To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (5887 ) 9/26/2006 11:00:30 PM From: Ann Corrigan Respond to of 224738 Transcript:>>Clinton seemed particularly irked by Wallace's reference to his decision in 1993 to pull troops out of Somalia, a move bin Laden later described as a sign of American weakness. Clinton argued that even though many Republicans demanded a withdrawal from Somalia the day after the downing of a Black Hawk helicopter, he kept a U.S. presence there for another six months to ensure an orderly transition to United Nations forces. That's when the interview got testy, as a Fox transcript reflects: Clinton : There is not a living soul in the world who thought Osama bin Laden had anything to do with Black Hawk down or was paying any attention to it, or even knew al-Qaeda was a going concern in October '93. Wallace : I understand. Clinton : No, no, wait. Don't tell me that -- you asked why didn't I do more to bin Laden, there was not a living soul, all the people who now criticize me wanted to leave the next day. You brought this up, so you get an answer. But you -- secondly, Wallace : -- Bin Laden says, but it showed the weakness of the United States. Clinton : Bin Laden may have said it -- but it would have shown the weakness if we left right away. But he wasn't involved in that, that's just a bunch of bull. That was about Mohamed Aideed, a Muslim warlord, murdering 22 Pakistani Muslim troops. We were all there on a humanitarian mission; we had no mission, none, to establish a certain kind of Somali government or keep anybody out. He was not a religious fanatic -- Wallace : Mr. President -- Clinton : -- there was no al-Qaeda -- Wallace : With respect, if I may, instead of going through '93 and -- Clinton : No, no -- you asked it. You brought it up. Wallace, a 30-year broadcast veteran who worked at NBC and ABC before Fox, is not usually considered part of the network's conservative commentariat, but Clinton accused him of doing "Fox's bidding" by preparing a "conservative hit job."<< *above excerpt from www.washingtonpost.com transcript.