Psychological Warfare Against Hillary: Media/Obama Coalition's Misuse of the "Bosnia" Story to Demonize Hillary Clinton!

[hills]

This is what I have been able to gather from a another poster. The problem is that this happened in 1995 and it is not easy to find articles about this on the Internet.

...She did visit two outposts outside of the base camp in Tuzla without the celebrities there for the USO tour.

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.
...
But this was a day of celebration and celebrities - a day for the U.S. troops helping to uphold the Bosnian peace accord. Mrs. Clinton hosted a USO show with comedian Sinbad and singer Sheryl Crow and briefly addressed the gathering.
...
But the highlight of her trip were visits to two fortified posts outside the U.S. base in Tuzla. Even President Clinton, restricted to the base by bad weather in January, did not see as much of this war-wracked region as Mrs. Clinton did Monday.
...
Riflemen rushed to the brush line as the helicopter landed and surrounded her as she walked into the post. Located in a "separation zone," the U.S. outpost nestles between two tree lines. Just months ago, one was Serbian territory, the other Bosnian.

Security was tight - fighter jets accompanied her C-17 cargo plane to Tuzla - but officials said the first lady took no extraordinary risks on the trip.
Lexis - By RON FOURNIER, Associated Press, March 25, 1996

Another report:

THE First Lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton, visited her country's troops at their fortified outposts in north-eastern Bosnia today and said their peacekeeping work was "extraordinary to behold".

Mrs Clinton's helicopter flight to Camp Alicia, home of a mechanised infantry outfit and a combat engineer batallion 15 miles east of Tuzla, took her over burned out villages and farm houses whose roofs had been blown off in the fierce fighting before last December's Paris peace agreement ended the 43 -month-old war in Bosnia.

A machine gun emplacement guarded the entrance of the outposts and marked Bosnian minefields were visible outside its perimeter.
...
After lunch with the troops in a makeshift dining hall surrounded by sandbags, she flew on to Camp Bedrock south of Tuzla to visit an army field hospital.

Mrs Clinton, who later returned to Tuzla for a show starring singer Sheryl Crow and comedian Sinbad, said she was "amazed at how much has been accomplished in such a short period of time" by US troops in Bosnia.
Source - Lexis - The Herald (Glasgow), March 26, 1996

And she did spend some time in the cockpit ;-)

So it was probably no accident that the C-17 pilot was a woman, Capt. Cheryl Beineke of Ohio. She is among just four female C-17 pilots out of about 100 in the Air Force.

"I'm loving every minute of this," the pilot said after Mrs. Clinton spent several minutes in the cockpit.
Source - Lexis - By RON FOURNIER, AP International, March 25, 1996

[hills]

If the journalists did their jobs they would find all this. They should try libraries. That is where the poster got this information.


"First Lady visits American troops in Bosnia" [The Herald (Glasgow)]

Marcovici, Monday
THE First Lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton, visited her country's troops at their fortified outposts in north-eastern Bosnia today and said their peacekeeping work was "extraordinary to behold".

Mrs Clinton's helicopter flight to Camp Alicia, home of a mechanised infantry outfit and a combat engineer batallion 15 miles east of Tuzla, took her over burned out villages and farm houses whose roofs had been blown off in the fierce fighting before last December's Paris peace agreement ended the 43 -month-old war in Bosnia.

A machine gun emplacement guarded the entrance of the outposts and marked Bosnian minefields were visible outside its perimeter.

Mrs Clinton, accompanied by daughter Chelsea, 16, met troops trained in mine clearing during a tour of the camp. She also saw tanks and other heavy equipment involved in the international peacekeeping operation to which the US is contributing about 20,000 troops.

After lunch with the troops in a makeshift dining hall surrounded by sandbags, she flew on to Camp Bedrock south of Tuzla to visit an army field hospital.

Mrs Clinton, who later returned to Tuzla for a show starring singer Sheryl Crow and comedian Sinbad, said she was "amazed at how much has been accomplished in such a short period of time" by US troops in Bosnia.

Mrs Clinton was in the second day of a goodwill trip to southern Europe that will also take her to Turkey and Greece.

Mrs Clinton flew to Bosnia from Germany with the two entertainers on a huge C -17 Air Force cargo jet, becoming the first US First Lady since Eleanor Roosevelt to visit an area of conflict independently of her commander-in-chief husband.

Her visit was much more extensive than the one President Clinton made in January. Because of poor weather and security concerns, he never travelled more than 500 yards from the Tuzla airstrip.

Before meeting the troops, Mrs Clinton discussed with prominent Bosnian citizens how to achieve reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia.

"The price of peace we paid has been very high. Without the help of America, we wouldn't have that today," Katarina Mandic, a Bosnian legislator, told her.

Another woman gave Mrs Clinton a wooden sculpture of a woman in mourning, entitled A Wounded Mother.

"I will think about all of the children who have been lost in Bosnia but I will also think about the future now," the First Lady said.

During her visit, Mrs Clinton announced that the US would provide $ 25m for emergency shelter repair in Bosnia. She said the money would pay for the repair of at least 2500 homes and create an estimated 10,000 construction jobs.-Reuter

Copyright 1996 Caledonian Newspapers Ltd.

[tcbwriter]

I have to admit I'm disappointed but am hoping something comes out to prove her right. She is usually so careful and has not misspoken on anything before - and the timing is not good. This will now be covered 25/7 on the news and be fodder for the late night comedians - shoving the Wright/Rezko stuff - the really important stuff to the back.

The media doesn't need help demonizing her. :O(

[hills]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Pef5AUt-tic

[samkm]

Thanks for sharing.

Yes, that video can be quoted in response. Keep it focused on the ACTUAL EXPERIENCE GAINED and CREDIBILITY BUILT IN THE INTERNATIONAL FOREFRONT during these travels....

As for specifics of arrival.. I went to India 4 times in that period and one was a rocky hard landing in a shanky hilltop airport; but I could not tell you which one if I scraped my head.. and I am 4.0 graduate. She went to 80 countries in that time.. Media is proving how hard they have to try to scrape anything on Hillary.

I am glad CBS was able to share this true account of the actual accomplishment there. There are many more such actual accounts.

Our choice is to rely on the 35 years (I repeat, 35 years) of PUBLIC SERVICE work Hillary has delivered to us WITH PATRIOTISM.

vs.

"The Obama Bargain" this http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120579535818243439.html -published in WSJ on March 18, 2008 and authored by Mr. Steele, a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and the author of "A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can't Win" (Free Press, 2007).

That, in combination with Rezko, Wright, Ayers, Auchi, and much more.. just beginning to come from the big closet... as we are coming down from the Kool-aid high of hope and discovering that the chest is empty afterall...

It's a very sobering feeling to know that you followed empty rhetoric.. I was there, for quite some time. Please educate yourself by visiting some of below links. Let us ensure INFORMED DEMOCRACY. Thank you.

[Joe from WI]

I have to admit I'm disappointed but am hoping something comes out to prove her right. She is usually so careful and has not misspoken on anything before - and the timing is not good. This will now be covered 25/7 on the news and be fodder for the late night comedians - shoving the Wright/Rezko stuff - the really important stuff to the back.

The media doesn't need help demonizing her. :O(

The MSM will demonize her for everything, some days back they tried to bring up a story about her camp having to do with BO's passport infringments.
Dont worry too much. Many sensible americans will not take it to heart, because :

1) She didnt outrightly falsify an event. The Bosian trip DID take place.
2) its her account of some details that were not the same; her autobiography has stated factually the sequence of events.
3) This matter was 12 yrs back; its understandable even if someone of her stature may make a mistake RECOUNTING some event 12 yrs back.
4) She has witnesses of 3 (i think) including Gen Togo who corroborated her story. So she's not like BO who says something only he himself attest.

The reason that MSM is sooo eager to pick on her for the slightest and insignificant issues because they are pro-BO.

[hills]

http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/03/22/the-so-called-hillary-lies-about-bosnia/

http://www.talkleft.com/comments/2008/3/23/14293/1085/131

http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/3/14/145537/377

[samkm]

Hillary did a super job of handling all questions in a Press Conference in PA... incl those on Bosnia.

Hillary was simply awesome.

I hope CNN is sufficiently mature channel to recognize and rise to the maturity level of Hillary and actually recognize the work she has done for so many years.

[Bacio83]

Clinton said I remember landing under sniper fire and that the welcoming ceremony had to be moved inside because of sniper fire.

All evidence from the time, as Wolfson made clear, documented sniper fire in the hills. How does that make “landing under sniper fire” a misstatement?

Stop-obama.com makes me feel better when other people see what I see... did she lie, no, did she slip and mis-speak a bit about rushing to the cars... but come on the woman barely tripped and you would think she fell on her face... *rolls eyes* this is why I say I hate people ya'll :)

[rene.d]

It makes me so :mad: that nobody in the news is talking about Hillary's critical economic speech yesterday--on the housing crisis.
Because of this stupid issue.
She was told there could be sniper fire.
She was told to duck and run.
What, does she need to get injured to be believable?

If you haven't heard the speech, the text can be found here
http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/speech/view/?id=6695

It's really good and really important.

Even John McCain is talking about the economy.
Will somebody buy these silly reporters a cup of coffee so they can wake up?

We NEED Democratic leaders to come together and take a stand on the housing crisis.
They need to back Hillary's message.
That is how Hillary will win.

[hills]

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=53015

http://www.unhcr.ba/programme/bwi-index.htm

http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2005/0418/158.html

[lakerchick4life]

Seriously who the heck cares about Bosnia anyway..Hillary was right on the money when she said that she made a mistake, she is, after all, HUMAN..she probably got the cities mixed up cause it would be weird for her to say that she was under enemy fire. It could have happened like this, one block everything is great, the next block over, total chaos. And Obama shouldn't be opening his fat trap about mistakes, sitting in a church for 20 years and his church distributing hamas laced newsletters..if he can make "mistakes" so can she

[Charlie Brown]

I have to admit I'm disappointed but am hoping something comes out to prove her right. She is usually so careful and has not misspoken on anything before - and the timing is not good. This will now be covered 25/7 on the news and be fodder for the late night comedians - shoving the Wright/Rezko stuff - the really important stuff to the back.

The media doesn't need help demonizing her. :O(

I know Im worried also...She messed up here. Damn!

[CGP]

I hope CNN is sufficiently mature channel to recognize and rise to the maturity level of Hillary and actually recognize the work she has done for so many years.

Dream on.

CNN = Cult News Network.

CNN = Corrupt News Network.

Avoid it like the plague. I stopped watching around Feb 9th I believe.

[Brooke]

Dream on.

CNN = Cult News Network.

CNN = Corrupt News Network.

Avoid it like the plague. I stopped watching around Feb 9th I believe.

That's better than me, I stopped watching in January.

This whole thing is disappointing but I don't see it hurting her THAT much. Of course Chris Matthews is saying the Republicans will "destroy" her over this. Yeah right.

[abigailadams]

Call the media.

[joeysky18]

only way to get it off the news is to have bigger news.

feed them with something. Should we play the Odinga card.

[lanesharon]

How about a profound amount of monetary support for Hillary. That might shut their mouths for a short time. :D

[joeysky18]

How about a profound amount of monetary support for Hillary. That might shut their mouths for a short time. :D

That's actually a great idea. They call her out, but the money keep pouring in.

[samkm]

Media only respects two things:
- Ratings
- money in the account.

Let's give the stories to the media that is doing a relatively descent job...

By the way, I've switched off MSNBC and CNN (except Lou Dobbs).

[mjoynaples]

:(What is up with this Bosnia thing? What happened??? I even heard some general step up and confirm her memory of it all last week... HOW CAN THIS BE HAPPENING??? She is going to be on GRETA tonight how can she fix this rightfully???(is that a word?) just wondering because this kept me up all night... the money is a good idea also we need to do another prayer-vigil tongiht at 9:00 p.m. EST for her too with Greta tonight light candles at www.gratefulness.org

[ALL4HILLARY]

only way to get it off the news is to have bigger news.

feed them with something. Should we play the Odinga card.

I do not know how. The campaign should push it. I emailed it at press but keep emailing. If they get a lot they might look into it. Or Hillary should ask all these questions at press conference

[mooaks]

Yeah! I do believe that she was very tired, but it is what it is. It's one of those things that you wish that she hadn't said, because it was totally unnecessary, and only reinforces those people that said she is a liar and an opportunist. Lanny Davis the Clinton's former White House council was on the tube yesterday defending her and throwing a few mis-speaks that Obama has made that were a lot worse. We don't need these kinds of things especially not now.:):):)

[pearson]

As I posted in another thread on the same theme, we need to remind voters and the media about Obama's lies/obfuscations about Rezko:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/844634,obamasun031508.article

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23641581/

[KYWildcatFan]

My blogging response is: She was there and that's what matters. It happened over 12 years ago and she has taken 80 foreign trips. In her book she states it correctly. The fact remains she was there!

I don't like it out there either but turn the tables on them. Point out the fact she was there!

[Optixmom]

I am sorry that you all feel this way, but I view the Bosnia deal as a "non-event". I give it another day or two and then something else will pop-up in the media that will be more important to drown us all in.

This is minutia people. Just a mosquito distraction to draw you away from the Wright or Rezko man behind the curtain.

If you need a pick me up, read TaylorMarsh.com or Noquarterusa.net/blog/.

If you are making calls for Hillary, you can push past this and point out how many times she went to Bosnia and that you were proud that she made that trip a priority seeing how unstable the military conditions were there at that time, and that all of her military aides did a great job keeping her out of harms way.

This will move on when you do.

[lanney]

Don't worry, today media darling is coming back from vacation so we will start seeing media drolling on him and complete blackout on Hillary.
BHO is a toast, more you see him more "God D America" image comes in front of you.
Just imagine Rev Wright is having security issue everywhere, Do you think people other than media can droll on BHO anymore. I want to see how many people attend his rallies in PA.

Imagine people had forgotten Bush National Guard issue and voted for him, What happened to Kerry, complete toast after having so much money, bruce was singing for him, bloggers were blogging, every poll was favoring Kerry, media was on full assualt on Bush.

[Joe from WI]

She did not misspeaks on the event ie. Bosnia. She only misspeaks on the details of the event. If she should be faulted, it would be her account wasnt acurrate. But it does not change the fact that :
1) She was there in a war zone area
2) She successfully achieved what she did (verified by ex-acting president of Bosnia)
3) 3-4 people confirmed or corroborated her story, so that shows she's not making all these up BY herself
4) her autobiography wrote clearly the event.

So pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee, get over it and focus on the more important issues. Keep your chin up, this thing will NOT STICK, as most americans do not think she LIED, and if the media keeps harping on this matter, she will defend herself, dont worry.

[tcbwriter]

My blogging response is: She was there and that's what matters. It happened over 12 years ago and she has taken 80 foreign trips. In her book she states it correctly. The fact remains she was there!

I don't like it out there either but turn the tables on them. Point out the fact she was there!
Good point!

She was there; it was her idea to take Sinbad, Sheryl Crow, etc. to entertain the troops. She was at risk. Just because nothing actually happened didn't make it any less risky.

And while she was there, Barack Obama was sitting in church in Chicago listening to Rev. Jeremiah Wright scream thinks like, "God damn America!"

[bernie gagliano]

They will hammer her with it.

Get the CBS March 25, 1996 YouTube of Hillary being choppered into posts. That shows the care the military took as she visited the front outposts.

It is clear from the video and words of the CBS reporter that danger was out there.

Hillary, unfortunately, in her memory, combined the two events and misspoke.

She and her handlers had better prepare her for this.

She should have been reviewing the videos long ago when she first brought up the topic, so when she spoke she would have gotten the sequence correct.

1. They probably corkscrew landed in the C-17. There was no danger once on Tuzla base. Even Gen Togo West remembered incorrectly. They corkscrew so they are over the base and not on a wide path over enemy turf where AK-47's could hit them. (the VietCong perfected using Ak-47's to bring down planes and helos.)

2. Late, she went in helos to two outposts to greet and thank the men on the frontlines. This was the area even Pres. Clinton was not allowed to go. This is where snipers were a big danger.

3. She did what she said she did. She just got the sequence incorrect.

But this will be huge by debate moderators and by Mr. "I've never even been to Europe, but I got it right".

Believe it, they will skewer her if she can't shut it down.

What we need to do is get the dangerous helo trip Youtube to all the news persons, particularly, Lou Dobbs, and Dan Abrahms, and Howard Kurtz. This will help shut up the press and may quell the damage.

To think they are going to let go of this mistake is foolish.

[Amanda2489]

You know the people who are discounting the actual danger that was around her would certainly cry foul if they were saying "well your sons, husbands, daughters in iraq today didn't get shot at so for them to say they are in danger is a LIE." Now how many people would sit down and take that, not many. Even though snipers weren't shooting at HIllary they were in the vicinity and she did have to cut her airstrip ceremony short because of the threat.

[K.Wayne]

She may have misspoken, but what got me was when she said, "I made a mistake". Any politician who can apologize and utter these words in the process gets my respect even more. Even more because one rarely if ever as a politician utters those words.

And leave it to the media to blow this up. And try and make it any
bigger than it actually is. Where has real and unbiased journalism gone?

[Patsy]

Bumping this up.

Can anyone find the video Bernie was talking about? And forward to media?

I suck at youtube, or I would look for it. If you find it, I'll send it out. Let's get on this.

[Smart cookie]

http://bucknakedpolitics.typepad.com/buck_naked_politics/2008/03/while-a-trip-to.html

This is what the media would be showing if they were fair and unbiased. Let's force them to address it as it is far more damaging to Obama than the Bosnia issue is to Hillary.

I put it on Digg.com which is an Obama haven. Go on and bump up some numbers for the many pro-Hillary or anti-Obama articles.

[Tea toaD]

One thing I did hear yesterday by a guest on Neil Cavuto's show was that this isn't as bad as the Pastor Disaster but many are making it that way. It should die down as long as there isn't anything else she says to make waves. I took this as a good thing since I'm sure there won't be anything else. OB's ties to nothing good keep coming out of the woodwork though.

[CQ4Hillary]

My blogging response is: She was there and that's what matters. It happened over 12 years ago and she has taken 80 foreign trips. In her book she states it correctly. The fact remains she was there!

I don't like it out there either but turn the tables on them. Point out the fact she was there!

And exactly where has BO gone and what has he done as far as foriegn policy experience at least for THIS country. (we don't know fully what he might have done for Kenya or Libbia or...)

At least Hillary has gone on many foriegn policy trips, met many world leaders and has actually DONE SOMETHING for this country!

CQ

[Annie]

only way to get it off the news is to have bigger news.

feed them with something. Should we play the Odinga card.

YES YES YES Get that out there everywhere. I have tried and it keeps getting ignored. (Republicans are
waiting but we don't have time)

Exclusive: Obama Connection to Terrorists Revealed by Talk Show Host Laurie Roth
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=8310

AND THIS ONE:
Obama-Odinga-Rezko-Ayers-Auchi-Saddam Hussein
YouTube - Obama-Odinga-Rezko-Ayers-Auchi-Saddam Hussein


There are tons more....:(

[CQ4Hillary]

She may have misspoken, but what got me was when she said, "I made a mistake". Any politician who can apologize and utter these words in the process gets my respect even more. Even more because one rarely if ever as a politician utters those words.

And leave it to the media to blow this up. And try and make it any
bigger than it actually is. Where has real and unbiased journalism gone?

At least she can be honest enough to say so unlike BO who just denies and then changes his story according to what has come out. He tries to be a chameleon, all things to all voters :rolleyes:, and even his "damage controll" responses are like that. They change to suit like a chameleon too!

Hillary is who she is and has never tried to be anybody else. I respect that and I respect that she can admit a mistake! She will be the best president ever!

CQ

[hillary1]

Call the media.

i do not find this to be a big deal, and i say that because as i saw hillary not dodging bullets, she was surrounded by soldiers who were in full combat gear, just look at the pictures, this was not a walk in the park, THERE WAS A WAR GOING ON, THERE WAS GENOCIDE TAKEN PLACE, people were being shot at all the time, they had combat ready soldiers walking with her,at her side, she was never alone, they had lookouts, why are we so paranoid with this, we should not be, i have seen these pictures for the past few days, and i do not feel one bit differently towards hillary clinton, vietnam was the same way, one minute you were walking, the next someone was shooting at you, what needs to happen with the moron media and the likes of the low dnc, would it have been better if she were shot

those who want her out, those who want to discredit her, will do so no matter what she states, when one is out to get you, they will scrape the bottom of the barrel to do so, remember its the lapdog media a** kisses, chris matthews for one, and the racist obama supporters for another

so again, i say, i am thankful hillary was not shot at, and our soldiers protected her admirably IN FULL COMBAT GEAR

it would be nice to see obama, and the lapdogs go to iraq, and walk by themselves, let's see what happens then

when bush went to iraq, he flys in at night, no one knows about it except the pilot and laura

[hillary1]

One thing I did hear yesterday by a guest on Neil Cavuto's show was that this isn't as bad as the Pastor Disaster but many are making it that way. It should die down as long as there isn't anything else she says to make waves. I took this as a good thing since I'm sure there won't be anything else. OB's ties to nothing good keep coming out of the woodwork though.

its no worse than the obama campaign aid blaming the jews for the problems in palestine, keep this afloat, this is just what the dnc low lifes need, the pelosi, dean, reid, and the bottom of the barrel democrats richardson, kennedy, kerry, this is what we want to lead the people of this country, we indeed have lost our way

the democratic party is on a collision course, chaos, and i for one am happy to see it as long as they keep giving hillary the bums rush

CRUSH THE DEMOCRATS, OR ELECT HILLARY CLINTON

[hills]

I think you might find this interesting
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/03/hillarys-bosnian-fib-play.html



I don't necessarily think this was intentional, but the videos do convey the picture of someone in a war zone - very Presidential.

Given the endless parsing of Clintonian motives, it would seem fitting to suspect that the great Bosnian fib was not so accidental. It is possible that Hillary Rodham Clinton benefited from her "mistake," as she called her recent assertion of once landing in Bosnia under sniper fire.

Although seemingly embarrassing for her, this episode did serve to provoke repeated airings of video showing Clinton on her trip to Bosnia 12 years ago looking more like a Commander in Chief than like a First Lady. While hardly arriving under a hail of bullets, as she has repeatedly claimed, the video clips do show Clinton in a much grittier setting than anything that might be expected for a purely ceremonial visit.

Not saying this flap was clearly purposeful. Just saying that the visuals are not entirely bad for Clinton. And this could be one of those stories where the pictures register with voters more than the controversy itself.


I really hope it has the opposite effect of what the media wants:)

[samkm]

Bernie,
It is easy to mix two different events when you are jetlagged. Been there!
As "First Lady" lading, it was less than an entourage+red carpet welcome, adn the people were quite far; it was a military aircraft's hold she walked out of and she was armored (that was said in the same video clip)

The topic will be raised for sure. Katie is CBS anchor.

- She should use that to give a count of her experience in foreign relations
- And then say, it is quite lame thing of CBS to call her on her jetlag from 10+ years ago.
Perhas she can also suggest that Katie should ask Barack how without ever being to Europe, he will handle any relations there. You know, they are proud people, proud of their heritage, culture and relationships that they build.. This is an area where she offers a great advantage to America.
Or better yet, she can say,
- Well, Unlike Barack who has NEVER BEEN TO ANY EUROPEAN COUNTRY (ref: David Gergen on AC360; given as a fact), she has been there, and been to war zones, and gained credility where it matters the most.. and one thing this whole thing has done is show to America that she has actually been there and knows what the war zone is like. She is certainly ready for Commander-in-Chief.
She can focus on these points.

Thanks,
SudhaKM

[Patsy]

Bernie,
It is easy to mix two different events when you are jetlagged. Been there!
As "First Lady" lading, it was less than an entourage+red carpet welcome, adn the people were quite far; it was a military aircraft's hold she walked out of and she was armored (that was said in the same video clip)

The topic will be raised for sure. Katie is CBS anchor.

- She should use that to give a count of her experience in foreign relations
- And then say, it is quite lame thing of CBS to call her on her jetlag from 10+ years ago.
Perhas she can also suggest that Katie should ask Barack how without ever being to Europe, he will handle any relations there. You know, they are proud people, proud of their heritage, culture and relationships that they build.. This is an area where she offers a great advantage to America.
Or better yet, she can say,
- Well, Unlike Barack who has NEVER BEEN TO ANY EUROPEAN COUNTRY (ref: David Gergen on AC360; given as a fact), she has been there, and been to war zones, and gained credility where it matters the most.. and one thing this whole thing has done is show to America that she has actually been there and knows what the war zone is like. She is certainly ready for Commander-in-Chief.
She can focus on these points.

Thanks,
SudhaKM

It's unfortunate, but Katie Couric is a Clinton-Hating sell out in all actuality. Doubt she'll ask anything of O.

perhaps we should ask her why her broadcast is rated 3rd in the evening news time slot?

[Max565]

This will probably go away in a few days... it's not fatal to her campaign or anything. Something else is bound to pop up, like always.

[SantaCruzen]

There is really a small difference in saying

we arrived under gunfire

we were arrived under fear or suspicion of gun fire

Average Americans make the same verb and noun transpositions which one or two words can clarify. That is a regular speech issue.

BO, on the other hand stated he was a Professor. That is not the same as Lecturer. Passing a Bill is not the same as Not Passing a Bill.

Really, BO is paranoid that Hillary might use some of his best tactics.

It like he who smelt it first delt it.

[Patsy]

YouTube - Fmr Sec. of Army Togo West confirms Clinton Bosnia account

[Rekha Varma]

Caught Under Sniper Fire- lessons learnt from Bosnia

Some people ask on Hillary's face book site how they can overcome the snimper fire comment, and the answer is simple: have a sense of humour.
On the day that the footage was released we were all having a laugh with Hillary supporters, and anti Hillary (but intellient) regulars on Hillary's facebook site in telling people to watch out for the sniper fire as they signed off.
An Obama supporter gave the best line to dismiss the Bosnia blip by saying we can excuse the fact that she could have been drunk on St Patrick's day afterall.

As a dedicated Hillary supporter, I'm more than happy to conceed Hillary overexaggerated about the danger she actually encountered on her visit to Bosnia on this one occassion.
However, that doesn't mean I belittle her ACTUALL experience she demonstrated in Bosnia. The footage below was brought to my attention by a Hillary supporter which is the initial footage and commentary by CBS News during the time of her visit wich gives credibility to her initial recall of her trip before actually saying she encountered sniper fire.

YouTube - 1996 Clinton Bosnia Trip (CBS News)

But to me, what's more important than encountering sniper fire was the message she gave to the US troops to send to the people of Bosnia. Please watch this video clip in which Togo West recalled the lasting impression Hillary's message to the troops left on him. It was a powerful message that would've been the perfect message for the Commader and Chief to have highlighted to the US troops in Iraq that were caught in the middle of a secretarian war in Iraq.

YouTube - Togo West introduces Hillary Clinton 1 of 5


He drew atention to a quote Hillary said during that visit:
"You here are giving testimony to what a multicultural force can mean and can do. You are showing people who have hated each other, who have killed each other that they don't have to do that. They don't have to like each other, but they can respect each other and work together. By being here you are saying there is a better way, look to America"

Knowing Hillary, at this time in history she would also highlight the vast number of female US troops working together with the men as equals as a means of tackling any cultural (not religious) suppression of women's right's in Iraq. It's inspired by those lines that Togo West quoted Hillary saying, that I felt that would be an effective way of addressing women's rights in Iraq.

Finally, I want to draw attention to Hillary's Iraq vote senate speech in 02' in which Hilary refernces the US approach to Bosnia as an example to highlight to Bush why a preemptive, immediate, unilateral attack on inconclusive evidence of WMD and bypassing diplomacy just toremove Saddam was wrong. I have continually said that Hillary has been blamed against the very action she argued against that Bush took against her position that she made clear upon voting in 02' in her 20 minute senate speech, which is reduced to a 30 second sound bite of her closing statement which even then is edited o paint her as a war monger. This is not revisionist history of her position on the Iraq war, as it was said within her 02' senate speech upon voting and her position has been continually distorted to pretend she was a suppoerter of an immediate pemptive, unilateral invasion to remove Saddam on inconclusive evidence of WMD and bypassing iplomacy. Here is the segment of her senate speech referencing Bosnia, which is continually selectively blocked by the US media:

"Some people favor attacking Saddam Hussein now, with any allies we can muster, in the belief that one more round of weapons inspections would not produce the required disarmament, and that deposing Saddam would be a positive good for the Iraqi people and would create the possibility of a secular democratic state in the Middle East, one which could perhaps move the entire region toward democratic reform.

This view has appeal to some, because it would assure disarmament; because it would right old wrongs after our abandonment of the Shiites and Kurds in 1991, and our support for Saddam Hussein in the 1980's when he was using chemical weapons and terrorizing his people; and because it would give the Iraqi people a chance to build a future in freedom.

However, this course is fraught with danger. We and our NATO allies did not depose Mr. Milosevic, who was responsible for more than a quarter of a million people being killed in the 1990s. Instead, by stopping his aggression in Bosnia and Kosovo, and keeping on the tough sanctions, we created the conditions in which his own people threw him out and led to his being in the dock being tried for war crimes as we speak.

If we were to attack Iraq now, alone or with few allies, it would set a precedent that could come back to haunt us. In recent days, Russia has talked of an invasion of Georgia to attack Chechen rebels. India has mentioned the possibility of a pre-emptive strike on Pakistan. And what if China were to perceive a threat from Taiwan?

So Mr. President, for all its appeal, a unilateral attack, while it cannot be ruled out, on the present facts is not a good option."

http://clinton.senate.gov/speeches/iraq_101002.html



So to answer the question that some people ask, just be honest that there is always a potential risk of danger when visitng war zones as the 1st video suggested, but that Hillary did overexagerate on a couple of occassions about the danger she actually encountered upon exiting the vehical during her visit. People will appreciate our honesty and sense of humour to then be open minded to listen to the points above that highlight the significance of actual experience which are being over looked, otherwise they'll just say we're in denial. It gives us an oppurtunity to direct people to this quote in her Iraq speech that is being selectively blocked by the media to deliberately distort her position upon voting, as the word BOSNIA will now jump out at them.
Make sure you watch out for the sniper fire!

[Joe from WI]

In my opinion Hillary did not exaggerate. She forgotten the sequence of events that happened over 12 years ago. The landing in Bosnia was real, and her autobio did record the actual sequence of events. And her account was corroborated by a few other witnesses. So she DID NOT LIE. But in her verbal report recently she gave a slightly different account on the sequence of event. She did not lie about the event, but her account on the sequence was different; so if you fault her for verbally saying the wrong thing, then yoiu should fault anyone who cannot remember clearly what exactly happened blow-by-blow 12 years back.

[freethinker]

He drew atention to a quote Hillary said during that visit:
"You here are giving testimony to what a multicultural force can mean and can do. You are showing people who have hated each other, who have killed each other that they don't have to do that. They don't have to like each other, but they can respect each other and work together. By being here you are saying there is a better way, look to America"

Finally, I want to draw attention to Hillary's Iraq vote senate speech in 02' in which Hilary refernces the US approach to Bosnia as an example to highlight to Bush why a preemptive, immediate, unilateral attack on inconclusive evidence of WMD and bypassing diplomacy just toremove Saddam was wrong. I have continually said that Hillary has been blamed against the very action she argued against that Bush took against her position that she made clear upon voting in 02' in her 20 minute senate speech, which is reduced to a 30 second sound bite of her closing statement which even then is edited o paint her as a war monger. This is not revisionist history of her posiion on the Iraq war, as it was said within her 02' senate speech upon voting and her position has been continually distorted to pretend she was a suppoerter of an immediate pemptive, unilateral invasion to remove Saddam on inconclusive evidence of WMD and bypassing iplomacy. Here is the segment of her senate speech referencing Bosnia, which is continually selectively blocked by the US media:

"Some people favor attacking Saddam Hussein now, with any allies we can muster, in the belief that one more round of weapons inspections would not produce the required disarmament, and that deposing Saddam would be a positive good for the Iraqi people and would create the possibility of a secular democratic state in the Middle East, one which could perhaps move the entire region toward democratic reform.

This view has appeal to some, because it would assure disarmament; because it would right old wrongs after our abandonment of the Shiites and Kurds in 1991, and our support for Saddam Hussein in the 1980's when he was using chemical weapons and terrorizing his people; and because it would give the Iraqi people a chance to build a future in freedom.

However, this course is fraught with danger. We and our NATO allies did not depose Mr. Milosevic, who was responsible for more than a quarter of a million people being killed in the 1990s. Instead, by stopping his aggression in Bosnia and Kosovo, and keeping on the tough sanctions, we created the conditions in which his own people threw him out and led to his being in the dock being tried for war crimes as we speak.

If we were to attack Iraq now, alone or with few allies, it would set a precedent that could come back to haunt us. In recent days, Russia has talked of an invasion of Georgia to attack Chechen rebels. India has mentioned the possibility of a pre-emptive strike on Pakistan. And what if China were to perceive a threat from Taiwan?

So Mr. President, for all its appeal, a unilateral attack, while it cannot be ruled out, on the present facts is not a good option."

http://clinton.senate.gov/speeches/iraq_101002.html


Thank you Rehka for a cogent article extolling the reason's Senator Clinton has been consistent FROM DAY ONE in her approach to non-military means with which to resolve our differences including cooperation from our allies and soft force and sanctions. Very well said!

[CGP]

Another way to move beyond it - stop giving it attention.

It is being desperately and shamelessly used by both the media and the Obama campaign to draw attention away from Obama's appalling conduct.

And many people are falling for it - including Hillary supporters - STOP.

MOVE ON to REAL ISSUES!!

How about refocusing on Obama's 20 years of association with Wright?

How about refocusong on Obama's ties with Rezko?

How about asking what happened to Donald Young?

How about documenting, listing and distributing Obama's countless LIES throughout this campaign?

[Patsy]

I've merged these threads.

[Carolyn]

Murray

Unfortunately, the story just isn't going away, and she's taking a real hit in the polls. It's infuriating how Obama has managed to deflect attention away from Wright. I've been contradicting every post accusing her of lying and being delusional with the news stories and video cited above. I think the campaign needs to answer these charges more forcefully, too. I trust people to understand that she may have been conflating her C-17 landing at the US base in Tuzla that day with her helicopter landing at an off-base post outside Tuzla later that same day where, I gather from reports, “Riflemen rushed to the brush line as the helicopter landed and surrounded her as she walked into the post,” and where, apparently, “sniper fire had been reported in the hills behind the post several days earlier” [as reported in the Charleston Gazette, 3/26/96]. That's a far cry from lying.

[Tea toaD]

With Rezco starting up again on the 31st, maybe this won't be in the forefront. This Rezco thing isn't going away either. I think there will be more uncovered:)

[leahchamblee]

AP Online
Copyright 1996 the Associated Press. -- All Rights Reserved

January 13, 1996

Section: International

Clinton Praises Peacekeepers as Heroes, Says Mission on Track

TERENCE HUNT

TUZLA, Bosnia-Herzegovina With a fearsome backdrop of military weaponry, President Clinton today called the NATO peacekeeping effort a mission for heroes that is moving ahead ''step by steady step.''

Addressing 850 American soldiers, all dressed in full combat gear at the heavily-armed U.S . base, the commander-in-chief said, ''We thank you here for being warriors for peace.''

''Sir, we are committed to do our duty and we will succeed,''
said Maj. Gen. William Nash, commander of U.S. forces in Bosnia.

Even with the words of optimism, signs of the region's
instability abounded. A Bradley fighting vehicle and Apache attack
helicopter loomed behind the president. Military police with guard
dogs prowled the area, and radar dishes circled. Clinton was not
expected to venture from the heavily-secured base to view any of
the damage wrought by three and a half years of war.

Members of the 1st Armored Division brass band played for
Clinton while wearing bulky flak jackets with M-16s slung over
their backs. ''Who says you can't play trombone in a flak jacket?''
Nash quipped. On a more serious note, he said, ''I think the
president is perfectly safe.''

Arriving at the tarmac in a Humvee, Clinton praised U.S.
soldiers ''the veterans of the Tuzla mud'' for working with
NATO troops in rain and flood to lay the groundwork for the fragile
peacekeeping mission. He noted the struggle to build a bridge
across the Sava River, and said 2,000 vehicles have rolled across
it in the last two weeks.

''To Bosnia you came on the mission of peace, a mission for
heroes,'' he said.

In a whirlwind day of stops, Clinton visited Aviano, Italy;
Taszar, Hungary; and Zagreb, Croatia before returning home early
Sunday. ''I ask you ... to choose peace, choose the future,'' he
told the Croatian people.

Over and over he spoke directly to U.S. soldiers, who responded
with loud cheers:

In Bosnia: ''I came with a simple message: Your country is very
proud of you.''

At Aviano: ''Let me say now, good luck and Godspeed. You are
heroes for peace.''

In Hungary: ''The operation in Bosnia is moving ahead step by
step, steadily, surely and safely.''

Clinton taped his radio address in Taszar, telling American
audiences that the Bosnia people are ''looking to our soldiers to
help them make a new beginning.''

''It was nice he came over to let us know he's proud of us,''
said Specialist Travis Siegler, 21, of Phoenix, who was moving into
Bosnia on Monday.

Sgt. Darvin Graham of Pompano Beach, Fla., joked, ''If he wants
to impress me, he ought to come live with me for a little while.''

With the public and Congress still skeptical about the mission,
Clinton hoped the trip would remind Americans of the mission's
importance.

Congress, which has expressed support for the troops but concern
about the mission itself, sent a 10-member bipartisan delegation
along with Clinton. The group included House International
Relations Committee Chairman Benjamin Gilman, R-N.Y, and House
Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Livingston, R-La., a critic
of the president who expressed concern about American casualties.

''You're never going to eliminate the risks,'' Livingston told
reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the region. ''But these
guys are well-trained, well-equipped. They're capable of doing this
job. But only if we give them the support from back home that they
also need.''

Despite the tenuous nature of the peace that NATO soldiers are
trying to keep, Clinton sounded upbeat throughout the whirlwind
trip.

''Given the level of animosity which has existed ... I think the
climate has been quite good,'' Clinton told reporters aboard the
C-17 cargo plane he flew to Hungary and later to Bosnia. The plane
carried mail, 200 cases of Coca-Cola and 5,000 Hershey bars.

''I'm not trying to minimize the problems. They're significant.
But on balance I'm more hopeful now after the first few days of
this mission,'' he said.

He met with Bosnia President Alija Izetbegovic in Tuzla and was
meeting with Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to urge the leaders
to implement the peace plan. He also met with Bosnia Serb
officials, including the mayor of the Serb-held district Ilidza, as
the West urged Serbs to remain in Sarajevo.

En route to Europe, the president called NATO's
Secretary-General Javier Solana to discuss the trip.

In Taszar, Clinton gave a sendoff to a long convoy of M1A1 tanks
on its way to Croatia and then addressed a larger gathering of
troops in a plywood-and-camouflage mess tent.

Dressed in a brown leather bomber jacket, khaki pants and
ankle-high boots, Clinton told the soldiers, ''Your
commander-in-chief is very, very proud of you.''

To the scores of fighting men, he said, ''We've asked you not to
fight a war, but to give a people exhausted by war the strength to
make and stay at peace.''

The president said he signed an executive order that creates a
new medal for troops who serve in peacekeeping missions such as
Bosnia and announced to soldiers in Taszar and Tuzla that they
would receive the new military decoration. The troops cheered.

In Italy, while visiting the staging field for the NATO effort,
Clinton told hundreds of soldiers, ''You are living up the great
tradition of the armed forces of the United States protecting our
nation's interest by keeping a fire out that has threatened the
heart of Europe's stability.''

''From the ashes of war in Bosnia, you and they together are
raising the torch of a new and undivided Europe,'' he said.

[leahchamblee]

On first line
You know when I posted this before I was sent to another thread. WTF how did that happen?

AP Online
Copyright 1996 the Associated Press. -- All Rights Reserved

January 13, 1996

Section: International

Clinton Praises Peacekeepers as Heroes, Says Mission on Track

TERENCE HUNT

TUZLA, Bosnia-Herzegovina With a fearsome backdrop of military weaponry, President Clinton today called the NATO peacekeeping effort a mission for heroes that is moving ahead ''step by steady step.''

Addressing 850 American soldiers, all dressed in full combat gear at the heavily-armed U.S . base, the commander-in-chief said, ''We thank you here for being warriors for peace.''

''Sir, we are committed to do our duty and we will succeed,''
said Maj. Gen. William Nash, commander of U.S. forces in Bosnia.

Even with the words of optimism, signs of the region's
instability abounded. A Bradley fighting vehicle and Apache attack
helicopter loomed behind the president. Military police with guard
dogs prowled the area, and radar dishes circled. Clinton was not
expected to venture from the heavily-secured base to view any of
the damage wrought by three and a half years of war.

Members of the 1st Armored Division brass band played for
Clinton while wearing bulky flak jackets with M-16s slung over
their backs. ''Who says you can't play trombone in a flak jacket?''
Nash quipped. On a more serious note, he said, ''I think the
president is perfectly safe.''

Arriving at the tarmac in a Humvee, Clinton praised U.S.
soldiers ''the veterans of the Tuzla mud'' for working with
NATO troops in rain and flood to lay the groundwork for the fragile
peacekeeping mission. He noted the struggle to build a bridge
across the Sava River, and said 2,000 vehicles have rolled across
it in the last two weeks.

''To Bosnia you came on the mission of peace, a mission for
heroes,'' he said.

In a whirlwind day of stops, Clinton visited Aviano, Italy;
Taszar, Hungary; and Zagreb, Croatia before returning home early
Sunday. ''I ask you ... to choose peace, choose the future,'' he
told the Croatian people.

Over and over he spoke directly to U.S. soldiers, who responded
with loud cheers:

In Bosnia: ''I came with a simple message: Your country is very
proud of you.''

At Aviano: ''Let me say now, good luck and Godspeed. You are
heroes for peace.''

In Hungary: ''The operation in Bosnia is moving ahead step by
step, steadily, surely and safely.''

Clinton taped his radio address in Taszar, telling American
audiences that the Bosnia people are ''looking to our soldiers to
help them make a new beginning.''

''It was nice he came over to let us know he's proud of us,''
said Specialist Travis Siegler, 21, of Phoenix, who was moving into
Bosnia on Monday.

Sgt. Darvin Graham of Pompano Beach, Fla., joked, ''If he wants
to impress me, he ought to come live with me for a little while.''

With the public and Congress still skeptical about the mission,
Clinton hoped the trip would remind Americans of the mission's
importance.

Congress, which has expressed support for the troops but concern
about the mission itself, sent a 10-member bipartisan delegation
along with Clinton. The group included House International
Relations Committee Chairman Benjamin Gilman, R-N.Y, and House
Appropriations Committee Chairman Bob Livingston, R-La., a critic
of the president who expressed concern about American casualties.

''You're never going to eliminate the risks,'' Livingston told
reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the region. ''But these
guys are well-trained, well-equipped. They're capable of doing this
job. But only if we give them the support from back home that they
also need.''

Despite the tenuous nature of the peace that NATO soldiers are
trying to keep, Clinton sounded upbeat throughout the whirlwind
trip.

''Given the level of animosity which has existed ... I think the
climate has been quite good,'' Clinton told reporters aboard the
C-17 cargo plane he flew to Hungary and later to Bosnia. The plane
carried mail, 200 cases of Coca-Cola and 5,000 Hershey bars.

''I'm not trying to minimize the problems. They're significant.
But on balance I'm more hopeful now after the first few days of
this mission,'' he said.

He met with Bosnia President Alija Izetbegovic in Tuzla and was
meeting with Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to urge the leaders
to implement the peace plan. He also met with Bosnia Serb
officials, including the mayor of the Serb-held district Ilidza, as
the West urged Serbs to remain in Sarajevo.

En route to Europe, the president called NATO's
Secretary-General Javier Solana to discuss the trip.

In Taszar, Clinton gave a sendoff to a long convoy of M1A1 tanks
on its way to Croatia and then addressed a larger gathering of
troops in a plywood-and-camouflage mess tent.

Dressed in a brown leather bomber jacket, khaki pants and
ankle-high boots, Clinton told the soldiers, ''Your
commander-in-chief is very, very proud of you.''

To the scores of fighting men, he said, ''We've asked you not to
fight a war, but to give a people exhausted by war the strength to
make and stay at peace.''

The president said he signed an executive order that creates a
new medal for troops who serve in peacekeeping missions such as
Bosnia and announced to soldiers in Taszar and Tuzla that they
would receive the new military decoration. The troops cheered.

In Italy, while visiting the staging field for the NATO effort,
Clinton told hundreds of soldiers, ''You are living up the great
tradition of the armed forces of the United States protecting our
nation's interest by keeping a fire out that has threatened the
heart of Europe's stability.''

''From the ashes of war in Bosnia, you and they together are
raising the torch of a new and undivided Europe,'' he said.
This is what I have been able to gather from a another poster. The problem is that this happened in 1995 and it is not easy to find articles about this on the Internet.

...She did visit two outposts outside of the base camp in Tuzla without the celebrities there for the USO tour.

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.
...
But this was a day of celebration and celebrities - a day for the U.S. troops helping to uphold the Bosnian peace accord. Mrs. Clinton hosted a USO show with comedian Sinbad and singer Sheryl Crow and briefly addressed the gathering.
...
But the highlight of her trip were visits to two fortified posts outside the U.S. base in Tuzla. Even President Clinton, restricted to the base by bad weather in January, did not see as much of this war-wracked region as Mrs. Clinton did Monday.
...
Riflemen rushed to the brush line as the helicopter landed and surrounded her as she walked into the post. Located in a "separation zone," the U.S. outpost nestles between two tree lines. Just months ago, one was Serbian territory, the other Bosnian.

Security was tight - fighter jets accompanied her C-17 cargo plane to Tuzla - but officials said the first lady took no extraordinary risks on the trip.
Lexis - By RON FOURNIER, Associated Press, March 25, 1996

Another report:

THE First Lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton, visited her country's troops at their fortified outposts in north-eastern Bosnia today and said their peacekeeping work was "extraordinary to behold".

Mrs Clinton's helicopter flight to Camp Alicia, home of a mechanised infantry outfit and a combat engineer batallion 15 miles east of Tuzla, took her over burned out villages and farm houses whose roofs had been blown off in the fierce fighting before last December's Paris peace agreement ended the 43 -month-old war in Bosnia.

A machine gun emplacement guarded the entrance of the outposts and marked Bosnian minefields were visible outside its perimeter.
...
After lunch with the troops in a makeshift dining hall surrounded by sandbags, she flew on to Camp Bedrock south of Tuzla to visit an army field hospital.

Mrs Clinton, who later returned to Tuzla for a show starring singer Sheryl Crow and comedian Sinbad, said she was "amazed at how much has been accomplished in such a short period of time" by US troops in Bosnia.
Source - Lexis - The Herald (Glasgow), March 26, 1996

And she did spend some time in the cockpit ;-)

So it was probably no accident that the C-17 pilot was a woman, Capt. Cheryl Beineke of Ohio. She is among just four female C-17 pilots out of about 100 in the Air Force.

"I'm loving every minute of this," the pilot said after Mrs. Clinton spent several minutes in the cockpit.
Source - Lexis - By RON FOURNIER, AP International, March 25, 1996

[CGP]

Murray

Unfortunately, the story just isn't going away, and she's taking a real hit in the polls. It's infuriating how Obama has managed to deflect attention away from Wright. I've been contradicting every post accusing her of lying and being delusional with the news stories and video cited above. I think the campaign needs to answer these charges more forcefully, too. I trust people to understand that she may have been conflating her C-17 landing at the US base in Tuzla that day with her helicopter landing at an off-base post outside Tuzla later that same day where, I gather from reports, “Riflemen rushed to the brush line as the helicopter landed and surrounded her as she walked into the post,” and where, apparently, “sniper fire had been reported in the hills behind the post several days earlier” [as reported in the Charleston Gazette, 3/26/96]. That's a far cry from lying.

She has clearly combined memories from different events into one collective account - something the human brain does on a daily basis! As you know, human memory can be terribly inaccurate in its recollection of past events - eventually those from 12 years ago.

The campaign should respond with:

* Presentation by a psychologist or pscyhiatrist discussing how memory works and how human beings OFTEN make gross errors in their recollection of past events

* Systematic presentation of all of the REAL LIES Obama has made throughout this campaign and the way in which the MEDIA has IGNORED these REAL LIES made straight from Obama's mouth!

* Presentation about how the MEDIA is willing to COLLUDE with Obama - and condone his lies and ATTACK politics - to DECEIVE the public into VOTING for Obama!

[leahchamblee]

Christian Science Monitor (USA)
Copyright © 2003 Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.

January 12, 1996


Section: THE U. S.



CLINTON SEEKS TO BOOST PEACE ABROAD, POPULARITY AT HOME

By George Moffett and Jonathan Landay, Staff writers of The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON AND SARAJEVO PRESIDENT Clinton embarks today on a whirlwind trip to Bosnia that the White House hopes will highlight United States interests in returning stability to the region, while providing a momentary distraction from proliferating problems at home .

The visit is intended as a morale-boosting show of support for US troops who are part of a 60,000-member NATO force deployed last month to guarantee a Nov. 21 peace agreement ending four years of fighting in Bosnia .

It's also likely to raise the spirits of many Bosnian Muslims, who appreciate the effort Clinton made in taking charge of peace efforts after a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Bosnia failed.

The potentially dangerous but largely ceremonial visit comes at a time when Clinton is besieged with problems at home, including a budget impasse with Republicans in Congress and mounting concerns over the veracity of Hillary Rodham Clinton's statements regarding the Whitewater affair and the 1993 firing of seven White House travel office employees.

Clinton's trip will include stops in Croatia, Bosnia, Hungary, and Italy. In Bosnia he is expected to visit Tuzla, headquarters of the zone now occupied by the 20,000 US soldiers who make up one-third of IFOR, a NATO peacekeeping force.

A visit to Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, was reportedly ruled out for safety reasons after a Serb-fired anti-tank rocket struck a tram in the center city on Tuesday, killing one and wounding 16.

''The purpose of the trip is to see th US troops who have been doing a very fine job helping the parties ensure compliance with the peace agreement,'' White House press spokesman Mike McCurry said Wednesday. ''The president is confident he will be protected.''

Stop in Zagreb

In Zagreb, Clinton will exhort Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to get on with the reunification of Mostar, where tensions between Bosnian Croats and Muslims led to partition in 1993 and now threaten implementation of the Dayton accord.

A senior Bosnian official says he believes Clinton is sincere when he says that, in addition to humanitarian concerns, the US has important interests in seeing the return of stability to Bosnia. These include preserving the credibility of NATO, America's leadership role in the military alliance, and avoiding a larger Yugoslav war that could draw two NATO powers, Greece and Turkey, into the vortex.

The official speculates that the US is also anxious to ''minimize'' the influence that Iran's fundamentalist Islamic regime acquired during the early stages of the war, when Western powers refused to take strong measures to stop Bosnian Serb onslaughts against the out-gunned Muslim-dominated Bosnian army.

To secure the visit, Clinton's exact itinerary is being withheld until he, a group of close advisers, a small congressional delegation, and a contingent of journalists are en route from Nashville, where Clinton will deliver a speech and attend a fund-raising event today.

''Every care is being take to protect the president,'' says one senior administration official, commenting cryptically on Mr. Clinton's high-security weekend journey.

A senior Bosnian government official speculates that the White House has decided to strike Sarajevo from the itinerary out of concern that Bosnian Serbs might try to exact vengeance for US-led NATO airstrikes in September or for the loss of Serb-controlled parts of Sarajevo under the US-brokered Bosnian peace agreement that was negotiated in Dayton, Ohio, late last year.

The official says Clinton will confine his trip to greeting US troops at the headquarters of Task Force Eagle, the US component of IFOR, at the airport in Tuzla.

''We were concerned that by backing off, for reasons we are not going to find fault with, some maverick gunslinger will think he frightened Clinton off,'' the official says. ''That means that somebody may think they can set the agenda by pursuing those kinds of terrorist acts.''

The US soldiers are now in the fourth week of one of the largest and most complex peacekeeping missions ever undertaken. The NATO force will remain in Bosnia for at least one year to help implement an agreement that ends four years of fighting between warring factions in the former Yugoslavia.

Like most presidential trips, this one will have clear domestic implications. White House aides say the president will be on the lookout for positive news about the Bosnia deployment to include in his nationally televised State of the Union address later this month.

But one public opinion analyst says the trip may be of limited political utility.

''This is not a popular policy and people aren't paying as much attention to what is going on in Bosnia because it's not something they want to think about. So his going is not going to help him politically,'' says Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, in Washington.

Since the end of the cold war, presidential trips abroad have had less bearing on public approval ratings, notes Mr. Kohut, since ''there are no Communists to smite.

''His going is not a negative thing, but it's not going to change people's attitude toward him or the policy,'' Kohut says.

During the buildup to the Gulf war in 1990, President Bush paid a similar visit to American troops. Mr. Bush gave a speech to soldiers in Dhahran, the main staging area located in eastern Saudi Arabia, then traveled by helicopter to Army and Marine outposts in the desert.

Fighter jets, AWACS surveillance planes, and armed helicopters were employed to keep him safe. Comparable preparations are said to be in place for Clinton's visit on Saturday.

''Every care is being taken to protect the president,'' says one senior administration official.

Bosnian appreciation

THE decision not to visit Sarajevo is not likely to dampen many Bosnian Muslims' appreciation for Clinton, who took charge of peace efforts after a UN peacekeeping mission in Bosnia failed.

''I believe that America is the leading force in the world and will witness the implementation of the Dayton agreement,'' says Ekram Ibruji, a Muslim who survived the Bosnian Croat siege of the Muslim-held east side of Mostar.

PHOTOS: 1) POWERFUL PRESENCE: An American tank lumbers past a horse-drawn carriage outside of Tuzla, Bosnia, one of the four sites President Clinton plans to visit. Bosnia's Muslims await NATO protection, Page 6., KARSTEN THIELKER/AP; 2) M&Ms MAKE FRIENDS: Spc. Gerald Wilson shares chocolate candy with school children in Srebrenik, near Tuzla, this week. Bosnians are expected to greet President Clinton's visit with appreciation., RICK BAUMER/AP

During trip to Bosnia, he will try to pressure Croatian president

[mcgowan.swan]

my blog response has been, i dont know exactly what happened over there, but i am sure the misspeak was probably a combination of trips. she went to bosnia and while there she took two blackhawk trips to see the troops. she probably combined them in her memory. it was a war zone after all, and years ago. the truth is it is much less of an issue than obama saying his parents met in the selma riots. problem, obama was born in 1961 and the riots were in 1965. hillary was in a war zone in bosnia, obama was not in selma at all. lol hers is a mistake in memory at best, and a campaign embellishment at worst, but his is an outright lie, and they both pale in comparison to obama's twenty year association with wright. obama is unelectable in the general. we all know this. why is it so hard for you to see?? go hillary '08 i admit i am having some difficulty getting posted, especially on msnbc. so far cnn has posted. lol

[mcgowan.swan]

leah ??? those two articles are about bill clinton's trip to bosnia, not hillary's. they have nothing to do with this issue?? what were you trying to tell us?

[hills]

This is in today’s NY Times written by two staff members who were with HRC on the Bosnia trip.




April 1, 2008

Op-Ed Contributor

Straight Shooting From Tuzla
By LISSA MUSCATINE and MELANNE VERVEER

Washington

AS staff members who traveled with the first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to Bosnia in March 1996, we have followed with more than passing interest the extensive news coverage of her landing in Tuzla. Video footage clearly shows that Mrs. Clinton’s assertions that she landed “under fire” and that the arrival ceremony was canceled were wrong. She said so herself last week.

Yet even since she acknowledged her mistake, the commentary has continued unabated. Reports are now being embellished (to borrow the term du jour) to suggest that Bosnia was not really a danger zone. Her visiting American troops on a peacekeeping mission in a hostile environment is now being treated as if it were a trip to the beach. During a week of nonstop coverage, few journalists went beyond the irresistible video footage to ask what else happened on this trip and how Mrs. Clinton might have erred in the details about the landing in Tuzla. So here are some facts that provide context:

We flew in a C-17 cargo plane from Germany to Bosnia precisely because it was capable of steep descents and ascents into and out of areas of conflict. We were issued flak jackets on the plane before landing in Tuzla and were told the tarmac ceremony might be canceled or curtailed due to sniper fire from the surrounding hillsides. The first lady and Chelsea Clinton were moved to the armored cockpit for the landing. Armored vehicles were placed around the tarmac, and Apache helicopters hovered overhead.

In a recent e-mail message to a British blogger, Ejup Ganic, who was the acting president of Bosnia during Mrs. Clinton’s visit, wrote: “I remember that visit quite well. Although the NATO troops were in Tuzla, we still believed that some positions on the hills were occupied by radical Serbs, so I was worried about the overall safety.” The planned welcoming ceremony was shortened, he said, but it still lasted a bit longer than expected because a nongovernment group brought along a little girl to sing to the first lady.

Later, Mrs. Clinton flew from Tuzla to two military outposts by helicopter, escorted by Apache gunships.

As has been reported, Mrs. Clinton’s trip to Bosnia included a U.S.O. component with the comedian Sinbad and the singer Sheryl Crow. The helicopters that carried them to performances at American base camps zigzagged just above the trees to avoid potential ground fire, according to Carey Cavanaugh, who was then a State Department official traveling with Sinbad, and helicopters flew alongside to deal with the threat of anti-aircraft fire or snipers. These facts explain why many of us, including the first lady, believed that the conditions on the ground were precarious. We were worried about sniper fire and were prepared to rush off the tarmac when we landed.

In their single-minded focus on the landing in Tuzla, reporters and commentators have omitted any discussion of what Mrs. Clinton accomplished on her trip. In addition to showing support for our troops and for the peace accords in Bosnia, Mrs. Clinton met with Bosnian religious leaders, women and community activists and, when she returned to Washington, was able to give administration officials her firsthand assessment of the nascent reconstruction effort.

After leaving Bosnia, she met with leaders of Turkey and Greece and in those countries promoted efforts on behalf of international development and democracy. In Istanbul, five years before 9/11, Mrs. Clinton presciently convened representatives of some of the world’s major religions to advance a dialogue about religious reconciliation and ways to counter religious extremism.

The video of her arrival on the tarmac in Bosnia may be great theater and easy fodder for commentators, but it shouldn’t be allowed to obscure what else was happening on this important trip when the cameras weren’t rolling.

Lissa Muscatine was the chief speechwriter and Melanne Verveer was the chief of staff for Hillary Rodham Clinton when she was first lady. Ms. Muscatine is an adviser to Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign.