Hillary Clinton’s Bosnia Adventure
The media has been firing verbal shots at Hillary Clinton for claiming that she was “under fire” when her plane landed in Bosnia in 1996, shortly after the end of the Bosnian War.
Hillary Clinton repeatedly made several false claims about her trip to Bosnia including:
- her plane and the passengers were under sniper attack when they landed. Several eye-witness accounts (including one from the pilot) contradict this claim.
- the ceremony needed to be moved to an inside location because it was too dangerous outside. Video proves this is false.
- her trip was the first time a First Lady visited a war zone since Eleanor Roosevelt. First Lady Pat Nixon visited Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
- she was the first “high-profile” U.S. representative to visit Bosnia in the aftermath of the war. Her husband, then-President Bill Clinton visited Bosnia a few months earlier.
After reviewing archival news accounts and video of Clinton’s trip to Bosnia, reporters have proven that all of these assertions are false. Clinton’s response was to say, “So I made a mistake. That happens. It proves I’m human, which you know, for some people, is a revelation.”
The news media are especially critical of Hillary Clinton’s misstatements about her trip to Bosnia because:
- it raises doubts about her credibility, especially because she repeated this highly exaggerated story several times.
- Clinton has made her “foreign policy” experience a centerpiece in her argument as to why she is the best candidate for president. This Bosnia misstatement prompts people to wonder if she has widely and generally distorted her claims to more experience.
- Clinton has similarly claimed that she played an important role in the Ireland peace process. Reporters are reviewing this claim again under high scrutiny, and many have already concluded that this too was a big exaggeration.
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Comment by Maria
Posted on March 28, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I read that this was the worst week of Hillary’s campaign mainly because of this story. I think it has hurt her much more than the Wright controversy has hurt Obama.
Comment by Nancy
Posted on March 30, 2008 at 9:27 am
I have been and continue to be a Hillary supporter but I cannot understand why all the lies. Especially about something than can be researched so easily. We are down to two candidates who are clearly NOT the best choices in America today and we all know why. Who in their right mind would subject their families to this media insanity. I can’t stand it myself and I see this getting uglier by the day. Polarization is not even the word here. I have (had) a Republican friend who is so full of hatred for Hillary and Obama that I’ve had to end the friendship. I was so dismayed to find out that he really despises them because of their race and gender. He kept it so well hidden. I didn’t think he was capable of such hate. I normally don’t hang around those kinds of people, but as time is going by, I have become aware of just how deep his hatred is (of course, still purporting to be a “christian”). Yesterday, I put him in my “Junk Mail” for that is where he now belongs after sending me some vulgar emails about Hillary. There is no dialog, no commmon ground, no way for me even to find an opening for discussion. I wonder just how many other “friendships” are going to go down this street. This stuff reminds me of the Vietnam era. So, being a history buff, I have concluded that this will probably never end in my life time and for me to back off and just accept that there are people out there like my “friend” that I cannot change. I can only change myself and continue to send out good thoughts and as much love and light as I can. And to try my best to not get nuts in the coming months with the sheer stupidity of our “leaders” and the media of this country. I have been watching the “John Adams” series of HBO - based on the writings of that marvelous David McCulloch. I so highly recommend this series - produced by Tom Hanks. However, be prepared to get out the kleenex when you see what our founders went through - and then compare what passes for a president sitting in that bunker called the White House. How have we come to this? How to get out?
Hope and Vote. And for me to moderate my “political junkie” addiction with the TV and Internet. Used to be so interesting and now it’s just disgusting and embarassing. Thanks for Turner Classic Movies - Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Woody Allen movies….
Classical and Jazz CDs, books and the greatest healer of all - solitude and silence. Thanks for giving me a safe place to say what I have to say. You do such great work.