TOBY PETZOLD

In their interview aired this morning, Bill Clinton told Chris Wallace:

OK, now let’s look at all the criticisms: Black Hawk down, Somalia. There is not a living soul in the world who thought that Osama bin Laden had anything to do with Black Hawk down or was paying any attention to it or even knew Al Qaida was a growing concern in October of ‘93.

But here’s what Jim Geraghty at NRO has to say:

Not a living soul in the world… except for President Clinton’s own Justice Department. The U.S. Justice Department’s indictment of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda’s military commander, Mohammed Atef, on Nov. 4, 1998, for conspiring to kill Americans:

* …Third, al Qaeda opposed the involvement of the United States armed forces in the Gulf War in 1991 and in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia in 1992 and 1993, which were viewed by al Qaeda as pretextual preparations for an American occupation of Islamic countries….

* …At various times from at least as early as 1989, the defendant USAMA BIN LADEN, and others known and unknown, provided training camps and guesthouses in various areas, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Sudan, Somalia and Kenya for the use of al Qaeda and its affiliated groups.

The Fatwah Against American Troops in Somalia
At various times from in or about 1992 until in or about 1993, the defendant USAMA BIN LADEN, working together with members of the fatwah committee of al Qaeda, disseminated fatwahs to other members and associates of al Qaeda that the United States forces stationed in the Horn of Africa, including Somalia, should be attacked;

The Establishment of Training Camps for Somalia
In or about late 1992 and 1993, the defendant MUHAMMAD ATEF traveled to Somalia on several occasions for the purpose of determining how best to cause violence to the United States and United Nations military forces stationed there and reported back to the defendant USAMA BIN LADEN and other al Qaeda members at USAMA BIN LADENS’s facilities located in Khartoum, the Sudan[…]

(All emphases Geraghty’s.)

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 24th, 2006 at 5:55 pm and is filed under History, Islamofascism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.