Hillary Clinton: "Every nation has to be either for us, or against us"

[Steve Eisenberg]

According to Why Iraq Was Inevitable, in the current issue of Commentary:

Hillary Clinton, the new junior Senator from New York, put it this way in an interview with Dan Rather two days after 9/11, using starkly confrontational language of the sort for which President Bush would soon be pilloried: "Every nation has to be either for us, or against us. Those who harbor terrorists, or who finance them, are going to pay a price."

While I agree with the article's main point, the "for us or against us" passage raises a question in my mind. Googling, I can't find a mainstream media source, and I would have thought that if Senator Clinton had actually said such a thing on television, it would have been used against her before.

Can anyone find more information on the origins of this alleged quotation?

[Jahungo]

Here's a video on youtube which has audio of (at least purportedly) Clinton saying those exact words. I mean, it's possible it could be faked, but it sounds like her voice to me.

[Floater]

Isn't that the general sentiment among a large part of the US population?

[Ramblin' Dave]

Originally Posted by Jahungo

Here's a video on youtube which has audio of (at least purportedly) Clinton saying those exact words. I mean, it's possible it could be faked, but it sounds like her voice to me.

Even if it really is her, there is precedent for the recording to be illegitimate in a sense.

Originally Posted by Floater

Isn't that the general sentiment among a large part of the US population?

Not the portion of the population that is now supporting the Dems for president, whether they were for Obama or Clinton. Of course, it's not as unusual for either of the Clintons to sound that much like Republicans as most people think.

[CannonFodder]

Originally Posted by Floater

Isn't that the general sentiment among a large part of the US population?

I'll admit that immediately following 9/11 it was. I think we've healed and stepped back from that, a bit. I'm still not thrilled with how we conduct ourselves internationally, or with the shouts of nationalism (which is different from patriotism), but the necessity for diplomacy is slightly better understood now. Well, a lot of American citizens understand it, even if the concept is somewhat hazy with the current administration.

[Dondi]

Isn't it possible that there are nations that are neutral toward us?

[Simply Madeline]

Originally Posted by Jahungo

Here's a video on youtube which has audio of (at least purportedly) Clinton saying those exact words. I mean, it's possible it could be faked, but it sounds like her voice to me.

I think it's her, but the audio seems to catch her mid-sentence. It would be interesting to hear the quote in context.

That said, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if she did say exactly that.

[Lainie]

Originally Posted by Floater

Isn't that the general sentiment among a large part of the US population?

Originally Posted by CannonFodder

I'll admit that immediately following 9/11 it was. I think we've healed and stepped back from that, a bit. I'm still not thrilled with how we conduct ourselves internationally, or with the shouts of nationalism (which is different from patriotism), but the necessity for diplomacy is slightly better understood now. Well, a lot of American citizens understand it, even if the concept is somewhat hazy with the current administration.

Maybe I'm just not part of the "large segment," but I never felt that way. I never understood the anger toward France. The whole attitude struck me as extremely arrogant and ridiculously narrow-minded. The fact that another nation doesn't agree with the way the US government chooses to fight terror does not mean that other nation is on the side of the terrorists. What an absurd and pernicious idea, especially from a country that was founded on ideas of self-determination and independence.

[Tarquin Farquart]

Originally Posted by Dondi

Isn't it possible that there are nations that are neutral toward us?

I would have thought virtually all nations are neutral although it depends what you're talking to them about.