RichardMiniter.com: Berger's Comeback

As many of you know, Clinton’s National Security Advisor Sandy Berger and I no longer get along.

Once a cordial and helpful source, Berger turned on me in January 2002 when the first installment of a Sunday Times (U.K.) series that I co-wrote appeared. He phoned my hotel room at something like 6AM, screaming that I was accusing him of “murdering 3000 people.”

He promised that he was going to ruin and destroy me. I asked him to not forget to perform this vital task. But he proved unreliable and I had to become semi-famous on my own.

Later, the blogosphere renamed him “Sandy Burglar” when he struck a plea deal admitting to stealing and destroying hundreds of pages of classified material stored in the National Archives. He said he needed access to it to prepare his testimony before the 9-11 Commission; it seems equally likely that he wanted to keep it out of the hands of the commission and of future historians and journalists.

My informed sources suggest that what Berger destroyed were copies of the Millennium After-Action Review, a binder-sized report prepared by Richard Clarke in 2000—a year and half before the 9-11 attacks. The review made a series of recommendations for a tougher stance against bin Laden and terrorism. There are 13 or more copies of this report. But only one contains hand-written notes by President Bill Clinton. Apparently, in the margin beside the recommendations, Bill Clinton wrote NO, NO, NO next to many of the tougher policy proposals.

You can see why Clinton might be happy to see these records vanish down the memory hole.

So Berger was stuffing in pants and socks and later shredding the evidence that President Clinton did not want to take a tougher line on bin Laden, following the 1998 attack on two U.S. embassies that killed 224 people (including 12 American diplomats).

Now for the Hillary connection…

So what does the Democratic front-runner and former First Lady do?

She makes Berger one of her top three foreign policy advisers.

The ever-wise Jonathan Adler has some interesting thoughts on this over at the Volokh Conspiracy.

And I have a few questions:

Did she bring him aboard to reward him for his criminal destruction of classified material? Or did she sign him up because of his stellar record in fighting bin Laden in the late 1990s?

Comments (7)

David thomson :

This is very disturbing. Why are Hillary Clinton’s key people seemingly not worried about the political repercussions over this selection? One might think they wouldn’t want Sandy Berger anywhere close to the campaign. No, Republican could possibly pull off such a stunt. It would prove to be political suicide. I am afraid that we are seeing further evidence how the leftist dominated MSM is going to propagandize on behalf of the New York senator.

I am currently reading a few works by and about the late Saul Alinsky. Regrettably, I am not up to speed on this once famous Chicago area, leftist agitator. In many respects, he is not much more than a name to me. But this must change! I am increasingly convinced that one cannot even begin to understand the tactics and mindset of today’s Democratic Party unless they are well versed in Alinsky’s ideas. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are connected to him.

Sep 12, 2007 03:12 PM

dude1394 :

She is not worried because she (and most democrat nominees) are very used to the media having their backs. Kerry had it and Clinton will have it. It's an inherent advantage for democrats.

Sep 13, 2007 08:04 AM

James crawford :

china paid alot of politicans for loyalty and america didn't pay enough. the dem party has to answer the tough questions of why they take illegal campain funds while being against america . it is time to hold politicans feet to the fire if tresion is their choice they should pay the price and sandy burglar is a sign that americans have no say anymore. the china conection is complete and that is why the dems won't procuted mr hsu.
they just ingor his crimes after all his crime are against amreica not them. political party members that take foreign funds are pulling down the enire party after all the party has gone along on this path of selling out america. maybe this is why they get mad about have their loyality questioned they are loyal just not to america.somebody should be made an example of sandy burglar would be a good start investage and punish to the full force of law.

Sep 13, 2007 10:57 AM

Brad jenks :

I've read about the Millennium After-Action Review in John Ashcroft's book Never Again. What was in that report was also damning to President Clinton, Berger and the rest. The meeting discussing the report was March 2000. Remember the two terrorists who flew the plane into the Pentagon entered Jan 15, 2000. Portions of the “Millennium After Action Review” report were declassified before John Ashcroft’s testimony at the 9/11 Commission. Seventeen full months before 9/11 the report warned of “a substantial al Qaeda American network” (2 had just entered) and of “glaring weakness” in Justice Dept surveillance and FISA operations (Jamie Gorelick's Wall). The report recommended using any infractions, criminal or immigration, to disrupt the terrorist network within the US (similar to the USA PATRIOT Act).
Clinton not only deployed no new pre-9/11 disruption strategy, but also failed to include the report within the Justice Dept five-year counterterrorism strategy handed over to the incoming Bush Administration. It was not among the thirty items regarding terror the Attorney General was briefed on during the transition period.
In a nutshell Clinton was told al Qaeda was here planning to attack, he ignored the warning. A strategy was suggested, he ignored the strategy. The incoming administration wasn’t warned, he ignored our national security and 9/11 occurred.

Sep 13, 2007 11:25 PM

King Kull :

I believe the Berger example is illustrative of the new world of media, only hinted at in the article and comments above. Let me bring it out in the open.

The Dan Rather fiasco was a bright and shining moment for conservatives, and a huge lesson for the MSM and the Democrats.

Since then, the MSM has taken off its gloves; it no longer even makes a pretext at bipartisonship. The Congress page kerfuffle, NSA leaking and spins on non-stories like Plame and Gonzales clearly show it is the MSM that is running the Democrat agenda now.

Let's realize who is providing cover for whom. Not only would Berger have been flayed alive if he were a Republican, the MSM would have attempted to bring down the Presidency with the story.

The Democrats may be the politicians, but it is the MSM that is driving the agenda and framing the discussion.

Until conservatives see that, they can not develop successful strategies to combat it, and will continue to be reactive to it. Acknowledging the situation opens up a whole new playing field with ways to counter it. Playing defense on only half the other team is no way to win.

Sep 14, 2007 12:55 PM

Grits :

Sandy must have remembered some other papers that need shredding.

Grits

Sep 15, 2007 12:30 AM

courtneyme109 :

Anything to all the spec that Berger was hiding stuff about Al Qaeda or Iranian Al Qods in the Balkans in the 90's?

Sep 17, 2007 11:54 PM

September 2007

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