Liking Clinton

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was in Istanbul over the weekend giving a speech at Bilgi University.

Clinton gave an open-ended speech on politics, embellished with anecdotes from his White House days to an audience of students, academics and business people.

I read Clinton’s speech from top to bottom, highlighting certain segments. For instance:

“After I became president, I brought my national security team and my economic team. And I said we are going to start meeting together more because increasingly in the future when the world grows more globalized and interdependent, economics would be a part of national security. I want to specify the next 10 countries whose fate will shape the future of the 21st century. But … I will tell you the two countries we want to start with: Turkey and Ukraine. If you study geography, history, [the] potential to unite and divide and reopen all the wounds of the 20th century and even the 19th century, what happens there will have an enormous impact on the world’s future.”

I like Clinton. Of course, looking at the position Turkey has assumed in world politics, it might be natural to claim you foresaw these kinds of developments. But the truth is not exactly as Clinton claims.

At the meeting to which Clinton is referring, he revealed the U.S.’ new trade policy or, more specifically, its new export policy. This was the decision:

“Wherever in the world there are big auctions or contracts to be won, the White House will throw in its weight to ensure a U.S. victory.”*

Just take it from Clinton’s Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and Ex-Im Bank President Rita Rodriguez. Brown said that at that meeting they identified 10 emerging markets: Brazil, Poland, Saudi Arabia, India, Vietnam, China, South Korea, Indonesia, Ukraine and Turkey. They planned on scheduling a visit to each of these countries and did visit most of them. Unfortunately, they never did come to Turkey. The visit was planned for early 1996, and then it was postponed. During the second proposed visit, Brown’s plane crashed near Dubrovnik, Croatia. Brown died in the crash and was replaced by Mickey Kantor and William Daley in 1998.

Anyway, let’s return to Clinton’s speech. Clinton claims he said to his advisors in the meeting that “you had better include Pakistan. And if [things don’t go well in Pakistan], terrible things [are] going to happen.”

I like Clinton, but many of the seeds leading to the chaos wreaking havoc on Pakistan and Afghanistan were sown during his administration. I’ll explain:

In 1994 Osama bin Laden announced his founding of “the Hijaz Islamic Republic,” with its capital in Mecca.

Then, just as today, Saudi Arabia’s security was largely in the hands of the Americans. From their base in Dhahran, the Americans had an excellent vantage of the kingdom, and the constant AWAC activity was thrown in for free as well.

The Saudis made multiple requests to the U.S. for help catching bin Laden. But it was in vain. Bin Ladin escaped to Afghanistan, then to Sudan and finally back to Afghanistan. Now he is hiding in Pakistan’s tribal territory. And let me mention before I forget: Around that time, America signed a $30 billion weapons deal with the Saudis to help them improve their national security! Just like the recently signed $75 billion deal.

As I said, I like Clinton, but. …

* Editor’s Note: The original quote, accurately translated, could not be verified.