Bill Clinton says he would 'fight and die' for Israel By The Associated Press Former President Bill Clinton told Jewish supporters in Toronto this week that he would fight and die to protect Israel if Iraq or Iran ever invaded. "The Israelis know that if the Iraqi or the Iranian army came across the Jordan River, I would personally grab a rifle, get in a ditch, and fight and die," Clinton, who avoided the Vietnam War, said to cheers at a Hadassah children's charity fund-raising dinner Monday. Jim Kennedy, a spokesman for Clinton, provided the transcript of his comments. Clinton's remarks were first reported in the Toronto Star. Clinton tried to broker a Middle East peace accord in the waning days of his presidency. His wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, courted Jewish voters aggressively during her successful Senate bid in New York. Clinton told the crowd of 350 on Monday that the best solution to the Middle East conflict is an interim settlement "to establish a Palestinian state now." Its creation, he said, must be preceded by a timetable and security assurances for Israel. Clinton said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat made "a disastrous mistake" turning down peace offers in the last months of his presidency, but there is still "reason for hope." Clinton was accused of ducking the draft during the Vietnam era. He received an induction notice but got a deferment when he promised to participate in an army reserve program but he never joined it. He later withdrew his deferment but drew a lottery number too high to be drafted.
I'll believe it when I see it. I don't think Bill Clinton believes in anything strongly enough to fight for it...other than himself.
Add this to the list of things Clinton just couldn't quite seem to find the time to do during his eight years in office.
You are the jokes, guys. Is the guy not allowed to make public appearances now that he's retired? I for one am glad that my president is still hanging around and making his opinions known, rather than disappearing to play golf the rest of his life.
Relax, ZRB... The comments above aren't directed at "your president's" (hee hee that's funny) public appearances, but at the absolute absurdity of his comments. How anyone would buy a comment like this beyond me. He's good...
Clinton probably found some new hot Israeli chicks, or he just got robbed visiting some Iraq or Iranian whorehouse.
Well it does say both... But CNN kept saying just Iraq. I can't see Iran crossing the jordan river to attack Israel.
Hey, I feel the same way about you, and anyone else who feels the need to pounce on anything Bill Clinton says.
I just hate those who find the need to pick a fault with Clinton with whatever he says or does, especially now that he is out of office. He is being bashed just for the sake of it. At least Bush is currently in office, and is currently ruining the country. He is open to criticism. Why should anyone care what Bill says now?
Well, you say noone should care anymore about what Clinton says, but earlier you said you're glad your president is still hanging around making his opinions known. Which is it? If he's going to put himself out there and talk, then he's just as open to criticism as anyone else.
So, let me get this straight. Clinton was/is "being bashed just for the sake of it", but reciting Bush's flubbed up words is.....constructive criticism?? So since Clinton was in office and ruined the country, he could be criticized then, but not now? As far as your last statement, I agree. Be sure to let Bill know that.
Okay, I'm beaten. I won't post drunk again. My last couple of posts make little sense now. Let me clarify. I perfectly support Clinton saying whatever he wants. I welcome it. The guy is my favorite American. I just wish that the conservatives could let him go. Yes, he's open to criticism, but I haven't heard much in this thread. All I've heard is "the man's a joke". Just mindless bashing. Could someone point out what is wrong with what he said?
What's wrong is that he is lying. Of course he would not fight for Israel. He is pandering in the worst way. There is a tradition that ex-Presidents keep their mouths shut about the current President and politics so the new President haas a chance to become entrenched in the position. Clinton has been shooting his mouth off since he left office, but why would anybody expect Clinton to have any respect for traditions surrounding the office of President?
ZRB, out of curiosity, do you believe that if Iran or Iraq attacked Israel that Clinton would pick up a rifle? If Jesse Jackson made a comment like that, I'd think it was silly. If Pat Robertson made a comment like that, I'd think it was stupid. Just like these two men, Clinton is compelled to stay in the public eye and will therefore have to accept the consequences of his lies. I say we each have our chuckles/rolling eyes over this, and move on. It's not bashing if the comments just happened and it gets brought up here. IMHO, it's bashing if it is incessantly brought up or brought up again in a few months (outside the context of Clinton's views on Israel). Franchise posted the article without comments. I think the only mindless bashing going on here is 'he (Clinton) is a joke' and 'Bush is ruining the country' (which I'll attribute to the sauce) .
Well, in your typical fashion, you've made a gigantic assumption without having all or even most of the facts. I don't support the post-9/11 Clinton bashing that's in vogue for a small minority of conservatives. I don't think Clinton's actions can be held ex post facto to the higher standard of awareness that we now have thanks to the terrorist attacks. At the same time, I am amused-- amused, meaning I think it funny, meaning I don't use it as an indictment of Clinton and the Democrats and liberalism as a whole but instead just find it funny-- that every time Clinton opens his mouth nowadays, it's either to burnish his "legacy" for taking credit for something or more often to claim he "would have" done something that his actions during eight years in office offer no evidence of. In other words, he can't have it both ways. I don't think we should harrangue the man for not focusing on bin Laden or pre-emptively declaring the war on terrorism. Those actions would have required a clarity of purpose that would have been impossible without 9/11. The President's actions in areas of strategic intelligence are largely symbolic, anyway, so the Limbaugh-esque conservative wisdom that Clinton in any way enhanced our vulnerability is wrong. At the same time, Clinton should shut his fat mouth about all the wonderful things he "would do" or "would have done", especially when there is no evidence to indicate he had any interest in those things while President and is only now realizing that feigning such an interest will make him appear more noble and passionate. It's disgusting pandering, and it contravenes decades of traditional decorum for former Presidents.
Why should Clinton have to follow this "traditional decorum"? I much prefer him staying in the limelight rather than disappearing like every other president. Clinton is not a joke. He has the right to say whatever he wants, and I welcome it. Do I really think Clinton would fight for Israel? Well, if he was in the right situation, then yes. If Clinton happened to be in the line of fire during an invasion of Israel, then I think he would fight. Do I think he would make a point of flying to Israel especially to fight? No, but that's not the point. All he did was produce a crowd-pleasing statement, which the media has blown out of proportion. That's all I have to say on the matter. Keep giving those speeches Bill, I hope to attend one someday.
