Classic Clinton Spin...

To say the least...

You may or may not have caught the Bill Clinton interview on Fox News Sunday yesterday, but things got pretty heated when Chris Wallace questioned the former President about fueling bin Laden when he pulled out of Somalia back in 93. I could actually pick this entire interview apart if I had the time, but I just have a few minutes on lunch, so let me give you an example of the Clinton Spin tactics he is famous for when responding to the Somalia question.

In the interview, the former President said:

"They were all trying to get me to withdraw from Somalia in 1993 the next day after we were involved in Black Hawk down, and I refused to do it and stayed six months and had an orderly transfer to the United Nations."

And he said it with such confidence, anyone watching would assume that to be true. He even had me going. I had to look it up. And I'm glad I did.

First off, the transfer of control from the U.S. to the UN had taken place over 4 months prior to the Black Hawk Down incident. It was in May of 93 that the UN took over Operation Restore Hope and renamed it UNOSOM II. (source)

It was on October 3rd, 1993 that 18 US Soldiers were killed in the Battle of Mogadishu. And it was on October 8th, 1993 when the U.S. announced intent to withdrawl all US troops by 31 March 1994. (source)

Somalia Time Table:


So, while some troops did in fact stay for another 6 months, it only took 5 days for Clinton to announce his intentions to withdrawl. And that is what gave bin Laden his "paper tiger" theory. It only took 5 days of mourning the 18 lost troops before the lone remaining Super Power decided to cut and run. 5 days. Not, six months as Clinton would have you believe.

So, while the former President can be very convincing, the truth, once again, differs from what he says. While in a sense, he is correct, the troops did stay until March of 1994. But he announced their withdrawl 5 days after the Black Hawk Down incident occured.

So, who is re-writing history Mr. Clinton?