Hillary Clinton blasted after Troubles explosion claim is rubbished
Sunday, 18 October 2009
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Hillary Clinton has “bombed” again with another war story that never happened — this time in Belfast.
She said in a speech at Stormont last week on her whirlwind visit to Northern Ireland that the city’s Europa Hotel was devastated by an explosion when she first stayed there in 1995.
But the last terror strike on the landmark building was 1993 — TWO YEARS before she checked in as First Lady with President husband Bill.
Sunday Life has discovered that renovations had been completed on the hotel in January 1994 — 22 MONTHS before they stayed there.
She told a packed Assembly last Monday: “When Bill and I first came to Belfast, we stayed at the Europa Hotel ... even though then there were sections boarded up because of damage from bombs.”
However, hotel sources have confirmed there was “no way” there was a board in sight when the power couple arrived.
US Secretary of State Clinton’s latest slip-up has echoes of her blooper last year — when she said she “mis-spoke” after telling a story about dodging sniper fire in Bosnia in 1996.
Last night, one of Clinton’s spokesmen told Sunday Life there was “no comparison” between the two incidents.
He added that she had simply been trying to express a sincere “perception” of a Belfast in darker days.
Ian Kelly said from his Washington office: “I think what Secretary Clinton was trying to do was draw contrasts between contemporary Belfast, which I know has changed hugely from the Belfast of 1995.
“We not talking about the same thing [as ‘mis-speaking’ in Bosnia]. Secretary Clinton was simply contrasting.
“The place she had in her mind still had quite a bit of tension.
“That was what she was trying to note — that there has been a real change since 1995 when there was real desire for change among mothers, fathers and children.”
Yesterday, the Europa Hotel concierge who dealt with the Clintons during their 1995 stay, said he had “no memories” of any boards at the hotel then.
Martin Mulholland added: “The hotel was spotless. There had been no bombs and there was no scaffolds or wooden boards or anything like that when they came.
“The place was spotless. The only security or boards that went up were the ones put up by Bill Clinton’s secret service team.”
Our photos show Martin shaking then President Bill Clinton’s hand outside the Europa when he came for his overnight stay on November 30, 1995. Clinton’s “mis-remembrance” could have been overlooked at the height of the Troubles, when the plush Europa became the most bombed hotel in the world.
Its windows were boarded up so many times after blasts that for a while it was dubbed “Hardboard Hotel”. But the official history of the Europa — the book In The Headlines — lists the last successful bomb attack there as 1993.
A skip lorry loaded with 500-1,000lb of explosives detonated near the hotel, ripping apart a side of the Grand Opera House and leaving a gaping hole in the Europa.
By August 1993, however, it had been bought over by hotel
giant the Hastings Group, who gave it the sparkling new front we know today.
It was last March when Clinton claimed she bravely dodged sniper fire in Bosnia after landing in the conflict-torn country as First Lady in 1996.
During a speech on Iraq — while battling against Barack Obama to become Democratic presidential nominee — she 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 in the vehicles to get to our base.”
But her “war story” came back to haunt her when archive TV news footage had showed her walking calmly away from the plane with daughter Chelsea. Red-faced Clinton confessed after: “I did misspeak the other day. This has been a very long campaign. Last week for the first time in 12 years or so, I misspoke.”
Another blunder came last April, when Clinton told on the campaign trail how Trina Bachtel was turned away for lack of health insurance and both she and her unborn baby died.
Miss Bachtel’s grieving family, however, said the story was simply not true.
Despite the fact that Hillary mis-remembered her time living in the shadow of bombs at the Europa in 1995, she returned to stay there last week.
Her entourage took over 110 rooms and, on her visit to Stormont last Monday, she hugged Martin McGuinness and talked of how Northern Ireland had transformed.
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Comments
29 Comments
It seesm that she is trying to get cheap publicity by talking on subjects that she does not know.Futrher there may be soem advisers around her who are giving incorrect information for some unknown reasons and it can be even bribes to meet the aspirations of soem interested parties
Posted by D.K.RAJAPAKSA | 23.10.09, 02:30 GMT
That's Hillary for ya, can't distinguish truth from make believe.
Posted by Sherry | 20.10.09, 00:14 GMT
Poor Martin. Hugged by Hillary. No matter what he has done, he does'nt deserve that.
Posted by James | 19.10.09, 21:59 GMT
Well she may have got her dates meesed up but her description of the hotel was pretty bang on!!!! I had the privaledge of working in this fine establishment in old Harpers day and it was for about a 10 year period the most bombed and devastated hotel/building in all the world.
Those provies sure hated everything it stood for but even they could'nt knock it down.
Posted by Bill | 19.10.09, 20:55 GMT
you know what, she has brought loads of jobs and business contacts to the provence - surely we can give her a break for some small memory lapse or the kind of mistakes that most of us make every day!
Posted by Lu | 19.10.09, 20:09 GMT
A lot of you people sound very confused!!
That why you fly foreign flags?!?!
One of the worlds most powerful person and you all wine and grine like a mob of rednecks.
Posted by sean from co down Ireland | 19.10.09, 19:46 GMT
The spirit of Sunday’s “Front Page Scoop” appears remarkably similar to an article of Wednesday 14 October in the “Blogs and Stories” section of The” Daily Beast.Com” website, enititled “Oops, Did She Do It Again?”.
Thank you for presenting Niall Stanage’s erudite and timely article in such an easy to read manner.
Posted by Archie | 19.10.09, 17:46 GMT
Can we EVER expect the truth form ANY politician?
Posted by Stuart | 19.10.09, 17:12 GMT
sorry, lying politicians fall on every level of the left to right spectrum. the key word is lying, and unfortunately the world is burdened by those seeking other rewards than "public service" Yawn, next pol who opens his/her mouth to opine will continue the self promotion and pursuit of personal wealth as the public struggles to stay above water.
Posted by cate | 19.10.09, 17:02 GMT
Must be a quite news day for the BT. Interesting enough article but what's more fascinating are all the comments people have left about it! Dinosaur Andrew somehow managed to get some pro loyalist slant out of this, Malachy rekons it's a typical cover up for Capitol politicians and Nee-Naw wants to see her doing a standup night. Good to see some healthy debate generated by Hilary anyway.
Posted by Belfast Citizen | 19.10.09, 16:39 GMT
She's had to 'mis-remember' quite a lot, being married to Bill!!
Posted by AL | 19.10.09, 14:59 GMT
The two purposes of this article by Aaron is to attack Hillary clinton's character and to make a pro-Loyalist poltical point.
Hate crime in NI (i.e. sectarianism) is still at huge levels and everybody knows that. The modern Troubles were caused by sectarian hatred on Derry's Catholic's in 1968 (my humble opinion).
"she hugged Martin McGuinness " - is an obvious statement used to try to convince the readership that Loyalists have a reason to fear Hillary. Believe me when I say Hillary want's peace and an end to sectarianism. Does the Belfast Telegraph or for that matter aaron?
Posted by andrew | 19.10.09, 14:14 GMT
She is just a typical politician. Say and promise anything!
Posted by robbo | 19.10.09, 13:23 GMT
Give her a break... afterall she is a politician and this dosen't REALLY qualify as a lie... does it?
She just misremembered, misspoke, was misquoted... whatever suits.
This will be forgotten just like the Bosnia one until it happens again!!
Posted by Bill | 19.10.09, 13:21 GMT
Well according to some of you it's better to tell a lie if it makes a better story for Northern Ireland. Hillary is a narcissist, she only cares about how she looks to further herself and her career.
Posted by KermitTheFrog | 19.10.09, 13:19 GMT
Come on! Give her a break,
Posted by Sartorius | 19.10.09, 13:11 GMT
Politicians are full of it. It goes with the territory.
Posted by Tim | 19.10.09, 12:55 GMT
The two purposes of this article by Aaron is to attack Hillary clinton's character and to make a pro-Loyalist poltical point.
Hate crime in NI (i.e. sectarianism) is still at huge levels and everybody knows that. The modern Troubles were caused by sectarian hatred on Derry's Catholic's in 1968 (my humble opinion).
"she hugged Martin McGuinness " - is an obvious statement used to try to convince the readership that Loyalists have a reason to fear Hillary. Believe me when I say Hillary want's peace and an end to sectarianism. Does the Belfast Telegraph for that matter aaron?
Posted by andrew | 19.10.09, 12:55 GMT
You have no idea of the invented crazy stuff which has been circulating through the Capitol in 'In House Magazines'. History is continually reinvented for the edification of its members.
Posted by Malachy McAnespie | 19.10.09, 11:03 GMT
Why do people make excuses for the Clintons who, like all lefties, just fabricate their rhetoric as the go along regardless of the facts or fiction thereof?
Were they honest people who practice the vigilance paramount to the tasks they beg to perform, the 9/11 terrorists who killed thousands would never have been free to engage in pilot training during the Clinton administration.
Posted by jock | 19.10.09, 10:09 GMT
29 Comments