ORIGINAL: 1996 Clinton Bosnia Trip (CBS News) -- much better for Clinton...

[IndependentDem]

Run time: 01:45 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pef5AUt-tic   Posted on YouTube: March 24, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: March 26, 2008 By DU Member: IndependentDem Views on DU: 2087

 
This is the original news coverage from her 1996 Bosnia trip.

In my opinion the trip really does have some relevance and was a great thing for her to do. It’s just a shame that she felt the need to embellish the story and make it more dramatic-- now the whole thing is tainted.

I still think that it’s not the lying that is important (all politicians lie) -- but what is important is why she lied. To me, the claim that they sent her if it was too dangerous for bill is disrespectful to President Clinton. As if to imply that he was such a coward that he would rather send his wife and daughter into harms way. That’s disgusting.

[patrice]

1. This is not the video that appeared in related threads earlier today. nt

[IndependentDem]

3. yeah i had not seen this one before...

but i think it gives a better representation of the trip.

[DuaneBidoux]

2. Maybe all Presidents lie but all Presidential lies are not equal.

Saying that you "did not have sex with that woman" is not on par with saying that "Saddam has weapons of mass destruction" or that "Al-Qaeda was supported by Saddam."

If a president tells negotiators to lie to an enemy who is holding our hostages because he believes that it will save their lives that is also not equal to even the "sex" lie.

[IndependentDem]

6. i think that the presidents penis (or vagina) is their own fucking business...

i give a damn who is performing fellatio on the president. hell if bush and cheney got a few more blow jobs we would probably all be better off.

agreed that all lies are not equal, its just amazing to me that some people are so surprised when it happens.

[JTFrog]

34. I hate to burst your bubble, but Bill told the WMD lie during his presidency as well.

http://www.commondreams.org/views07/0303-23.htm

"While there is no perfect approach to this thorny dilemma, and while people of good faith and high intelligence can reach diametrically opposed conclusions, I believe the best course is to go to the UN for a strong resolution that scraps the 1998 restrictions on inspections and calls for complete, unlimited inspections with cooperation expected and demanded from Iraq," Senator Clinton said at the time of her vote, in a carefully crafted speech designed to demonstrate her range of knowledge and ability to consider all options. "I know that the Administration wants more, including an explicit authorization to use force, but we may not be able to secure that now, perhaps even later. But if we get a clear requirement for unfettered inspections, I believe the authority to use force to enforce that mandate is inherent in the original 1991 UN resolution, as President Clinton recognized when he launched Operation Desert Fox in 1998."

Hillary would have done well to leave out that last part, the one where her husband, the former President of the United States, used military force as part of a 72-hour bombing campaign ostensibly deemed as a punitive strike in defense of disarmament, but in actuality proved to be a blatant attempt at regime change which used the hyped-up threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction as an excuse for action. Sound familiar? While many Americans today condemn the Bush administration for misleading them with false claims of unsubstantiated threats which resulted in the ongoing debacle we face today in Iraq (count Hillary among this crowd), few have reflected back on the day when the man from Hope, Arkansas sat in the Oval Office and initiated the policies of economic sanctions-based containment and regime change which President Bush later brought to fruition when he ordered the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.


=======================


I sat in the office of then US Ambassador to the United Nations, Bill Richardson, as the United States cut a deal with then-United Nations Special Commission Executive Chairman Richard Butler, where the timing and actions of an inspection team led my myself (a decision which was personally approved by Bill Clinton) would be closely linked to a massive US aerial bombardment of Iraq triggered by my inspection. I was supposed to facilitate a war by prompting Iraqi non-compliance. Instead, I did my job and facilitated an inspection that pushed the world closer to a recognition that Iraq was complying with its disarmament obligation. As a reward, I was shunned form the inspection process by the Clinton administration.

In April 1998 Bill Clinton promised Congress that his administration would provide all support necessary to the UN inspectors. In May 1998 his National Security Team implemented a new policy which turned its back on the inspectors, seeking to avoid supporting a disarmament process which undermined the policies of regime change so strongly embraced by Bill Clinton and his administration. When I resigned in August 1998 in protest over the duplicitous policies of Bill Clinton's administration, I was personally attacked by the Clinton administration in an effort to divert attention away from the truth about what they were doing regarding Iraq. Four months later Bill Clinton ordered the bombing of Iraq, Operation Desert Fox, referred to in glowing terms by Hillary Clinton as she endorsed the policies of deception that led our nation down the path towards war.



*Scott Ritter served as a former Marine Corps officer from 1984 until 1991, and as a UN weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 until 1998. He is the author of several books, including "Iraq Confidential" and "Target Iran". He also co-authored "War on Iraq" with William Pitt.

[Dogmudgeon]

4. You can't fight zealots intent on character assassination.

They want to destroy Hillary.

Period.

By any means possible.

They will probably accomplish it -- and pin the blame on her, too.

--p!
Lee Atwater. Karl Rove. And now, David Axelrod.

[AX10]

5. Not a chance in hell I would vote for Obama.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[IndependentDem]

8. can you explain this to me?

I'm not being sarcastic or confrontational. but honestly i do not understand why any democrat would not vote for ANY democratic nominee in the GE. A potential democrat vote that is not used is effectively a republican vote... are you saying that McCain would be a better president than Obama?

[Dogmudgeon]

20. C'mon, Ax. At least with Obama, we'd have a chance.

We'll get to kick his ass if he fucks up bad enough. With John McCain, we'll have to seek approval from Larry Klayman first.

And each one of us to counterbalance each of his culties? Piece of cake!

Take a look at the Double Bonus Irony Points: Once the "progressives" see how Obama plans to "reach across the aisle", they'll go all Brutus on him, too. And somebody has to be around to keep the rockfans from setting the place on fire.

Then there are actually plenty of decent "Obamaniacs" left. Maybe only a couple here at DU, but I've actually met some flesh-and-blood Obama supporters. They are nothing like some of the trolls around here.

Besides, there's the Supreme Court to think about -- unless he plans to reach deeply across the aisle.

--p!

[myhawgoff]

39. They want to destroy Hillary.

Me thinks she can handle that herself.

[DWilliamsamh]

40. So it was some one else's fault

That she fabricated a story about her trip to Bosnia, to make it seem FAR more dangerous than it was? Please.

[LoveHC]

9. Wow, that makes her look so much better

Perhaps she remembered it via the hyperbole of the news coverage itself. But, the vicious attacks will not cease because she, as we all know, is a dragon cyborg spitting poison snakes into the air of PA.

[mucifer]

10. Oy Vey

Both are better than mccain. Both are highly intelligent people who wouldn't watch New Orleans drown for 3 days doing nothing. But, both won't be as good as we'd like them to be.

BTW, I'm an Obama supporter. But, this is a great video as is Obama's amazing speech on Race. Both of these the media and the political opponents have taken out of context. As with the Obama speech, the Bosnia trip was far more complicated than the media and Obama make it out to be. The race speech and the entire reverend Wright issue are far more complicated than a few 2 minute clips. This is driving me nuts.

[IndependentDem]

11. well said...

but would anyone every really be able live up to what "we" want?

[IndependentDem]

15. i know i already replied...

but that was before your edit... i just wanted to say that it is nice to see an Obama supporter talking about mistakes he has made.

BTW, im also an Obama supporter-- but im also not a Hillary Hater.

[ladywnch]

12. and the real pisser is that Bill had already been there! they showed

footage of his visit before Hillary's so it made it even more ludicrous

[Rageneau]

13. Here is more crow for Olberman and other Obamaniacs to snack on.

Although the precise word 'sniper' is not used, this network news video (taken at the time) proves that HRC deliberately put herself deeply in harm's way simply to send the troops the message that the Adminstration supported their efforts. It was a very classy and courageous thing to do, and it was done entirely at her own volition.

So it turns out that Keith Olberman and other Obama hyenas owe Hillary yet another apology for lying about her, mocking her, bearing false witness against her, and maliciously slandering her without proof.

Will Hillary get such an apology from KO and others?

Of course not. Because she is the antithesis of people like them. She has class, grace and character. All they have is hatred in their hearts and endless mud to throw.

[IndependentDem]

14. it is wrong for anyone to discredit what she was doing there...

but it is even more wrong for her to embellish the truth to make it seem more important or relevant. That is the problem i have with this situation. She did a wonderful valiant thing by going there and supporting the troops... I just don't understand why she doesn't feel that way.

[concerned canadian]

22. the cbs news crew did a really valiant thing

going there to film the entire event. So was Sheryl Crow, Sinbad, Chelsea...with everyone paling in comparison
to the mostly young soldiers who stayed behind to face the sniper fire.

This is not to pick on Hillary; she is, as the saying goes, her own worst enemy. I'm about the same age as Hillary,

female, and i work at a senior's care home and am definitely experienced' in recognizing early and progressive symptoms

of dementia and memory impairment (in others and within myself) and this and other inconsistencies are not in the same

category. It used to be called 'spinning a yarn'. Bullshitting. Shooting the crap. Usually observed in situations where

people gather to get drunk or stoned together and nobody cares or remembers what was said afterwords.

In this case the fate of the world rests in the hands of the person who becomes the next president of the USA.

For god's sakes, why is is too much to ask for that person will not lie, will not cheat the American people

again.

[IndependentDem]

31. i agree with what your saying...

i am in no way defending her, there is no defense for her on this-- i am just trying to focus on something deeper than the lie itself. Why she lied.

[AX10]

16. KO and the leftists blogs are only good for processing crow.

[jhrobbins]

35. Re: the Hillary/Bosnia debacle

here is a reasonable response from a fairly non biased view (ie erstwhile Edwards enthusiast). If Hillary made up her experience in her capacity as a First Lady from over a decade ago and nothing like the situation in Bosnia EVER occurred, then she should be censured for this statement. If, however, there was some similar situation in the general time frame and general region of the world, and she merely conflated the experiences, then she should be given the latitude due any human that could easily make this type of mistake in such a situation.

[MaraJade]

17. Obamamaniacs are claiming that she did nothing at all there. . .

they are stuck on the issue that she said that she was told that she MIGHT come under sniper fire>

I am sick to my stomach of those people. They want to completely disregard those who support Hillary,
and disregard all of our concerns. Their hubris, vainglory and arrogance are both insulting and demeaning.

I am at the point of quitting here. I am so disgusted with the misogynists and woman haters that inhabit this
website. Disgusted!!!!! Sad, miserable, worried and disgusted!

:(

[AX10]

19. That is how I feel. Hell, unless you support Obama...

you are dismissed by the media.

[IndependentDem]

21. Obamamaniacs are idiots, along with...

anyone else that tries to imply that her trip to Bosnia was a tea party or photo op. The fact that she planned and coordinated the trip herself is good enough-- add in the fact that she could possibly be in danger and that she was "Making good on a promise" and you have one hell of a thing to put on your resume. But the problem that i have with this situation is "why" she felt she needed to embellish the story. I think the "truth" would have actually resonated within the general public much more than the "lie" that she came under fire.

How do you feel about the situation? you at least have to agree that she shouldn't have lied, right?

[Cha]

24. You're an idiot and hilary is a fucking liar.

[IndependentDem]

25. wow Obama supporters are now flaming other Obama supporters.

thats a damn shame.

[TankLV]

37. figures - it's you...

[johnnydrama]

27. nope

she didn't say that and you know it. She said she DID come under sniper fire, not that she could have, and that she had to do something different because of the sniper fire, when she didn't.

It's a lie plain and simple.

For 8 years we have been pointing out every lie that George W Bush and Dick Cheney have made. Are you going to accuse us of being women haters because of that.

She simply lied. Get over it.

[TankLV]

38. Yup - it's gotten pretty rotten here...

all obama's campaign people have nothing better to do and sit around all day and spam this place...

pretty disgusting...

It'll be interesting when the nominee is finally selected...that's for sure...

[mzmolly]

18. I do think that the lying is important.

And, it was so unnecessary. This video, as you note demonstrates that she had "experience" with foreign policy.

[IndependentDem]

29. i agree but...

honestly i already knew she was a liar, so that part wasn't a shock or anything. ---This is just my opinion but: I believe that all politicians are liars anyways. I take most of what they say on the campaign trail with a grain of salt. All the policies and plans are "best case scenario" i don't really expect anything out of any of them. But thats just me.--- What i do think is very important with this lie and with all lies is "why" the person felt compelled to lie.

My point is this. I feel that what she actually did is very noble. But by her demonstrating that she needed to embellish the story and lie to us in order to make it noble shows that she doesn't. By lying she shows that SHE does not believe that what she did was good enough to win the election. That is what i think is most important to understand.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. She still wasn't shot at

and this is NOT Tusla.

Yes, she was in a dangerous spot, but should have stuck to the story line in her memoirs

And nobody said she did nothing by the way, or at least I am not saying that, but she wasn't shot at

[IndependentDem]

32. your right, that is a fact.

i am not defending her. she lied, period. there is no disputing that fact. But, what i am interested in is discussing why she lied. i think that sometimes the reason for the lie is more important than the act of lying itself.

[datopbanana]

26. good for sinbad maybe

[NM Independent]

28. I agree with the OP

If she had been honest, and told the story as it is presented in this video, then it would have looked great on her. It might've even sort of, kind of, backed up her using this as a claim in her foreign policy experience. However, I don't know what actual negotiating or diplomacy is evidenced here. In any case it would have sounded even better than the fabrication.

The problem is she LIED. It was no fish-was-bigger-exaggeration, and it was not a misstatement or "misspeak." It was an all out planned and detailed fabrication that was made 4 times that are known of to pad her experience resume. This included a defensive answer when questioned that ended in, "...now that's what happened."

The problem the Obama supporters have is that she was dishonest and misleading when there was no need for it. Additionally, her "apology" was seemed like an insult to the collective intelligence of this nation. Perception of honesty is why many people are voting against her/for someone else.

Obama supporters aren't trying to ruin her image. When she continually does things that are just not right, and they point to those things to drive home the dishonesty fears - that is perfectly valid, necessary, and called for.

Honesty ratings Gallup 3/14-16 (right in the middle of PastorGate)...
McCain 67%
Obama 63%
Clinton 44%

[IndependentDem]

30. thanks- your the first...

to come out and say they agree with it. its strange because i have argued with both clinton and obama supporters about this issue.

:toast:

[NM Independent]

33. Your Welcome

It's hard to see a voice of reason sometimes on DU lately - in the GDP anyhow. I've been lurking since after the last election, so I haven't seen anything like this.

:hi:

[BrklynGreenDog]

36. Perceptions of Honesty

This video supports HRC 100%. Here's what's wrong.

The right wing repeat that the Clintons ar liars even though 8 years and 80 million dollars of unrestrained investigation winds up exonerating them.

Then they claim Gore is a liar, even though mounds of documents and personal testimony from reliable people prove the claims false.

Then they charge Kerry with lying even though the people involved an military records back him.

Now they are attacking HRC again, even though there is ample evidence supporting her.

See a pattern here?

How long till everything Obama says, about Rezko, Wright, whatever, is a lie?

[Lucinda]

41. ...

[susankh4]

42. Thanks for posting this video of Hillary in Bosnia!

Just now found it on DU. Would have kicked it for sure.

[IndependentDem]

43. no problem, i thought it was the least biased i had seen. n/t