# Bill Clinton - Why linked video indicates he couldn't pursue Bin Laden **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 8, 2014, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610 "2014-04-08T02:26:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/21 "2014-04-08T15:33:01Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Bush was the one who bombed the “[milk factory](http://www.psywarrior.com/BabyMilkPlant.jpg)”. Ask yourself if this sign is at all phony looking. This is correct, in 1991. I remember seeing that sign at the time, and thought it was totally faked. It turns out that it actually _was_ a factory that made infant formula. (This was determined by UN inspectors and U.S. intelligence after Hussein’s son-in-law defected in 1995.) But the buildings were painted in camouflage, and there were fences and guard posts that made it look more sinister. If you don’t want innocent civilian facilities attacked, you probably shouldn’t make them look like military installations. ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/22 "2014-04-08T17:52:32Z")
While all this information is helpful in understanding the circumstances of the situation, I still don’t feel the original question is quite answered. In the video Clinton says he **couldn’t** place the order to go after Osama. Who placed that restriction? Whose support would he need in order to do so? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/23 "2014-04-08T18:06:51Z")
It’s a little hard to pin down exactly what Clinton is saying happened in what order, but he says his administration created a plan to take out the Taliban and search for bin Laden, but the FBI and CIA wouldn’t say for certain that bin Laden was behind the attacks at the time and that appeared to complicate his plans to a point that the military found it unfeasible. There’s some discussion of basing rights in Uzbekistan for a special forces mission and how they weren’t able to get those and that that’s somehow related to the FBI and the CIA, but I’m not sure how it all fits together. He _might_ be saying that without that sign-off from the intelligence community, he didn’t feel he could convince Congress (or the public?) that the US needed to invade Afghanistan and that the military didn’t feel the special forces alternative was workable. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/24 "2014-04-08T18:08:38Z")
Again, not totally sure what he said in the video, but: 1. Clinton launched the 1998 strikes specifically to target Al Qaida and bin Laden. The story is that UBL had been at the Afghan camp hours before, but left. The point is that it is difficult to have perfect intelligence on where he was at any moment. 2. There was no authorization for the use of force against UBL or AQ. 3. Republicans had made it politically contentious to attack AQ in light of domestic circumstances. I can see how Clinton can fairly summarize the above three points and conclude that he couldn’t (in a practical sense) attack AQ more than he had already. You may be reading his comment to mean that he was not allowed to; but my guess is that Clinton was talking about practicalities and not the law (or something like that). ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/25 "2014-04-08T18:12:07Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It’s a little hard to pin down exactly what Clinton is saying happened in what order, but he says his administration created a plan to take out the Taliban and search for bin Laden, but the FBI and CIA wouldn’t say for certain that bin Laden was behind the attacks at the time and that appeared to complicate his plans to a point that the military found it unfeasible. There’s some discussion of basing rights in Uzbekistan for a special forces mission and how they weren’t able to get those and that that’s somehow related to the FBI and the CIA, but I’m not sure how it all fits together. > [@Ravenman](#): > > Again, not totally sure what he said in the video, but: > > 1. Clinton launched the 1998 strikes specifically to target Al Qaida and bin Laden. The story is that UBL had been at the Afghan camp hours before, but left. The point is that it is difficult to have perfect intelligence on where he was at any moment. > > 2. There was no authorization for the use of force against UBL or AQ. > > 3. Republicans had made it politically contentious to attack AQ in light of domestic circumstances. > > I can see how Clinton can fairly summarize the above three points and conclude that he couldn’t (in a practical sense) attack AQ more than he had already. You may be reading his comment to mean that he was not allowed to; but my guess is that Clinton was talking about practicalities and not the law (or something like that). I think I understand it now. It was the sum of events that tied his hands. The FBI/CIA were not 100% certain of Bin Laden at the time, and besides there was so much else going on it would seem almost silly to pursue him over other issues. Thanks all! For a moment I thought the former President was implying even HE had people he had to report to, and that didn’t jive with my understanding of US politics. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/26 "2014-04-08T18:44:10Z")
> [@AnthonyElite](#): > > Thanks all! For a moment I thought the former President was implying even HE had people he had to report to, and that didn’t jive with my understanding of US politics. You do understand the President can’t just order somebody killed? He’s restricted within the limits of his power to make war - and Congress controls that power. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/27 "2014-04-08T18:46:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You do understand the President can’t just order somebody killed? He’s restricted within the limits of his power to make war - and Congress controls that power. Well… the president couldn’t just order someone killed at that time. And there are still limits dictated in part by Congress. But this statement is less true now than it was when Clinton was in office. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/28 "2014-04-08T19:19:39Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Well… the president couldn’t just order someone killed at that time. Why not, as long as that “someone” was not an American citizen on US soil or a government leader? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/29 "2014-04-08T19:24:11Z")
A little something called “morality”, perhaps? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/30 "2014-04-08T19:39:34Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Why not, as long as that “someone” was not an American citizen on US soil or a government leader? The targeting of Al Qaeda members was authorized by the Patriot Act. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/31 "2014-04-08T19:40:16Z")
I recall a journalism repeatedly asking questions of Henry Kissinger, only to receive the replay, “The United States does not employ assassination was a tool of politics.” If the CIA wants to whack a KGB agent, whose approval do they get? By the time an approving Congressman has talked to his cronies and mistresses, the KGB guy will blow town. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/32 "2014-04-08T19:44:43Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The first bit of intelligence that actually led to Abbottabad was gleaned in 2007 while Bush was still president. And yet, G.W.B. did nothing whatsoever with that intel. Not sure if G.W.B. simply didn’t wish to impinge on his business ties to the bin Laden family, or maybe he was just a scared little pussy, but it did take 1½ years for the “good guys” to pick up the trail again and exterminate the bastard. Not certain if that was your point, but thanks for making it nonetheless. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You do understand the President can’t just order somebody killed? He’s restricted within the limits of his power to make war - and Congress controls that power. “As President, you get three secret murders. If you don’t use 'em up, _phfffp_, they’re gone.” [/simpsons] ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/33 "2014-04-08T19:46:37Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > If the CIA wants to whack a KGB agent, whose approval do they get? Well, first they get in their time machine… ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/34 "2014-04-08T19:55:02Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The targeting of Al Qaeda members was authorized by the Patriot Act. Not the [Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_Against_Terrorists)? Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/35 "2014-04-08T19:55:54Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > Not the [Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_Against_Terrorists)? Cite? That was what I meant to say. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/36 "2014-04-08T19:56:51Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > If the CIA wants to whack a KGB agent, whose approval do they get? What makes you think this actually happens, other than in movies? ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/37 "2014-04-08T19:57:54Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That was what I meant to say. Oh, ok. I didn’t recall anything that martial in the PATRIOT Act, just checking. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/38 "2014-04-08T20:02:18Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > What makes you think this actually happens, other than in movies? I can’t tell you that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/39 "2014-04-08T21:00:43Z")
So if Clinton _had_ taken out OBL at the time, it would _still_ just be a distraction from Lewinsky? The guy just can’t win with some people. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610/40 "2014-04-08T21:15:50Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > So if Clinton _had_ taken out OBL at the time, it would _still_ just be a distraction from Lewinsky? > > The guy just can’t win with some people. You didn’t listen to Rush Limbaugh and those broadcasters if his ilk back then, did you? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-clinton-why-linked-video-indicates-he-couldnt-pursue-bin-laden/685610.md?page=3)