In March 2008, Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton claimed that on a 1996 trip to Bosnia as First Lady, she and her entourage had to cut short a greeting ceremony at Tuzla air field and ran from the tarmac with their "heads down" to avoid "sniper fire." The comments, made during a period in her campaign when Clinton was emphasizing her foreign policy experience, were immediately contested by comedian Sinbad who had accompanied Clinton on the visit. After news accounts and videos of Clinton's trip to Bosnia resurfaced and appeared to contradict the Senator assertions, Clinton's campaign claimed the candidate "misspoke" about sniper fire, and that snipers had only been reported in the hills surrounding the air field.
Clinton Sniper Fire News
- Washington Post: Clinton Appears Weary Of Taking 'Sniper Fire' (March 26, 2008)
- At first, the Clinton campaign maintained that the "misstatement" was limited to one occasion on March 17 when she talked about running across the tarmac "with our heads down." In an interview yesterday with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the senator from New York attributed the mistake to her "sleep-deprived" condition.
- CNN.com: Clinton says she "misspoke' about sniper fire (March 25, 2008)
- The New York Times: Clinton Says She "Misspoke" About Dodging Sniper Fire (March 25, 2008)
- The Associated Press: Clinton 'Misspoke' About '96 Bosnia Trip (March 24, 2008)
- Obama campaign is suggesting Clinton's statement was a deliberate exaggeration in an attempt to highlight her foreign policy experience.
- FOX News: Clinton Campaign Says She "Misspoke", Did Not Land "Under Sniper Fire" (March 24, 2008)
- Washington Post: Sniper Fire, and Holes In Clinton's Recollection (March 22, 2008)
- The Huffington Post: Clinton's "Sniper Fire" Trip To Bosnia: More Video (March 24, 2008)
- The Associated Press: Clinton Recalls Bosnia Trip As Dangerous (March 17, 2008)
- New York Times: Clinton Questions Role of Obama in a Crisis (March 1, 2008)
- Clinton mentions "sniper fire" during her trip to Bosnia on the eve of the Texas and Pennsylvania primaries.
- Topix.net: Clinton Sniper Fire
- Google News: Clinton Sniper Fire
References
Fast Facts
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Fact:
Sheryl Crow and Chelsea Clinton also went on the goodwill trip.
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Fact:
Clinton was greeted on the tarmac by a Bosnian girl holding flowers
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Fact:
Sinbad said the only crucial decision made during the trip was "Do we eat here or the next place?"
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Fact:
Clinton responded to Sinbad's comments by calling him a "comedian."
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Fact:
The Obama campaign called Clinton's comments "part of a troubling pattern" of the New York Senator "inflating her foreign policy experience"
