The Whole Truth about Hillary's involvement in North Ireland Peace Process

[pathansen]

Hillary visited Ireland on at 4 different occasions as First Lady.
John Hume, who won the Nobel Prize for Peace for his work on Northern Ireland states:
“I can state from firsthand experience that she played a positive role for over a decade in helping to bring peace to Northern Ireland... Anyone criticizing her foreign policy involvement should look at her very active and positive approach to Northern Ireland and speak with the people of Northern Ireland who have the highest regard for her and are very grateful for her very active support for our peace process.”
See also:
http://www.derryjournal.com/politics/Hume-defends-Hillary39s-role.3865801.jp
The former SDLP leader said Hillary Clinton played a "positive role" in the peace process during her time as First Lady: "I am quite surprised that anyone would suggest that Hillary Clinton did not perform important foreign policy work as First Lady,"

"She visited Northern Ireland, met with very many people and gave very decisive support to the peace process.

"There is no doubt that the people of Northern Ireland think very positively of Hillary Clinton's support for our peace process, due to her visits to Northern Ireland and her meetings with so many people. In private she made countless calls and contacts, speaking to leaders and opinion makers on all sides, urging them to keep moving forward," he added.
See also:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/342931.stm
Article in the BBC at the time states: “This was Mrs Clinton's fourth visit to Northern Ireland”
Speaking at a conference promoting peace: “She received two standing ovations, as she took the stage and when she finished speaking.”

[SunsetDreams]

1. not so fast..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBCmKkLdCuA

http://ruralvotes.com/thefield /

[pathansen]

2. That was not the whole truth, only one man's opinion

[SunsetDreams]

3. lol keep spinning....

just like some tried to cover for her Bosnia blunder....oops it turns out they were "misspeaking" too

[pathansen]

9. 3 different news accounts indicated that her Bosnia trip was dangerous

CNN, 3/25/99: “At a second outpost, Camp Bedrock, Mrs. Clinton visited a M.A.S.H. unit, the only full-service U.S. Army hospital in Bosnia. The three-hour tour of the frontlines of the international peacekeeping mission were filled with the gritty reality of a military operation, a far cry from traditional first lady photo opportunities, and Mrs. Clinton seemed more than comfortable with that.”

Charleston Gazette, 3/26/99: "Protected by sharpshooters, Hillary Rodham Clinton swooped into a military zone by Black Hawk helicopter Monday...This trip to Bosnia marks the first time since Roosevelt that a first lady has voyaged to a potential combat zone..."

Washington Post, 3/26/96: “Hillary’s trip to Bosnia marked the first time since Eleanor Roosevelt that a first lady traveled to a potential combat zone. Accompanied by singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow and comedian Sinbad, Mrs. Clinton traveled to this northwestern Bosnian town on a morale-boosting tour for the 18,500 U.S. troops participating in the NATO-led peacemaking operation. She heard a poem of peace from a Bosnian girl and praised U.S. troops for 'showing what American leadership is.'…This trip to Bosnia marks the first time since Roosevelt that a first lady has voyaged to a potential combat zone. During World War II, Roosevelt toured the devastated streets of London and the southwestern Pacific, bringing cheer to U.S. troops.”

[SunsetDreams]

14. That's irrelevant though to her own words....

"I remember landing under sniper fire. There 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."
--Hillary Clinton, speech at George Washington University, March 17, 2008

Hillary Clinton has been regaling supporters on the campaign trail with hair-raising tales of a trip she made to Bosnia in March 1996. In her retelling, she was sent to places that her husband, President Clinton, could not go because they were "too dangerous." When her account was challenged by one of her traveling companions, the comedian Sinbad, she upped the ante and injected even more drama into the story. In a speech earlier this week, she talked about "landing under sniper fire" and running for safety with "our heads down."

There are numerous problems with Clinton's version of events.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/03/hillarys_balkan_adventures_par.html


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOsGo_HWP-c&feature=related


Even the pilot says it didn't happen:

Retired Colonel William “Goose” Changose, who flew the C-17 that Senator Clinton claimed made evasive maneuvers flying into Tuzla, Bosnia, testifies that the senator did not tell the truth about the landing. He says Clinton’s claim of passengers being directed to sit on bulletproof vests never happened and suggests that the fantasy might have come from a scene in the movie Apocalypse Now

http://ruralvotes.com/thefield/?p=945 video here

[C_U_L8R]

4. A little light on specifics there

being an honorary cheerleader is not the same as being an actual player.


Just like that degree they gave her is not an actual diploma.

[sandnsea]

5. Yeah, she gave some speeches

That's what First Ladies do.

They do not negotiate peace treaties or otherwise become personally involved in anything that would actually create international policy. It's absurd.

[dkf]

6. But did her involvement actually accomplish anything?

Its like saying the cheerleaders won the football game.

[pathansen]

11. According to the Irish people, her influence was quite relevant

[dkf]

13. Yeah, they are trying to make nicey nicey.

Really what do you think they are going to do? Throw her under the bus?

You know how vindictive she is. And her supporters like James Carville are something else. If they said she had not much of an impact they would be attacked!

Lately, I just roll my eyes when I hear this stuff.

[JoFerret]

18. That's not very logical.

And why deny the facts? I think the Irish may be allowed to make up their own minds on this. Clearly, many of them feel her role was significant.
Why all the paranoid fantasy about buses?

[AmericanUnity]

7. Funny. Lord Trimble and Lord Maginnis call such claims 'silly' and 'absolutely not'

[AmericanUnity]

8. BBC Interview with Lord Maginnis, Irish Peace Negotiator - LINK inside

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7310000/newsid_7313500/73

[SoxFan]

10. Sorry, but no sale

George Mitchell doesn't mention her as a key player in his book about the peace process. Neither does Tim Pat Coogan. Even Hillary herself didn't talk about this until she was trying to win votes in states with sizeable Irish populations.


I'm a second generation, full-blooded Irish American. My grandfather was detained in a British prison for his troublemaking. I follow these issues far closer than 99% of the general public. I do not appreciate Hillary's blatant attempts to claim credit for the remarkable work performed by her husband, Sen. Mitchell, and Nancy Soderberg.

[DemVet]

12. Yeah, I guess...

...the opinion of a Nobel Prize winner means nothing to you. That Obama Kool-Aid tastes great, huh?

[SoxFan]

16. Retconning

It's a term used in televison and movie fandom when the background facts are "tweaked" to fit an inconvenient current set of facts. That's what Hume is doing.

David Hume is a great man who played a valiant role in the peace process. however, he, like many Europeans, has a somewhat blinkered understanding of the American political system. Many Europeans can't grasp the primary process. In their eyes, the Clintons are the embodiment of the center-left in America. They have a difficult time understanding that lifelong Democrats would support someone who is not the titular head of the party.

There is also a certain amount of residual goodwill towards Bill Clinton. He took a political risk in engaging both sides in the Irish peace process, and his leadership role and willingness to push Downing Street was critical to the success of the process. Hume, as someone who appreciates Bill Clinton's efforts, and who is a leader of a center-left party himself, is going to give Bill (and thus Hillary) the benefit of the doubt, even when she really doesn't deserve it.

[JoFerret]

15. WRONG WRONG WRONG

O'bama is actually irish and hillary is a liar and evil and anyways we are not speaking about her today cos she want to win at the skating and it's unfair. rapture will not happen cose she is a monster i tell you and despicable. and she dne NOTHING good ever cos she is a hsyterical and it rhyme with ditch but i bet not say it cos you no its true.It not fair to point out what you so called truth and fact cos barack he da man and a bro and she just a better not say it but it rhyme with garden rake. she is a racist and eat puppy meat and everything she say is a lie and she mus be STOPED i say.nobody speak to hillary today and that will show her what we really think.

[pathansen]

17. You have just been added to my "ignore" list