Why did she lie?

By Edward Copeland

One of the biggest questions left unanswered after Hillary Nothing-But-Ambition Clinton's easily debunked nonsense about sniper fire in Bosnia is why she would make such a fib that could be uncovered at such rapid speed? Writing in Slate last week, professional misanthrope Christopher Hitchens may have hit upon the answer. Granted, I usually think the worst of Hillary and her motives, but this one I find even more appalling because if it's true it means that she wasn't lying just to boost her own foreign policy credentials but also in part to cover her complicity in delaying the Bosnian peace process in the 1990s costing thousands of people their lives as a result.

Hitchens reminds his readers of Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign promise of ending the genocide in Bosnia, something he sat on his hands about for most of his first term. By the time Hillary took her trip in March 1996, things were finally getting under control, but according to an account in the book For Love of Politics by Sally Bedell Smith, the delay was directly attributable to Hillary's insistence on stalling.

Taking the advice of Al Gore and National Security Advisor Tony Lake, Bill agreed to a proposal to bomb Serbian military positions while helping the Muslims acquire weapons to defend themselves—the fulfillment of a pledge he had made during the 1992 campaign. But instead of pushing European leaders, he directed Secretary of State Warren Christopher merely to consult with them. When they balked at the plan, Bill quickly retreated, creating a "perception of drift." The key factor in Bill's policy reversal was Hillary, who was said to have "deep misgivings" and viewed the situation as "a Vietnam that would compromise health-care reform." The United States took no further action in Bosnia, and the "ethnic cleansing" by the Serbs was to continue for four more years, resulting in the deaths of more than 250,000 people.

Yes, Hillary, according to this account, thought a little more ethnic cleansing was OK if it meant her health plan might have a clearer path to success. Of course, in 2008, the U.S. still has an awful health care system and thousands of Europeans still mourn their dead.

Hitchens also cites two personal instances as further evidence as to the why behind the sell out of Bosnia for Hillary care.

I can personally witness to the truth of this, too. I can remember, first, one of the Clintons' closest personal advisers—Sidney Blumenthal—referring with acid contempt to Warren Christopher as "a blend of Pontius Pilate with Ichabod Crane." I can remember, second, a meeting with Clinton's then-Secretary of Defense Les Aspin at the British Embassy. When I challenged him on the sellout of the Bosnians, he drew me aside and told me that he had asked the White House for permission to land his own plane at Sarajevo airport, if only as a gesture of reassurance that the United States had not forgotten its commitments. The response from the happy couple was unambiguous: He was to do no such thing, lest it distract attention from the first lady's health care "initiative."

Hillary Clinton may be more despicable than I ever gave her credit for.