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Overview
Years before the public knew about bin Laden, Bill Clinton did. Bin Laden first attacked Americans during Clinton's presidential transition in December 1992. He struck again at the World Trade Center in February 1993. Over the next eight years the archterrorist's attacks would escalate killing hundreds and wounding thousands - while Clinton did his best to stymie the FBI and CIA and refused to wage a real war on terror.Why?
The answer is here in investigative reporter Richard Miniter's stunning exposé, Losing bin Laden: How Bill Clinton's Failures Unleashed Global Terror, that includes exclusive interviews with both of Clinton's National Security Advisors, Clinton's Counter-Terrorism Czar, his first Director of Central Intelligence, his Secretary of State, top CIA and FBI agents, lawmakers from both parties and foreign intelligence officials from France, Sudan, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as on-the-scene coverage from Sudan, Egypt, and elsewhere. Bill Clinton had countless opportunities to nab Osama bin Laden during his presidency, but time and time again, bin Laden slipped out of the Clinton administration's grasp,In Losing bin Laden you'll learn:
- How the Northern Alliance was criticized by the Clinton Administration for trying to kill bin Laden-and why they kept trying anyway.
- The never-before-told story of the Saudi government attempt to assassinate bin Laden.
- Why Bill Clinton refused to meet with his first Director of Central Intelligence.
- Drawn from secret Sudanese intelligence files, the never-before-told story of bin Laden's role in shooting down America's Black Hawk helicopters in Mogadishu, Somalia-and how Clinton manipulated the news media to keep the worst off America's TV screens.
- How the Clinton administration turned down repeated offers from Sudan to hand over bin Laden to the U.S. because they didn't want him in a U.S. court.
- How the Clinton administration never took a look at offered Sudanese intelligence files, a database of names, movements and locations of bin Laden and hundreds of al Qaeda operatives.
- The 1993 World Trade Center attack-why Clinton never visited the site; why the CIA was kept out of the investigation; how one of the FBI's most trusted informants was actually a double agent working for bin Laden.
- Why the CIA never funded bin Laden-despite the liberal myths.
- The untold story of a respected congressman who repeatedly warned Clinton officials about bin Laden in 1993-and why he was ignored.
- Revealed for the first time; how Clinton and a Democratic senator stopped the CIA from hiring Arabic translators-while phone intercepts from bin Laden remained untranslated.
- How the Predator spy plane-which spotted bin Laden three times-was grounded by bureaucratic infighting.
- Why the Clinton administration refused to retaliate for the attack on the U.S.S. Cole.
Plus much more, including appendices of secret documents and photos, as well as the established links between bin Laden and Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Losing bin Laden is a dramatic, page-turning read, a riveting account of a terror war that bin Laden openly declared, but that Clinton left largely unfought. With a pounding narrative, upclose characters, and detailed scenes, it takes you inside the Oval Office, the White House Situation Room, and some of the deadliest terrorist cells that America has ever faced. If Clinton had fought back, the attacks on September 11, 2001, might never have happened. Losing bin Laden is a story-and one hell of a lesson-that the reader will never forget.
Synopsis
Years before the public knew about bin Laden, Bill Clinton did. Bin Laden first attacked Americans during Clinton's presidential transition in December 1992. He struck again at the World Trade Center in February 1993. Over the next eight years the arch-terrorist's attacks would escalate, killing hundreds and wounding thousands - while Clinton did his best to stymie the FBI and CIA, and refused to wage a real war on terror. Why?
Washington Times
...remarkably well-researched.... "Losing bin Laden" is a valuable history that should serve as a training manual in how not to run a foreign policy. — Caspar Weinberger
Editorials
Washington Post
... based on direct, on-the-record quotes from participants.... Miniter has written a bitter indictment of the American president. —Robert D. NovakThe Wall Street Journal
...Miniter's investigative reporting on the eve of the second anniversary of the terror at the World Trade Center makes for provocative reading. — James TarantoWashington Times
...remarkably well-researched.... "Losing bin Laden" is a valuable history that should serve as a training manual in how not to run a foreign policy. — Caspar WeinbergerForbes Magazine
Chronicles in grim, eye-popping detail how the Clinton Administration mortally bungled our pre-9/11 efforts against global terrorism. The author tapped an extraordinary array of sources to piece this sorry tale together. This book delivers a devastating blow to the former President's reputation. When Clinton took office, Osama bin Laden was a two-bit player in global terrorism. By the time George W. Bush took office, bin Laden was a master of that hideous universe, with cells in 55 countries and a record of numerous successful attacks against U.S. targets. Read this book and you won't wonder why bin Laden thought the U.S. was a paper tiger that, despite its strength, lacked the will to effectively fight Islamic fanaticism. (15 Sep 2003)—Steve Forbes