Richard Clarke Articles and Transcripts

9/11 Commission Hearing Testimony

Meet the Press

Newsweek Magazine: The Insider But Clarke also understood how government worked, and he was both bullheaded and nimble about getting his way. In the freewheeling Clinton White House, he was everywhere. Wary of the CIA, Clinton often skipped the president's morning intelligence briefing. He got his intelligence instead from Clarke, who collected it from the various spy agencies. Clarke was not a "principal" on the National Security Council, but he might as well have been, wandering into top-level meetings and even the Oval Office.   Charles Dharapak / AP

The Bush administration brought an end to such informality and openness—and to Clarke's access. Clinton, like many Democratic presidents, enjoyed being the center of a wheel with many spokes. Bush follows the more hierarchical Republican executive model. The Bushies thought they were bringing order to chaos, but for Clarke the new order felt like a demotion, and he squawked. Told that he had to vacate his warren of offices overlooking the Ellipse (the same offices once occupied by Oliver North) in order to make room for the NSC communications and speechwriting staff, Clarke threatened to sue. (He cited an obscure statute that prohibits spending government money on office decorations.) And he engaged in passive-aggressive warfare with his new boss, Condi Rice. The Town Crier: He came, he bore witness and he sent Washington into a frenzy. How Richard Clarke fueled a firestorm over who's to blame for 9/11, why two presidents missed the warning signs—and what we can learn to keep it from happening again Fighting back: Facing tough criticism from Richard Clarke, Condoleezza Rice went on a PR offensive, talking to everyone, it seemed, except 9/11 commissioners in public, under oath . . .

And Time Magazine:

Posted Sunday, March 28, 2004
How does a civil servant who has launched a major attack on the Bush presidency protect himself from what he has unleashed?

Richard Clarke, the former counterterrorism adviser to Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush—who saw al-Qaeda expand under his watch, attack U.S. interests abroad and produce the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history—knew he couldn't pin the blame on his bosses if he didn't start by apologizing himself. So he prepared his words carefully.

At 3 a.m. on the day of his testimony, "I got up and went down to my study and actually typed the words out so I wouldn't forget," he told TIME. When it came time to deliver them in a hearing room in the Hart Senate Office Building, he addressed not just his interrogators, the 10 members of the bipartisan commission charged with investigating the events of 9/11, but also the victims of Osama bin Laden.

"Your government failed you. Those entrusted with protecting you failed you. And I failed you," he said, in language that struck some people as melodramatic. After he spoke, some of the victims' loved ones, seated behind him, put down pictures of their dead to applaud; some hugged him when he was done testifying. Said Stephen Push, whose wife Lisa Raines died aboard American Airlines Flight 77: "I've been waiting for an apology from the government for two and a half years."

Clarke, who quit his job at the National Security Council a year ago, would not have survived Washington's brutal ways in the service of three Presidents if he had not been a good politician. And last week he needed all the political skills he could muster for what he was about to do—direct a missile at the very fortress that so far has protected Bush's presidential advantage in this campaign season: the perception that, for all his faults, Bush has done everything he could to keep the country safe and managed the war on terrorism well. In an early March Gallup poll, the President's approval rating on the issue of terrorism was nearly 30 points higher than that of Democratic challenger John Kerry. Suddenly it looked to some Democrats as if Bush's main argument for re-election—that the world is too dangerous to change horses in midstream—could at least be neutralized.

Rank	Headline	Author	Published	Section
****	Creative writing enlivens Clarke's controversial book In his new book, Richard Clarke heads straight for the politicos. He gets real juicy — liberally taking pot shots at President Bush while heaping praise on President Clinton. And he makes pop political references, which some might find odd for a counterte	Howard Mortman	Mar 29, 2004	News, Politics and Howard Mortman
****	Some 9/11 Families Criticize Clarke's Testimony Some of the families of the victims of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, are striking back at former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke, NewsChannel 4 reported.		Mar 29, 2004	New York, NY, News and Local news
****	Clarke ‘would welcome’ open testimony Richard Clarke, the former chief counterterrorism adviser at the White House, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that he “would welcome” the attempt by Republicans to declassify his testimony before Congress.		Mar 28, 2004	News and Terrorism & Security
****	Transcript for March 28 Guest: Former White House counterterrorism coordinator Richard Clarke		Mar 28, 2004	Meet the Press
****	The Insider The Town Crier: He came, he bore witness and he sent Washington into a frenzy. How Richard Clarke fueled a firestorm over who's to blame for 9/11, why two presidents missed the warning signs—and what we can learn to keep it from happening again		Mar 28, 2004	Newsweek and Newsweek National News
****	The Insider		Mar 28, 2004	Newsweek, Newsweek World News and Newsweek: International Editions
****	The Insider The Town Crier: He came, he bore witness and he sent Washington into a frenzy. How Richard Clarke fueled a firestorm over who's to blame for 9/11, why two presidents missed the warning signs—and what we can learn to keep it from happening again		Mar 28, 2004	Newsweek, Newsweek World News and Newsweek: International Editions
****	The Insider		Mar 28, 2004	Newsweek and Newsweek National News
****	Party Of One Joining forces: The stars were aligned, and the Clarke buzz was loud. But the Dems are still struggling to dent Bush's wartime appeal		Mar 28, 2004	Newsweek and Newsweek Campaign 2004
****	Kerry rips ‘character assassination’ of Clarke Democrat John Kerry said Saturday that the White House is committing character assassination in its treatment of Richard Clarke to avoid answering questions about national security that Clarke raised.		Mar 27, 2004	News and Politics
****	Sugieren que Clarke mintió bajo juramento WASHINGTON, D.C.— La saga del intercambio de acusaciones y contraacusaciones entre la Casa Blanca y el ex...		Mar 27, 2004	Los Angeles, CA, News and Local news
****	White House targets Clarke As his advisers tell it, President Bush had tired of the White House playing defense on issue after issue. So this week, his aides turned the full power of the executive branch on Richard A. Clarke, formerly the administration's top counterterrorism offic		Mar 25, 2004	News and washingtonpost.com Highlights
****	Clarke hurts Bush on signature issue Analysis:  It didn’t take long for the White House and its allies to realize they had a problem when former counterterrorism official Richard Clarke began criticizing President Bush's response to the threat of terrorism.		Mar 25, 2004	News and Politics
****	Clarke stays cool under fire The Sept. 11 commission shed its bipartisan spirit and turned a Senate hearing room into a courtroom Wednesday for the testimony of Richard A. Clarke, the White House counterterrorism chief-turned-Bush administration whistle-blower.		Mar 24, 2004	News and washingtonpost.com Highlights
****	‘Your Government Failed You’ Could the terror attacks have been prevented? Clarke’s testimony to the 9/11 commission raises the prospect that the answer might have been yes		Mar 24, 2004	Newsweek and Newsweek National News
****	Committee report on policy coordination Full transcript of the interim report issued March 23 by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.		Mar 24, 2004	News and Terrorism & Security
****	Clarke’s take on administration Excerpts from “Against All Enemies,” the book in which a former counterterror chief Richard Clarke criticizes many senior government officials.		Mar 24, 2004
****	Storm Warnings Bin Laden was a threat, but Clinton never pushed it and Bush seemed more interested in Saddam. What went wrong		Mar 24, 2004	Newsweek and Newsweek Campaign 2004
****	The book on Richard Clarke Richard Clarke's incendiary new book, "Against All Enemies," provides a telling look at his traits as the nation's counterterrorism czar. But it also reveals a hard-charging style and a flair for self-promotion that has earned him enemies.		Mar 22, 2004	News and washingtonpost.com Highlights
****	White House rebuttal to ex-terrorism chief Read the full text of the White House rebuttal to the accusations made by President Bush's former chief terrorism adviser, Dick Clarke.		Mar 22, 2004	News and Terrorism & Security
****	Storm Warnings Bin Laden was a threat, but Clinton never pushed it and Bush seemed more interested in Saddam. What went wrong		Mar 21, 2004	Newsweek, Newsweek World News and Newsweek: International Editions
****	Government ‘failed you,’ Clarke testifies President Bush’s former counterterrorism adviser, the star witness at hearings into the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, apologized to the families of the victims Wednesday, testifying that “your government failed you.”		Mar 20, 2004	News and Terrorism & Security

GOPUSA

Clarke's Terror Contentions Close to Absurd GOPUSA, TX - Mar 24, 2004 Richard Clarke's new book, as related in his interview on 60 Minutes, accuses the Bush Administration of being so inept that anyone who isn't legally blind can ...

New Zealand Herald

Poll shows Bush largely unaffected by criticism on terror policy Xinhua, China - 32 minutes ago ... Kerry,his Democratic rival John Kerry, on issues of anti-terrorism and homeland security, despite accusations last week made by Richard Clarke, the former ... Poll: Bush keeps big advantage on handling terror; Kerry loses ...  - Boston Globe and more »

Seattle Post Intelligencer

Bush aide terror U - turn The Times (subscription), UK - 3 hours ago ... last week, and giving evidence to the 9/11 panel, Mr Clarke has criticised Mr ... Trade Centre and Pentagon attacks, and of weakening the war on terror by pursuing ... Bush aide says terror fight was a priority - Newark Star Ledger Rice defends anti-terror actions - United Press International Rice forced onto defensive over anti-terror record - Borneo Bulletin Hi Pakistan - Washington Post - and more »

NPR

Dr. Condoleezza Rice Discussses the War on Terror on "60 Minutes ... Whitehouse.gov (press release) - 1 hour ago Q The Bush administration's handling of the war on terror is the most talked about and controversial topic ... Q Did you watch Richard Clarke's testimony last week ... The Kean commission Assigning blame for ‘ 9 / 11 ’ - Monday Morning Clarke's controversial book - MSNBC The truth of the matter - CNN Dodge City Daily Globe - Kinston Free Press - and more »

KABC

Terror row challenge Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia - 7 hours ago FORMER US anti-terror boss Richard Clarke wants all pre-September 11 communications between himself and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice declassified ... Rice Will Not Testify at 9/11 Commission - Moscow Times The national security adviser's in the hot seat. - Slate Rice Says Looking for Iraq-Terror Link Made Sense, CBS Says - Bloomberg Albuquerque Tribune - Security Focus - and more »

BBC News

Secretary Rumsfeld Interview with Fox News Sunday DefenseLINK (public service), United States - 4 hours ago ... While the Pentagon is still busy fighting the war on terror, announcing that ... WALLACE: Mr. Secretary, I want to start with Richard Clarke's opening remarks to ... Another song & dance review closes - Carlisle Sentinel Bush officials slam Clarke's charges - Straits Times Clarke, O'Neill brave to speak - Sarasota Herald-Tribune Xinhua - Los Angeles Times (subscription) - and more »

Seattle Times

From The Economist Global Agenda Economist (subscription), UK - 8 hours ago ... is basing his re-election campaign on his stewardship of the war on terror. ... Officials have taken to the talk shows to discredit Mr Clarke; Dick Cheney, the vice ... RICHARD CLARKE - Oregonian Clarke fends off White House dirty tricks - Independent Clarke Fends Off White House Dirty Tricks - Common Dreams Hi Pakistan - Seattle Post Intelligencer - and more »

USA Today

Hughes blasts Clarke's criticism KVUE (subscription), TX - 8 hours ago ... Her memoir calls Bush "powerful and tough" on the war on terror. ... Recent books by Clarke and former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill have been critical of the ... Bush Adviser Hughes Launches Book Tour - Atlanta Journal Constitution and more »