The Truth Of The Matter

BUSH'S EX--COUNTERTERRORISM CHIEF SAYS THE ADMINISTRATION HAS MISHANDLED THE WAR ON AL-QAEDA. SHOULD WE BELIEVE HIM?

How does a civil servant who has launched a major attack on the Bush presidency protect himself from what he has unleashed? Richard Clarke, the former counterterrorism adviser to Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush--who saw al-Qaeda expand under his watch, attack U.S. interests abroad and produce the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history--knew he couldn't pin the blame on his bosses if he didn't start by apologizing himself. So he prepared his words carefully. At 3 a.m. on the day of his testimony, "I got up and went down to my study and actually typed the words out so...

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