Patterico's Pontifications

3/24/2008

Hillary Backtracks on Bosnian Peril

Filed under: 2008 Election — DRJ @ 6:47 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

On several occasions, Hillary Clinton has described a harrowing 1996 trip to Bosnia in which she had to shield herself during the landing and run off the plane to avoid sniper fire. She stated she had gone places that were “too dangerous” for husband President Bill Clinton to go. The story supported her claim that she has significant foreign policy experience.

One small problem was that she was accompanied on the trip by her daughter Chelsea and entertainers Sheryl Crow and Sinbad, who has said the “scariest part” was deciding where to eat.

Over the weekend, the Washington Post published a picture from the Bosnia trip showing Hillary being greeted by an 8-year-old girl at the airport. The Post went on to list other inaccuracies in Hillary’s story and awarded her Four Pinocchios for telling “real whoppers.”

CBS News accompanied Hillary and Chelsea on the trip and has video that also contradicts Hillary’s account.

Today the Politico reports that Hillary Clinton has refreshed her recollection and admits she may have misstated the danger on that Bosnia trip:

“Clinton acknowleged today for the first time that it was a “misstatement” when she said in a major prepared foreign policy speech last week that “I remember landing under sniper fire” but also tried to brush off the entire issue as “a minor blip.” She also gave a revised account of her airplane landing and her tarmac greeting at the Tuzla Air Force base 12 years ago — seeking to explain a picture re-published this weekend in the Washington Post showing her and daughter Chelsea calmly greeting an 8-year-old girl.

In her speech last week at George Washington University, Clinton maintained “[t]here was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base. Today, she told our group at the Daily News that she was informed that we “had to meet this 8-year-old girl,” so “I took her stuff and left.”

Hillary would have been better off had she followed Sinbad’s lead and claimed the food was dangerous.

— DRJ

23 Responses to “Hillary Backtracks on Bosnian Peril”

  1. The issue of selective memory appears to be serious issue on the left. Heh.

    Dana (fba430)

  2. This is kind of tangential, but it has always nagged at me. Hillary claims foreign policy experience by osmosis, and claims to have sat in on important meetings. Did she have any type of security clearance as First Lady, and if not, if she was in the room, could they talk about anything of substance?

    Amazing to see the media committing an act of journalism vis a vis Clinton.

    Too bad they will not do the same for/to Baracky.

    JD (25bb93)

  3. Amazing to see the media committing an act of journalism vis a vis Clinton.

    Not really.

    steve (4ca71a)

  4. JD,

    When she was First Lady, Hillary did not have security clearance.

    DRJ (a431ca)

  5. DRJ – If that is the case, how can she claim this experience by being married to someone with experience? Did she get to sit in on meetings where only unclassified information was discussed? Or, did they give the laws the middle finger and let her sit in on classified briefings and meetings while not having a security clearance?

    JD (25bb93)

  6. Bill probably had to tell her everything that went on to get her to let him see Monica.

    Does anyone seriously believe anything she says?

    Another Drew (8018ee)

  7. JD:

    If that is the case, how can she claim this experience by being married to someone with experience?

    Unauthorized pillow talk?

    DRJ (a431ca)

  8. DRJ – What information would Monica have had that would allow Hillary to claim experience?

    JD (25bb93)

  9. Heh. You’re the clever one tonight, JD.

    DRJ (a431ca)

  10. no such thing as unauthorized Presidential pillow talk. if POTUS decides to pick up the phone and tell someone at a random number he dials national security secrets its legal cause he has the power to do that.

    of course the few times there were any actual crisis type situations hill wasnt on speaking terms w/ bill due to his behavior so his pillow talk was just that, cause she was prolly in the lincoln room!

    chas (68d8c2)

  11. So. what would we have had to believe if Hillary’s story were true.
    First we’d have to believe that the Secret Service advance party would let the airplane land.
    Nope, never happen.
    Then we’d have to believe that the first Secret Service Agent peeking out the door would let her out of the airplane.
    Nope, never happen.
    Then we’d have to believe that the Bosnians would let their eight year old girl, plus themselves, stand around under fire.
    Nope, never happen.
    If you believe all that, see me about some wonderful investments.

    Peter (d671ab)

  12. …and Democrats believe Hillary is the world’s smartest woman.

    Perfect Sense (b6ec8c)

  13. What we’re seeing here is the sudden realization in the Hillary camp that they no longer have the balls of the press in their pocket. The MSM has turned on them and is treating them just as they should have been treated for the last 16 years. If it wasn’t so clumsy it would be refreshing.

    Curtis (e21caf)

  14. …and Democrats believe Hillary is the world’s smartest woman.

    She’s the lefts smartest women.

    Gerald A (55ce36)

  15. Standard Clintonian . Nothing shocking here except that fact that so many people still support the Clintons.

    Dennis D (ae900a)

  16. Standard Clintonian . Nothing shocking here except that fact that so many people still support the Clintons.

    They are the same people who would have us believe that Hillary running for the Presidency is THE most historic event in human history (rivaled only by Obama’s seeking of the office). The only thing worse is the people who would have us believe that her running is equal to having greatness thrust upon her; we are talking about a woman who has been seeking the office most of her life. We aren’t talking about Winston Churchill.

    Paul (0f949e)

  17. Olberdouche went crazy on this last night. Full on spittle flecked ranting and raving usually reserved for President Bush.

    JD (75f5c3)

  18. JD, I am disappointed in that you actually throw away irreplaceable time to watch such displays. I can only put it down as you were taking a break from productive activities.

    Another Drew (f9dd2c)

  19. AD – My better half was flipping through the channels, and asked me to come explain why this guy was going crazy. She does not care for politics, and now really does not care for Olberdouche.

    JD (75f5c3)

  20. “…and Democrats believe Hillary is the world’s smartest woman.”

    – Perfect Sense

    Oh, we do? Thanks for letting me know, I’ll start believing that right away.

    “She’s the lefts smartest women [sic].”

    – Gerald A

    Heh. Sweet irony.

    Leviticus (b987b0)

  21. Liar? No. She’s a victim, don’t you know!

    The CBS Evening News story broadcast last night proves once and for all that Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton indeed continues to suffer from Partzheimer’s (a.k.a., Convenient Memory-Loss Syndrome) as first highlighted in a Bob McCarty Writes post one year ago this month and reiterated in posts March 27, 2007 and Sept. 12, 2007.

    Now the question is “Why did it take CBS, the New York Times and others in the mainstream media so long to report on the former first lady’s affliction?”

    Bob (d96391)

  22. These things keep popping up and I’m gonna put money on Al Gore!

    Paul from Fl (47918a)

  23. JD #19…
    The only thing I can imagine that would “taste” worse than Olberdouche would be those dirt cookies they try to survive on in Haiti.
    Now that your BH has been vacinated, I hope it’s a permanent take so she doesn’t need any booster shots. Those could be quite upsetting.

    Another Drew (f9dd2c)


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