Huh?

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the Bush administration had no comment on the meeting, which occurred before President Bush took office.

A little explaining is in order, I know. This article was written by the Associated Press concerning a meeting between the United States and the Taliban in September of 2000. Yes, the date is extremely important.

In this meeting in Islamabad, U.S. officials tried to persuade the Taliban to hand over Osama Bin Laden. Needless to say they were not forcefull enough, but then again the track record of the entire Clinton Administration and the first 9 months of President Bush’s tenure proves when it came to Al Qaida, we prefered a hands-off approach.

Now by now you’re probably asking yourself why the quote paragraph was even in the article. Well, I certainly am too. What does President Bush have to do with this? This was a top secret meeting occuring before the elections, not after, so why the AP felt the need to ask the Bush White House anything concerning this alleged meeting is as clear as mud. This is akin to asking President Reagan why he stood by and watched the Islamic Revolution occur in Iran.

Instead of the bizzare slant in which the AP seemingly wishes to put on this story, this is further evidence President Clinton saw combatting Al Qaida was a diplomatic and criminal issue rather than a military issue. This is not necessarily bad, per se, but it is not a combat method I happen to agree with.