Clinton hit in TV ad for not fighting terror

Former President Clinton defends his record on terrorism in heated interview with Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace (photo: Fox News Sunday)

WASHINGTON – If Bill Clinton was really offended by Fox News Channel's Chris Wallace about his efforts to get Osama bin Laden and fight terror, he's really going to be incensed about a new series of TV commercials set to air on national news programs this week.

The first 30-second spot, "Defending Freedom," commends President Bush's actions in Iraq and Afghanistan and blasts Clinton for not making the fight against terror a priority. It is produced by Move America Forward, the largest grass-roots pro-troop organization in the country.

Funding for the ad campaign comes, the group says, from thousands of individual members.

Serving as chief spokeswoman for all television, radio and print appearances promoting the new ad campaign will be Move America Forward’s director of military outreach, Debra Argel Bastian, a Gold Star mother who lost her son in the fight against terrorism.

Bastian is mother of Captain Derek Argel, who was killed in a plane crash Memorial Day 2005 during a training mission inside Iraq. Bastian noted she believes "all Americans of all political parties should stand united behind the mission our troops are serving in Iraq and the war against terrorism."

The campaign by Move America Forward was initiated in response to Clinton's angry words last week. In the interview with Wallace, Clinton adamantly defended himself against charges he didn't seize opportunities to take out bin Laden.

Earlier today on CBS' "Early Show," the head of the CIA's bin Laden unit during the Clinton administration, Michael Scheuer, said the al-Qaida leader "is alive today" because Clinton and his top lieutenants refused to kill him.

"It's just an incredible kind of situation," said Scheuer, "for the American people over the weekend to hear their former president mislead them."

The CBS News terrorism analyst was asked to comment on Clinton's interview with Wallace.

"He defames the CIA ... and the men and women who risked their lives to give their administration repeated chances to kill bin Laden," said Scheuer.

Asked whether Bush was no less responsible for letting bin Laden escape from Tora Bora in Afghanistan, Scheuer replied: "The fact of the matter is that the Bush administration had one chance that they botched and the Clinton administration had eight to 10 chances that they refused to try. At least at Tora Bora, our forces were on the ground."

Move America Forward notes that Clinton initially was supportive of the war in Iraq. Earlier television ads produced by the group actually praised him for joining the war on terror.

"Mr. Clinton, we will praise you when you do good, but we will similarly rise up against you when you act in such a shameless fashion," said Bastian. "Bill Clinton seems to have changed his tune now, and he's more interested in his own personal glorification than the good of this nation, or showing honor and respect to the young men and women serving in the military to keep our nation safe."

Last year, Move America Forward spearheaded a TV ad campaign targeting the United Nations.

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