Cold-blooded: Hillary Threatens Funding for Personal Security of Iraqi Leaders [Video]

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Yikes! In the spirit of bi-partisanship, let me try to send a message to Hillary's handlers: emergency personality makeover required! A couple more appearances as angry and unpleasant as this morning's on Today and Hillary's odds of winning the Dem nomination will be as slim as those she accorded to that of the surge succeeding.

On the one hand, the strategy for her conversation with Matt Lauer was transparent: because her substantive position on Iraq is not as anti-war as that of Obama or Edwards, Hillary sought to compensate, in appealing to Dem primary voters, by sounding angrier about our policy than either of her rivals. From that perspective, you might say: Mission Accomplished. This was Hillary, rhetorically speaking, packing an M-4, grenades slung, knife between her teeth.

But at what cost to her likability? Don't voters have to be able to warm up to a candidate? Yet Hillary hovered barely above absolute zero.

Beyond her tone, her message was about as cold-blooded as you can get. Twice she suggested threatenening to cut off funding for the personal security of Iraq's leaders. Now that is cold! As Hillary put it: "I don't think we should continue to fund the protection for the Iraqi government leaders or for the training and equipping of their army unless they meet certain conditions."

This was no idle threat. It was clearly a key element of Hillary's plan, one she repeated later:

"I [suggest] putting leverage on them and saying 'you know what, we provide security for the members of this government, we're cutting funding for that.'"

Back to tone: Hillary's snapped in anger in describing the letter she sent to Defense Secretary Gates, telling him not to take away a battalion from the east of Iraq. Part of that anger seemed directed at Matt himself for his temerity in trying to get a word in edgewise. Play the video clip above and just listen to the anger as Hillary says "and don't take away a battalion", etc. This is q-rating love-minus zero, no limit.

View edited video clip of Hillary's stone-cold highlights here.

Let me close with some more well-intentioned advice for the Hillary camp. Your candidate has already established more foreign policy/national security credentials than any of her rivals. Appealing to Dem primary voters by out-angrying Obama and Edwards won't work. It will only convince those voters of her unelectability in the general election. Dont' forget the lesson of '04: Dean won the 'angry' primary, but lost the nomination because Dem primary voters concluded he couldn't beat Pres. Bush.

Hillary, try to appear like a calm and reasonable potential presidential. Threatening the personal security of our allies in Baghdad makes you sound like a Mafia don, not a Commander-in-Chief!

Mark was in Iraq in November. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Cold-blooded-Hillary ping to Today show list.

[Puppage]

Hillary Clinton = War Pig

[Peach]

I think we should de-fund Hillary's Secret Service protection unless SHE meets certain criteria. See how she likes those apples.

[Fairview]

Moments like this I almost--almost--feel sorry for Bill.

[Dreagon]

This is the way that Democrats have found they can cut and run and still appear tough. They will just get "tough" with the Iraqis on our side.

[Mo1]

She wants to cut funding of security for the Political Leaders in Iraq... like the Prime minister ??

Ummmm .. wouldn't that open the Leaders of Iraq up to assassinations??

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Did you catch the way she snapped out "DON'T take away a battalion"? Enough to send a shiver through the hardest of men!

[Mo1]

She would throw a hissy fit if we cut off her security

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Yes, she was clearly talking of cutting the funding for the personal security of Iraq's leaders, which would surely include the Prime Ministers. It was nothing less than a threat to put their lives in danger.

[Mo1]

And .. speaking of Afganiststan .. isn't NATO running that operation now?

[Mo1]

It was nothing less than a threat to put their lives in danger.

That's how I understood it

WOW .. she really stepped in it this time

[Dark Skies]

I just watched the clip of her and Matt. One thing is certain...she gonna wipe that shiite-eating grin off Obama's face. After debating Hillary, he's gonna be all ears and no teeth.

[lentulusgracchus]

The comment in the article about her foreign-policy expertise is undercut by her stunning display of bad judgment. She didn't send that cold message just to the Iraqi government -- she sent it to all of our friends, too. Wow.

Oh, and remember the 1995 government shutdown? Slick didn't want to do it. She and Daschle were the iron behind that decision to yank government-check-recipients' chains. I personally know two "Reagan Democrats", both women, one of them a government contract employee (they live together), who just went wild-eyed with hostility against Republicans after Slick and Beast reminded them who they owed their subsistence to. Slick didn't just yank their chain, he terrified them with visions of losing their house and having to live under a bridge. And that was Hillary's doing.

[Loyal Buckeye]

I wonder if she cut off Slick Willie's funding?

[popdonnelly]

Clinton has to rely on political gimmicks. She has no appeal, and no real political persona. She does not attract the loyalty of any core group. And the Clintons are masters of political gimmickry.

[lentulusgracchus]

After debating Hillary, he's gonna be all ears and no teeth.

He'll be no head and no ass.

[popdonnelly]

"Let me close with some more well-intentioned advice for the Hillary camp."

Please don't help these people. We don't need eight more years of the Clintons.

[Fairview]

Did you catch the way she snapped out "DON'T take away a battalion"? Enough to send a shiver through the hardest of men!

Yes. . . and I'll tell you why. Women raise boys, so at a certain level men always remain a little afraid of a woman like this, and she can always make you shiver. Few men could stand up to her, and few have tried. It would take a tough woman to stand up to Hillary. But there are some of us women who could out-tough and out-bitch her. Her advantage in a fight with any woman is that she is the servant of evil.

[jackv]

She is sickening. I think the country is getting bored with her monotonous, condescending lectures on what she thinks we all need. Shut-up you hag and go tend to your own despicable personal disasters. Who would ever want to emulate her??? gag me! Frankly -- she is an embarrassment to all women.