Powell: Clinton Failed to Act on Clarke's 9/11 Warning

Under fire on Tuesday from 9/11 Commission Democrat Timothy Roemer for failing to act on a Dec. 20, 2000, briefing from Clinton administration terrorism czar Richard Clarke, Secretary of State Colin Powell turned the tables - demanding to know why the Clinton White House failed to act on its own intelligence.

Powell acknowledged that Clarke had warned him that al-Qaida operatives had already entered the U.S., but reminded Roemer, "At the time [Clarke] gave me the briefing, I was not the secretary of state - this administration was not in office."

"If they were aware that al-Qaida representatives were already in the country running around, and knew that, and knew that these nineteen [9/11 hijackers] ... were running around inside the country, the obligation, frankly, was on them," Powell said.

"[It's] not, 'Why didn't we do something beginning a month later?'" he contended.

Instead, Powell said, the more pertinent question is, "Why hadn't they done something while they were preparing [Clarke's] Power Point presentation?"

Former Rep. Roemer said he would put that question to Mr. Clarke when he testifies on Wednesday.

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