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[[File:Wag the dog.jpg|right|350px|thumb]]

The '''Clinton administration''' (from January 1993 to January 2001) was characterized by a [[budget surplus]], free trade internationally, military interventions in southeastern Europe, missile strikes at key moments whenever his approval ratings fell to 47%, reform of the [[Great Society]] [[welfare state|welfare]] system, and [[impeachment]]. While [[Bill Clinton]] claimed credit, most of the success in his era can be traced to [[Republican]] majorities in [[Congress]] that crafted welfare reforms and a budget surplus.  

The '''Clinton administration''' (from January 1993 to January 2001) was characterized by a [[budget surplus]], free trade internationally, military interventions in southeastern Europe, missile strikes at key moments whenever his approval ratings fell to 47%, reform of the [[Great Society]] [[welfare state|welfare]] system, and [[impeachment]]. While [[Bill Clinton]] claimed credit, most of the success in his era can be traced to [[Republican]] majorities in [[Congress]] that crafted welfare reforms and a budget surplus.  

[[Jamie S. Gorelick]] served as Deputy Attorney General under [[Janet Reno]] and authored the [[1995 Gorelick memo]], erecting a wall of separation between CIA intelligence gathering activities and FBI counterintelligence activities. The ''Wall Street Journal'' reported that "during the investigation of the first [[World Trade Center]] bombing, Gorelick instructed then-FBI Director Louis Freeh and United States Attorney Mary Jo White that for the sake of "appearances" they would be required to adhere to an interpretation of the wall far stricter than the law required. [http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110004956] The ''Journal'' also noted, "the Mary Jo White prosecutions and the 2001 Moussaoui arrest were among our best chances to uncover and unravel the al Qaeda network before it struck the homeland. But thanks in part to the Clinton Administration's concern with appearances and in part to its legacy, these investigations were hamstrung. [http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110004956]

[[Jamie S. Gorelick]] served as Deputy Attorney General under [[Janet Reno]] and authored the [[1995 Gorelick memo]], erecting a wall of separation between CIA intelligence gathering activities and FBI counterintelligence activities. The ''Wall Street Journal'' reported that "during the investigation of the first [[World Trade Center]] bombing, Gorelick instructed then-FBI Director Louis Freeh and United States Attorney Mary Jo White that for the sake of "appearances" they would be required to adhere to an interpretation of the wall far stricter than the law required. [http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110004956] The ''Journal'' also noted, "the Mary Jo White prosecutions and the 2001 Moussaoui arrest were among our best chances to uncover and unravel the al Qaeda network before it struck the homeland. But thanks in part to the Clinton Administration's concern with appearances and in part to its legacy, these investigations were hamstrung. [http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110004956]

Scott Wheeler observed, "Because the memo created a barrier for U.S. intelligence agencies to share information with the FBI, one of its unintended consequences might have been to prevent the FBI from receiving the necessary intelligence to stop the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the worst in American history.<ref>http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/4/26/153933.shtml</ref>

Scott Wheeler observed, "Because the memo created a barrier for U.S. intelligence agencies to share information with the FBI, one of its unintended consequences might have been to prevent the FBI from receiving the necessary intelligence to stop the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the worst in American history.<ref name="archive.newsmax.com">http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/4/26/153933.shtml</ref>

Bush Attorney General [[John Ashcroft]] told the 9/11 investigating commission, "The simple fact of September 11th is this ... We did not know an attack was coming because for nearly a decade our government had blinded itself to its enemies. Our agents were isolated by government-imposed walls." <ref>http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/4/26/153933.shtml</ref>

Bush Attorney General [[John Ashcroft]] told the 9/11 investigating commission, "The simple fact of September 11th is this ... We did not know an attack was coming because for nearly a decade our government had blinded itself to its enemies. Our agents were isolated by government-imposed walls." <ref name="archive.newsmax.com"/>

Ramzi Yousef, who delivered the explosives in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing killing six people, is the nephew of [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]], a top figure in al-Qaeda. After the [[September 2001 attack]], it was the opinion of many investigators and analysts that the perpetrators of that attack had a state sponsor - [[Iraq]].  A number of details, including the fact that Yousef was travelling on an Iraqi passport, as well as the date of the 1993 attack - the second anniversary of the U.S. liberation of [[Kuwait]] in the [[Persian Gulf War]] - furthered suspicions of Iraqi involvement in the 1993 incident. His uncle, Sheikh Mohammed was one of the masterminds the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, and was arrested in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on March 1, 2003.<ref>[http://intelwire.egoplex.com/2007_03_14_exclusives.html Khalid Shaikh Mohammed Admits 9/11, WTC 1993, Plot To Kill Clinton,] By J.M. Berger, INTELWIRE.com</ref> The Clinton administration neutered the American intelligence agencies that could have stopped the September 11 plot.<ref>http://thecitytroll.blogspot.com/2007/09/reminder-of-who-clintons-are-owned-by.html</ref>

Ramzi Yousef, who delivered the explosives in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing killing six people, is the nephew of [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]], a top figure in al-Qaeda. After the [[September 2001 attack]], it was the opinion of many investigators and analysts that the perpetrators of that attack had a state sponsor - [[Iraq]].  A number of details, including the fact that Yousef was travelling on an Iraqi passport, as well as the date of the 1993 attack - the second anniversary of the U.S. liberation of [[Kuwait]] in the [[Persian Gulf War]] - furthered suspicions of Iraqi involvement in the 1993 incident. His uncle, Sheikh Mohammed was one of the masterminds the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, and was arrested in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on March 1, 2003.<ref>[http://intelwire.egoplex.com/2007_03_14_exclusives.html Khalid Shaikh Mohammed Admits 9/11, WTC 1993, Plot To Kill Clinton,] By J.M. Berger, INTELWIRE.com</ref> The Clinton administration neutered the American intelligence agencies that could have stopped the September 11 plot.<ref>http://thecitytroll.blogspot.com/2007/09/reminder-of-who-clintons-are-owned-by.html</ref>

===Iraq===

===Iraq===

Clinton tried to contain Iraq, and used military attacks to make the point. Clinton launched a small cruise missile attack against Iraq in 1993 as a response to a suspected terrorist assassination attempt made on former President George H. W. Bush in Kuwait. In 1998, Clinton threatened military action when Iraq denied full access to UN weapons inspectors. On February 11, 1998 Bill Richardson told Margaret Warner of the PBS News Hour regarding [[Saddam Hussein]] and [[weapons of mass destruction]],

Clinton tried to contain Iraq, and used military attacks to make the point. Clinton launched a small cruise missile attack against Iraq in 1993 as a response to a suspected terrorist assassination attempt made on former President George H. W. Bush in Kuwait. In 1998, Clinton threatened military action when Iraq denied full access to UN weapons inspectors. On February 11, 1998, Bill Richardson told Margaret Warner of the PBS News Hour regarding [[Saddam Hussein]] and [[weapons of mass destruction]],

:''"We think this man is a threat to the international community, and he threatens a lot of the neighbors in his region and future generations there with anthrax and VX....Are we going to stand back and allow Saddam Hussein to continue developing Weapons of Mass Destruction?"''<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june98/iraq_2-11.html Ambassador Bill Richardson, Online Focus], The News Hour Transcript, 11 February 1998.</ref>

:''"We think this man is a threat to the international community, and he threatens a lot of the neighbors in his region and future generations there with anthrax and VX....Are we going to stand back and allow Saddam Hussein to continue developing Weapons of Mass Destruction?"''<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june98/iraq_2-11.html Ambassador Bill Richardson, Online Focus], The News Hour Transcript, 11 February 1998.</ref>