An awkward moment of Clinton support

Bicycles_Biatch · #1 12-15-2006, 01:30 AM

So... I'm ex-military... pretty right wing... and no fan of Bill Cinton.

HOWEVER, I was talking to a couple Army buddies of mine who I served with and are now out.

They told me that during the Rwanda genocide, Clinton felt legitimately bad for those being butchered. He wanted to help the Tutsi and also allow moderate Hutu's to hold the government together or flee the country before they were also hunted down.

The problem however, as we all know (and this isn't even debatable) was that Clinton governed through popular politicing and intensively studying polling data.

Due to the recent political nightmare that Somolia had turned into... Clinton was unsure how to proceed and he knew he wouldn't have the publics support to help in Rwanda.

According to my retired Army buddies... a small contigent of special forces and ground soldiers were dispatched under the direction of Clinton to help the Tutsi's. I'm sure it was totally covert at the time. But if you look at the history of the Rwanda Genocide, there was definately a turning point that could be explained by US intervention.

Obviously this was 13 years ago and a lot of this information is now declassified... but I thought it was worth bringing up.

KUDOS to Clinton for making at least on ballsy decision while in office.

HeavilyArmed · #2 12-15-2006, 01:55 AM

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KUDOS to Clinton for making at least on ballsy decision while in office.

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Many of his other decisions were formulated about 3 inches north.

Bicycles_Biatch · #3 12-15-2006, 01:58 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
KUDOS to Clinton for making at least on ballsy decision while in office.

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Many of his other decisions were formulated about 2 inches north.

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I concur... everyone here in CA always says how great he was... but in my estimation... he just sat back and reaped the benefits of an amazing stock run-up (thank you silicon valley) and great post-cold-war foreign policy (Thank you Regan and Bush Sr.).

However, that's not what this post is about... good for him for doing what he thought was right and helping out the Rwanda under-dogs.

4 High · #4 12-15-2006, 11:32 AM

Are you right wing solely due to time in the military? Are you religous?

I understand the military hated Clinton because he chopped away alot of useless spending that the previous 12 years of Republicans had put forward, but do you have other legitimate reasons for not liking him? Im not saying your one of them, but almost every Republican who was in the military from 93-01 hated clinton cuse "he cut our mobneys." Maybe its just small sample size.

JackWhite · #5 12-15-2006, 11:52 AM

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KUDOS to Clinton for making at least on ballsy decision while in office.

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How is that ballsy? You are saying that public opinion polls kept him from major actions early in the genocide, so he sent in a few special forces later, after thousands were butchered. If he were really ballsy, wouldn't he have said, "F*** public opinion, I am doing what I think is right"?

Brian707 · #6 12-15-2006, 06:11 PM

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and great post-cold-war foreign policy (Thank you Regan and Bush Sr.).

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This is laughable. Its amazing Clinton did such a good job considering the disaster Reagan and to a lesser extent Bush I left him. Someone in the military got to you, seems a lot of you right wingers speak the same old untrue bs. Why do you guys always blame someone else for your screw ups and credit another admin. for a Dem president doing well?

Copernicus · #7 12-15-2006, 06:15 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Are you right wing solely due to time in the military? Are you religous?

I understand the military hated Clinton because he chopped away alot of useless spending that the previous 12 years of Republicans had put forward, but do you have other legitimate reasons for not liking him? Im not saying your one of them, but almost every Republican who was in the military from 93-01 hated clinton cuse "he cut our mobneys." Maybe its just small sample size.

[/ QUOTE ]

Chopped away a lot of useless spending? A 30% cut in number of troops and similar cuts in miltary infrastructure that had to be recovered from? Yeah, I know, terrorism is a police problem, not a military problem

nicky g · #8 12-15-2006, 06:41 PM

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Why do you guys always blame someone else for your screw ups and credit another admin. for a Dem president doing well?

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Because they have little other choice?

John21 · #9 12-15-2006, 09:12 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Are you right wing solely due to time in the military? Are you religous?

I understand the military hated Clinton because he chopped away alot of useless spending that the previous 12 years of Republicans had put forward, but do you have other legitimate reasons for not liking him? Im not saying your one of them, but almost every Republican who was in the military from 93-01 hated clinton cuse "he cut our mobneys." Maybe its just small sample size.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was in from 87-00, and looked at the cuts as a ramp down from the USSR collapse. As far as Clinton goes - that's who was elected president. Not that I personally agree with a lot of his military policies, but he was elected by the people I took an oath to protect. I can't remember taking what he did personal or hating him. I don't care who it is sitting in that oval office - that's the toughest job in the world.

Colonel Kataffy · #10 12-16-2006, 01:17 AM

If you were to put clinton on a spectrum from left to right, he is further to the right of almost all democrats. Seems like you guys should have considered him a step in the right direction for democrats. So why do you right wingers hate on him so much? Cause he was so successful?