CARVILLE:   Welcome back to CROSSFIRE. Al Gore said President Bush is making serious mistakes in the war on terrorism by shifting his focus to Iraq before finishing the job with al Qaeda. The president couldn't be reached for comment. He's over in Europe lobbying NATO leaders for help against, you guessed it, Iraq. In the CROSSFIRE, Georgia Republican Congressman Saxby Chambliss, who's moving over to the Senate in January, and retired Air Force Colonel and former national security spokesman, P.J. Crowley. 
NOVAK:   Colonel Crowley, let me see if I can get this straight. The Bush administration came in January of 2001, and suddenly, the al Qaeda movement appeared, because they were unattentive. It had never developed over years, developing these plans, during the Clinton administration. That's not the case, is it? 
CROWLEY:   Well, Bob, I would hope that now two years in office, the Republicans should understand that what's happening with the national security apparatus is something that is President Bush's responsibility and not President Clinton's fault. The fact is, the Clinton administration, over eight years, did more to increase our ability to combat terrorism than any previous administration. Increases in funding, rewiring the government, now we've taken it to the next level with the department of homeland security. But there's no question that, starting in February 1993, when we had the first World Trade Center attack, the president was focused on al Qaeda and terrorism for eight years. 
NOVAK:   Colonel, you had perhaps unjustly a reputation for fairness when you were over at the White House. Are you saying that the attacks that were so carefully planned, the terrorist apparatus was built up over years all started on Bush's watch? 
CROWLEY:   Not at all. I'm not saying that at all. 
NOVAK:   But that's what you're implying. 
CROWLEY:   I'm saying that the Bush administration has said that nothing like this happened for nine months after they took office. Sandy Berger told Condoleeza Rice that she would spend more time on this issue than any other. 
CARVILLE:   This is a question  . Why is it that the Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator from New York, every Democrat, every Clinton administration person has been insistent that there be a national commission to investigate everything that happened in the Clinton administration? 
NOVAK:   Ask the senator. 
CARVILLE:   I'm askiong. Let me finish. Why is it that all the Democrats -- Senator Clinton led the charge to have an independent commission to investigate everything the Clinton administration and Bush administration did and the Bush administration fought this. What is the Bush administration afraid of? 
CHAMBLISS:   The Bush administration is not afraid of any commission investigating... 
CARVILLE:   Then why are they fighting it? 
CHAMBLISS:   James, as you know, there are negotiations on how you structure a commission. That's where you are today. But, let me tell you this. 
NOVAK:   Let him answer, James. 
CHAMBLISS:   What we're about in Congress is doing a job that we're charged to do. And it's Congress' job to do the investigation on September 11. It's not the people's job. We get paid to do that. We ought to be able to investigate September 11 and tell the American people what happened. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to get to that point. As you know, my subcommittee did the only significant substantive report on September 11. It was not detailed. It was not intended to be detailed. But we're in the midst of bipartisan hearings at the present time. But, because we've moved so slowly, every member of the intelligence committee is now committed to having an independent commission. Negotiations are under way to get it structured right and it's going to happen. 
CARVILLE:   And it's the Clinton administration -- Senator Clinton who was absolutely insistent we have this. 
NOVAK:   Because they're   the Republicans. That's why. 
CARVILLE:   ... investigating now, Bob? 
NOVAK:   Come on. 
CARVILLE:   What are you talking about? It investigates both the Clinton administration and the Bush administration. The Clinton administration said fine. The Bush -- they stopped and said, oh, we don't know if we want this. They sent mixed signals. You know what you're scared of? I'll tell you what you're scared of. You're scared of that intelligence commission on August 9. That's what you're scared of. 
CROWLEY:   No, I think we have to get back to a bipartisan aspect on the war on terrorism. 
NOVAK:   Not with this guy. 
CROWLEY:   Well, but that means that all of this that's been going on in Washington for the last six months should stop. I mean, what Vice President Gore said, the war on terrorism is not over. The success in Afghanistan is not assured. We need to make sure that we are focused on the war on terrorism, improving our position and ability to fight that before we get diverted in Iraq. 
NOVAK:   You have a final word, Senator? 
CHAMBLISS:   Well, you know, we can point fingers at each other and that doesn't do any good. What we need to do is get to the bottom of what the intelligence failures were that allowed September 11 to happen. And we're going to do that. We're working very diligently within the House Intelligence Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee. There were probably faults on both ends. And every administration going back several different administrations. But, you know, that's beyond us. We've got to move forward. We've got to protect Americans. 
NOVAK:   P.J. Crowley, thank you very much. Senator Chambliss, thank you very much. We haven't heard the last of whining Democrats. In a little bit, we'll take up Senator Tom Daschle's complaint that mean old Rush Limbaugh is just too tough for the party of Andrew Jackson and Harry Truman. Also coming up, a big fat Big Mac lawsuit that's a big and tasty treat for the trial lawyers. And dot miss our quote of the day. A longtime Democratic nemesis takes up the cause of Augusta National and takes on one of CROSSFIRE's left wingers.
