• U.S. policy expert says Mrs. Clinton has been on the wrong side of war issue for last 20 years
By Victor Thorn
As Hillary Clinton was close to securing the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, one insurmountable obstacle stood in her way. Many Democrats viewed Mrs. Clinton as a warmonger who intended to further the Bush administration’s disastrous interventionist foreign policy. Her fervent support for the catastrophic Iraq war didn’t help her standing among pro-peace factions in the party, and this is largely what led to her loss to Barack Obama.
Six years later, Mrs. Clinton appears to be making another run at the White House. But the question remains: Has she really changed her stripes?
To get answers, on January 2 AMERICAN FREE PRESS contacted Robert Naiman, Policy Director for Just Foreign Policy, “an independent and non-partisan membership organization dedicated to reforming U.S. foreign policy by mobilizing and organizing the broad majority of Americans who want a foreign policy based on diplomacy, law and cooperation.”
Naiman told AFP: “In 2008, Hillary took a beating for her support of the Iraq war. But if we look at her track record as secretary of state under Barack Obama, she was an advocate for military intervention in Libya and a cheerleader again for the same type of action against Syria. Hillary has been on the wrong side of the war issue ever since Iraq.”
In terms of Libya, Naiman stated: “This U.S.-NATO invasion was a blatant violation of the War Powers Act and our Constitution. Plus, it wasn’t a cakewalk like Hillary promised. It resulted in a breakdown of Libya’s governmental order, which led to militia rule. Clearly, the tragedy that resulted in four deaths at our Benghazi consulate blew up in Hillary’s face.”
Connecting these incidents, Naiman explained: “A thread unites Iraq, Libya, Syria and Iran. That’s the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the neocons. In 2008, Clinton was perceived as AIPAC’s candidate. This is where her deepest allegiances lie.”
Taking it a step further, Naiman continued, “AIPAC, war and Wall Street are first cousins. The fact that Hillary is taking all this money from Wall Street is not unrelated to the people who want a warlike policy in the Middle East.”
Indeed, on October 24 and 29, 2013 Goldman Sachs paid Clinton $400,000 for two speeches, one of which was specially hosted by its chairman and chief executive officer Lloyd Blankfein.
According to Naiman, this matter has unnerved certain factions.
“Plenty of people in the Democratic Party aren’t jazzed about Hillary being the 2016 nominee,” he said. “The presumption is that it’s all about AIPAC. As a New York senator, Clinton formed a deep relationship with the Israeli lobby. This bond indicates how she’d govern in the future and why Hillary vehemently opposes any deal with Iran.”
Indeed, as a speaker at the 2008 AIPAC convention, Mrs. Clinton pronounced: “I have a bedrock commitment to Israel’s security.”
On April 22, 2008 she told “Good Morning America” host Chris Cuomo: “I want the Iranians to know that if I’m president, we will attack Iran. In the next 10 years, during which [Iran] might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them.”
In light of her warmongering, on January 2, AFP also interviewed freelance writer Robert Barsocchini, who on November 9, 2013, compiled an article entitled “Hillary Clinton’s Pro-War and Imperialism Record in Bullet Points.”
Barsocchini told AFP: “Hillary Clinton is part of a mindset that’s a major threat to world peace. When examining the policies she supports, it’s obvious from a moral perspective that human rights aren’t a top priority. Instead, it’s attacking countries that aren’t in line strategically and politically with the United States.”
He further observed, “Clinton convinced the Obama administration to attack Libya without the permission of Congress. She was also completely in favor of overtly bombing the Syrians and covertly funding jihadists that opposed President Assad.”
Victor Thorn is a hard-hitting researcher, journalist and author of over 40 books.
