Hillary's Ridiculous Northern Ireland Claims

A post at MyDD is shocked shocked that people would challenge Hillary's role in the Good Friday Peace process... Well Nobel Prize winner Lord David Trimble, the former leader of the moderate UUP and was the instrumental figure on Unionist side in the Good Friday Peace process, can't quite remember her involvement and describes Hillary's claims as a "wee bit silly." Talk about British understatement. Trimble adds:

"She visited when things were happening, saw what was going on, she can certainly say it was part of her experience. I don't want to rain on the thing for her but being a cheerleader for something is slightly different from being a principal player."

Lindy McDowell adds in the Belfast Telegraph:

Hillary, however, would seem to infer she went a bit beyond mere cheerleading.

In her autobiography she describes a meeting at a cafe on the Lower Ormeau hosted by the late Joyce McCartan and attended by representatives from women's groups from both sides of the community.

Nothing new there, of course. Contacts between such groups have long been the norm here. Although an outsider mightn't guess that, the way Hillary tells it:

"I remember a meeting that I pulled together in Belfast, in the town hall there, bringing together for the first time Catholics and Protestants from both traditions, having them sitting a room where they had never been before with each other ... "

I know. Don't laugh.

I remember the visit to the cafe (town hall!) well. It was what's known in the business as a photo opportunity. Something to keep the presidential spouse occupied while the actual office bearer was getting down to business.

It was a short, staged event 'pulled together' by local organisers. Amid all the security men and Press photographers it was hardly conducive to real business.

Instead, a bit like David Beckham's recent trip to Africa to play footie with small children thus raising the awareness of UNICEF's role there, the point of the cafe visit was to underline the good work already being done here. Cheerleading just about sums it up.

Comments

[MyThought]

Oh my, another attack Hillary day. Truth is - others involved have validated her claims.

Time to move on.

[moevaughn]

IRISH TIMES SETS RECORD STRAIGHT:

Obama Campaign Accuses Clinton of Inflating Northern Ireland Role
Irish Times, by Denis Staunton,March 12, 2008

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have clashed over the former first lady's record in Northern Ireland, with Mr. Obama's campaign claiming that she has exaggerated her part in the peace process. In a memo published yesterday, the Obama campaign accused Mrs. Clinton of inflating her role in the North.

Former SDLP leader John Hume has come to Mrs. Clinton's defense, expressing surprise that anyone should doubt the importance of her contribution. "I can state from first-hand experience that she played a positive role for over a decade in helping to bring peace to Northern Ireland," he said in a statement posted on Mrs. Clinton's website. "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."

Mrs. Clinton visited Ireland seven times between 1995 and 2004, both as first lady and as a US senator. She went beyond the traditional, ceremonial duties of first lady, however, particularly in facilitating the engagement of women in the political process by introducing Vital Voices, an international organisation she founded with former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, to the North.

Former senator George Mitchell, who chaired the talks leading up to the 1998 agreement, said this week that he believed that Mrs. Clinton's characterisation of her role was generally accurate. "She was helpful and supportive, very much involved in the issues. She knew all of the delegates," he told CBS News. "Her greatest focus was on encouraging women in Northern Ireland to get into and stay in the political process and the peace process and as I've said publicly many times and wrote in my book, the role of women in the peace process in Northern Ireland was significant."

Since becoming a US senator, Mrs. Clinton has visited Ireland twice and is one of the most accessible figures on Capitol Hill for visiting Irish politicians. Her staff liaise regularly with Irish and British diplomats in Washington on Northern Irish issues and maintain contacts with all the parties in the North. When they visited Washington last year, First Minister Ian Paisley said he appreciated the sacrifice Mrs. Clinton was making in taking time out of her presidential campaign, which was already intense a few weeks ahead of the Iowa caucuses.

[Nicolaus]

"She pulled together a meeting of..."

This probably would hurt the fighters for Northern Ireland peace who had been at it for decades.

"Pulled together," indeed!

[Tankan]

The unsung heroes who played a key part facilitating peace negotiations were Brendan Duddy and a British agent called Robert, the Oval Office played no part whatever!
You can take this version of events to the bank!

[jsinclair]

People should be repeating, "Hillary brought peace to Northern Ireland" and laughing.

Remember how they mocked the idea that "Al Gore invented the internet"? Well, at least Gore got some funds to encourage the growth of the internet.

In other words, "Al Gore invented the internet" is not nearly as ridiculous as Hillary's ever-padded resume.

[MartinEdwinAndersen]

More and more Hillary seems to be holding a live grenade in a Democratic party and warning that if she doesn't get the nomination, we will be sorry ...

No Ma'am, we are sorry, but not over that.

We are sorry the way you and your husband disgraced the presidency and the Party, playing victim while you passed us "the Bill."

Now we are saying, your latest check has bounced for insufficient funds--you have no more credit after the race baiting, the blatant misrepresentations, and your failure to even come close with a stacked deck ...

[KDH]

Gerry Adams disagrees with you Max. And you know it.

[Jacky1]

Hillary Clinton's word would be more believable if she had provided proof to her previous assertions as well and her tax forms. I would like to know now where that five million that she "loaned" her campaign came from? There is still controversy with President Bill Clinton and the donations to his library. What did he have to do for that money? As a voter, I have the right to know. If she didn't hide every little thing, then she might be more believable, but she is hiding everything which makes me doubt her word.

[Mahavishnu]

George Mitchell has said that she was helpful to the process. Since he is the guy who ran the thing- I will listen to him, thank you.

[SiobhanOC]

Mitchell is not taking sides in the election. If he came out and blew her out of the water by saying she was a 'cheerleader' it would pretty much end his time as being neutral. If you really read his statements, he said something like she was instrumental in working with women's groups and those groups were an important part of the peace movement. Even in his description, Hillary, at best, is twice removed from direct work on the accord.

[lisakaz]

Sure, David Trimble can't possibly know, huh? And unlike Mitchell, he's got no political gain for saying it, either.

[anney]

Hell, Eleanor Roosevelt visited the troops during WW II, but I don't think anybody has ever suggested that she ended the war. Jackie Kennedy's visits to foreign leaders certainly had more positive influence than Hillary's, and she certainly never tassumed that would qualify her to be president.

All Hillary Clinton did was what other first ladies have done -- conducted "goodwill" visits abroad. Her "experience resume" should state, "For my eight years as first lady I was a goodwill ambassador for my husband's presidency."

It is quite common for ambitious people to see someone else doing something and conclude they can do it just as well or better. Like a ten year-old who wants to drive a car. That doesn't mean they can.

I don't know why, but Hillary's overstatements about her experience qualifications embarrass me, or maybe make me feel embarrassed for her, as though she's making a fool of herself. Maybe that's because many of us have been justifiably taken down a peg or two when our egos ran away with us. Blowing one's own horn is not the best thing to do when you're playing a specious, braggardly tune. And when you claim accomplishments that are untrue.

[clevelandchick]

Hillary also recanted a dangerous trip to Bosnia complete with a harrowing landing. Sinbad, the comedian along on that trip and in the same helicopter has not recollection of a 'harrowing landing'. In fact he said the most difficult thing any of them faced on that trip was "Where should we eat?".

Hillary is an idiot for over-blowing her contributions and her experiences. It will always bite you on the ass in the end. You end up looking like a liar and a fool. And that's exactly what Hillary looks like right now.

[clevelandchick]

Oops, I meant recounted not recanted.

[midtown]

And her Belfast trip? Here is what the White house said she was doing in Ireland:

========================


First Lady to Travel to Ireland, Northern Ireland, England.

From: US Newswire Date: May 11, 1999


News Advisory:


First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Ireland, Northern Ireland, and England beginning Tuesday, May 11.


In Galway, Ireland, the First Lady will launch the University's Millennium Lecture Series at the National University of Ireland at Galway. The university is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 1999. After delivering remarks, the First Lady will be presented with the Order of the Freedom of the County Borough of Galway, making her an honorary citizen of Galway.


In Belfast, Northern Ireland, she will participate in the groundbreaking of a playground for children. This new playground is being created in the wake of her September 1998 visit to Belfast, at which the First Lady highlighted a new partnership between non-profit organizations in Northern Ireland and the United States to provide safe and accessible playgrounds for children in their countries. These organizations are creating spaces where children who have been adversely affected by the violence in Northern Ireland can come together to play. Later in the afternoon, the First Lady will meet with women members of the Northern Ireland Assembly.


On Thursday morning, as a follow-up to the September 1998 Vital Voices Conference, Women in Democracy, the First Lady will deliver remarks to a group of women in Belfast who have participated in previous Vital Voices conferences. President Clinton announced the 1998 Belfast Vital Voices Conference as part of the United States government's initiatives in support of peace in Northern Ireland, specifically to highlight women's role in the economic and political life of their society.


In London, the First Lady will deliver remarks at the "Hearing Children's Voices" conference, chaired by Cherie Booth Blair. A principle aim of this one-day conference is to highlight the gaps in the criminal and civil justice system for children, to describe good practices, and to explore alternatives to present practice with children and the justice system. The First Lady will focus her remarks on children's human rights around the world.


Press schedule below is subject to change.

[midtown]

The White house releases the First Lady's schedule in Ireland. Note how teh First Lady's office characterizes her visit:

============================

Trip of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to Ireland, Northern Ireland and England.

From: US Newswire Date: December 9, 2000

News Advisory:

This schedule outlines the First Lady's separate press events during the President's trip to the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and England. The First Lady has two events planned, including a reception with women elected leaders in Dublin and a major speech in Belfast. Other events may be added.

Additional information will be released when it becomes available, and all schedules are subject to change. Please see the President's schedule for a full itinerary.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2000

11:00 p.m. Reception with Women Leaders Ambassador's Residence Dublin, Ireland
Press Notes: POOL PRESS for remarks only. Lighting, mult and riser provided. Throw approx. 20 feet. The on-site press contact is Stephen Feder. Pool will depart from Castle press filing center at approximately 10:00 a.m.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2000

11:00 a.m. Speech on "Raising Vital Voices in the New Northern Ireland" Opera House

Belfast, Northern Ireland

As a follow-up to the September 1998 Vital Voices Conference, Women in Democracy, and a subsequent speech to women leaders in Belfast in 1999, the First Lady will deliver remarks on "Raising Vital Voices in the New Northern Ireland." President Clinton announced the 1998 Belfast Vital Voices Conference as part of the United States government's initiatives in support of peace in Northern Ireland, specifically to highlight women's role in the economic and political life of their society.

Press Notes: OPEN PRESS. Riser, mult, lighting provided. Additional information TBD.

KEYWORDS:

WHITE HOUSE, ADVISORY

[1dogs2]

What is the point of posting a piece that is based on out-dated and incomplete information (only the negative comments about her experience without the positive ones)? The issue of what genuine foreign policy experience Clinton has had is a subject worth examining, but it doesn't advance the process to post only one side of the story, and I say that as an Obama supporter.

[ejay579]

She controls all information to bolster her position. Why doesn't she release it?

[ebbtide]

Hillary is becoming more and more rediculous by the day. She is actually looking clownish in her kitchen sink approach. She is becoming laughable now, She thought she could get away with claiming she was a major player all over the world in solving the problems world wide. She was the driving force, not Bill. LOL LOL. Yet, the laughable part is that she can claim anything she wants, while hiding her first lady records and she will as long as we don't get to see the actual proof. LOL She apparently does not realize the power of the internet. She is still back in the nineties when the wool could be pulled over the eyes of the electorate rather easily. Not so today, dear lady., Immediately, the rebuttals to your specious claims of being a great leader in foreign policy, were available within hours. All your claims to have experience is the experience of "watching" your husband perform his duties as president. There was one, a scandal, however, that you were not privvy to "watching" obviously.

[BenMurphyNYC]

Former Senator George Mitchell disagrees with you according Jamie Rubin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCjgBAjZBaQ&feature=related

[Bluesue]

I guess he's a totally objective Hillary supporter.