Condi: 9/11 Commission Should Probe Sudan's bin Laden Offer

For the first time ever, the nation's top national security official has reviewed NewsMax.com's recording of ex-President Bill Clinton admitting he turned down an offer to have Osama bin Laden arrested in 1996.

Appearing for an exclusive interview Friday on Sean Hannity's nationally synidcated radio broadcast, National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice listened to the recording of the ex-president during a February 2002 speech in which he detailed an offer from Sudan to the U.S. for bin Laden's extradition.

Rice told Hannity that Clinton's decision to turn down bin Laden would fall within the purview of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks.

The exchange between Rice and Hannity went like this:

HANNITY [repeating Clinton's comments]: "I pleaded with the Saudis to take him, they thought it was a hot potato. I couldn't take him 'cause I didn't have the legal justification to do it."

If he was offered - and if we want to understand 9/11 better - shouldn't we be investigating the offer by the Sudan?

DR. CONDOLEEZZA RICE: Well, I assume that the [9/11] Commission will look at what happened during the period in which Osama bin Laden was in Sudan and was essentially expelled from Sudan.

But I also hope this Commission does not spend just all of its time looking back, Sean. I think there are some really important issues that have come up since 9/11. [End of Excerpt]

Rice said she hoped the Commission would take the opportunity to explain to the American people the benefits of the Patriot Act.

She also said that the 9/11 probe offered lessons for the Bush administration's doctrine of pre-emptive attack.

"I heard both Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright, and Bill Cohen and Don Rumsfeld and Sandy Berger all asked the question, 'Why didn't you use military force earlier?'" Rice noted.

"Well, in Iraq we used military force earlier because we thought there was a gathering threat. So you can't have it both ways. Either pre-emption is a good policy or not."

Editor's note: