Hillary Shot At in '96?

[NDambi]

In a speech on Iraq policy delivered Monday at George Washington University, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton recalled facing “sniper fire” on her 1996 trip to Bosnia to visit U.S. troops on a peacekeeping mission. But reporters traveling with the then-First Lady made no reference to any “sniper fire” at the time, and pictures of Clinton arriving at the main air base in Tuzla don’t show anyone ducking or covering.

<snip>

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.

A Nexis search found hundreds of stories on the election-year trip, but no mention of any hostile fire or snipers. A CBS report did mention that the First Lady was required to wear a flak jacket for her safety; a report by Sharyl Atkisson for the March 25 CBS This Morning showed Mrs. Clinton arriving at the main air base at Tuzla not running with her head down, but smiling and walking alongside daughter Chelsea.

<snip>

None of the stories mentioned the drama of landing under fire that Clinton referred to on Monday. So either Hillary faced “sniper fire” — and no one at the time thought shots fired at the First Lady were newsworthy — or she is exaggerating the dangers of her Bosnia trip to bolster the image of herself as a potential commander-in-chief.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/rich-noyes/2008/03/18/hillary-shot-96-no-media-mention-bosnia-sniper-fire

[greguganus]

1. Big Deal!! Bill shot Monica in the Oval Office! n/t

[easy_b94]

8. Pow right in the kisser

[NDambi]

15. And he lied about it..just like his wife lied about a "shot" lol

[ellacott]

2. There is a post about the comedian Sinbad who was on that trip

He also said he didn't remember any sniper fire or corkscrew maneuvers by the pilot.

[meow mix]

28. yup

sinbad didnt see any of this.
someone mentioned to her that snipers exist there. and this got turned into quite the tale..

[faithfulcitizen]

3. lol! now 35 years of COMBAT experience I bet?

[Whisp]

19. o good lord, do we have to look at her codpiece too? nt

[burythehatchet]

4. I remember, it was quite a harrowing ordeal judging by the first hand accounts

Hillary had just disembarked, when the tarmac was rushed by about 20 armed gunmen. Hillary took charge of the situation and while she covered the rest of the party with her AK, they were able to scramble to safety.

If I recall correctly she ran out of ammo when 30 of the 40 gunmen had been killed. The remaining gunmen she had to take care of in hand-to-hand combat.

When she was done, 70 dead terrorists lay on the tarmac. It was a glorious victory.

[SoCalDem]

6. Hmm. I thought it was 75..not 70

:)

[burythehatchet]

10. I'm not counting the 5 surly stewardesses she took out because of the stale peanuts n/t

[NDambi]

13. LOL

[monmouth]

12. Oh dear god I am laughing so hard can hardly respond to this DUZY!!

[THUNDER HANDS]

24. Remember when Hillary brought the ring to Mt. Doom and then blew up the Death Star

and of course, nobody can forget the day she saved brainy smurf from Gargamel and his evil cat Asriel.

[burythehatchet]

26. those were minor accomplishments compared to when she raised the American

flag at Iwo Jima.

[monmouth]

5. Whoa, I mis-read and thought she shot a 96! No golfer she...n/t

[MannyGoldstein]

7. Did She Show Her Medals Of Honor?

The first was for clearing out a nest of Japs on Iwo Jima. The second was for single-handedly seizing the high ground on the first day of Gettysburg.

Damn, she's tough.

[burythehatchet]

14. No, Monica got the Medal of Hummer...oh, 'honor"

nope, none here.

[seriousstan]

18. She offered her honor, he honored her offer....

and all night long it was on her and off her.

[burythehatchet]

21. NMU

[texas_indy]

16. But for which side? Was she blue belly or johnny reb?? Maybe she was on both, eh? LOL LOL

[JVS]

20. Since the Union was the side that got the high ground at Gettysburg, she was union.

[rucky]

9. Sinbad, of all people, debunked that whopper. n/t

[NDambi]

11. LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE...FOR REAL where oh where are those

Hillary supporters now, that continuously call Obama a LIAR! SILENT I SEE.

[jobycom]

17. Interesting link. Ann Coulter, Reagan tee-shirts, and "No liberal bias" banners.

There's some research I trust. Now when people cite this as "proof" that Clinton is a liar, they will claim they read the story on DU, not remembering that the rumor came from a far right wing hack website.

As for whether it's true, who knows? All presidents cover up crap like this daily, so it wouldn't be a surprise if the plane was fired on and it wasn't reported.

As for Sinbad, he's a strong Obama supporter. There's no telling whether he would have known what was happening (it's unlikely an entertainer would be briefed on security the way a high ranking administration official would be), and there's no telling how much he'd want to remember such an event.

I watched the VRWC long enough to know the conservative media, and not trust them on goddamned bit. I used to come to DU to get away from it, but between Drudge, Newsmax, and the slew of disingenuous posters around here these days, I read more right wing crap here than I do on FOX. (And lest anyone think that's aimed at a particular candidate, it's not. There were threads yesterday bashing Obama and citing Newsmax--Jim Davis of all people.)

After Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and even Barack Obama (to a minimal but growing degree), you'd think liberals would have learned not to trust right wing web sites.

[NDambi]

27. Tons more websites out there liberal ones too with the same story..google it

Oh yeah Sinbad supports Obama but he's gonna lie about being shot at in Bosnia? What about Sheryl Crow, she was there too...think it wouldn't have made news?

Come on now...she lied. period.

[jobycom]

33. You Google, and read more carefully.

Clinton said they landed under sniper fire, the pilot took an evasive manuever, she was told to sit in the cockpit, and the reception at the airport was cut short. From that it's been blown up into Clinton claiming she landed while being shot at, the plane did a corkscrew, and snipers were trying to pick her off on the runway.

Witnesses who weren't just actors and who might have been told what was going on confirm what she said, minus the drama the conservatives put on the story to mock her, like corkscrew manuevers. There was sniper fire in the area, the plane flew at an elevated altitude and made a quick descent (that's commonly refered to as an evasive manuever), and there was no normal welcoming committee on the tarmac.

quote==
Former Army Secretary Togo West, who was also on the trip, said the military needed to take safety precautions with Clinton given that it was a combat zone.

``You can understand that they would have said to the first lady, 'We're not going to take any chances with you,''' West said at the news conference with Clinton. ``'Run. Duck. This is a hotspot. This is serious.''' West is supporting her presidential candidacy.

snip

An AP story at the time reported: ``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.''

West asserted ``it was a hot zone, it was a combat zone, and they needed to be very careful with the then-first lady.''

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7392457

====

This is exactly the way they turned Gore into the man who invented the Internet, discovered Love Canal, and was the inspiration for Love Story. From a few accurate, factual comments, the Republican news sources spun a web of half-truths and misinterpretations to make him look like a delusional liar. Shame on any Democrat who buys this spin, no matter who they are supporting. Obama supporters should be especially wary, because that's how they will sink him and elect McCain--half-truths, innuendos, and lies. Just look at the Wright crap--same goddamned thing.

Used to be that Dems were smarter. Used to be.

``The first lady spent quite a bit of time in the cockpit, with pilot Cheryl Beineke, one of just four female C-17 pilots in the U.S. Air Force.''

[NDambi]

34. The first lady is full of shit...they didn't duck and run to their car...pictures say otherwise

She's full of it..period.

[Poll_Blind]

22. Clinton, when not shooting blanks shoots self in foot. Rumors of a second guman...

...are just that.

PB

[grantcart]

23. I had a cousin who served there as part of the headquarters- staff position

He related to me that in Bosnia it was safer than driving on the Freeway. Bosnians were so grateful of American involvement in keeping them safe that there was a large number of Bosnian youth that wanted to form a brigade and go help the Americans in Iraq.

No American was shot in Bosnia since we have landed there.

Now if you went walking around in the Serbian side you might have some problems.

I think this whole story is highly dubious.

[depakid]

25. Anyone who went to Bosnia in 1996 would have faced sniper fire

[NDambi]

29. POOR Hillary and Chelsea, all that SNIPER FIRE after disembarking

[depakid]

32. I suggest you read a book called "Zlata's Diary" before bashing the Clintons on Bosnia

You can find it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Zlatas-Diary-Zlata-Filipovic/dp/0140242058

[NDambi]

35. She's full of shit..period.

[CitizenRob]

30. I remember 1996 too.

I never left California, but I too ducked from point to point in my daily travels in order to avoid Bosnian sniper fire.

[NDambi]

31. Rodney King is that you...lmao

[book_worm]

36. So that makes her ready to be commander-in-chief?

[ecstatic]

37. That's a Romney-worthy exaggeration nt