Clinton—appeaser and traitor

Louis Freeh’s book, My FBI, is summarized by Patrick Devenny at FrontPage Magazine. A most telling section is Freeh’s discussion of the Clinton administration’s deliberate thwarting of the FBI’s investigation into the Khobar Tower attack:

Perhaps Freeh’s most devastating critique of the Clinton administration’s criminally negligent response to terrorism comes when he discusses the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, a case which he has admirably adopted as a personal crusade. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, which killed 19 American servicemen, the White House expressed total support for an expansive FBI role in the Saudi-led investigation, with National Security Advisor Sandy Burger personally assuring Freeh that the President was squarely behind him and had conveyed his level of support to the Saudis.

This preliminary rhetoric evaporated as soon as the investigation began to implicate the terrorist group Hezbollah and its masters in Tehran. Connecting Iran to the murders of 19 American servicemen was hardly politically expedient for the Clinton White House, which had dedicated itself wholly to a policy of accommodation towards the world’s biggest sponsor of terrorism. Freeh recounts how the State Department—desperate to protect their guiding principle of Iranian relations—essentially began running cover for Tehran, foiling FBI investigations into Iranian spies while denying travel permits to federal agents attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia. In one conversation, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright confronts Freeh, warning him that “the Iranians are complaining,” as if the mullah’s tetchy response was a compelling reason to alter the focus of the investigation.

The White House’s disinterest [sic] in a successful investigation was more covert than Foggy Bottom’s but would prove no less devastating. When high-ranking administration officials—such as Vice President Al Gore—were to meet with Saudi officials, the FBI would provide them with detailed talking points, only to see them consistently ignored. During a meeting with Saudi Prince Abdullah in 1998, Clinton again disregarded Freeh’s appeals, neglecting to mention the faltering investigation but evidently finding time to press Abdullah for a contribution to the Clinton Presidential Library.

Constantly stringing Freeh along with platitudes and broken promises was Mr. Berger, who led the attempt to cover-up Iranian involvement in the Khobar bombings. When presented with nearly-incontrovertible evidence of the Iranian connection by Freeh, Berger’s first response was “who knows about this?” At meetings of the National Security Council—chaired by Berger—the topic of discussion was not retaliation, but ensuring that proof of Iran’s role would be suppressed. This policy of concealment permeated the entire administration, with Freeh recalling a “celebratory attitude” holding sway at the White House when a bombing suspect—who had inconveniently testified to Iran’s involvement in the operation—was released for lack of evidence.

Devenny, to his credit, does not start praising Freeh to the skies, as many foolish conservatives have been doing since Freeh’s book came out. He holds Freeh to account for not doing anything to awaken public opinion or rouse a lethargic FBI in the counterterrorism area.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at October 17, 2005 12:12 PM | Send