Apparently, the Clinton administration weren’t all switching bathroom signs around and pulling the “G” and “W” keys out of keyboards. They developed an agressive plan for dealing with al-Qaeda:
According to Time, Clinton’s anti-terror czar, Richard Clarke, offered detailed proposals: arresting al-Qaeda personnel, choking off the group’s financing, aiding nations fighting the organization and increasing covert action in Afghanistan to deny al-Qaeda sanctuary.
Clarke, who stayed on in the Bush administration, also called for a substantial increase in support for the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan and for planning of air strikes on Afghan terror camps.
But a senior Bush administration official said Sunday the Clinton White House offered the incoming Bush team only ideas on how to “roll back” the threat over a three- to five-year period.
More distasteful partisan fingerpointing. Not to mention useless hindsight, even if the plan in question proves to even exist. What is important is the present and the future. We don’t even know if Osama is alive.