Thirty-five years of slightly relevant experience

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images It’s been a bad news cycle for Hillary Clinton. After ABC News rushed to discover whether the former first lady had been in the White House on blue-dress day, other news organizations scoured the 11,000-plus pages released by the National Archives for evidence of Clinton’s expansive claims about her foreign-policy experience in ...

595858_080320_clinton2.jpg
595858_080320_clinton2.jpg
DETROIT - MARCH 19: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York holds a "Solutions for America" event at American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 25 March 19, 2008 in Detroit, Michigan. Clinton came to Detroit to attempt to generate support for a Michigan democratic primary do-over. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

It’s been a bad news cycle for Hillary Clinton. After ABC News rushed to discover whether the former first lady had been in the White House on blue-dress day, other news organizations scoured the 11,000-plus pages released by the National Archives for evidence of Clinton’s expansive claims about her foreign-policy experience in her husband’s White House.

The Guardian sniffed around her scheduling records and found, on an “initial reading,” that Hillary wasn’t always exactly an eyewitness to power:

On the day that dozens of US cruise missiles rained down on Serbia in an attempt to punish Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic for the country’s onslaught against ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo, first lady Hillary Clinton was far from the White House war room: instead she was touring ancient Egyptian ruins, including King Tut’s tomb and the temple of Hatshepsut. And on the day before the signing of the Good Friday agreement in Belfast she was at an event called “Hats on for Bella” in Washington.

Ouch. I wonder, though, what if we had we discovered that the former first lady was in the Situation Room with Sandy Berger and Wes Clark, pointing out bombing targets on a map? That wouldn’t have played well, either.

More from Foreign Policy

An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.

A New Multilateralism

How the United States can rejuvenate the global institutions it created.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.

The Endless Frustration of Chinese Diplomacy

Beijing’s representatives are always scared they could be the next to vanish.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.

The End of America’s Middle East

The region’s four major countries have all forfeited Washington’s trust.