Chelsea in Oxford--Special Report

The Nation ^ | 12/04/2001 | Daniel Swift

[CommiesOut]

Special Report

Chelsea in Oxford

by Daniel Swift

In his Oxford days, Bill Clinton was famously antiwar. Since her arrival at the university to study international relations, his daughter, Chelsea, has been waging war from behind the newly reinforced bullet-proof glass windows of her Oxford dorm room. She and her Secret Service guards disrupted an antiwar rally in the town hall, heckling the speakers and waving American flags. And then there's the piece in Talk magazine.

In the most recent issue of the glossy New York mag--the cover is dominated by Gwyneth Paltrow's shiny décolletage--Chelsea complains that "every day I encounter some sort of anti-American feeling. Sometimes it's from other students, sometimes it's from a newspaper columnist, sometimes it's from 'peace' demonstrators only a few blocks from where I live." This anti-Americanism has led her to avoid English students and spend her time with other Americans in Oxford.

The inverted commas around "peace" suggest that Chelsea has little time for the antiwar movement. She goes on to explain exactly what she thinks of these demonstrators:

"Many question whether the evidence pointing to Osama bin Laden is accurate and conclusive. Others wonder whether America has any genuine concern for the plight of the Afghan people. I bristle at these suggestions. The idea that anyone believes America would enter into this conflict capriciously boggles my mind, and the notion that the United States is acting without regard to the Afghan people is offensive. Finally, the suggestion that America was too quick to respond, or that the United States should for some reason not employ its right to self-defense, is an assault in itself."

At the risk of bristling Ms. Clinton, there are many who doubt America's new war on terror. She suggests that questioning the bombing, or even debating the merits of US policy, is the same as an attack on the United States. But the debate is already open. More than a month ago, the Britain-based charities Oxfam and Christian Aid called for a pause in the bombing so that humanitarian supplies could get through. The UN has estimated that there are seven and a half million Afghan refugees dependent on aid to survive. The New York Times has reported at length on how the bombing has disrupted critical relief effort. Chelsea's tortured scheme of moral equivalency doesn't seem to recognize these factors.

The English school of IR theory is more skeptical however. It's typified by Hedley Bull's famous statement in The Anarchical Society, which has become a textbook for English IR: "I believe that inquiry has its own morality and is necessarily subversive of political institutions of all kinds, good as well as bad." This doubting voice underpins the classical model of IR taught at Oxford.

Chelsea is going to have a tough time at Oxford if she bristles at skepticism toward US policy. According to the syllabus, in her first year she is required to take a course on "the origins and course of the Cold War" and "the place of law, of rules generally, and of moral concepts, in international relations"; in her second year, she will choose an optional subject from a list that includes "The International Relations of the Middle East," "The United States in International Relations since 1945" and "The International Relations of Latin America." These courses won't make much sense without mention of Nicaragua or El Salvador, of America's special relationship with Israel, of America's disregard for the UN or even of America's support of the Taliban.

Ms. Clinton has been widely feted in Britain. Tatler magazine named her as one of England's ten most eligible women. But the anti-Americanism she has found in Oxford is not simply snobbery. There have been antiwar demonstrations throughout England in the last month, including one in Hyde Park on October 13 which drew more than 20,000 people. The bombing of Afghanistan has been regularly attacked in the English media. Oxford may be anti-American, but no more than the rest of world: like Paris, perhaps? Or Teheran? If, as has been widely suggested, this is the first step of a run for office, we should watch her words.

[freekitty]

Don't be fooled. Acorns don't fall far from the tree.

[texasbluebell]

Chris? Is that you?

Exactly what I was thinking!

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Bill Clinton was famously antiwar. ----make that famously anti-American and pro-communist. He was then. He is now.

[mountaineer]

Funny, I thought you'd ask that question much sooner, say, when I first inquired whether you were he!

[texasbluebell]

The absence of a story does not mean that the story is true.

I can only assume that you believe only what you read in papers like the NYT and Wash Post and hear on CBS/ABC/NBC. I suppose it would be futile to suggest that you read "Bias", the Goldberg book.

[texasbluebell]

Who is this Chris character?

Chris M. was an ardent Chelsea defender who would rush to her defense the moment a thread appeared about her. It was uncanny how he could find any mention of her immediately. He seems to have been gone for a while now, so that's why your posts are sounding familiar to some of us.

[mountaineer]

Check out coverage of Chelsea's comments in the Oxford Student newspaper (several links): here.

[Teacup]

Seems like the liberals are giving Chelsea a hard time. What is she going to do about her parents? Do you think she'll realize that her parents are same liberals she now oppose? Oh my??? What to do, what to do, LOL. Don't belive for a minuet Miss Chelsea is a memebr of the VRWC.

[mountaineer]

I think the poor child, bless her heart, is trying to find out what she really believes, after 21 years of liberal claptrap indoctrination from her parents. Perhaps this catty, irrational criticism from the leftists in England will push her over to the VRWC side, who knows.

[Teacup]

Who is this Chris character?

He's been asked by the management several times to take his ball and go away, but he keeps coming back. I suspect as soon as they find out he's back, they will act accordingly.

[Teacup]

Well? I don't know, one could only hope. God does have a sense of humor. However, I still think she is being told what to say and how to act by her mother. Mom's not to popular now and niether is is her dad. The parents have launched an all out PR campainn to make Bubba appear as if he had fought the terriorist too. I'm not holding my breath on this one.

[Deckard]

Is this "OLD RAILWAY STATION" the one clinton had bulldozed so he could build his LIEBURY ????????????

Belated response (not much time to spend online these days): No. Clinton's liebury will be in Little Rock. The railway station mentioned in the article is located in Hope, the town in which Clinton was born.

Hope Depot Museum

The old Hope Depot, built in 1912 as home to the Iron Mountain/Missouri Pacific Railroad in Hope has been restored to its former glory. Now known as the Hope Visitor Center & Museum, the building is furnished as it was in its heyday as a bustling train depot. The building boasts its original three waiting rooms, a ticket office, baggage room and Railway Express room. In addition, the Depot features exhibits on the birth and childhood years of President Bill Clinton in Hope, exhibits on the town's colorful history and an exhibit on Hope's world championship watermelons.

[UCANSEE2]

THanks. I sure didn't remember for sure.

[RobFromGa]

From NewsMax today, maybe Chelsea wants out because they expect her to attend classes, of all the nerve.

Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2001 9:12 a.m. EST

Chelsea Dropping Out of Oxford?

Just like her wayward dad 30 years ago, former first daughter Chelsea Clinton may be getting ready to drop out of England's Oxford University.

"Clinton could be leaving Oxford for the London School of Economics," reports New York Daily News gossip columnist Mitchell Fink, sourcing the British tabloids.

Ms. Clinton, who graduated from Stanford University last spring, reportedly thinks Oxford is too "cliquey" and has been the victim of what is being described as "anti-American feeling from many of the British students."

The London School of Economics' "more diverse mix of foreign students" is said to be her cup of tea.

Chelsea had visited LSE when her father gave a guest lecture there last year. Neither of Clinton's parents have commented on the report.