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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TigerPaw who wrote (356996)	2/10/2003 3:13:08 PM
From: JakeStraw	Respond to of 769667

Albright: I Don't Know Why Clinton Turned Down Bin Laden Deal Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Sunday that she couldn't explain why ex-president Bill Clinton turned down a deal with the government of Sudan to take Osama bin Laden into custody seven years ago. But she admitted that, "obviously, in hindsight, one would wish that some other action had been taken." Albright feigned ignorance of the Clinton-bin Laden extradition deal during the following exchange with NBC "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert: RUSSERT: In May of 1996 under pressure from the United States and Saudi Arabia, the Sudanese government asked bin Laden to leave. He returned to Afghanistan permanently..... Was it a mistake to let Osama bin Laden leave Sudan - or at least not apprehend him in Qatar on his way to Afghanistan? ALBRIGHT: As I understand it, and I was ambassador to the U.N. at the time, was that basically we felt that he was too intricately involved with some of the activities in Sudan, which was a major issue for us. And that it was better to get him out of there. Obviously, in hindsight, one would wish that some other action had been taken. But, for the most part, that was a decision made on the basis of information at that time, that he was playing the terrorist game there and that there had in fact been terrorist activity. As you know, there was an attempt on President Mubarak's life that came out of that area. And that it was probably better to move (bin Laden) out. RUSSERT: But why not capture him, apprehend him while he was refueling in Qatar? ALBRIGHT: I can't answer that question. (End of excerpt) While Ms. Albright claims she doesn't know the answer to that question, Mr. Russert certainly does - though he declined to challenge her. But in fact, in May 1996, ex-President Clinton gave the order not to take bin Laden into custody, a blunder he confessed in a speech to a Long Island, N.Y. business group last year. "Mr. bin Laden used to live in Sudan. He was expelled from Saudi Arabia in 1991, then he went to Sudan," Clinton told the Long Island Association in on Feb. 15, 2002. "And we'd been hearing that the Sudanese wanted America to start dealing with them again. They released him. At the time, 1996, he had committed no crime against America so I did not bring him here because we had no basis on which to hold him, though we knew he wanted to commit crimes against America." Clinton continued: "So I pleaded with the Saudis to take him, 'cause they could have. But they thought it was a hot potato and they didn't and that's how he wound up in Afghanistan." (End of Excerpt) Though Mr. Clinton's confession has been widely covered in such high profile venues as the Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes," "The O'Reilly Factor," WOR Radio's "The Bob Grant Show" and, just the night before Albright protested her ignorance, WABC Radio's "Batchelor & Alexander Show" - network news organizations like Russert's NBC News have embargoed coverage of the bombshell development. The big media cover-up has allowed New York Sen. Hillary Clinton to escape confrontation on the issue of her husband's blunder.