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Sunday, April 04, 2004

Clarke part XLIV

Pop Quiz no googling allowed
(although I am trying to make it hard to cheat)

Richard Clarke wrote "as I briefed Rice on al Qaeda, her facial expression gave me the impression that she had never heard the term before, so I added 'most people think of it as Usama bin Laden's group but ..." on page 229 of "Against all Enemies". This "impression" has been criticized by many people who point out that Rice had publically spoken about al Qaeda. The difference between knowing al Qaeda exists and familiarity with the term "al Qaeda" is overlooked. In fact, Rice referred to Osama bin Laden.

Now I guess it is obvious that anyone who is concerned about a terrorist knows the name of the organization he heads.

For example what is the name of the head of the organisation whose name I am (slightly) misspelling here
Fatah al-Qiyyadah al-Thawriyah ?

If and only if the answer is totally obvious to you, you have reason to think that Clarke's impression was patronizing and arrogant.

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