RENO
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James Joyner | Wednesday, May 21, 2003 |
PoliBlogger asks the rhetorical question, “Was Janet Reno the worst AG we have ever had, or what?” and notes
a key difference between the Clinton and Bush approaches to terrorism: sending in the FBI to arrest bin Laden is treating the situation from a law enforcement perspective. The Bush “War on Terror” is the more appropriate approach, I would argue.
Especially ironic since Reno treated law enforcement problems like military ones, as in Waco, Ruby Ridge, and Elian Gonzalez.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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I agree with your point 100%, but fairness compels me to note that Ruby Ridge was a pre-Reno operation.
D'oh. I just so seems like a Reno Operation. But, yes, it happened months before she took office.
I'd disagree; John Mitchell, Nixon's AG and Chairman of that legendary Committee to Re-Elect the President, was the worst in our history, IMHO. I think Reno had her flaws to be sure, but I never saw reason to doubt her motivations.
As for the Bush/Clinton dichotomy with regard to terrorism, I think the Bush approach is the more appropriate one only in the aftermath of 9/11. Besides, Clinton would have been accused of starting a war to draw attention away from the sex scandal had he taken the Bush approach.
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