Former George W. Bush campaign aide and spokesman Darren Schmitz, speaking on behalf of his current G.O.P. candidate in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott McCallum, has lashed out at Clinton, Al Gore and the Democrats with what looks like it will be one of the chief Republican Party Big Lies of the 2002/2004 campaigns.

"[Clinton-Gore] turned their back on our security agencies, our military and ignored terrorists around the world, and we're now paying the price for their lack of action," said Darren Schmitz, GOP operative. (Source - Wisconsin State Journal)

Let's set the record straight about which administration did what in response to the threat of terrorist leaders, acts and groups.

þ Developed the nation's first anti-terrorism policy, and appointed first national coordinator of anti-terrorist efforts.

þ Stopped cold the Al Qaeda millennium bombing plot.

þ Tried to kill Osama bin Laden and disrupt Al Qaeda through preemptive strikes (efforts denounced by the G.O.P.).

þ Brought perpetrators of first World Trade Center bombing and CIA killings to justice.

þ Did not blame Bush I administration for first World Trade Center bombing.  Instead, worked hard, even obsessively -- and successfully -- to stop future terrorist attacks.

þ Named the Hart-Rudman commission to report on nature of terrorist threats and major steps to be taken to combat terrorism.

þ Backed off Clinton administration's anti-terrorism efforts.

þ Shelved Hart-Rudman report.

þ Appointed new anti-terrorism task force under Dick Cheney.  Group did not even meet before 9/11.

þ Called for cuts in anti-terrorism efforts by the Department of Defense.

þ Gave no priority to anti-terrorism efforts by Justice Department.

þ Ignored warnings from Sandy Berger and Louis Freeh about the urgency of terrorist threats.

þ Halted Predator drone tracking of Osama bin Laden.

þ Did nothing in wake of August 6 C.I.A. report to president saying Al Qaeda attack almost certain.

þ By failing to order any coordination of intelligence data, missed opportunity to stop the 9/11 plot as Clinton-Gore had stopped the millennium plot.

þ Blamed Clinton-Gore for 9/11.

þ Prevented a bipartisan investigation of the circumstances and intelligence failures around 9/11

þ Later, when pressed into allowing an investigatory commission, the "National Commission on Terrorist Attacks", Bush appointed an alleged war criminal (Kissinger) to head it up.

þ When Kissinger quit amid a storm of conflict of interest allegations, 15 months after 9/11, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks had no office, desks or even a telephone number.

þ Bush/Cheney then neglected to fund the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks.

þ Bush/Cheney bombed and invaded Afghanistan, and then installed an ex-employee of Unocal to govern the country, assuring that Unocal will get their long sought trans-Afgahnistan pipeline, and also assuring that the US will be even more hated in the region.

þ Bush/Cheney bombed and invaded Iraq, assuring thousands of new terrorist recruits from all over the Middle East would sign up to attack the United States.

þ Bush was forced by Congress, in March of 2003, to add a paltry $9 million in funding to his war budget for the commission (for comparison, the Starr/Clinton investigation cost $33.5 million and it's focus was a real estate deal gone wrong).

þ Bush/Cheney pushed for additional tax reductions for the super-wealthy, unprecedented during war time, thus ensuring less funding would be available for terrorist prevention.

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