Clinton Hatched Wacky 'Black Ninja' Plot to Get Al-Qaeda
Two former Clintonoids are complaining that the Pentagon and FBI blocked Bill Clinton's half-hearted schemes to go after Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. But the aides' own example of Democrat-style counterterrorism clarifies why there was resistance.
Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, "Clinton-era National Security Council experts on terrorism," say that after Clinton's missile attacks on al-Qaeda in Afghanistan "achieved little" in August 1998, he dreamed up this stunt, the Associated Press reported today:
The prez approached Gen. Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and said, "It would scare the [expletive] out of al-Qaeda if suddenly a bunch of black ninjas rappelled out of helicopters into the middle of their camp. It would get us an enormous deterrence and show those guys we're not afraid."
The Pentagon, however, predicted a disaster worthy of Jimmy Carter, who sent helicopters to Iran in hopes of rescuing 52 American hostages. "The result was the incineration of two helicopters and the deaths of eight servicemen," AP noted.
Thus, "Clinton's 'black ninja' plan never got off the ground." |
