I don't quite know what to make of this report that Richard Clarke, in August of '02, was telling reporters that Bush had ordered the vigorous pursuit of Osama bin Laden. On the one hand, if you're in his job and not planning to quit soon, that's the kind of thing you have to say, especially in this administration. On the other hand, if you give two differing accounts of something, it's reasonable for folks to wonder which time you were telling the truth and which time you were fibbing. (The frustrating part, of course, is that they'll believe whichever one better serves their purpose.)
I wish the Bush administration had defended itself not by portraying Clarke as some kind of lower life form but by offering up documentation…say, copies of presidential briefings or minutes (even redacted) of meetings. The line of response is too much about Clarke's character and not enough about what anyone actually did or didn't do.
For what it's worth, I don't believe killing or capturing Osama would have done (or will do) much to cripple al-Qaeda. His martyrdom might even embolden them. I also don't think there's much value in finger-pointing with regard to pre-9/11 actions. If someone comes forth with proof that either the Bush or Clinton administrations had hard information of the plot, that would be a different matter. But otherwise, the blame-casting — faulting officials for not foreseeing the unforeseeable — seems to me just a matter of "Gotcha" politics. Yes, of course, we now wish more had been done. I was amazed and maybe even impressed that Clarke did say the following during his testimony today…
I welcome these hearings because it is finally a forum where I can apologize to the victims of 9-11 and their loved ones. Our government failed you. Those entrusted with protecting you failed you and I failed you. We tried hard but that doesn't matter because we failed.
That's an extraordinary thing for someone in his position to say. Perhaps he just said it because he thought it would make people more likely to believe his current account, I don't know. But I was somewhat stunned by the moment. If anyone sees an online source of a video clip, let me know. The way he said it…and the silence in the room after he said it…were chilling.
[UPDATE, a few minutes later: Here's a link which may or may not work to the clip on the MSNBC site, and if it does work, you'll have to sit through an ad first. It may not be worth it. The way they shot it and chopped it off at the end, it doesn't have the impact that I felt when I saw it live today. In fact, it sounds like a guy sending out for pizza. Just trust me that it was chilling when presented such that it felt like people were actually listening to the man.]