Hillary and Bosnia [Updated]
By SusanUnPC on March 25, 2008 at 1:53 PM in Hillary Clinton
I hope that some intrepid reporter points out to Sinbad that the KEY reason he felt so safe on that trip with Hillary was the extremely effective protection he received from (1) the U.S. military as well as (2) the U.S. Secret Service. Without their sharp-eyed protection (look at how they are surrounded by phalanxes of troops) and a great deal of advance planning, it would have been dangerous as hell — and neither of those superbly trained protectors can ever 100% guarantee the safety of any situation. Any situation. Particularly a WAR ZONE.
1996 Clinton Bosnia Trip (CBS News):
This not only shows that the trip had its hazards (more on that below, including her misstatement), but it also shows how — in one very vivid example — for over 16 years, she has been around the world, on front lines and in the most remote and bleak parts of the globe, as has been well-documented throughout this blog, and in her Wikipedia biography (which is an extraordinary reading experience, and cemented my OWN support for her candidacy). [The UPDATE is at the end of the story.]
Hillary recently misspoke about her trip to Bosnia. She accurately describes the trip in her book, Living History:
‘Due to reports of snipers in the hills around the airstrip, we were forced to cut short an event on the tarmac…’ “Security conditions were constantly changing in the former Yugoslavia, and they had recently deteriorated again. Due to reports of snipers in the hills around the airstrip, we were forced to cut short an event on the tarmac with local children, though we did have time to meet them and their teachers and to learn how hard they had worked during the war to continue classes in any safe spot they could find. … We were then off to the fortified American base at Tuzla, where over two thousand American, Russian, Canadian, British, and Polish soldiers were encamped in a large tent city.” [Living History, p. 343]
Contemporaneous news accounts confirm that Hillary’s trip to Bosnia was a dangerous situation:
Hillary’s trip to Bosnia marked the first time since Eleanor Roosevelt that a first lady traveled to a potential combat zone. Accompanied by singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow and comedian Sinbad, Mrs. Clinton traveled to this northwestern Bosnian town on a morale-boosting tour for the 18,500 U.S. troops participating in the NATO-led peacemaking operation. She heard a poem of peace from a Bosnian girl and praised U.S. troops for ‘showing what American leadership is.’…This trip to Bosnia marks the first time since Roosevelt that a first lady has voyaged to a potential combat zone. During World War II, Roosevelt toured the devastated streets of London and the southwestern Pacific, bringing cheer to U.S. troops. [Washington Post, 3/26/96]
Hillary was ‘protected by sharpshooters’ in a ‘military zone’ when she visited troops in Bosnia. “Protected by sharpshooters, Hillary Rodham Clinton swooped into a military zone by Black Hawk helicopter Monday to deliver a personal ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’ to U.S. troops. ‘They’re making a difference,’ the first lady said of the 18,500 Americans working as peacekeepers in Bosnia. Mrs. Clinton became the first presidential spouse since Eleanor Roosevelt to make such an extensive trip into what can be considered a hostile area, though others have visited hot spots…” [Charleston Gazette, 3/26/96]
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From her Wikipedia biography:
Hillary Clinton traveled to 79 countries during this time,[151] breaking the mark for most-travelled First Lady held by Pat Nixon.[152] In a September 1995 speech before the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, Clinton argued very forcefully against practices that abused women around the world and in the People’s Republic of China itself,[153] declaring “that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women’s rights as separate from human rights”[153] and resisting Chinese pressure to soften her remarks.[151] She was one of the most prominent international figures at the time to speak out against the treatment of Afghan women by the Islamist fundamentalist Taliban that had seized control of Afghanistan.[154][155] She helped create Vital Voices, an international initiative sponsored by the United States to promote the participation of women in the political processes of their countries.[156]
TIP: Go to the actual Wikipedia bio page to access the links in that paragraph.
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UPDATE: Joe Klein on CNN’s AC360 last night:
JOE KLEIN, COLUMNIST, “TIME”: Well, actually, tonight, I had dinner with someone who was on that plane…
COOPER: Sinbad?
KLEIN: … with Hillary Clinton.
(LAUGHTER)
KLEIN: And — and the fact is that they were told that there was — that they had to take evasive action because of sniper fire, one of those precipitous landings that a lot of us have — have taken, but, on the ground, there was obviously no problem.
It’s a war story, and — and she exaggerated it. And it doesn’t speak well of her. And it’s very un-Hillary like. But could I just, for the sake of the fact that we’re in silly season now, and everybody — all these candidates are totally exhausted, just plead for charity, not only for her, but for the Obama supporters who have said embarrassing things in the next segment and…
(LAUGHTER)
KLEIN: … for John McCain a week ago?
I mean, these are not the important issues in the election. The important issues are two wars, an economic crisis, and — and the need for energy independence.
COOPER: Yes, but, you know, there are a lot of folks out there who — I guess, in this case, it’s probably more Obama supporters — and, clearly, the Obama campaign says this is important. This is a candidate who has talked about her role in the Northern Ireland peace agreements and other issues about going to Kosovo and going to Macedonia and negotiating on behalf of Kosovo refugees.
You think this is all, Joe, just part of silly season?
KLEIN: I think that there is — that being first lady really isn’t the greatest credential for being commander in chief. But that’s something that we have known in the past.
The question is whether you blow up these little exaggerations that everybody makes, including candidates, to the point where it obscures the real issues in the campaign. I’m willing to give her a break on this one, even though, as I said, it’s very much unlike her, and it’s clearly her telling a war story.
I like Klein’s comments. While he is critical, he is also fair. And he points out the fatigue factor as well as the far worse, and cruel, comments by Obama’s campaign staff.
, the basis for the Best Motion Picture Nominee (Golden Globes) starring Brad Pitt.
, the novel by John Le Carre, a new motion picture starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth.
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.by David Fredosso who wrote 2008's 
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