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Analyst William Schneider Discusses Clinton Take on Bin Laden

Aired September 04, 2002 - 14:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us to talk about this more now is CNN political analyst William Schneider.
Bill, thanks again for joining us again.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So let's talk about this. A lot of people have blamed Clinton, saying he did have a chance to get Osama bin Laden an number of times. Is Clinton to blame, Bill?

SCHNEIDER: Well, the former president said he was obsessed. He didn't talk about Osama bin Laden very much publicly. But remember August 20, 1998 -- that was just a couple of days after he acknowledged the sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky: Well, he took action on that date; he bond an industrial facility in Sudan, and a paramilitary training camp in Afghanistan that was operate -- or said to be operated, at the time, by forces associated with Osama bin Laden. Obviously, the president didn't get Osama bin Laden.

The reason he took that action was just two weeks earlier, U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania had been bombed, and that bombing was associated with Osama bin Laden. So when the president says he regrets he didn't get him, that appears to be the event that he is talking about.

PHILLIPS: Now, Sandy Berger came out and denied that it was Clinton's fault. Isn't that correct?

SCHNEIDER: Well, there was a story that circulated some time ago that Sudan, the government of Sudan, had arrested Osama bin Laden or had him in custody and was willing to turn him over to the United States, but that the White House -- then the national security adviser was Sandy Berger -- advised they couldn't accept Osama bin Laden because they didn't have a legal case against him. Mr. Berger has heard all those allegations and has denied them and said that the United States never really did play a role in that. But those stories continue to circulate.

PHILLIPS: And of course, President Clinton saying "I regret" -- the word "regret" -- not getting ahold of Osama bin Laden. How do we define "regret"? Is he saying, I really did make a mistake -- or what do you take from that comment, Bill?

SCHNEIDER: Well, "regret" is an ambiguous term here. Does he regret the fact that he tried to get him and he didn't? Clearly, the bombing of the training camp in Afghanistan, had Osama bin Laden been there, he could have been eliminated what turned out to be a monstrous threat to the United States. Or is he saying that he had a chance to take him in custody and failed to do it?

It is not clear exactly what he means by "regret." But clearly, Osama bin Laden, he say, was on his mind. He knew about Osama bin Laden. The interesting thing is we didn't hear Clinton talk too much about Osama bin Laden, perhaps because he was the subject of intelligence briefings and the president didn't want to show his hand too clearly.

PHILLIPS: Now, Bill, is it possible that Clinton didn't think he had enough evidence against Osama bin Laden to actually try him or capture him or take him down?

SCHNEIDER: That is possible, although, as I said, he was widely suspected as having been a major force behind the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Africa on August 7, 1998. And subsequent to that, in October 2000, near the end of Clinton's presidency, the suicide bombers in Yemen attacked the USS Cole. So again, in that case too, Osama bin Laden created an atrocity against the United States.

So clearly, when President Clinton says he regrets not having gotten Osama bin laden, he is obviously very sincere. The question is did he really have a chance to take him into custody. That is a matter that is still controversial.

PHILLIPS: We all feel that regret.

Bill Schneider, thank you.

Schneider: Sure.

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