Protected by sharpshooters, Hillary Rodham Clinton swooped into a military zone by Black Hawk helicopter Monday to deliver a personal "thank you, thank you, thank you" to U.S. troops. ... But this was a day of celebration and celebrities - a day for the U.S. troops helping to uphold the Bosnian peace accord. Mrs. Clinton hosted a USO show with comedian Sinbad and singer Sheryl Crow and briefly addressed the gathering. ... But the highlight of her trip were visits to two fortified posts outside the U.S. base in Tuzla. Even President Clinton, restricted to the base by bad weather in January, did not see as much of this war-wracked region as Mrs. Clinton did Monday. ... Riflemen rushed to the brush line as the helicopter landed and surrounded her as she walked into the post. Located in a "separation zone," the U.S. outpost nestles between two tree lines. Just months ago, one was Serbian territory, the other Bosnian. Security was tight - fighter jets accompanied her C-17 cargo plane to Tuzla - but officials said the first lady took no extraordinary risks on the trip. Lexis - By RON FOURNIER, Associated Press, March 25, 1996
Security was tight - fighter jets accompanied her C-17 cargo plane to Tuzla - but officials said the first lady took no extraordinary risks on the trip. Lexis - By RON FOURNIER, Associated Press, March 25, 1996
Another report:
THE First Lady of the United States, Hillary Clinton, visited her country's troops at their fortified outposts in north-eastern Bosnia today and said their peacekeeping work was "extraordinary to behold". Mrs Clinton's helicopter flight to Camp Alicia, home of a mechanised infantry outfit and a combat engineer batallion 15 miles east of Tuzla, took her over burned out villages and farm houses whose roofs had been blown off in the fierce fighting before last December's Paris peace agreement ended the 43 -month-old war in Bosnia. A machine gun emplacement guarded the entrance of the outposts and marked Bosnian minefields were visible outside its perimeter. ... After lunch with the troops in a makeshift dining hall surrounded by sandbags, she flew on to Camp Bedrock south of Tuzla to visit an army field hospital. Mrs Clinton, who later returned to Tuzla for a show starring singer Sheryl Crow and comedian Sinbad, said she was "amazed at how much has been accomplished in such a short period of time" by US troops in Bosnia. Source - Lexis - The Herald (Glasgow), March 26, 1996
Mrs Clinton's helicopter flight to Camp Alicia, home of a mechanised infantry outfit and a combat engineer batallion 15 miles east of Tuzla, took her over burned out villages and farm houses whose roofs had been blown off in the fierce fighting before last December's Paris peace agreement ended the 43 -month-old war in Bosnia.
A machine gun emplacement guarded the entrance of the outposts and marked Bosnian minefields were visible outside its perimeter. ... After lunch with the troops in a makeshift dining hall surrounded by sandbags, she flew on to Camp Bedrock south of Tuzla to visit an army field hospital.
Mrs Clinton, who later returned to Tuzla for a show starring singer Sheryl Crow and comedian Sinbad, said she was "amazed at how much has been accomplished in such a short period of time" by US troops in Bosnia. Source - Lexis - The Herald (Glasgow), March 26, 1996
And she did spend some time in the cockpit ;-)
So it was probably no accident that the C-17 pilot was a woman, Capt. Cheryl Beineke of Ohio. She is among just four female C-17 pilots out of about 100 in the Air Force. "I'm loving every minute of this," the pilot said after Mrs. Clinton spent several minutes in the cockpit. Source - Lexis - By RON FOURNIER, AP International, March 25, 1996
"I'm loving every minute of this," the pilot said after Mrs. Clinton spent several minutes in the cockpit. Source - Lexis - By RON FOURNIER, AP International, March 25, 1996
http://tinyurl.com/2ol5ob
he's def a huge Obama supporter . . . . [ Parent ]
http://tinyurl.com/2ycf2f
Diplomats Back Clinton's Foreign Policy The Clinton campaign is releasing a letter today signed by 32 former U.S. ambassadors and diplomats who served while Senator Clinton was First Lady that attests to her unique foreign policy experience.
somewhere either above or below I also posted a NYT article of another 'trip' she took, written at the time. [ Parent ]
UPDATE Friday 6:45 p.m.
Lissa Muscatine, who served as Hilary Clinton's chief speechwriter in 1996 and accompanied her on the Bosnia trip, feels that I have failed to provide a full picture of what took place. She gave me her "vivid recollections" of the arrival in Tuzla, which I quote below:
I was on the plane with then First Lady Hillary Clinton for the trip from Germany into Bosnia in 1996. We were put on a C17-- a plane capable of steep ascents and descents -- precisely because we were flying into what was considered a combat zone. We were issued flak jackets for the final leg because of possible sniper fire near Tuzla. As an additional precaution, the First Lady and Chelsea were moved to the armored cockpit for the descent into Tuzla. We were told that a welcoming ceremony on the tarmac might be canceled because of sniper fire in the hills surrounding the air strip. From Tuzla, Hillary flew to two outposts in Bosnia with gunships escorting her helicopter. [ Parent ]
Lots of good info has come out at noquarterusa.net also, from ex-miliary people.
I can't believe there are only a few comments right here. This should be a big feature somewhere, digging out the scraps of solid info and sorting them out and piecing them together.
It looks like reports of the several stops were confused. People are applying the performer's word to side trips he wasn't even along on! [ Parent ]
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