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Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.[W:351]

Van Basten

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The day before the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, former President Bill Clinton told a group of businessmen in Australia that he "could have killed" the man behind those attacks, Osama bin Laden, in 1998, but he decided against launching a strike out of concern for civilian casualties.

It's a startling and tragic bit of irony that remained hidden until Wednesday, when Michael Kroger, the former head of the Liberal Party in Australia, released the audio during an interview on Sky News. Mr. Clinton knew he was being recorded, but the audio was never released because Kroger said he'd forgotten about it until last week.

Clinton was speaking to Kroger and about 30 other businessmen in Melbourne for a paid gig on September 10, 2001, when he was asked about international terrorism.

Key snippet:
"I'm just saying, you know, if I were Osama bin Laden - he's a very smart guy, I've spent a lot of time thinking about him - and I nearly got him once," said Clinton, who'd departed the White House earlier that year. "I nearly got him. And I could have killed him, but I would have to destroy a little town called Kandahar in Afghanistan and kill 300 innocent women and children, and then I would have been no better than him. And so I didn't do it."

Read the full story HERE.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

Crazy huh, to be put in such a terrible situation of "this versus that, and oh, by the way, no matter which choice you choose you're probably going to have a huge plummet in popularity because if you kill Osama Bin Laden and 300 innocent people everyone's going to call you a murderer since 9/11 didn't happen and people weren't paranoid. If you Don't kill Osama Bin Laden everyone is going to hate you because 9/11 will have happened."

My question is, did he know that Osama Bin Laden was planning such an attack on the Twin Towers? How could he have known, for all he knew he could have killed 300 innocent beings to get a guy who would only go to suicide bomb 15 civilians.

There was no information, and because of that, I just can't have anything against Clinton in that regard, I simply cannot hold anything against him, as terrible as 9/11 was no one could have known.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

Nothing new here, anyone who read the 9-11 Commission Report already knows that Clinton had a chance to get Bin Laden but passed on it.

Clinton's anti-terrorist policy was that terrorism was not a national security issue but a law enforcement issue.

When G.W. Bush became POTUS he stuck with Clinton's failed terrorist polices. But after 9-11-01 Bush didn't spend eight years blaming Clinton failed couner terrorist policies.

What the article left out, while blowing up an aspirin factory Clinton also blew up the Chinese Embassy. :lamo
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

Nothing new here, anyone who read the 9-11 Commission Report already knows that Clinton had a chance to get Bin Laden but passed on it.

Clinton's anti-terrorist policy was that terrorism was not a national security issue but a law enforcement issue.

When G.W. Bush became POTUS he stuck with Clinton's failed terrorist polices. But after 9-11-01 Bush didn't spend eight years blaming Clinton failed couner terrorist policies.

What the article left out, while blowing up an aspirin factory Clinton also blew up the Chinese Embassy. :lamo

Clinton didn't do anything from his office in the WH, funny you. Did you think that Clinton told the pentagon to target the Chinese embassy?
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

Key snippet:


Read the full story HERE.

Never a good thing to kill innocent civilians. If that's the TRUE reason he declined, good on him.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

Never a good thing to kill innocent civilians. If that's the TRUE reason he declined, good on him.

While I can understand why he didn't at the time, I doubt if knowing now what he did then if he'd pass up the opportunity.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

Nothing new here, anyone who read the 9-11 Commission Report already knows that Clinton had a chance to get Bin Laden but passed on it.

Clinton's anti-terrorist policy was that terrorism was not a national security issue but a law enforcement issue.

When G.W. Bush became POTUS he stuck with Clinton's failed terrorist polices. But after 9-11-01 Bush didn't spend eight years blaming Clinton failed couner terrorist policies.

What the article left out, while blowing up an aspirin factory Clinton also blew up the Chinese Embassy. :lamo
That was no accident.

Nato bombed Chinese deliberately | World news | The Observer
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

You guys are so desperately partisan it's hilarious. I can't believe you guys are in here basically backing the slaughter of 300 innocent people in a single strike to preemptively take down Osama bin Laden when 9/11 would still have happened being that he didn't even orchestrate it. Osama's role in 9/11 was being in charge of al qaeda when 9/11 happened and gave it his approval to happen. He didn't make it up. So 9/11 would most likely still have happened.

You insane partisans for the laughs.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

Nothing new here, anyone who read the 9-11 Commission Report already knows that Clinton had a chance to get Bin Laden but passed on it.

Clinton's anti-terrorist policy was that terrorism was not a national security issue but a law enforcement issue.

When G.W. Bush became POTUS he stuck with Clinton's failed terrorist polices. But after 9-11-01 Bush didn't spend eight years blaming Clinton failed couner terrorist policies.

What the article left out, while blowing up an aspirin factory Clinton also blew up the Chinese Embassy. :lamo

9/11 was a DECADE in the making, killing Osama wouldn't have prevented 9/11 Jesus with the hyperbole.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

You guys are so desperately partisan it's hilarious. I can't believe you guys are in here basically backing the slaughter of 300 innocent people in a single strike to preemptively take down Osama bin Laden when 9/11 would still have happened being that he didn't even orchestrate it. Osama's role in 9/11 was being in charge of al qaeda when 9/11 happened and gave it his approval to happen. He didn't make it up. So 9/11 would most likely still have happened.

You insane partisans for the laughs.

9/11 was a DECADE in the making, killing Osama wouldn't have prevented 9/11 Jesus with the hyperbole.

It doesn't matter. At the time, Bin Laden was the head of the organization that attacked us on 9/11. You can't really say what the effect that would of had on the organization in terms of morale, if the top guy is taken out.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

You guys are so desperately partisan it's hilarious. I can't believe you guys are in here basically backing the slaughter of 300 innocent people in a single strike to preemptively take down Osama bin Laden when 9/11 would still have happened being that he didn't even orchestrate it. Osama's role in 9/11 was being in charge of al qaeda when 9/11 happened and gave it his approval to happen. He didn't make it up. So 9/11 would most likely still have happened.

You insane partisans for the laughs.
The objective way to look at this is that no one could possibly know what would have happened had Clinton killed bin Laden because he didn't. Speculating either way about the aftermath of historical events that never took place is little more than a circle jerk.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

The objective way to look at this is that no one could possibly know what would have happened had Clinton killed bin Laden because he didn't. Speculating either way about the aftermath of historical events that never took place is little more than a circle jerk.

What do you think this thread is about? Your right-wing buddies in here circle-jerking that Clinton should have killed 300 innocent people to get to Osama based on 9/11 not having happened yet. I'll wait for you to tell them what you just told me.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

What do you think this thread is about? Your right-wing buddies in here circle-jerking that Clinton should have killed 300 innocent people to get to Osama based on 9/11 not having happened yet. I'll wait for you to tell them what you just told me.
Being as I already posted it and it is in plain sight for all to see, is reposting it really necessary?
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

Being as I already posted it and it is in plain sight for all to see, is reposting it really necessary?

Oh I see.. you were making a general statement to us all huh? I guess that's why you didn't reply to the thread but directly quoted me... so you can make the statement to all in the thread.

:lamo
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

You guys are so desperately partisan it's hilarious. I can't believe you guys are in here basically backing the slaughter of 300 innocent people in a single strike to preemptively take down Osama bin Laden when 9/11 would still have happened being that he didn't even orchestrate it. Osama's role in 9/11 was being in charge of al qaeda when 9/11 happened and gave it his approval to happen. He didn't make it up. So 9/11 would most likely still have happened.

You insane partisans for the laughs.

Just where I was going to take the conversation... good job.

On a side note, the History Channel is running a series on WWI and how it affected FDR, Hitler, etc. into WWII. Well, I guess there is this documented incident where some British soldier had Hitler in his sights just as the war ended but did not take the shot. It Hitler's memoirs, or something. Makes you wonder... what if?
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

How many people that defend Clintons decision to not risk hurting civilians also defend Obama's decision to use drones to take out possible terror targets?
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

Oh I see.. you were making a general statement to us all huh? I guess that's why you didn't reply to the thread but directly quoted me... so you can make the statement to all in the thread.

:lamo
You were the first one to call such speculations "insanely partisan". That's kind of an eye catcher given the fact that you also speculated about future events following non-events. Funny thing is that there is nothing partisan about what I said at all and you still got your butthurt on.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

Clinton didn't do anything from his office in the WH, funny you. Did you think that Clinton told the pentagon to target the Chinese embassy?

Are you saying that Clinton shouldn't get any credit for blowing up the Chinese Embassy ?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it the CIA who blew up the aspirin factory and used a Shell gas station road map to blow up the Chinese Embassy ?
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

You were the first one to call such speculations "insanely partisan". That's kind of an eye catcher given the fact that you also speculated about future events following non-events. Funny thing is that there is nothing partisan about what I said at all and you still got your butthurt on.

Saying "partisan" is what caught your eye? lol

Funny because killing 300 innocent people is what first caught my eye. Different strokes I suppose.

I'm sure it's not that you are conservative and that my avatar is:

avatar15697_3.gif.png

Sorry bud but I kind of have a hard time buying what your selling.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

What do you think this thread is about? Your right-wing buddies in here circle-jerking that Clinton should have killed 300 innocent people to get to Osama based on 9/11 not having happened yet. I'll wait for you to tell them what you just told me.

But, the embassy bombings HAD happened. AQ had already attacked us twice.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

But, the embassy bombings HAD happened. AQ had already attacked us twice.

Just let us know if you think Clinton should've killed 300 people then. Just say it. No need to beat around the bush.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

While I can understand why he didn't at the time, I doubt if knowing now what he did then if he'd pass up the opportunity.

Well that's kind of the point I made, we cannot blame him because he didn't know 9/11 would happen, he was looking at killing 300 innocents at the time for some random "Terrorist" living in a cave. That's a very hard thing to justify.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

Saying "partisan" is what caught your eye? lol

Funny because killing 300 innocent people is what first caught my eye. Different strokes I suppose.

I'm sure it's not that you are conservative and that my avatar is:

View attachment 67170503

Sorry bud but I kind of have a hard time buying what your selling.
And what exactly am I selling here? An observation that hyper partisans arguing about what would have happened in the aftermath of events that never took place is circle jerk? I wasn't "selling" that to anyone. It was free.
 
Re: Bill Clinton: "I could have killed" Osama bin Laden.

Just let us know if you think Clinton should've killed 300 people then. Just say it. No need to beat around the bush.

Who's to say 300 people would have died? What waa he going to do, carpet bomb the place?

Let us know if you think those 300 terrorists and terrorist supporters were worth 3,000 Americans.
 
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