Editorial: Just whose credibility is at stake?

Friday, April 9, 2004 | 9:09 a.m.

There has been a concerted effort by top Republicans to attack the credibility of Richard Clarke. The former national coordinator of counterterrorism, Clarke has said that President Bush didn't take seriously enough the threat of terrorism prior to 9-11 and that Bush's obsession with Iraq undermined the war on terrorism. So there was considerable anticipation on Thursday regarding National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice's testimony to the 9-11 commission, an appearance billed in advance as an opportunity to discredit Clarke. Rice got in a few digs at him, but for the most part she didn't really go after Clarke, who has worked for every president since Ronald Reagan. Instead, Clarke's credibility remained intact as Rice focused on trying to make a case, to often disbelieving commissioners, that there really wasn't much the government could have done to p revent the devastating terrorist attacks.

Rice did try to knock down Clarke's view that Bush didn't consider terrorism as urgent a matter as did President Clinton. "President Bush understood the threat, and he understood its importance," she testified. But no matter how Rice tries to spin it, the fact is it was the president himself who, in Bob Woodward's book "Bush at War," indicated that Osama bin Laden wasn't a top priority before 9-11. "I was not on point. I have no hesitancy about going after him. But I didn't feel that sense of urgency, and my blood was not nearly as boiling," Bush said.

Also Thursday it was disclosed that the 9-11 commission wants the White House to make public an Aug. 6, 2001 classified memo the president received from the CIA that was titled "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States." Despite the provocative title and implication that danger was lurking within our country, Rice downplayed the memo's importance. "It was historical information based on old reporting. There was no threat information," Rice said. "And it did not, in fact, warn of any coming attacks inside the United States." Maybe so, but that's a decision the American public should make for itself. The administration, which already has been slow in providing the 9-11 commission with vital records necessary for its investigation, has indicated it will consider declassifying the memo. Letting the public see this document is the right thing to do.