Which Clinton Aide Said It? 'Let Iraq shoot down U.S. plane'

[Panaconda]

Clinton aide's idea: Let Iraq shoot down U.S. plane

A new book says a cabinet member proposed letting Saddam kill an American airman as a pretext for war

...

At one of my very first breakfasts, while Berger and Cohen were engaged in a sidebar discussion down at one end of the table and Tenet and Richardson were preoccupied in another, one of the Cabinet members present leaned over to me and said, “Hugh, I know I shouldn’t even be asking you this, but what we really need in order to go in and take out Saddam is a precipitous event — something that would make us look good in the eyes of the world. Could you have one of our U-2s fly low enough — and slow enough — so as to guarantee that Saddam could shoot it down?”

The hair on the back of my neck bristled, my teeth clenched, and my fists tightened. I was so mad I was about to explode. I looked across the table, thinking about the pilot in the U-2 and responded, “Of course we can ...” which prompted a big smile on the official’s face.

“You can?” was the excited reply.

“Why, of course we can,” I countered. “Just as soon as we get your ass qualified to fly it, I will have it flown just as low and slow as you want to go.”

..'

The way Shelton writes the story, the unnamed cabinet official could not have been Berger or Cohen. That leaves Albright and the other cabinet members as possible candidates.

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/10/15/clinton_official_iraq_hugh_shelton

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Were any of them signatories to the PNAC letter?

[Panaconda]

2. Good question

My money is on Albright:

"We have heard that a half million children have died," stated {Leslie) Stahl. "I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?"

"I think this is a very hard choice," replied Albright, "but the price–we think the price is worth it."

- Infamous 60 Minutes interview

[maryf]

6. I'd bet with you...

just a little "collateral damage" to achieve the ends...sick woman..

[BootinUp]

3. Personally, I think the General has his dates/admins mixed up.

I don't buy it.

[Cleanelec]

7. You do know that General Shelton is a Democrat?

and an honorable man

[Recursion]

4. The options are:

Albright, Rubin, Summers, Reno, Babbitt, Glickman, Daley, Herman, Shalala, Riley, Cisneros (just barely), Cuomo, Slater, and West (and possibly Pena depending on how early on this was).

Any takers?

[Gin]

5. me thinks he needs to sell his book.

[maryf]

8. K&R

thanks for posting this!

[MO_Dem]

9. Louie Freeh?

I guess he wasn't a cabinet member but I'd love for it to have been him!

[shraby]

10. I remember this story from when Bush was in office, and it

was attributed to Bush himself.

[hughee99]

12. This is what I could find from the * years

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=357071

Mr Bush told Mr Blair that the US was so worried about the failure to find hard evidence against Saddam that it thought of "flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft planes with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in UN colours". Mr Bush added: "If Saddam fired on them, he would be in breach ".

I think this could be a different story.

[hughee99]

11. Sounds like it's not Tenet or Richardson either

at least from the way it's worded.