Say Anything Blog

Sigh...

A Michigan man facing federal criminal charges of illegally working for Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi Intelligence Service says he met with Hillary Clinton at the White House in May 1996.

In a 1997 interview with this reporter, Muthanna Hanooti said that at the meeting, Mrs. Clinton was “very receptive” to his request for an easing of the American sanctions on Iraq that were in place at the time. He said Mrs. Clinton “passed a message to the State Department” about the need to implement the oil-for-food deal, which was intended to allow Saddam to sell billions of dollars’ worth of oil to pay for food for Iraqi citizens…

[T]o reporters on the foreign policy beat in Washington at the time and to those active in the Iraqi opposition to Saddam, it was clear whose agenda was being advanced. The news article in 1997, published in the Forward, that described Mrs. Clinton’s involvement with Mr. Hanooti began: “The American-led blockade of Iraq is crumbling, following an intensive, domestic lobbying effort that has involved Rep. David Bonior and Senator Abraham — and, according to some sources, Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

Saddam was flying Democrats over to Iraq on propaganda missions and putting his operatives into the White House for meet-and-greets with the Democrat Vice President and First Lady.  And we’re supposed to believe that Saddam was contained?  That the sanctions were working and the invasion wasn’t necessary?

Please.  Saddam was about five years away from bribing his way out from under the sanctions and re-starting his WMD’s program.