Hillary plays loose with the truth

In the book as well as in the accompanying DVD - Hillary, the Movie - Bossie relates that the Clintons’ contempt for the intelligence community and the military manifested itself in a disinterest in foreign affairs, as well as the sidelining of the CIA. For instance, in the two years in which Mr James Woolsey was Director of Central Intelligence, the Clintons had a total of no more than two meetings with him.

And what about her role in pardoning terrorists? Such behaviour is acceptable, if it aids her campaign for the Senate.

In 1975, Puerto Rico FALN terrorists murdered Mr Frank Conner of New Jersey. FALN are the Spanish initials for Armed Forces of National Liberation). Mr Conner was a clean living, decent family man who as killed when a bomb was set off by the FALN in Lower Manhattan. The objective of FALN, after setting off 107 bombs in Chicago, Washington and New York City was made clear: to break Puerto Rico free from the US and turn it into a socialist nation.

At the time of their sentencing the terrorists were unrepentant and even promised to kill the judge. Americans were relieved when they were caught and incarcerated.

But in 1999 everything changed.

Mr Dick Morris recalls that when Hillary Rodham Clinton was considering running as a New York senator, she realised that she had no ties to the Empire State. Waking up and smelling the enchiladas, it dawned on her that there were 3.5 million Hispanics in the state. Voters she was so keen to capture, she warmly embraced a request from Mr Jose Rivera, a mouthpiece for Hispanic New Yorkers. Mr Rivera wanted her to convince her husband to grant clemency for the incarcerated terrorists.

Forty-eight hours later the pardons were granted.

While all intelligence and law enforcement agencies vehemently opposed any release of these murderers, President Clinton claimed that they were not violent criminals and that they deserved a second chance. Let’s not forget that the terrorists never sought clemency and neither did they offer to nor were they asked to co-operate with law enforcement agencies following their release.

The United States Senate in a rare exhibition of near unanimity across the aisles voted 95 to two condemning the actions of President Clinton in releasing the terrorists. Not that either Clinton lost sleep on account of that vote. And who - apart from the terrorists themselves - benefited from releasing the terrorists? Given Bill Clinton couldn’t run again for office, you be the judge.

It seems that if the happy couple had to pardon a few terrorists to get Mrs Clinton elected, then the end justified the means. When she was grilled about the pardons, she replied that she knew nothing about this. Quite laughable really given Mr Dick Morris’ recollection of the events. Events he was party to.

Clinton’s current campaign is grounded in remaking her as a “moderate” when the facts show her to be very left wing. What message was she sending to the world with the pardoning of the FALN? That the United States will negotiate with terrorists? That everything’s for sale in a Clinton White House if enough pesos are deposited?

Part of that reinvention involves her biggest volte-face to date: revising her position in relation to the liberation of Iraq. She has changed her position so as to maximise her chances with the centre of American electorate. Witness her record: