An interesting op ed on Tuzla

[Onlooker]

My feeling is that given the hostility political candidates face, they are all quite brave. In my own very limited experience working on political campaigns years ago, I once faced a hostile crowd. It was very intimidating, especially because one person seemed ready to lunge. I can imagine what Obama, Clinton, and McCain must experience. There are a lot of scary partisans no matter who you like. At any rate, I thought this piece was interesting about Tuzla. It would be a scary experience for most people.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/opinion/01muscatine.html?em&ex=1207195200&en=ebfd5251a582c3c0&ei=5087%0A

AS staff members who traveled with the first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to Bosnia in March 1996, we have followed with more than passing interest the extensive news coverage of her landing in Tuzla. Video footage clearly shows that Mrs. Clinton’s assertions that she landed “under fire” and that the arrival ceremony was canceled were wrong. She said so herself last week.

Yet even since she acknowledged her mistake, the commentary has continued unabated. Reports are now being embellished (to borrow the term du jour) to suggest that Bosnia was not really a danger zone. Her visiting American troops on a peacekeeping mission in a hostile environment is now being treated as if it were a trip to the beach. During a week of nonstop coverage, few journalists went beyond the irresistible video footage to ask what else happened on this trip and how Mrs. Clinton might have erred in the details about the landing in Tuzla. So here are some facts that provide context:

We flew in a C-17 cargo plane from Germany to Bosnia precisely because it was capable of steep descents and ascents into and out of areas of conflict. We were issued flak jackets on the plane before landing in Tuzla and were told the tarmac ceremony might be canceled or curtailed due to sniper fire from the surrounding hillsides. The first lady and Chelsea Clinton were moved to the armored cockpit for the landing. Armored vehicles were placed around the tarmac, and Apache helicopters hovered overhead.

In a recent e-mail message to a British blogger, Ejup Ganic, who was the acting president of Bosnia during Mrs. Clinton’s visit, wrote: “I remember that visit quite well. Although the NATO troops were in Tuzla, we still believed that some positions on the hills were occupied by radical Serbs, so I was worried about the overall safety.” The planned welcoming ceremony was shortened, he said, but it still lasted a bit longer than expected because a nongovernment group brought along a little girl to sing to the first lady.