Clarke Praises Bush in Resignation LetterWe all know perfectly well that if Clarke had written a critcal message that (a) it would never see the light of day and (b) if it did, it would be deemed that Clarke had an axe to grind since Bush took office. It's a lose-lose scenario and one which the White House should hang its head in shame over - for being so petty and mean-spirited.
WASHINGTON - The White House, seeking to cool criticism from a former top anti-terror adviser, said Tuesday that Richard Clarke's resignation letter praised President Bush's "courage, determination, calm and leadership" on Sept. 11, 2001.
"It has been an enormous privilege to serve you these last 24 months," said the Jan. 20, 2003, letter from Clarke to Bush. "I will always remember the courage, determination, calm, and leadership you demonstrated on September 11th."
The letter was stamped "the president has seen" the next day.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan suggested Clarke's praise belies his later criticism of Bush's handling of the crisis.
"At this time period, when he was leaving, there was no mention of the grave concerns he claims to have had about the direction of the war on terrorism, or what we were doing to confront the threat posed by Iraq, by the former regime," McClellan said.
Clarke's signoff was nothing more than a nod of respect to the President of the United States. For the Bush administration to pull this out as written proof that Clarke is dishonest is just immature and weak. Anyone who sees this as a major chink in Clarke's armor is a fool.
I'm really despising these people.
