Former Chief of CIA's Bin Laden Unit: Clinton Lied

There was a very interesting panel discussion this morning on FOX NEWS SUNDAY. Chris Wallace asked three counterterrorism experts their opinions on whether former President Clinton told the truth, in his controversial interview with Wallace of a week ago, about his attempts to capture Osama Bin Laden. The transcript of the discussion is linked above.

As The Washington Times and Robert Novak make clear, Michael Scheuer, one of the panelists, is not a Bush sympathizer. Yet Scheuer, who was the chief of the CIA's Bin Laden unit for three years under President Clinton, flatly said the former President had lied to Wallace and the American people. "For him to get on the television and say to the American people he did all he could is a flat lie, sir. This is not a question of interpretation or judgment. This is a question of fact. And the documents will show the president had the opportunity."

Novak quotes Scheuer's recent appearance on CBS's Early Show: "The fact of the matter is that the Bush administration had one chance that they botched, and the Clinton administration had eight to 10 chances that they refused to try. At least at Tora Bora, our forces were on the ground."