March 21, 2008
Clinton's Experience Is Debated
Washington Post: While Not A Foreign Crisis Player, She Carried U.S. Message
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Hillary's First Lady Papers
After months of pressure, Hillary Clinton's campaign has released schedules chronicling her years as First Lady. But they reveal little about what she may have accomplished. Bill Plante reports.
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William Jefferson Clinton
Follow the ups and downs of President Clinton's years in office, see photos and learn about his life before and after the presidency.
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Clinton's 8 Years
The former president's travels abroad, and triumphs and troubles at home.
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On March 22, 1999, Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived at the Itihadiya Palace in Egypt for what her schedule said was a "courtesy call with President Mubarak." Aides blocked out 9 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Then she embarked on visits to a mosque, museum, clinic, bazaar, youth center, groundwater project, university and the Temple of Luxor.
Almost exactly nine years later to the day, Clinton's trip to Egypt offers a case study of her foreign policy role during her husband's presidency. While traveling across North Africa, she devoted little time to heads of state and negotiated no agreements, but instead met community leaders, explored local issues and culture, hit major tourist sites and gave speeches on women's rights and other topics important to her.
Whether that has made her "tested and ready" to be president from the first day, as she now claims, is a burning issue on the campaign trail. Clinton's camp has depicted her as a virtual secretary of state, circling the globe to bring peace to troubled lands and open borders for refugees. Sen. Barack Obama's camp has presented her as a glorified USO officer, entertaining troops and having tea with crown princesses. More than 11,000 pages of her schedules released this week, along with interviews with former diplomats and administration officials, present a more mixed picture.
"Representing the United States around the world is a serious piece of business," said a former senior State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid alienating friends in both campaigns. "She wasn't representing the United States as secretary of state, chairman of the Joint Chiefs or U.S. trade representative. But she was representing the United States, and she did have specific assignments."
Clinton was given the mission of speaking out for women's rights at a conference in Beijing. She was sent to meet with refugees in forbidding places. She was dispatched to extend friendship to parts of the world where the president did not have time to go. But the former senior official expressed irritation at both sides for mischaracterizing her role. "They made a mistake to exaggerate it," he said of Clinton's aides, "and I think it's a mistake to underappreciate it."
While Clinton's advertisements have boasted that she is best prepared for a 3 a.m. crisis phone call, the schedules contain no evidence that Clinton was at the table during major national security decisions. They do not list her as attending National Security Council meetings or joining briefings in the Situation Room. She did not have a national security clearance. And the documents make clear that at moments of major crisis, Clinton was often busy with her own agenda.
What remains uncertain is how she might have influenced events in less visible ways. The schedules do not record whom she called on the telephone, what spontaneous conversations she may have had in the West Wing during the day, or what positions she conveyed through her top aide at daily senior staff meetings. And they certainly do not disclose what she may have advised her husband in the privacy of their living quarters.
"The schedules are jut that," her campaign said in a statement. "They cannot and do not speak to the substance of her meetings with staff, advisers, administration officials, citizens, activists, foreign leaders and others with whom she worked on policy issues. That should be no surprise -- it's not what they were created to do."
Clinton herself, in citing her experience as first lady as evidence of her preparation for the presidency, has distilled a complicated record into sound bites dissected by critics. She has claimed that she "helped to bring peace to Northern Ireland" and "negotiated open borders to let fleeing refugees into safety from Kosovo." She described a harrowing flight into war-torn Bosnia and said she advised her husband to intervene to stop the Rwanda genocide.
All of those claims have been called overstated. While she traveled to Northern Ireland and met with its leaders, she was not a direct participant in peace talks. The borders she talked about were opened the day before her visit, although she pressed to keep them that way. She took her daughter, singer Sheryl Crow and comedian Sinbad with her to a USO show in Bosnia on the flight in question. And no one who served in the Clinton administration has publicly recalled that she weighed in on Rwanda.
Some of her husband's top foreign policy officials, including former national security adviser Anthony Lake and former assistant secretary of state Susan E. Rice, now work for Obama, and the Rwanda claim in particular has infuriated them.
Gregory B. Craig, a friend of Clinton's from Yale Law School who served as a top State Department official and now also advises Obama, wrote a damning appraisal of her record last week. "There is no reason to believe . . . that she was a key player in foreign policy at any time during the Clinton administration," he wrote. "She did not do any heavy-lifting with foreign governments. . . . She never managed a foreign policy crisis."
Yet she lived through those episodes with a vantage point few get. "I would not say she was sitting there planning cruise missile attacks," said former White House press secretary Michael McCurry, who supports her candidacy. "But you're there and you see and you understand the requirements of leadership. . . . Having lived through it even as a spouse, you absorb a lot."
And while it does not equate to brokering deals, her travel through 82 countries certainly exposed her to more of the world and its leaders than did cutting ribbons as a state senator in Chicago. She was considered one of the administration's top surrogates and she devoted enormous energy to particular interests, such as women's issues, education, health care and international development.
When she took trips abroad, the first lady's office checked in with the NSC to see what sorts of messages she could carry, former officials said. She was a quick study. "What you need . . . is the nuance about the politics of the situation, what is the psychology of the people you're going to meet and that sort of thing," said former deputy national security adviser Mara E. Rudman, who advises her now.
The Northern Ireland episode captures the complexity. Several major players have said she was hardly instumental in forging peace in 1998. But James B. Steinberg, then deputy national security adviser, said she was part of multifaceted strategy that included reaching out to women's leaders in Northern Ireland to help end the decades-old conflict. "She wasn't the only one," he said. "But I think her role and the obvious personal stake . . . were significant. You can't parse out each contribution."
© 2008 The Washington Post Company
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See all 93 CommentsMaybe it''s the pressure of the campaign or the willingness to do anything to win---including lying and employing tactics of race-baiting---but in any case, it''s beneath contempt!
She should get together with Mr.McCain and they can debate how Iran is arming Al-Qaeda! I''d love to listen to those delusional meanderings of the two!
Hilary, what is actually your experience??????.
No more lies from Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton.
We need to turn the page from liars!!!
YOUR HATE FOR HILLARY IS GTEATER THAN YOUR LOVE FOR YUOR COUNTRY!!!
THERE IS SO MUCH HATE FOR HILLARY !!! WHY ?? I WONDER WHAT HAS SHE DONE SO BAD Y''ALL HATE HER ???
BILLARY MAY HAVE LIED AND THEY DO BUT NOBODY DIES... AND DON''T FORGET THAT.
QUESTIONS FOR YOU: AND NOBAMA - HE DOES NOT LIE?
WITH ALL DUE RESPECT - BILLARY HAS DOME MORE FAR REACHING GOOD WORKS THAN ANGELINA JOLIE - NO OFFENSE TO A JOLIE - I LOVE HER.
QUESTION IS: ARE YOU?
AND WHAT ABOUT REZKO? NOBAMA INITALLY MINIMIZED HIS REZKO ROLE NOT HE ADMITS TO HAVING A BIGGER ROLE.
PLEASE THROW IN SOMETHING LEGIT..
Point- HRC''s attempt to exaggerate her experience results in lying pure and simple! This is what''s getting her in trouble with potential voters. She
needs to run a clean campaign & impress us with her knowledge of & stance on the issues! If she doesn''t---I must conclude---it''s because she''s incapable of doing so---and therefore, I can''t/won''t vote for her!
I''m not going to wait much longer for her to start acting & looking presidential---her time to do so is rapidly running out!
WHATEVER SHE''S DONE AS FIRST LADY. NO MATTER HOW INSIGNIFICANT IT IS - AND I AGREE. IT''S A LOT MORE THAN NOBAMA''S RESUME.
NAME ME ONE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ACCOMPLISHMENT OF NOBAMA IN HIS PUBLIC LIFE AND COMPARE THAT WITH BILLARY''S.
QUESTION IS: AND OBAMA DOES NOT EXAGGERATE HIS PSEUDO ACCOMPLISHMENT? WHAT ABOUT HIS 120 PRESENT VOTES?
Obama kept his partners legs closed
What about the smart voters who have stated he has more experience? Or do u want to cry victim like hillary and demand votes u ignored in december?
The difference between them is---she''s exaggerating both her experience & the content of it. He cites his experience(s) but is careful not to exaggerate it or the content of it.
In essence, the way he''s conducting himself is more presidential than her! I hope this answers at least some of your questions regarding my previous post.
Take care. :)
If she does, then if she were to become president Bill Clinton would now have all those same roles. He will in essense have a third term, and a possibly a fourth one. He will be able to make decisions with her, and lead the country again.
What this precedent means is: a woman can only become president--if she is the wife of an ex-president.
Posted by enaudnella at 11:50 AM : Mar 21, 2008
Was it Bill opening for Monica? I heard the cigar smelled real nice.
Compared to the other nominees, he''s more stable when it comes to family & family values than the other candidates!
Posted by texanforlogi at 11:25 AM : Mar 21, 2008
As long as she gives a big smile, I''m good with that.
When I hear her banging her "experience" drum, and then I look at that "experience", they just don''t match up. And that sounds like the good old fashioned Clinton "spin" we''ve heard so much about.
Posted by stn_sage at 11:16 AM : Mar 21, 2008
Yes, we all want to know how Iran is arming Al-Qaeda. This Republican scare tactic is missing the pandering aspect to the Religious Right--that says God told the president to invade Iraq. Since McCain and Bush have Al-Qaeda role in Iran clarified, next would be the God decision to go.
America truly deserves what it gets considering its filled with idiots like you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqPUXjFYh38
Shameful...Just Shameful!
LIE,
LIE,
LIE,
FABRICATION,
LIE,
OVERBLOWN,
LIE,
LIE,
FANTASY,
LIE, AND
LIE.
YEAH, WE NEED A LOSER SHE-MAN LIKE YOU IN OFFICE.
I''D SUGGEST GOING TO SPEACH THERAPY FOR STARTERS,
AND COMPLETE YOUR *** OPERATION, DESPITE WHAT SLICK
WILLIE PREFERS.
Bill Clinton presided over "infanticide masquerading as policy" in Iraq, according to 70 members of the US Congress (Philadelphia Enquirer, April 1, 1999). In May-June 1999, John and Karl Mueller wrote in the journal Foreign Affairs that Clinton%u2019s "sanctions of mass destruction" had up to that point killed more civilians in Iraq than "all the weapons of mass destruction in human history". (Herman, ZNet, November 21, 2000)
In his August 1998 cruise missile attack on the Sudan, Clinton targeted and destroyed the al-Shifa factory producing most of sub-Saharan Africa''s pharmaceutical supplies. The German ambassador to the Sudan estimated that, deprived of life-saving medicines, "several tens of thousands" of Sudanese had died as a result of the attack (Chomsky, 9-11, Seven Stories Press, 2001).
Ahead of East Timor''s August 1999 referendum on independence, Indonesian troops armed and trained by the United States, slaughtered thousands of people across the occupied territory. Indonesian historian John Roosa, an official observer of the referendum, reported:
"the pogrom was easily preventable but in the weeks before the ballot, the Clinton administration refused to discuss with Australia and other countries the formation of an international force. Even after the violence erupted, the administration dithered for days." (NYT, September 15, 1999)
If she disagreed with the above, why did she vote in favor of the cowardly attack on the people of Iraq?
This goes so show once again Sen. Clinton''s assumption that she''s entitled to the White House has no bounds. She''ll do or say anything to get elected. Lie straight faced to the voters of Ohio about her support and vigorous push for NAFTA, Lie candidly about her role in the Ireland peace accord, and her venom is second to non when it comes to making false statements against her rivals. However she seems to have miscalculated in terms of Florida and Michigan, she actually participated in going around the rules set in place by the DNC when she agreed to keep her name on the ballots. She didn''t do what all other candidates did. She was the only one to reward those states for breaking the rules. How can she be trusted to up hold the constitution and enforce the law with that record? Then got the nerve to solicit private citizens to donate resources to clean up the mess, Any thing to win.... I GUESS IT''S POLITICS AS USUAL WITH SEN. CLINTON...
This goes so show once again Sen. Clinton''s assumption that she''s entitled to the White House has no bounds. She''ll do or say anything to get elected. Lie straight faced to the voters of Ohio about her support and vigorous push for NAFTA, Lie candidly about her role in the Ireland peace accord, and her venom is second to non when it comes to making false statements against her rivals. However she seems to have miscalculated in terms of Florida and Michigan, she actually participated in going around the rules set in place by the DNC when she agreed to keep her name on the ballots. She didn''t do what all other candidates did. She was the only one to reward those states for breaking the rules. How can she be trusted to up hold the constitution and enforce the law with that record? Then got the nerve to solicit private citizens to donate resources to clean up the mess, Any thing to win.... I GUESS IT''S POLITICS AS USUAL WITH SEN. CLINTON...
This goes so show once again Sen. Clinton''s assumption that she''s entitled to the White House has no bounds. She''ll do or say anything to get elected. Lie straight faced to the voters of Ohio about her support and vigorous push for NAFTA, Lie candidly about her role in the Ireland peace accord, and her venom is second to non when it comes to making false statements against her rivals. However she seems to have miscalculated in terms of Florida and Michigan, she actually participated in going around the rules set in place by the DNC when she agreed to keep her name on the ballots. She didn''t do what all other candidates did. She was the only one to reward those states for breaking the rules. How can she be trusted to up hold the constitution and enforce the law with that record? Then got the nerve to solicit private citizens to donate resources to clean up the mess, Any thing to win.... I GUESS IT''S POLITICS AS USUAL WITH SEN. CLINTON...
Hillary Clinton and the other shameful Dems voted to attack Iraq purely for political reasons, she wanted to side with the bully in case the bully turned on her, in doing so, she and the others brought shame to America.
Sen. Obama has more integrity in his little finger than Hillary and all those who would seek to besmirch his name by their racist tactics.
Yes, we all want to know how Iran is arming Al-Qaeda. This Republican scare tactic is missing the pandering aspect to the Religious Right--that says God told the president to invade Iraq. Since McCain and Bush have Al-Qaeda role in Iran clarified, next would be the God decision to go. Posted by finewoven at 12:29 PM : Mar 21, 2008
My response: You just have a jump on events, that''s all! We''re liking to see this pandering & pushing the fear button this Fall before the election! :)
Why wont Hillary release her tax returns? PEOPLE WITH NOTHING TO HIDE DON%u2019T USUALLY HIDE !!
The main excuse we''ve gotten so far is that Hillary Clinton just has too much on her plate. "I''m a little busy right now," she said during the Ohio debate. "I hardly have time to sleep. But I will certainly work toward releasing, and we will get that done and in the public domain."
That was three weeks ago. Two weeks ago, Howard Wolfson promised the returns would be released "on or around April 15." But weren''t the returns completed and filed a long time ago? Doesn''t Clinton''s accountant have time to print them out and make some copies (note to Clinton''s accountant: many Kinko''s are open 24 hours).
In short, it''s well past time for Hillary Clinton to be as "vetted" as she claims to already be -- and to have this vetting done now by Democratic voters rather than later by GOP hit squads. She needs to live up to the standard she laid out for Rick Lazio, the opponent in her 2000 Senate race. At that time, she hypocritically said it was "frankly disturbing" that Lazio was holding back on releasing his tax returns and she even sent a staffer dressed as Uncle Sam to taunt him during campaign stops.
What a difference eight years -- and tens of millions of dollars (some of them from questionable Arab deals) -- can make.
She did not have a national security clearance.
And the documents make clear that at moments of major crisis, Clinton was often busy with her own agenda.
DUH!!!!! Typical Clinton whitewash and doublespeak. She has nothing to stand on except that she was ''in the White House''...as was Monica...and of the two, Monica probably has more grounds for claiming ''quality time spent'' under Bill.
Posted by Jackjones9 at 02:43 PM : Mar 21, 2008
Obama was on the ballot in Florida. Please get your facts straight.
Posted by Jackjones9 at 02:45 PM : Mar 21, 2008
David Gergen and other Clinton advisors who were there in the early 1990s have said that Hillary ALWAYS had reservations about NAFTA. She has not lied about it; she''s said that it has been partially good and partially bad, i.e., it needs to be fixed. Please get your facts straight.
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