Thousands of ethnic Albanians honored former President Bill Clinton in Kosovo yesterday with a statue for his role in helping them fight off, then Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic’s ethnic crackdowns in 1999.
Clinton was celebrated as a hero for launching an intense 78-day bombing campaign that returned Albanians back to their homes in Kosovo after Milosevic’s brutal ethnic cleansing displaced close to 800,000 Albanians – in the process killing 10,000 Albanians.
Eleven-feet high, Clinton’s statue is positioned on top of a white-tiled base, and is located on a street in Kosovo’s capital, Pristina, that is also named after him. His left arm is raised congenially as he clutches a portfolio bearing his name and the date when NATO started bombing Yugoslavia, on March 24, 1999.
“I never expected that anywhere, someone would make such a big statue of me,” said Clinton of his statue.
Every president probably has their fair share of secrets, including former President Bill Clinton, whose secrets are about to made public in a new book authored by one of his trusted confidants.
During his eight years in the Oval Office, Slick Willy held 79 taped conversations with old buddy and historian Taylor Branch, which will all appear in Branch’s book, “The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President,” September 29.
Clinton was motivated to leave historians a detailed behind-the-scenes peek of his presidency and invited Branch to secret interview sessions. Among the most interesting conversations the gentlemen shared was that of his affair with Monica Lewinsky, in which Clinton said “I cracked, I cracked” after the Democrats lost Congress, the Whitewater investigation and his mother’s death.
Clinton also told Branch that he and Vice President Al Gore were engaged in a shouting match shortly after Gore lost the 2000 presidential election. The former president felt the then Democratic nominee should have allowed him to campaign in New Hampshire and Arkansas, where he was popular, and which have given Gore enough electoral votes. Gore responded by telling Clinton that his scandals were a “drag” on his campaign.
The interview sessions were kept so secret that only his scheduler had prior knowledge. Branch told USA Today that Clinton later hid the tapes in his sock drawer.
Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton let everyone know who exactly was in control yesterday when a translator botched up a student’s question during a Q&A in The Congo. The student actually asked a question about President Barack Obama, however, the translator misheard and asked the state secretary what her husband, former President Bill Clinton, thought about a particular foreign policy issue.
Hilary became visibly upset and hastily replied, “You want me to tell you what my husband thinks? My husband is not the secretary of state, I am.” Damn, I wouldn’t want to have to deal with her wrath.
No one ever said former President Bill Clinton wasn’t a talented multi-tasker. After appearing as one of the marque speakers at the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas, he also celebrated his 63rd birthday at one of the hottest restaurants in the city. And what a coincidence, his wife, secretary of state Hilary Rodham Clinton, just happened to be in The Congo as part of her trip to Africa.
Throwing his bash at the pricey Craftsteak at the MGM Grand Hotel on Monday night, although his actual birthday isn’t until August 19th, some of those in attendance were former White House chief of staff John D. Podesta and Hollywood media mogul Steve Bing, who recently lent his jet to Mr. Clinton for his trip to North Korea. As of Monday afternoon, it was unclear if former Vice-President Al Gore, who was also in town for the summit, would be attending the dinner.
With the help of former President Bill Clinton, American journalist Euna Lee and Laura Ling were finally freed from a North Korean prison after being detained for more than four months.
After meeting with North Korea leader Kim Jong Il on Tuesday, Clinton managed to have the women pardoned from their 12-year hard labor prison sentence. The two were sentenced in June for illegal entry and engaging in “hostile acts.” Ling and Lee were arrested in March near the North Korean-Chinese border while on a reporting trip for Current TV, which happens to have been founded by Clinton’s former Vice President Al Gore. To hear Ling’s and Lee’s dramatic first words back, click here.
