Limbaugh's knee-jerk response to "Fort Dix Six": "[C]ould it be" Clinton's fault?

On the May 9 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, discussing the alleged conspiracy to attack Fort Dix, N.J., Rush Limbaugh baselessly speculated that the 1998-1999 resettlement program for Kosovar refugees from the Balkans could have brought several of the alleged conspirators to the United States: "The Clinton administration may have brought these people -- we don't know if five of the six were in part of this group, but oh, man!" In fact, only one of the six individuals involved in the alleged Fort Dix plot was reportedly part of the Kosovo refugee program. Limbaugh has yet to acknowledge that his speculation was wrong.

One of the suspects, Agron Abdullahu, who did come to the United States through the Kosovo refugee program, has been arraigned on the lesser charge of "aiding and abetting illegal immigrants in obtaining weapons." The three other individuals of Albanian descent who were arrested in the case -- Dritan, Shain, and Eljvir Duka -- are brothers, described in a May 10 Washington Post article as "living in America illegally, having entered two decades ago on now-expired visas." Of the other two men indicted in the alleged Fort Dix plot, Serdar Tartar is a legal resident alien who was born in Turkey, and Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer is an American citizen who was born in Jordan. In addition, a May 9 Washington Post article reported that "Fort Dix, which has about 14,000 soldiers, sheltered more than 4,000 ethnic Albanian refugees during the NATO bombing campaign in Kosovo in 1999. But [U.S. Attorney Christopher J.] Christie said the Dukas are believed to have entered the United States before that conflict and were not among the refugees held at Fort Dix. One U.S. law enforcement official said the brothers may have entered the country legally but overstayed visas or violated other immigration requirements."

Reacting to the news that some of the suspects were ethnic Albanians, Limbaugh cited a May 18, 1999, CNN article about the establishment of an Internet-based resource to help Kosovar refugees find family members could have been a "communications network" for the suspects, and said, "My God, folks, could it be that the Clinton administration ... [b]rought them to our shores, set up the communications network?" Limbaugh added, "Just asking. The story doesn't say this." But later in the show, he was characterizing his speculation as "breaking news that you will not hear anywhere else."

Limbaugh said, "These are very serious questions, and [there] could be serious charges that flow from these questions." Limbaugh continued to baselessly suggest a link between the Clinton administration and the Fort Dix plot, stating: "Don't forget what this is all about. This is about the Fort Dix Six and how they -- the Clintons set all this up. The Clintons set up the refugee camp at Fort Dix and the refugees were so happy they named it 'the Village' after her book."

On his May 10 broadcast, Limbaugh continued to suggest that the Clintons were responsible for the alleged Fort Dix plot, stating "how the white Al Qaeda groups from the Kosovo area have infiltrated the -- infiltrated, hell, they were brought here by the Clinton administration in huge numbers back in 1999."

From the May 9 broadcast of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: Get -- let's read this together. Am I going to like this? "The -- the sounds of Islamic calls to prayer echo across Fort Dix, temporary host to thousands of ethnic Albanians who fled war-ravaged Kosovo. So far, 500 Kosovars have been relocate" -- Wait a second. Does that mean Clinton brought these people here? After we saved them, does that mean that Bill Clinton -- the Clinton administration brought these people here? Is that what this means?

You gotta be -- must be true, folks, because this is CNN. Well, we got a caller wants to talk about this in just a second.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Yeah, well, here's -- we've looked it up for you in advance of your call, and this is a CNN story from June 6th of 1999. That's almost eight years ago. Now, June 6th of 1999, do you know who was president, just to get this established?

CALLER: Do I? Yes, I -- I remember.

LIMBAUGH: Well, give me the name --

CALLER: The name was Bill Clinton.

LIMBAUGH: Bill Clinton was the president, right, in 1999 --

CALLER: Yeah.

LIMBAUGH: -- and here's the story. This is by Deborah Fira -- or Feyerick of CNN. "The sounds of Islamic calls to prayer echo across Fort Dix, the temporary host to thousands of ethnic Albanians who fled war-ravaged Kosovo. But the U.S. Army base will soon play final taps for the refugee resettlement program. It should end this month. 'I feel like I'm in paradise,' one Kosovar explained as she described the base that's been a haven for about 4,000 refugees.

So far, about 500 Kosovars have been relocated. About 100 are scheduled to leave daily. All the refugees should know by mid-June where they will be going. 'We have a lot of work to do here, move refugees out to various communities,' " said Donna Shalala, who was in charge of Health and Human Services.

"The United States has pledged to take in 20,000 Kosovo refugees throughout the summer" -- this would be of 1999. "The others will go directly to sponsoring agencies or to live with relatives. Officially given refugee status, they can receive green cards" - hey, didn't some of these guys have -- two of them had green cards. Oh, what a great country we are. So two of the Fort Dix Six had green cards." Officially given refugee status, they can receive green cards to work in the U.S. and apply for citizenship in one year. 'They'll be able to stay in the U.S. and become citizens if they want to. If they wish to go home, we will pay their way home,' " said Donna Shalala.

So, [caller], brilliant thinking out there, buddy.

CALLER: Might -- might be coincidental but this --

LIMBAUGH: [chuckles] [Caller] --

CALLER: -- seems like --

LIMBAUGH: -- there are no coincidences with the Clintons.

CALLER: [chuckles]

LIMBAUGH: Just trust me on this. [chuckles] There are no coincidences with the Clintons. So 20,000 of them were brought in --

CALLER: Yes.

LIMBAUGH: -- after -- after the Kosovo war, so, yeah it is -- it is an interesting plot thickener to -- to say the least. I had forgotten that. I'm not sure if I even knew it. But he reminded us.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Talent on loan from God. I am Rush Limbaugh with half my brain tied behind my back just to make it fair. Let's go back even prior to June 6th of 1999. Again, on CNN, a June 6th, 1999, story, "Fort Dix Speeds Up Relocation of Kosovo Refugees." Let's go back to May 18th of 1999, just a little short of a month prior. "First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton announced Tuesday an additional $15 million dollars in U.S. relief to the displaced people of Kosovo. The money will help non-government and United Nations groups care for refugees in the border regions of Macedonia and Albania, and will also help pay to resettle as many as 20,000 ethnic Albanians who may choose to live with friends and relatives in the United States." [laughing] Golly, folks, it's worse - it's worse than I thought. The Clinton administration may have brought these people -- we don't know if five of the six were in part of this group, but oh, man! Mrs. -- the first lady announced this?

"The first lady spoke at a briefing she held to describe her recent trip to a camp in Macedonia. She said the refugees, mostly women and children, described the slaughter of adult men, as armed Serbs pushed Kosovars from their homes. 'These heartbreaking stories of families separated, of girls raped, of men executed, of homes destroyed, must be told and retold and never forgotten,' Mrs. Clinton said. The first lady said 'nothing makes the case more powerfully for why the United States and our NATO allies are pursing their mission in Kosovo, and why we cannot give up until the evils perpetrated by [then-Yugoslav President Slobodan] Milosevic and his regime have been stopped and the refugees return home in peace and safety.'

Mrs. Clinton also announced" -- May 18, 1999 -- "Mrs. Clinton also announced the establishment of an Internet-based information resource" -- [chuckles] folks, you will not believe this. "Mrs. Clinton also announced the establishment of an Internet-based information resource to help the Kosovo refugees find their loved ones. The computer system will be based at Fort Dix, New Jersey, the military base now serving as a processing center for Kosovars coming to the United States. The website will feature a people locator, as well as news and information in Albanian. It will include links with similar computer resources in Macedonia, Albania and elsewhere in Europe."

My God, folks, could it be that the Clinton administration set up the communications network for this? Brought them to our shores, set up the communications network? Just asking. The story doesn't say this. These stories are almost eight years old, folks, but may I read this to you again? Just this one passage: "Mrs. Clinton also announced the establishment of an Internet-based information resource to help the Kosovo refugees find loved ones. The computer system will be based at Fort Dix, New Jersey, military base now serving as a processing center for Kosovars coming to the United States." That is Fort Dix, New Jersey. These are very serious questions, and could be serious charges that flow from these questions -- very, very serious -- ladies and gentlemen, we are concerned here. This is not -- this is upsetting.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: But -- but very unsettling. I, I read these two CNN stories, my friends, I must, I must admit -- you may be able to hear it in my voice -- I am concerned. This is deeply troubling to read that the Clinton Administration actually imported this number and set up computer -- Internet networks for them to -- stay in contact with, with one another. Deeply troubling. Important questions. Need answers.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Look, the import of all this is that there is a terrorism expert in the Balkans claiming that a new "white Al-Qaeda" is operating here that has been trained and planted here from the Balkans and from Kosovo, and they are here to exact this kind of damage. The Fort Dix Six were apprehended before they could get moving on it, but the Salt Lake City mall shooter who killed six or killed four or whatever was part of the group, is what this expert in the Balkans is saying. Now, let's see, where is this from? Tell you what, let me take a break. I don't want to read something that I don't know what it's from. Oh, it's a military website, quartermaster.army.mil. So it's a military website. "A 1996 book by first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton titled 'It Takes A Village' became part of a theme for designing the refugee processing center" at Fort Dix for these Kosovar refugees. The first lady's book centered on rekindling a society that totally sustains and supports its families and individuals, especially its children. It was a 530th soldier who had read the First Lady's book and recommended naming the processing center's physical location 'the Village' rather than a 'camp' or a 'compound.' "

Well, holy cow! Holy cow! So the refugee location, the camp, the compound was renamed "the Village," in honor of Hillary Rodham -- can you imagine what Clinton Inc. is doing right now with this news out there? We've got two CNN stories that we've already shared with you. We've got this Yugoslav website talking about "white Al Qaeda," and it all ties back to the Clinton administration bringing 20,000 Kosovar refugees into the country in 1999. You have a Balkans terrorism expert saying that the Salt Lake City mall shooting and the attempted shootings at Fort Dix, that plan, are all related to a new "white Al Qaeda." And as first lady, Mrs. Clinton wrote columns about this, "the Village." Mr. Snerdley has just printed them out now. She wrote columns. That's right. She did have a column. I remember that now. Mrs. Clinton had a column, and so she wrote about this. We'll get those in due course. "The refugee population in the Village at Fort Dix experienced a complete life cycle from beginning to" -- anyway, I gotta take a break here, but you get the point here. We brought the refugees in from Kosovo without prior screening. We didn't screen them for disease or criminal background checks. We did that after they got here. We deferred them. Then they got here and they were so pleased to be here and so happy, that they named their compound "the Village," after Mrs. Clinton's book -- and, of course, you remember, the Clinton administration (Clinton impression), "I never worked harder on anything in my life, fighting terrorism, it was -- I got up, I worked, I thought about it, I even thought about it in the study with Monica. I thought about terrorism. We worked hard as we -- Richard Clarke and me. I talked to him about it." (whistling.) Can you imagine The Spin Room at Clinton Inc. and what it is doing right now, folks?

[...]

LIMBAUGH: They hated Milosevic. Where's this attitude in Iraq from Mrs. Bill Clinton? Don't forget what this is all about. This is about the Fort Dix Six and how they -- the Clintons set all this up. The Clintons set up the refugee camp at Fort Dix and the refugees were so happy they named it the Village after her book.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: We had breaking news today, breaking news that you will not hear anywhere else, and that is the involvement of the Clinton administration in establishing these refugee camps called "the Village," at Fort Dix and the existence of a "white Al Qaeda," as reported by a Balkans terrorist expert. We'll see. I can just imagine the feverish, feverish activity at Clinton Inc. in the war room going on right now, how to spin this. "We gotta send Sandy Burglar [sic] to purloin some documents. We got to straighten this out before Limbaugh takes it too far down the road."

From the May 10 broadcast of Premiere Radio Network's The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: And of course, as we pointed out yesterday, it's not the membership in a group that matters, it's the ideology that they carry forward -- and we did a yeoman's job yesterday of providing information to you about how the white Al Qaeda groups from the Kosovo area have infiltrated the -- infiltrated, hell, they were brought here by the Clinton administration in huge numbers back in 1999.