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Clinton: 'Right Wingers' Won't Let Me Help Bush
NewsMax.com ^ | 3/04/03 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

Posted on 03/04/2003 9:19:17 AM PST by kattracks

Ex-president Bill Clinton is claiming that the Bush White House turned to him in April 2001 to help solve the crisis prompted by China's downing of a U.S. surveillance plane over the South China Sea - and that the Bush administration would use him more except for the objections of "right wingers."

"The Administration's only asked me to do two things," Clinton tells the Atlantic Monthly for its March issue. "One is to go to East Timor, which I was happy to do. The other was to talk to Jiang Zemin. Both of us happened to be in Hong Kong, and we had that plane down in China."

At the time the Bush White House said Clinton had set up the meeting with China's leader without seeking permission. "The White House respects [Clinton's] right to go as a private citizen and expressed no objection. ... He's not representing anything," Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters.

But the ex-president not only insisted to Atlantic's James Fallows that he was asked to intercede during the spy plane standoff, he also maintained that the Bush White House would ask for his help more often except that they fear angering "right wingers."

"They have to be careful about that, because they depend on all those right wingers for support and they've spent ten years saying what terrible people Hillary and I were, and they've got to preserve their credibility. If they asked me to do too much they'd wonder if they didn't mean it then or don't mean it now."

Clinton claimed that in the past the Bush White House "didn't mean it" when they criticized him and did so only because "it was in the interests of so many people to do it."

Apparently stung by complaints from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who said two weeks ago that he and ex-President Carter should "shut up" and stop trying to undermine the current administration with so much public criticism, Clinton defended his outspokenness.

"If and when [the Bush adminsitration does] things with which I disagree, particularly if they reverse a specific policy, as they did with the comprehensive test-ban treaty, Kyoto, international criminal court, strengthening the bioweapons convention, a number of other things — then I don't think I have to go on the attack. I just have to say, This is their view, this is my view, here's why I believe the way I do. I don't think that's being hateful or bad for the country or anything else."

Clinton continued: "Even when I give these political speeches, almost in every speech I say, I don't want you ever to treat them the way they treated me. Don't do it."

He also said that the United States has a lot to answer for in the current crisis over Iraq, since the Reagan administration backed Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

"We have a lot to answer for, and he is basically partly our creature," Clinton argued, pointing to U.S. actions under the Reagan administration, which he said "looked the other way" as Saddam built stockpiles of anthrax.

"I'm not criticizing President Bush on this because I did the same thing. I've sat there and pontificated about how [Saddam] is the only guy to use chemical weapons on his own people. Yeah he did it, and the Reagan Administration was for him when he did it. Nobody raised a peep then, because he was against Iran. We now know that he got his anthrax strain from an American company while we looked the other way."

Clinton also cited an unsubstantiated report claiming that the Reagan administration CIA director, the late William Casey, wanted to arm Saddam with U.S. munitions, saying, "We also know that, or at least a British journalist has alleged that, Casey tried to give him cluster bombs."

The ex-president then quickly added, "I don't know if that's true or not 'cause I read it in the British press and you never can tell."

Last month former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger vehemently denied that the Reagan administration tried to arm Iraq during the late 1980s.

"We didn't treat them to weapons or anything of that kind," Weinberger told radio host Sean Hannity. "Some of our companies tried to do that. Some of them probably violated our export control rules. But we in the government certainly did not. And we certainly tried our best to prevent them from getting any weapons on either side."

As for the coming U.S. attack on Iraq, Clinton said he would condition his support on whether he believes the Bush administration has done everything it can to gain the support of other countries, telling Atlantic, "I will support the President if I believe he has done everything reasonably possible to build not ... not only to build a broader coalition but to do it within a framework of trying to strengthen the UN."

But Clinton urged the Bush administration to keep trying to make Iraq sanctions work rather than rushing into any military action, arguing that Saddam Hussein is "not going to live forever."

"I think we have to try to give the sanctions one more chance. He's not going to live forever, there are options for regime change short of bombing the living daylights out of them. And we know that these ... we know that the inspectors have gotten a ton of stuff out of there."

Clinton said that continuing the inspections effort "will bring us together."

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
China/Taiwan
Clinton Scandals
George W. Bush
Saddam Hussein/Iraq



TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 01ifuseek; 02thebcmonument; 03gotonyc; 04cgrndzro; 05circumspice; ahole; boffshillary; bubbaclinton; bubbaisms; cantshutup; clintonisnotprez; criesoncue; iii; iiimememe; impeachedpresident; legacywhore; liesoncamera; liesunderoath; wontleave; x42
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To: Howlin
Re#34 Nope. Indeed, I think that W would want nothing whatsoever to do with the 'Toon. Too much mess still to clean up. Much of it was on purpose. Clinton and his crew were trash and we'll be paying the price for those 8 years for a long, long time...
61 posted on 03/04/2003 9:54:23 AM PST by eureka!
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To: eureka!
He's trying desperately to keep himself in play.
62 posted on 03/04/2003 9:55:07 AM PST by Howlin
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To: All
Ex-president Bill Clinton is claiming that the Bush White House turned to him in April 2001 to help solve the crisis prompted by China's downing of a U.S. surveillance plane over the South China Sea - and that the Bush administration would use him more except for the objections of "right wingers."

.... yeah, right

63 posted on 03/04/2003 9:56:08 AM PST by DUH (Prayers for W ... Our WARRIORS ... The incredible FREEPERS)
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To: kattracks
Someone please offer Bubba some cheese to go along with his whine. He's suffering from another severe bout of spotlight withdrawal.
64 posted on 03/04/2003 9:57:18 AM PST by Kathleen
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If Slick really wanted to help the world he'd shoot himself.
65 posted on 03/04/2003 9:57:41 AM PST by SMEDLEYBUTLER
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To: Howlin
And failing miserably. Also, the Rats don't want him as the face of the party--look how little we actually see him in the papers or on TV. I am so happy that his legacy looms larger than he himself. And it is not pretty and not fully written. Hehehehe....
66 posted on 03/04/2003 9:59:50 AM PST by eureka!
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To: A Citizen Reporter; Dog; Howlin
Sometime in the not-too-distant future, a small cortege will leave a funeral home in Little Rock. The hearse, followed by one car, will wind its way slowly through the streets, not even attracting the attention of the loafers outside the pool hall. As it approaches the site of the former Clinton Library,now in disrepair, the middle-aged daughter of the late 42nd President of the United States will look out the window of her limousine. There on the corner will be an elderly lady, white-haired and slightly stooped, wearing a faded "Bush/Cheney" t-shirt. As the hearse passes by, the old lady stands very straight for a moment,nods, and smiles. Her children come and lead her back to their car.

That old lady will be me.

67 posted on 03/04/2003 10:00:16 AM PST by Miss Marple
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To: Howie
Number 60: respectful=respectable
68 posted on 03/04/2003 10:01:08 AM PST by Howie
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To: Miss Marple
Hey, you left me out!
69 posted on 03/04/2003 10:02:06 AM PST by Howlin
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To: kattracks
That's like saying, "I'm from the IRS, and I'm here to help you."
70 posted on 03/04/2003 10:03:24 AM PST by conservativecorner
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To: kattracks
What a wonderful world it would be without those damn right wingers! Like Russia without right wingers during the 1930s!
71 posted on 03/04/2003 10:03:48 AM PST by Revolting cat! (Someone left the cake out in the rain I dont think that I can take it coz it took so long to bake it)
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To: Miss Marple
I LOVE it when you post that!!!!
72 posted on 03/04/2003 10:04:41 AM PST by Neets
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To: kattracks
..."Saddam Hussein is "not going to live forever."

That about sums up Slick's foreign policy philosophy. And by the way, Clinton, how old is Fidel Castro?

73 posted on 03/04/2003 10:05:18 AM PST by PaulJ
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To: Corin Stormhands
....arguing that Saddam Hussein is "not going to live forever."

Didn't somebody say that about Castro?



He could live to be a 100 years old. I had a friend who used to joke he wanted to marry a rich older woman so he could inherit her money. He settled on Rose Kennedy who was about 83 at that time. She lived to be about 103. He would have had to put in about 20 years of "service". So I say to bill--do you REALLY think THAT is the solution to the saddam problem? Where's your common sense?
74 posted on 03/04/2003 10:06:03 AM PST by Taffini (I like Tony Soprano even though he is a fat-boy)
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To Bubber


CLANG CLANG CLANG


You are solely responsible for current worldwide unrest and state of the economy. Why didn't you admit that you can't legally serve on a jury because your law license is under suspension.
75 posted on 03/04/2003 10:06:57 AM PST by Jackie
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To: kattracks
'Right Wingers' Won't Let Me Help Bush

Yes and Jesus would not allow demons to proclaim Him as the Son of God.

There are always some people who's endorsement, or help you do not need.

Clinton, you are one of them.

76 posted on 03/04/2003 10:07:10 AM PST by 728b (Winner of the prestigious National Leadership Award :))
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To: Neets
She never invites us to her dream, did you notice? :-)
77 posted on 03/04/2003 10:07:23 AM PST by Howlin
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To: kattracks
The ex-president then quickly added, "I don't know if that's true or not 'cause I read it in the British press and you never can tell."

You can't make this stuff up! LOL! Nothing like a well-informed ex-President.

78 posted on 03/04/2003 10:09:08 AM PST by Mr. Jeeves
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To: kattracks
he's off his meds....
79 posted on 03/04/2003 10:09:23 AM PST by ken5050
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To: Miss Marple
That old lady will be me.


Miss Marple, take your calcium. I don't want to see you stooped. We can meet later and have some cake to celebrate.
80 posted on 03/04/2003 10:09:24 AM PST by Taffini (I like Tony Soprano even though he is a fat-boy)
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