So, to anyone who thinks Obama has a clue on foreign policy, read this:
Candidates’ Advisers Accuse Each Other of Weak ‘Mindsets’ on Terror Fight - America’s Election HQ:
John McCain’s advisers accused Barack Obama Tuesday of suffering a ‘September 10th mindset’ for suggesting that the prosecutions of the 1993 World Trade Center bombers were the best approach for dealing with terror suspects.
“Senator Obama is a perfect manifestation of a September 10th mindset. He brings the attitude, the failures of judgment, the weakness and the misunderstanding of the nature of our adversary and the dangers posed by them to a series of policy positions,” said Randy Scheunemann, McCain’s senior foreign policy adviser.
The 1993 car bombing underneath the North Tower failed to cause a collapse of the building but killed six people and injured 1,042. Four of the co-conspirators were convicted in 1994 and two more in 1997.
Speaking to ABC News on Monday night, the Democratic presidential candidate said that he believes it is possible to crack down on terrorists and threats against the U.S. “within the constraints of the Constitution.”
“Let’s take the example of Guantanamo. What we know is that in previous terrorist attacks, for example, the first attack against the World Trade Center, we were able to arrest those responsible, put them on trial. They are currently in U.S. prisons, incapacitated,” Obama said.
“And the fact that the administration has not tried to do that has created a situation where not only have we never actually put many of these folks on trial, but we have destroyed our credibility when it comes to rule of law all around the world, and given a huge boost to terrorist recruitment in countries that say, ‘Look, this is how the United States treats Muslims.’ So that, I think, is an example of something that was unnecessary. We could have done the exact same thing, but done it in a way that was consistent with our laws,” he added.
Holding a conference call with reporters Tuesday, members of McCain’s foreign and national security policy advisory team said Obama is wrong to treat terrorists like regular criminals.
Former CIA Director James Woolsey, who was head of the spy agency at the time of the 1993 bombings, added that the law enforcement approach doesn’t work because it ignores the fact that Usama bin Laden, for instance, was indicted in 1998, before the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the USS Cole explosion in Yemen.
“The criminal justice — totally criminal justice approach to dealing with international terrorists, particularly when they are suicidal and are able to pull off plots like 9/11, has not worked. … It was a miserable failure,” Woolsey said. “We need an approach that combines law enforcement, where appropriate, with intelligence, with going after terrorists where they are, with an approach toward the war that we are, in fact, in, and not an approach that ignores that we are in a war against Islamist terrorism.”
Former Navy Secretary John Lehman, who also served on the Sept. 11 commission, added that the investigation into the 1993 bombings meant evidence was gathered under grand jury seal, and was not available to federal agents.
Former CIA Director George Tenet, who succeeded Woolsey “did not get to see the evidence, which would have linked some of the perpetrators of the ‘93 bombing to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — in fact, they were relatives — and would have enabled many of the dots to have been connected well before 9/11 and, in my belief, would have given a good chance to have prevented 9/11. But since they were under grand jury seal and no one wanted the evidence and intelligence tainted in order to get a conviction, the CIA was not allowed to see that evidence and neither was President Clinton,” Lehman said, adding that it cost taxpayers $100 million to prosecute seven people.
“The terrorists should have due process but what Obama said that this is the right approach shows a very deep ignorance of the facts and a very dangerous policy,” Lehman said.
The Obama camp responded to the criticism on Tuesday afternoon in a conference call of its own featuring Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry. Kerry blasted McCain for embracing an “Iraq war mindset.”
McCain “has fully embraced willfully, openly, fully embraced the failed, tragic policy of the Bush administration over the last seven and a half years. … He’s really defending a policy that is indefensible. He’s proving every day that he doesn’t understand Iraq, or the Middle East or the War on Terrorism,” Kerry said.
McCain “failed to learned the lessons of 9/11. He is the candidate of the Iraq war mindset, a mindset that completely misunderstands and dangerously underestimates the threats of the 21st century.”
Gen. Wesley Clarke joined Kerry, calling the attack on Obama straight out of the “Republican playbook used in every federal election since 2002,” and saying the goal is to paint the Democratic candidate as weak. Clarke acknowledged that the two candidates have ” substantive differences” on national security, but called McCain’s approach “military dominant” while Obama’s is “comprehensive.”
Separately, McCain’s campaign issued a statement from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who said he fears Democrats are taking a step back in how to address the “clear and present danger” of terrorism.
“Barack Obama appears to believe that terrorists should be treated like criminals — a belief that underscores his fundamental lack of judgment regarding our national security. In a post 9/11 world, we need to remain on offense against the terrorist threat which seeks to destroy our very way of life. We need a leader like John McCain who has the experience and judgment necessary to protect the American people,” he said.
FOX News’ Mosheh Oinounou contributed to this report.
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