It didn’t take long after the horror of 9/11 for Liberals and Democrats (are the words interchangeable?) to start asking “What did Bush know and when did he know it?”, as if W were privy to the plans of Al Qaeda that terrible day. Now we find that the question perhaps should have been asked of former President Clinton.

Colonel Tony Shaffer, a liason officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), has gone public regarding a Pentagon intelligence program known as “Able Danger”.

This story has been covered by the New York Times, CNN, Fox News, UK’s Guardian, and even the Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram.

Bloggers have been all over it:

• smagar at RedState.org
• PowerLine here, here, here, here, and here
• Captain’s Quarters has too many to list, but check here, here, here, and here
• Michelle Malkin here, here, and here

Here’s the bottom line from my understanding: Clinton Assistant Attorney General Jamie Gorelick erected a “wall of separation” between intelligence officers and law enforcement, thus preventing a military intelligence group from passing along information regarding future 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta to the proper authorities. Unfortunately, this information included the fact that Mr. Atta was in a terrorist cell along with three other future 9/11 hijackers. Could we have prevented 9/11 with this information in the proper hands? It’s hard to say, but for damn sure not knowing didn’t help us any.

Further, it seems that Ms. Gorelick seriously overstepped her authority. According to the Northeast Intelligence Network, that authority belongs to the President:

ALL US Department of Defense intelligence activities are conducted as specifically mandated per Executive Order 12333, signed by President Ronald Reagan on 4 December 1981. All authority for the conduct of military intelligence operations in conjunction with other federal law enforcement agencies and bureaus resides and has resided since that time with the President of the United States, who is the military Commander-In-Chief as well as the chief constitutional law enforcement officer of the land. The direction found in this Executive Order is completely unambiguous and has remained in effect for the past 19 years. The order is directed to the Directors of US Central Intelligence, the FBI, NSA, NRO, DIA and the US Secretary of Defense, and to all branches of American military intelligence, and has encompassed every administration since the Reagan Administration, including the 8-year tenure of William Jefferson Clinton.

It is just that simple.

They go on to say:

Specifically, as found section 1.11, line items (d), (f) and (k) Presidential Executive Order 12333 gives direction to the Secretary of Defense as follows:

(d) Conduct counterintelligence activities in support of Department of Defense components outside the United States in coordination with the CIA, and within the United States in coordination with the FBI pursuant to procedures agreed upon by the Secretary of Defense and the Attorney General;

(f) Provide for the timely transmission of critical intelligence, as defined by the Director of Central Intelligence, within the United States Government;

(k) Conduct such administrative and technical support activities within and outside the United States as are necessary to perform the functions described in sections (a) through (j) above.

Section 1.12, line item (d) states the following:

The foreign intelligence and counterintelligence elements of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps,

Whose responsibilities shall include: (1) Collection, production and dissemination of military and military-related foreign intelligence and counterintelligence, and information on the foreign aspects of narcotics production and trafficking. When collection is conducted in response to national foreign intelligence requirements, it will be conducted in accordance with guidance from the Director of Central Intelligence. Collection of national foreign intelligence, not otherwise obtainable, outside the United States shall be coordinated with the CIA, and such collection within the United States shall be coordinated with the FBI;

Additionally, EO 12333 concludes with the following:

Agencies within the Intelligence Community are authorized to:

(b) Unless otherwise precluded by law or this Order, participate in law enforcement activities to investigate or prevent clandestine intelligence activities by foreign powers, or international terrorist or narcotics activities;

I’m no lawyer, but it seems pretty clear to me — the authority to direct the gathering and dissemination of intelligence information rests solely with the President. How Ms. Gorelick had the chutzpah to usurp Presidential authority with her dictum is another question, but based on the other things occupying Bill Clinton’s attention during that time, it seems that no one in his administration was taking the terrorist threat very seriously. It looks as if that will be the legacy Mr. Clinton is so worried about.

So, what did Bill Clinton know and when did he know it? It appears that the answer is nothing and never.

TD