CLARKE V. CLARKE:

Transcript (NBC MEET THE PRESS, March 28, 2004)

MR. RUSSERT:  As you know, the White House has been rather aggressive trying to undercut your credibility.  They've released an e-mail which says it's Richard Clarke vs. Richard Clarke.  This is now last week on "60 Minutes." "...I find it outrageous that the president is running for re-election on the grounds that he's done such great things about terrorism.  He ignored it.  He ignored terrorism for months ...  I think he's done a terrible job on the war against terrorism."  And the White House then says then and they refer to a background briefing you gave reporters which has now been placed on the record.  "...the Bush administration decided then, you know, [in late] January, to do two things.  One, vigorously pursue the existing policy, including all the lethal covert action findings ...  The second thing the administration decided to do is to initiate a process to look at those issues which had been on the table for a couple of years and get them decided.  ...[T]hat process which was initiated in the first in February, uh, decided in principle, uh in the spring to add to the existing Clinton strategy and to increase CIA resources, for example, for covert action, five-fold, to go after al Qaeda. [T]he principals met at the end of the summer [of 2001], approved them in their first meeting, changed the strategy by authorizing the increase in funding five-fold, changing the policy on Pakistan, changing the policy on Uzbekistan, changing the policy on the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.  And then changed strategy from one of rollback with al Qaeda over the court [of] five years, which it had been, to a new strategy that called for the rapid elimination of al Qaeda."  There you are...

MR. CLARKE:  And it's not inconsistent.