PRO

A scene right out of the movies

Tuesday, September 1, 1998

At first inspection, a "Wag the Dog" scheme in connection with the bombings of Afghanistan and Sudan would suggest that the only problem Americans have to be concerned with is President Clinton's infidelity.

Erica Miller

But the rash, ineffectual bombings in Afghanistan and Sudan were definitely smoke screens for Clinton's diminished influence, popularity and effectiveness as a man in the president's seat.

Headlines like "Clinton Steps Up Efforts to Contain Scandal Damage," "Clinton Admits to Deception" and "President Expected to Tell of Sex" plastered newspapers, magazines and television. Clinton recently appeared on national television and admitted his wrongful sexual conduct looking like a dog with his tail between his legs.

Days after Clinton's confessional, he ordered military forces to bomb suspected terrorist headquarters of Osama bin Laden. But this so-called terrorist headquarters was El Shifa Pharmaceutical Industries Co. in Sudan, where U.S. officials claimed that terrorists were manufacturing a chemical used for producing nerve gas.

Investigators of the bomb rubble revealed no physical evidence that this chemical was being produced in the El Shifa labs. When asked about this absence of proof that the lab was a suitable target, U. S. Security Agent Sandy Berger said that the intelligence community had no question that the factory was used to manufacture a chemical used in making nerve gas.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Clinton's response to an embassy terrorist attack was one of the fastest in presidential history. He got praise from the Republicans, and gained the knowledge that he protected his fellow Americans from nerve gas-manufacturing fanatics like bin Laden.

The bombings did not kill the intended target (bin Laden) nor did it bring down the terrorists. But it did restore Clinton's virility. He got caught once with his pants down and this time he is making sure it does not happen again.