals and groups who have the motive and wherewithal to attack U.S. interests almost worldwide."
In the years following that top-secret analysis, bin Laden ordered the bombings of two U.S. embassies and the USS Cole (search). One month prior to the memo, Al Qaeda killed 19 American soldiers at the Khobar Towers (search) in Saudi Arabia.
So Secretary of State Warren Christopher (search), and you would assume President Clinton, knew that Usama bin Laden was on the attack, yet the USA allowed him to operate in Afghanistan without sanction.
Now we contacted Warren Christopher and he refused to comment. I believe Congress should compel the man to speak by issuing him a subpoena.
At this point, it looks like Christopher was derelict in his duty. And he is a coward if he does not explain the situation.
"The Factor" also contacted President Clinton's office here in New York City. So far, no reply. But again, Mr. Clinton has an obligation to the 9/11 families and every other American to address this.
On another front, it is now clear that Army intelligence had identified Mohamed Atta as a dangerous terrorist more than a year before Atta led the 9/11 attack. An Army group called Able Danger (search) got the information, but did not pass it along to the FBI and tell the bureau that Atta was actually inside the USA.
Why? Because of a policy instituted by Attorney General Janet Reno (search) and her deputy Jamie Gorelick. The women erroneously believed that potential criminal activity could not be pinpointed by any U.S. military intelligence operation. That's insane.
Now long-time "Factor" viewers will remember that I called Janet Reno the worst attorney general in history because the woman simply refused to aggressively pursue wrongdoing and was a political player, not a law enforcement officer in my opinion.
As for Miss Gorelick, who also served on the 9/11 Commission, she obviously made an enormous mistake. If she had done the right thing, 9/11 could have been prevented.
All of this is relevant today because America is still struggling to define the war on terror. The Bush administration wants to be proactive. And that includes the Iraq action, but many are opposing aggressive anti-terror action for a variety of reasons. And some of them are legitimate.
But the lesson here is this. The Clinton administration allowed Al Qaeda to grow in ferocity and did not confront an evil they knew existed. We simply cannot allow that to happen again in this country.
