*Ø* Blogmanac | Former adviser dumps on Bush

Dubya did 'terrible job' fighting terror

"A former top White House terrorism adviser has accused President George W Bush of doing a 'terrible job' of defending the country against terrorism.

"Richard Clarke said in an interview on American television that the Bush administration ignored terrorism for months, when it could have done something to stop the attacks of September 11.

"He is due to testify later this week before a commission investigating the attacks.

"Mr Clarke also claims he was put under pressure to find what he says were non-existent links between Al Qaeda and Iraq.

"'Well [US Defence Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld was saying that we needed to bomb Iraq and we all said that "no, no, Al Qaeda is in Afghanistan, we need to bomb Afghanistan",' he said.

"'Rumsfeld said, there aren't any good targets in Afghanistan and there are lots of good targets in Iraq.

"'I said, "well there are lots of good targets in lots of places, but Iraq had nothing to do with it".'
Source: ABC Oz


"Clarke criticizes [Attorney General John] Ashcroft over his response to the 2001 attacks, especially over handling of alleged 'dirty bomber' Jose Padilla as an enemy combatant. 'The attorney general, rather than bringing us together, managed to persuade much of the country that the needed reforms of the Patriot Act were actually the beginning of fascism.' Clarke says an unidentified staffer asked him after meeting with Ashcroft early in 2001, 'He can't really be that slow, can he?' Clarke's response: 'He did lose a Senate re-election to a dead man.'"
Source: SF Gate