BEIJING,
Sept. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Political sparring between Democrats and
Republicans leading up to the Nov. 7 congressional elections intensified Sunday
when former President Bill Clinton accused the Bush administration of neglecting
the threat from al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden until after the Sept. 11
attacks.
Clinton said he came "closer to killing" bin Laden
than anybody, citing a 1998 missile strike on terrorist training camps in
Afghanistan.
"No, I didn't get him but at least I tried," Clinton
said in an interview broadcast on "Fox News Sunday." "That's the difference
between me and some, including all the right-wingers who are attacking me now.
"If I were still president we'd have more than 20,000
troops there trying to kill him," Clinton claimed, referring to
U.S. attempts find bin Laden along the mountainous border between Pakistan
and Afghanistan. "Now I've never criticized President Bush, and I don't think
this is useful. But you do know we do have a government that thinks Afghanistan
is only one-seventh as important as Iraq."
Clinton was referring to the 21,000 U.S. troops
in Afghanistan. The U.S. has more than 140,000 troops in Iraq.
"The record paints a very different picture than what
President Clinton is suggesting," White House spokesman Peter Watkins said.
"Looking forward, we will fight the war by staying on the offense."
In defending his record on terrorism from
conservative critics, Clinton said America did not have a "comprehensive
anti-terrorism operation," until his administration took office. Clinton said he
authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to kill bin Laden after the 1998
bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.
"We took vigorous actions after the African
embassies," Clinton said. "We probably nearly got bin Laden."
The USS Cole, a U.S. Navy ship, was bombed in a
Yemeni port in December 2000. Clinton said he had plans drawn up to attack
Afghanistan, oust the ruling Taliban regime and hunt for bin Laden.
Clinton said that plan was never put into effect
because the CIA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation failed to certify that
bin Laden was responsible for the attack on the Cole.
"I tried and I failed to get bin
Laden," Clinton admitted. "I regret it, but I did try." Enditem
Related: Officials doubt Bin Laden is
dead
KABUL, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- NATO and the U.S.-led
coalition troops in Afghanistan could not confirm the widespread reports which
said al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had died of illness, the military said on
Sunday.
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French Defense Minister Michele
Alliot-Marie is seen in this photo. French regional newspaper L'Est
Republica quoted a secret French intelligence report as saying that bin
Laden died on Aug. 23. Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie has ordered
an investigation "to determine the source of this leak. (Xinhua
Photo)
Photo Gallery
>>> |
PARIS, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The report about
terrorist group al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden's death "cannot be confirmed,"
the French Defense Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
ISLAMABAD, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani officials said
Saturday Pakistan has received no information from any foreign government that
could corroborate a French newspaper report on al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's
death, local media reported.
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A page of French daily paper "L'Est
Republicain" which published what it said was a report by the country's
intelligence services that said Saudi Arabia believes Osama bin Laden died
of typhoid in Pakistan this month. French Defense Ministry said on
Saturday that the report about terrorist group al-Qaida leader Osama bin
Laden's death "cannot be confirmed." (Xinhua Photo)
Photo Gallery
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KUWAIT CITY, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Saudi
Interior Minister Prince Naif bin Abdel-Aziz has refuted the West's allegations
that Saudi Arabia was supporting Bin Laden and his terrorist organization,
Saudi-based newspaper Arab News reported Thursday.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President
George W. Bush said on Wednesday that he would "absolutely" order military
actions in Pakistan if world terrorist kingpin Osama bin Laden were there.
CAIRO, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Qatar's al-Jazeera
television showed a video Thursday, saying al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden had
met with some of the Sept. 11 hijackers before that tragedy in 2001.
ISLAMABAD, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan denied
on Wednesday remarks attributed to a military spokesman by an American TV
channel that Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden will be allowed in the country to
stay if he agrees to lead a peaceful life.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The White House denied on
Wednesday that the administration has shut down a program to capture Osama bin
Laden, leader of the terrorist organization al-Qaida.
BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The CIA has disbanded a
unit set up to hunt for Osama bin Laden and reassigned its agents in what
intelligence officials described as a recognition of the changing nature of
al-Qaida, a U.S. intelligence official said on Tuesday.
(Agencies)
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