Hillary Risking Life, Limb, Chelsea, And Sheryl Crow

More Hillarity - Ms. Clinton tells the world about her harrowing experiences as First Lady, but neither Dean Barnett nor the Captain are buying.

(Clinton argued) she risked her life on White House missions in the 1990s, including a hair-raising flight into Bosnia that ended in a "corkscrew" landing and a sprint off the tarmac to dodge snipers.

"I don't remember anyone offering me tea," she quipped. (Aaah, the gallows humor of the remarkably brave!)

The dictum around the Oval Office in the '90s, she added, was: "If a place was too dangerous, too poor or too small, send the first lady."

It turns out that Clinton wasn't quite flying solo into harm's way that day.

She was, in fact, leading a goodwill entourage that included baggy-pants funnyman Sinbad, singer Sheryl Crow and Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, then 15, according to an account of the March 1995 trip in her autobiography "Living History."

Dean asks the tough questions:

What does it say about Hillary that, by her own (admittedly fanciful) telling, she knowingly put her daughter in harm's way, taking a special Mom-and-daughter (and Sinbad) trip to a place that was “too dangerous?”

Captain Ed digs up some NY Times coverage that somehow overlooked the various dangers to which Ms. Clinton exposed herself and Chelsea.  To that let me add this Reuters account (found in a Free Republic post speculating about then-Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown's possible assassination in April 1996) as well as some on-the-spot photos from a soldier who was there.

My guess - if Bill was willing to whack Ron Brown in Bosnia just a few weeks later, Hillary had to be feeling vulnerable; Chelsea and Sheryl Crow were there as protection.

Somewhat more seriously, there is this from Reuters:

Mrs. Clinton flew to Bosnia from Germany with the two entertainers on a huge C-17 Air Force cargo jet, becoming the first U.S. first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt to visit an area of conflict independently of her commander-in-chief husband. Her visit was much more extensive than the one President Clinton made in January. Because of poor weather and security concerns he never got any further than 500 yards from the Tuzla airstrip.

So Bill Clinton flew in two months earlier and security was poor; Ms. Clinton may well have been briefed that this was a hazardous trip.  So why take Chelsea?  I am out of answers.

From the Times coverage it appears that her greatest threat was from disgruntled American soldiers.

MORE:  Sweetness and Light provides Hillary's account from her book, "Living Clown Show History".   

Also, the Times covered President Clinton's visit to Tuzla on Jan 14, 1996:

It took Mr. Clinton two tries today to make it into Tuzla, the headquarters of the American forces, who will eventually number 20,000 of the 60,000 NATO peacekeepers.

Early this morning, the C-17 military transport plane carrying Mr. Clinton, his aides and a bipartisan Congressional delegation was diverted because of fog to the next stop on his itinerary -- an American staging base in Taszar, Hungary. Despite this delay of several hours, the President's entourage was upbeat.

...

Mr. Clinton's trip was marked by heavy security. His precise itinerary was closely held, and Secret Service sharpshooters followed him in Tuzla, where he stayed inside the grounds of the airfield, seeing nothing of the war's effects on the town. A senior official in his entourage said the President's visit had "more logistical, security and weather variables" than he had ever encountered before.

Mr. Clinton took off from Tuzla about two and a half hours after his arrival as fog rolled in, advised by the Secret Service to leave before dark.

The Times also covered the situation as experienced by the troops:

Encircled By Peril, G.I.'s Stay Nonchalant

...To tell you the truth, I feel pretty safe right here," he said, his head poking from the turret of the Bradley fighting vehicle he commands. "As long as there is this much ammo all around me, I don't think they'd be dropping too many mortar rounds," he said, sounding certain that the Serbs would not risk destroying their ammunition to fire at the 22 American soldiers on this lookout point [which was south of Tuzla].

...

Capt. Hugo Jackson, the commander of Charlie Company, is waiting in quiet fury for the delivery of 400 rolls of concertina wire. Now, empty fence posts ring the camp, a breach in security he hopes the Serbs do not wish to take advantage of.

Near dusk on Thursday, a shot rang out from over a hill, and the soldiers fixing a generator looked up but did not duck: They assumed it was simply another shot fired in the air, as common here as men strolling the streets with loaded AK-47's.

"Don't worry, I caught it!" yelled Sgt. Robert Chandler, the First Sergeant.   

Sergeant Chandler, at 37 what the military calls an "old soldier," worries the men have adjusted perhaps too well, given the visible dangers all around. Many soldiers in this rural pocket of grazing sheep and crowing roosters, which was spared the ravages of war, find it difficult to imagine any threat to their lives.

"I'm trying to get them scareder," Sergeant Chandler said.

He succeeded with Hillary.
 

 

Comments

[Ann]

From the Corner at NRO:

"Sweetest, Sexiest Woman This Side of the Planet" [Kathryn Jean Lopez]
That was Chris Matthews's reaction to this Hillary Clinton video on Hardball a few minutes ago. He then described it as "seductive" like a perfume commercial.

She says she can "hear you and see you." I thought Big Sister is watching you and must be stopped. But I agree with Matthews on one thing: It did remind me of a perfume commercial, one of the odd productions that tend to have very little to do with the substance of what it is trying to sell.

[PeterUK]

"That was Chris Matthews's reaction to this Hillary Clinton video on Hardball a few minutes ago. He then described it as "seductive" like a perfume commercial."

It certainly stinks.

[Ann]

Hot Air has the Video

These men think this Ad is appealing to women.

[vnjagvet]

Sounds like Matthews has been bought. The question is, once bought, will he stay bought?

[PeterUK]

Matthews might just have a thing for elderly women.

[clarice]

ELDERLY,Puk?????????????*THWACK*

[Sara]

THWACK*THWACK*THWACK!!!!

[vnjagvet]

I hope PUK makes it through the night. I have a hunch the THWACKING is not over. His life is officially in danger.

[Rickter]

Mature, worldly women... pretty sure thats what he meant.

[Sara]

The line forms in the rear.

[Topsecretk9]

To be honest, I thought Matthews was mocking the vid and his comment was meant as what Hil was trying to be - sweet and sexy .

[GS]

Global privacy study. 'Big brother' gets bigger.

Hilly had a 'camera?' Well, it's okay if everything disappears(just kidding).

What do you think of the new police? I guess police want money like everyone else.

[maryrose]

Matthews was mocking her video which was backlit and featured her with a modulated voice,another NEW improved version of the old Hillary... You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a...

[MikeS]

PUK,
I’m not sure that this story is appropriate for this venue, but in my mind it does seem to apply.
One night when I was about twenty-four, I was at a dinner club with some friends. At one point the conversation drifted into bawdiness. At that point I noticed a very attractive lady in her late forties sitting at an adjacent table with another lady friend. She seemed to be laughing along with my party. I only smiled back.

Later as I returned from the men’s room she stopped me. She said something like, “I heard what you said. You’re very funny. Sit down and talk to me for a minute.” Well I was very flattered that such an elegant lady was entertained by anything I could say. Of course I sat down as we, including her friend, introduced ourselves.

Nearly immediately she asked me if I thought I was a good lover. Even though I had already had a few drinks, there was enough caution in me to say something like, “I do my best.”
“No,” she said, “I mean do you feel like you are still improving as a lover or do you feel like you’ve reached a peak where you really can’t get much better?”

“Oh I’m definitely still improving” I replied.
Then she leaned in and said, “How long do you think you will continue to improve?”
At that moment I realized that I was looking into the eyes of someone who had done a lot more ‘improving’ than I had.

To make a long story short, we became close friends. She taught me a lot. One of the things she taught me was this. She said, “When ever you’ve made a serious mistake or faux pau, you should immediately try to change the subject to something more interesting.”

[Soylent Red]

MikeS:

In situations like that I have a motto:

Always check the Adam's apple. Always.

As for the rest of you...

Older women are always more interesting than younger ones. In all ways. And you have to come up for air sometime.

Just not Hillary. Whatever the hell that was on Hot Air made my gorge rise.

[Sara]

Soylent:

Gateway Pundit feels the same way:

Did Anyone Else Notice Something Strange In Hillary's Video Today?

Maybe it's just me, but I swear there was something spooky about that video:

Like I said, maybe it's just me, but that video gives me the eebie-jeebies.

[Elliott]

My predictions for the festivities:
Republicans............................ Democrats
1. Mitt Romney 30%.................1. Barack Obama 33%
2. Michael D. Huckabee 24%......2. John Edwards 31%
3. Fred Thompson 17%..............3. Hillary Clinton 29%
4. John McCain 13%..................4. Who cares?
5. Ron Paul 10%

Suggested NY Post headline should Obama triumph in a more convincing fashion: "Barack, Stock, and Barrel."

[JM Hanes]

OT:

"If his wife now goes down in flames, perhaps we can once and for all rid the earth of this horrid pair's shadow."

Not gonna happen. Hillary may go down in presidential flames, but the Clintons won't be going quietly into that (very!) good night. I see a likely opening on the Democratic ticket for Governor of New York, don't you? Just sayin'....

[JM Hanes]

LOL! I tried to post a *THWACK* and got a *THWACKBACK" from CAPTCHA:

We're sorry, your comment has not been published because TypePad's antispam filter has flagged it as potential comment spam. It has been held for review by the blog's author.

So, TM, do you approve of THWACKING or not?

[PeterUK]

Listen kids,Hillary would be in line for a pension and a free bus pass here,that is elderly,a mere chit of a girl to me but nonetheless elderly.It wouldn't be the Democrat Party it would be the retirement party.

"In situations like that I have a motto:

Always check the Adam's apple. Always."

Ears and hands.

Actually,Hillary would probably appeal to Judy Garland fans.

[PeterUK]

BTW,Thanks for the "THWACKS",you've made an old man very happy.

[jerry peragine]

Huckabee, 40
Romney, 30
McCain, 16
Thompson, 8
Paul, 4

Edwards, 35
Clinton, 30
Obama, 28

[kim]

The only good thing about getting old is that it beats the alternative. One person in ten will respond to the above with "What, staying young?"
============================

[battery]

The only good thing about getting old is that it beats the alternative. One person in ten will respond to the above with "What, staying young?"

[sophy]

I do not know how to use the twelvesky Gold ; my friend tells me how to use.