Bill Clinton: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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[[Ken Gormley (academic)|Ken Gormley]], author of ''The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr'', reveals in his book that President Clinton narrowly escaped possible assassination in the Philippines in November 1996. During his visit to the [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] (APEC) forum in Manila, while he was on his way to meet with a senior member of the Philippine government, Clinton was saved from danger minutes before his motorcade was scheduled to drive over a bridge charged with a timed improvised explosive device (IED).<ref name="youtube.com">{{cite web|last1=Discovery TV | title=Clinton Assassination Attempt – Secret Service Secrets | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvhldq-OHK0 | publisher=YouTube | accessdate=March 29, 2015}}</ref> According to officials, the IED was large enough to "blow up the entire presidential motorcade".<ref name="Crown Publishing Group">{{cite book|last1=Gormley|first1=Ken | title=The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr | date=February 1, 2011 | publisher=Crown Publishing Group | isbn=0-307-40945-7 | page=800}}</ref> Details of the plot were revealed to Gormley by [[Lewis C. Merletti]], former member of the Presidential Protection Detail and Director of the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]]. Intelligence officers intercepted a radio transmission indicating that there was a wedding cake under a bridge.<ref name="youtube.com" /> This alerted Merletti and others as Clinton's motorcade was scheduled to drive over a major bridge in downtown Manila.<ref name="Crown Publishing Group" /> Once more, the word "wedding" was the code name used by a terrorist group for a past assassination attempt.<ref name="Crown Publishing Group" /> Merletti wanted to reroute the motorcade, but the alternate route would add forty-five minutes to the drive time. Clinton was very angry, as he was already late for the meeting, but following the advice of the secret service possibly saved his life. Two other bombs had been discovered in Manila earlier in the week so the threat level that day was high.<ref>{{cite news|last1=N.A. | title=Bombs Found As Manila Readies For APEC Summit | accessdate=March 29, 2015 | work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Security personnel at the Manila International Airport uncovered several grenades and a timing device in a travel bag.<ref name="Explosives Found Near Summit Site">{{cite news|last1=N.A. | title=Explosives Found Near Summit Site | accessdate=March 29, 2015 | agency=Associated Press | work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Officials also discovered a bomb near a major U.S. naval base.<ref name="Explosives Found Near Summit Site" /> The President was scheduled to visit both of these locations later in the week. An intense investigation took place into the events in Manila and it was discovered that the group behind the bridge bomb was a Saudi terrorist group in Afghanistan known as [[al-Qaeda]] and the plot was masterminded by [[Osama bin Laden]].<ref name="Crown Publishing Group" /> Until recently, this thwarted assassination attempt was never made public and remained top secret. Only top members of the U.S. intelligence community were aware of these events.<ref name="Crown Publishing Group" />

Clinton signed into law the [[Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996]], making "it a crime for any non-citizen to vote in a federal election", similar to one of the demands of the 1932 [[Nazi]] party platform in Germany .<ref>http://cis.org/NoncitizenVoting</ref><ref>https://www.ushmm.org/educators/lesson-plans/why-did-germans-vote-for-the-nazi-party/resources/party-platforms</ref>

===1996 presidential election===