WASHINGTON, March 28 (UPI) -- Former counter-terror czar Richard A. Clarke struck back at his White House critics Sunday, accusing them of launching a smear campaign to destroy him.
"Dozens of people on the taxpayers' rolls are engaged in a campaign to destroy me personally and professionally," he said, "because I had the temerity to suggest that the American people should consider whether or not the president had done a good job on the war on terrorism. The issue is not me. The issue is the president's job on the war on terrorism."
But a poll released Saturday showed that only a quarter of those who have been following the story say they see Clarke as a selfless public servant. Fifty percent of those questioned in a Newsweek survey of 1,000 Americans suspect Clarke has some personal or political agenda, while another 25 percent don't know what to make of his accusations.
"It looks like the White House campaign may have had some effect," Newsweek General Editor Susannah Meadows told United Press International.
