Hillary and Rwanda: A Study in Cynicism

Annoyed though I am by Hillary's claim to have solved the Irish Question, it's nothing compared to her - how to put it? - revisionist claims about the Rwandan genocide. These are revolting. Hilzoy lays it all out here in a post* that's as enraging as it is sickening. The conclusion:

I think it's a lot more likely that she either didn't advocate action on Rwanda at all, or did so only in passing. If so, this would have to be the definitive example of her attempt to claim responsibility for everything good that happened during her husband's presidency, while disavowing all responsibility for his mistakes. This was, in my opinion, the most shameful moment of the Clinton administration. It ought, by rights, to have a place in Hillary Clinton's "thirty five years of experience working for change." Or perhaps she might claim that she wasn't that interested in foreign policy at the time, or that for whatever reason she just didn't pick up on the genocide in Rwanda until it was too late to act. That would at least be honest.

But if, in fact, Clinton missed the chance to urge her husband to help stop the Rwandan genocide, then she should not pretend that she was, in fact, right there on the side of the angels all along. That's just grotesque.

*Hilzoy quotes Samantha Power extensively. But remember that her book was written long before she joined the Obama campaign. Hilzoy also consulted eight books on the Rwandan genocide: Hillary isn't mentioned in any of them.

UPDATE: Links fixed, I hope. Thanks.

Comments

[Rajesh]

both links point to this website & not to the Hilzoy post.

[Charles Rufuku]

During the ongoing electoral campain we hear the candidates citing the best of their accoplishments, It is clear that we forget the real truth of the past events. Hillary Clinton, with all due respect, when she talks about 3:00 o clock am phone call, she does not want to remember that this phone call at this time of the morning came and thank her she enswer it,and talked with a lady calling from Rwanda during the genocide asking for help until she was killed just after talking with the White House.I do not know exact the details of the conversation but i know that that the lady was able to reach them thru an American Human Watch worker A. Des Forges.
Of course, Hillary and her husbang former President Bill Clinton did do anything to save her and other victims of the genocide.At Least Bill Clinton is redeeming himself by apologising, visiting and working hard for rwanda in the areas of economic and health development thru his very laudable Fondation.

[casquette prada]

si la mode et je vais faire des favoris!