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« Desperately Seeking Barack | Main | McCain Contradicts Himself On Torture »

March 26, 2008

Comments

Scott Wahlstrom

The truth is powerful.

Philip C. Jann

I have just finished reading Ms. Hetheringtons letter about her service in Iraq. BRAVO!!! Ms. Hetherington is my oldest daughter and she is my hero. My wife and I raised our children to be independent,strong of character, and to stand up for themselves and those who can't. While in Bosnia, Tammi experiences were many, some of which she chooses not to talk about. However her statements about me are true and factcual. I have spent the last 30+ years as a part of military medicine, as both active duty and civilian. And yes, I did encounter a young Bosnian woman and her mother, Their message was simple:"Tell your daughhter Thank You for what she and her fellow soldiers did. It made a difference in our lives"!


I have written this comment only to support and validate my daughters statements. You go girl!!!!!!


Respectfully,
Philip C Jann

Kirk Wentzel

Hmm just like Hillary was always against NAFTA even though her records show she was in meetings pushing for it.

All these lies (sorry but I call it the way I see it) make her an untrustworthy person.

My thanks to Ms. Hetherington for having the courage to come forward. Although being a former Army SPC, her courage shouldn't surpise anyone.

Mr. Jann...you have every reason to be proud.

Army Vet

I applaud the courage it took Tammi to share this, and KUDOS to John Morgan for publishing this. . . I am sure that HRC is going to throw the kitchen sink at this blog now!

Get ready for your servers to get bombarded . .. GREAT SCOOP!

Army Vet

Fai in Buffalo

Tammi,
I admire and respect you for speaking out so honestly and in such a compelling manner regarding this issue. Only someone who has served can truly convey the impact of Senator Clinton's blantant LIE. Thank you for your willingness to share your sentiments.

John Morgan

The credit for this story goes to others. I was approached with Tammi's story and immediately grasped its importance. Credit also goes to the Obama campaign Pennsylvania media conference call yesterday when Gen. Stewart made his comments which proved very relevant to this story. His statements provide the background and context to her letter. Kudos to all those who contributed to this important article, I simply wrote it.

Kiku

Hillary claims to be ready to be Commander in Chief, yet she doesn't even have enough respect for the troops to restrain herself from lying for personal gain, claiming false valor. To make it even worse, she laughs while she's doing it.

Here's a story of what it was really like in Tazlo:

http://hillsbosnia.blogspot.com/2008/03/sniper-attacks-are-not-funny.html

Shame on you, Hillary!

Chris Blask

Tammi,

You have my greatest respect. I'm more likely to vote for you than anyone who would take anything away from the work you and your comrades did.

Mrs. Jann, you obviously did a good job raising your daughter and you have every right to be proud.

-deepest regards

-chris blask

Chris Blask

"Mr. Jann" (sorry, I type too fast... ;~)

Emmavoberry

Thank you Tammy. Again, you serve America.

Emma

Josselyn

Thank you so much, Tammi, for speaking up. It is beyond touching to be reminded of all our troops did - and continue to do - for both their own nation as well as those in need around the world. It is a level of insult that Senator Clinton's, let's say, "distortions" had not occurred to me previously. It's one thing for her to lie about her involvement with NAFTA [and contacting Canada prior to Ohio] and so many other things, but this is of caliber beyond forgiveness. Thank you for your innate bravery and eloquence.

Philip Jann

I must correct a previous statement about Tammi Hetherington. I alluded to her service in Iraq. That was in error. Tammi has never been in Iraq. I had intended to say "Bosnia". Thank you for allowing me to make that correction

Philip C. Jann

Cheryl Kopec

Thanks for sharing this story, Tammi. As an Iraq war veteran, 2003-2004, I share your resentment of those who try to use our sacrifice for their own political advancement, just like when GWB characterized our combat service as "romantic." Is America ready for an HONEST president?

~~Cheryl in Tacoma

Chris Blask

Mr. Jann, after what you and your family have done (and continue to do) *you* deserve the right to make mistakes all day long. You can call me a lemur and it wouldn't bother me a bit. ;~)

jorge999

I guess truth can hurt you worse in an election than about

anything that can happen to you. --Will Rogers

Robyn

Hillary lied repeatedly about Bosnia. She claims this vague "35 years" of experience, so why does she have to lie about her lack of foreign policy experience. She lacks in character and morals. I am sorry, but the tide has changed in this country. We would like a President who will be honest about our challenges ahead, with integrity and trustworthiness. Obama is the only person that fits the bill.

From the Obama campaign:

Barack Obama will be a President who is open and honest with the American people. Friday, Senator Obama returns to Pennsylvania to kick off a six-day “Road to Change” bus tour with events in Pittsburgh and Greensburg. At stops across the state, Senator Obama will continue to have a discussion with Pennsylvania voters about his vision to bring real change to Washington so we can finally make progress on issues we’ve been talking about for decades.

On the day after the twelve-year anniversary of Senator Clinton’s trip to Bosnia, Tammi Hetherington, an Army veteran who was stationed at Tuzla during the visit writes Pennsylvania Progressive’s John Morgan to express her outrage that Senator Clinton would denigrate those who actually risked their lives by exaggerating her experience in an attempt to “tear down” another Democrat (emphasis added):

I was present at the base in question when the First Lady visited and am intimately familiar with the situation on the ground at the time. It strikes me as beyond misstatement or clarity of memory for Senator Clinton to suggest that this visit in any way compares with the reality of those of us serving in theater experienced or presented a threat to her or her daughter…

As a service person in the US Army, I was deployed to Bosnia immediately after the Peace Accord was signed and served there for eleven months in 1996. I was there at Tuzla Air base when the First Lady visited, and there was no sniper fire or anyone running under cover. I saw both the First Lady and her daughter in our headquarters building (we called it the 'White House'). When I saw them in the lobby of our Headquarters neither her or her daughter had on the "Flak" vests which even we were required to wear at all times when not inside a building…

I am quite angry that what I and my fellow soldiers worked to achieve should be used as a playing card to build up a political nominee and tear down another. This is not what those of us who actually risked our lives were working for, we were trying to maintain a Peace Keeping mission in a country that had been ravaged by ethnic cleansing. To trivialize the atrocities suffered by the real people I met in that country for political gain is beyond my ability to comprehend.

The letter comes a day after Major General Walter Stewart (USAR Ret.) held a conference call with reporters to discuss the need for the Commander in Chief to be straightforward and honest with the American people. Morning Call’s Scott Kraus reports:

In a conference call with Pennsylvania reporters, retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Walter L. Stewart Jr., who supervised reserve deployments in Europe at the time of Clinton's visit to Bosnia, said Clinton's false description of a harrowing trip to the region was an insult to soldiers on the ground…

''By claiming to have been under fire during the approach and on the apron of the airport, Mrs. Clinton -- she has no sense of what a statement like that does to soldiers -- really she is insulting the command in its entirety,'' Stewart, former deputy commander of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, said on the call, organized by the Obama campaign. ''She is saying we put her and her daughter into a situation of unacceptable risk.''

Krauss also notes that Senator Clinton found yet another excuse for “misspeaking” yesterday:

Clinton dismissed the ''sniper fire'' remarks as an honest mistake, and told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that she was ''sleep-deprived.''

''I did misspeak the other day,'' Clinton said in an interview Tuesday with Pittsburgh radio station KDKA. ''You know this has been a very long campaign.''…

In conference calls, Clinton advisers have brushed off questions about her account of the Bosnia visit, saying it was a one-time slip, and that the region itself was truly dangerous.

But as we noted in a memo yesterday, Senator Clinton has made the same exaggerated claims about her Bosnia visit at least three times in the past few months:

MARCH 17: Clinton, Speaking About Her Trip To Bosnia, Said “I Remember Landing Under Sniper Fire. There Was Supposed To Be Some Kind Of A Greeting Ceremony At The Airport, But Instead We Just Ran With Our Heads Down To Get Into Vehicles To Get To Our Base.”…

FEBRUARY 29: Clinton Said That The Welcoming Ceremony In Bosnia “Had To Be Moved Inside Because Of Sniper Fire.”…

DECEMBER 29: Clinton That When She Went To Bosnia, “We Landed In One Of Those Corkscrew Landings And Ran Out Because They Said There Might Be Sniper Fire.”

Yesterday, Senator Clinton vowed that the race for the Democratic nomination would continue for the next three months. Given that Senator Obama has won the most states and the most votes and holds a nearly insurmountable lead in pledged delegates, observers of the process are now beginning to wonder what that would look like. The New York Times’ David Brooks writes:

For three more months (maybe more!) the campaign will proceed along in its Verdun-like pattern. There will be a steady rifle fire of character assassination from the underlings, interrupted by the occasional firestorm of artillery when the contest touches upon race, gender or patriotism. The policy debates between the two have been long exhausted, so the only way to get the public really engaged is by poking some raw national wound…

For three more months, Clinton is likely to hurt Obama even more against McCain, without hurting him against herself. And all this is happening so she can preserve that 5 percent chance. When you step back and think about it, she is amazing. She possesses the audacity of hopelessness.

And yesterday, Brooks’ prediction that Senator Clinton would try to divide the party and the country proved accurate. She chose to play politics with an issue that Senator Obama has addressed in a deeply honest and personal way while her campaign joined Republicans in smearing a decorated General and former Air Force Chief of Staff.

She also continued to demonstrate her do-or-say-anything to get elected strategy by suggesting that she might go after pledged delegates. In an interview with TIME’s Mark Halperin, she said:

As you know so well, Mark, every delegate with very few exceptions is free to make up his or her mind however they choose. We talk a lot about so-called pledged delegates, but every delegate is expected to exercise independent judgment.

But the specter of three months of Senator Clinton’s divisive, stop-at-nothing tactics seem to have party leaders beginning to worry. MSNBC’s First Read reports:

There seems to be a want by the Democratic Party to establish a critical mass and get this over with. See Maria Cantwell, Phil Bredesen and Harry Reid. Cantwell yesterday implied the winner of the pledged delegates would have the strongest claim to the nomination when the primaries are finished. Meanwhile, check out Bredesen’s “hell to pay” comment and Reid tersely saying the nomination WILL be wrapped up before convention.

Army Vet

Can the last person please provide a link to the Obama Press Release?

Thanks!
:o)

Lynda W. from New Orleans

Thank you for your courage, Tammi.

Kiku

Obama press release:

http://hillsbosnia.blogspot.com/2008/03/obama-press-release.html

John Morgan

I posted that from their daily email. There's no link.

Kiku

Tammi, you are a model! I'm proud to have you represent us. I stand by our troops more than ever. Thank you!

John From Cape Cod, Ma.

Thank-You for providing this story so the voters can better decide
whom to vote for on Apr 22.
You are a credit to your profession, a profession who it seems of late, chooses sound bits out of context and unresearched material
in the rush to create "splashy" headlines.

Thank-you SPC Hetherington both for your service to our country and for your honest report of the "on the ground" facts.

John Schlegel HM2/HS2 USN/USCG 1978-1988

tyler

Nice thread John. And Tammi's email speaks volumes. As does her dad's.

What I think is being missed is that Hillary is so used to having her words never being examined and her lies going un-researched...like how she said she was named after Sir Edmund Hillary.

But what she hasnt grasped yet, or maybe now she does, is that the press likes Barrack more than her so SHE now gets the media anal probe on her 'embellishments'. Since he is more to the left than her, he gets the pass...

Not to fear, once either one of them is selected to lead the democratic party, the press will again point both barrels at mccain and Hillary (assuming she somehow pulls this one off) can go back to lying with impunity.

Pilfered FBI files? ignored. Cattlegate? Ignored. Firing the white house travel office on phony charges? ignored. Missing billing records that show up two years later? Ignored. All this will be hers again if she can out muscle Barrack.

Momentum back to Barrack after a brief "wright" turn towards Hillary.

have a great day :)

Jonathan Kamens

Clinton really needs to bow out of the race, for the good of the party and the good of the country. That's the only way she's going to be able to save her reputation. See http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/jonathankamens/gGBSSC

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