Here’s an op-ed by someone who ought to know on Bill Clinton’s negligence with regard to al Qaeda. It’s by one Mansoor Ijaz, the interlocutor between the Clinton administration and Sudan in 1996 and after. One devastating passage: “In July 2000–three months before the deadly attack on the destroyer Cole in Yemen–I brought the White House another plausible offer to deal with Bin Laden, by then known to be involved in the embassy bombings. A senior counter-terrorism official from one of the United States’ closest Arab allies–an ally whose name I am not free to divulge–approached me with the proposal after telling me he was fed up with the antics and arrogance of U.S. counter-terrorism officials. The offer, which would have brought Bin Laden to the Arab country as the first step of an extradition process that would eventually deliver him to the U.S., required only that Clinton make a state visit there to personally request Bin Laden’s extradition. But senior Clinton officials sabotaged the offer, letting it get caught up in internal politics within the ruling family–Clintonian diplomacy at its best.” Let’s see how Joe Conason spins his way out of this one.
THE REAL BUSH: Amazing that Salon ran this little piece, but from everything I know, it tells you much more about the real character of our president than any number of hatchet-jobs from Dowd, Wolff, etc. Enjoy.
CAMELOT IS A SILLY PLACE: I’m a sucker for Lego and Monty Python, so this little movie amused me no end. Give it a whirl.
THE NON-EXISTENT LEFT: Yes, I know these people don’t really exist. Their influence is always exaggerated by crazy daisy-cutter rightists like yours truly, but this piece by Stanley Kurtz is really eye-opening. Author Christina Hoff Sommers was invited to speak about various educational methods designed to eradicate differences between boys and girls in American education. The forum was the Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention (CSAP) of the Department of Health and Human Services. When Sommers was about to launch into criticism of some of these programs, she heard what might be described as the rallying cry of the academic left when they come across someone who disagrees with them. “Shut the fuck up, bitch,” yelled professor Jay Wade of Fordham University. Sommers’ talk was ended. All Sommers had done was argue against positions held by the leftist educational establishment. Their response was to humiliate, insult and silence her, which is what they do every day on their respective campuses against anyone deviating from their agenda. The apologists for the far left – they don’t exist, they’re fringe, they’re irrelevant – have one thing in common. They haven’t been targeted by these intolerant bullies. Maybe when they are, they will wake up and see what’s really out there.
THE TALIBAN’S DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL: All the rest of NATO may have given up on policing their militaries for homosexuals, but the United States can rest easy knowing that one military that still supports U.S. policy is the Taliban. Any consorting with beardless young men in the army is strictly forbidden. This story from the Daily Telegraph tells of a weird and fastidious obsession.
The Dish 