Sunday, December 30, 2007

Hillary declined to comment on Rwanda

Wow!  Patrick Healy of the New York Times wrote an article about Hillary's First Lady Foreign Policy experience.   Read full article @

The Résumé Factor: Those 8 Years as First Lady - New York Times

The article confirms what we've suspected about Hillary and Rwanda:

"..She did not assert herself on the crises in Somalia, Haiti and Rwanda"

Deep in the article Mr. Healy talks about why the Clinton Administration ignored ethnic cleansing in Rwanda - they were focused on ethnic cleansing in the Balkans.  The Clinton's priorities were clear - save the white Europeans, ignore the black Africans.

"... Former White House officials say that no one — not the national security team, not the president, not the first lady — was seriously pushing for American military intervention to stop or slow the unfolding genocide there(in Rwanda); the administration’s focus was on confronting the ethnic bloodshed in the Balkans. Mrs. Clinton declined to comment on Rwanda."

Hillary declined to comment - what a surprise!  However, Mr. Healy did ask her about it and her refusal to comment probably raised some red flags at the Times and at Clinton campaign HQ.   Her campaign, feeling good they had avoided the question this deep in the campaign, now has to regroup and come up with an answer about Rwanda that voters will swallow - even if they choke on it, as long as they choke on it after the election's over.

Why would Hillary, who often says her First Lady experience sets her apart from other candidates, decline to comment about one of mankind's worst genocides that happened on her husband's watch?  Probably for the same reason that, according to the article, "Documents about her work remain classified at the National Archives."  

The reason - Hillary doesn't reveal anything unflattering if she, or her lawyers, can help it.  Her campaign staff even reviews comments on her campaign videos at YouTube and screens out negative comments, like a few from yours truly.

Success!  This is the first crack in the dam preventing   Although Hillary declined comment, the fact that she was asked tells me that the Rwanda Genocide, and the Clinton's failure to intervene, is now being discussed with NY-DC-Media folk and that is a step forward.

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