Clinton was fine with starving half a million Iraqi children over Saddam’s WMDs, but he refused to do anything about Osama Bin Laden – given the chance on numerous occasions.
02/09/11
Lt. Col. “Buzz” Patterson, who traveled the globe as senior military aide to President Bill Clinton, spoke about his career in Dey Hall on Monday.
He tracked the location of Osama bin Laden on a satellite phone. And for two years, retired Lt. Col. Robert “Buzz” Patterson followed President Bill Clinton across the globe as his senior military aide.
Once, as Patterson told a crowd of students Tuesday in Dey Hall, he even walked in on the president and Monica Lewinsky.
But it wasn’t until 1996 that Patterson said he became political. When the administration’s job offer first arrived, he thought it was a prank.
“I didn’t start out to be a conservative pundit,” Patterson said.
After serving 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, including several tours of duty as a combat pilot, Patterson got a call from the White House inviting him to serve as Clinton’s senior military aide. He accepted and moved to Washington, D.C., two weeks later.
Patterson said he voted for Ronald Reagan but didn’t vote again until he cast a ballot for George W. Bush in 2000. He said his political views developed during his time in the White House.
Today, Patterson blames the 9/11 attacks on Clinton, who had several opportunities to have bin Laden killed, he said.
“We knew exactly where he was,” Patterson said. “We had at least eight to 10 times to pull the trigger on bin Laden — to either capture him or kill him — in my two years in the White House, and every single time, President Clinton chose not to.”
Patterson added that Clinton knew of the perceived threats of al-Qaida hijacking airplanes to attack U.S. buildings.
“I personally lay the blame for 9/11 on President Bill Clinton,” he said.
Patterson went on to discuss U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, of which he said he is a strong supporter.
“Whether or not President Bush intended it to be this way, it was a brilliant idea in the grand scheme of things,” Patterson said.
Garrett Jacobs, an economics major and a member of the College Republicans, said the stories were reminiscent of what he’d heard from friends.
“I know other people who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his stories about when he was there sort of rang true with what they’ve said and reminded me exactly why we’re over there,” he said.
Patterson segued from Iraq to criticize Obama’s performance, saying he is an even more poorly equipped leader than Clinton was.
“I really thought I had worked for the worst commander in chief in our nation’s history,” he said. “I was wrong.”
I thought Clinton said bin Laden was a hot potato and wouldn’t touch him……..
He just wanted to touch chubby girls in thongs. Do I hear Jeff Foxworthy? “If the thought of Monica Lewinsky in a thong excites you, you are, not might be, a redneck.”
NAH that would be cable guys thing (thong?)
Ahh, the glory years of Clinton. The impetus of me ending my military career.
Check this out – from last September in case you haven’t seen it:
http://newsflavor.com/opinions/white-house-insider-on-obama-president-losing-it/#ixzz13tKipVBs
“I really thought I had worked for the worst commander in chief in our nation’s history,” he said. “I was wrong”
He should have worked for George W Bush or that Ronnie Raygun guy who slept with monkeys as an actor. Both really screwed the USA up.
Andy
Totally untrue. W brought us back from Clinton’s bad policies as cited above, dot com bubble, expansion of government using the peace dividend Reagan created, sub-prime mortgages, and the recovery from the first major attack on American soil. He rerouted the terror war to Iraq instead of more attacks here, beefed up security, etc. He gave in at the end to Tarp, but he had no one to advise him otherwise. Sigh…What’s the use. Your memory may be faulty. Too young or too old?
The last good President America had was Lincoln. No, Reagan was not. His idea of getting a better life through debt started America on the road in the 1980’s to being the biggest debtor Nation in the history of the world. The tide of being a creditor Nation to a debtor Nation turned in 1987, near the end of his Presidency. What would Reagan do? Apparently be a good enough actor to make people believe he actually deserved to be on Mt. Rushmore.
He lowered taxes from 90% to 30%, and this inspired the great boom in capital reinvestment and the computer industry. What America chooses to do, save or spend, is on us. I chose to save back then.
I am not saying everything he did was wrong. But when weighed out in total his long term effect was bad and not good. Debt is never good and he encouraged debt. I know he didn’t encourage large debt. But there is a percentage of people that will not control themselves when they’ve seen their leaders doing something. A very good example is all the cases of oral sex that started happening in schools after the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal and Clinton saying oral sex is not sex. There literally was oral sex being performed by a kids in gymnasiums as they were waiting for buses, and by grade school kids right in class, and at parties in things I won’t go into detail here.
Also, Reagan gave amnesty to 5 million illegal immigrants. Now we have 20 million illegal immigrants.
No room for Reagan on Rushmore.
I thought Gerald Ford was a pretty good president, certainly better than what followed.
I’m not too high on the swine flu shot I had to get because of him. That vaccination continues to affect the health of everyone that got it.
truth is there are VERY few great leaders throughout history. Expect fewer in America as a result of how we have evolved. IOW, we are destined to muddle through with incompetents like the O, or Nixon. With publicity hounds like the cleaver Clinton or do gooders who want to do good, Bush.
Historicly all you can hope for is a colliding of incidents that make your leader happen to do the right thing.
Despite what some of the posts say about Reagan I would choose him over all our recent presidents. In todays world I believe he would have the back to cut entitlements. He also had the gift that Obama seems to think he has. In Obama’s case, its not a gift, its an empowerment given, not earned.
At any rate the next President is important. So far it isn’t looking good.
Reagan was just a speed bump to the inexorable expansion of government that started with Wilson, then Roosevelt. Although all the previous tax/spend presidents were pikers, compared with the current ****ole.
I’ve often wondered what the documents said that Sandy Berger, Clinton’s National Security advisor, destroyed after he stole them from the National Archives.
That to me looks like classic CYA.
It was right at the time of the inquiry into what we did to not catch Osama bin Laden. I’m sure it would not have helped the Slick One’s legacy.
Nice one! Love this guy Lt. Col. “Buzz” Patterson:
My 5 worst list, descending …
… that’s 34 years in total, and counting.
Notice how Barry cut in and jumped to the front of the line like the little spoiled child he is.