Bill and Hillary: A Divide Over Libya

It’s not only Chelsea and her husband who are in a shaky state. It’s going to heat up in the Clinton household. They’re not at all in agreement on the situation in Libya. And Bill decided to take the stage at the Women of the World summit, organized by The Daily Beast, to state his opinion on this topic as well as others. Which is stirring up trouble, just as his wife puts her burqa back on to go visit Egypt and Tunisia. Is this fair or unfair?

Bill Clinton was one of the stars of the summit. It’s not his fault if there still isn’t a female president of the U.S.: He did everything he could — too much even — for Hillary in 2008. So why did he choose this platform, in this women’s Valhalla, to state his disagreement with Hillary’s political stance, his wife and secretary of state under Obama? Even if he toned it down by saying that it only involved him.

Since 2009, he was an exemplary supporter of what she and 44 others fought for in the name of the U.S. Having a respectful state of reserve. It’s a significant fault that he’s made. Not for nothing. It’s his conviction.

He started out precociously, “I don’t want to preempt the secretary of state, and she is the only one of influence in the family.” The words come out politely, but at heart it sounds like “It’s too bad, but I know best.” According to him, the U.S. can help out the rebel troops by supporting a no-fly zone over Libya. “We have the planes to make our appropriate contribution to this…the leaders are on television pleading for it…we should do it.”

To argue his point: Gadhafi internationalized the conflict by paying mercenaries $2,000 a day, and this means the people of Libya will be killed by these mercenaries. Might as well tell Obama he’s wrong on betting on Gadhafi. Unfair. Complete disaster.

It’s even more embarrassing that on the same day Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates, the secretary of defense, spoke on the subject with an even more distanced tone, basically saying that all options are on the table, and therefore this is not the solution at the moment. The decision to declare a no-fly zone, which equates to a declaration of war, has lost ground.

So Bill Clinton, in trying to muster confidence, WikiLeaked his own experiences by telling friendly anecdotes about Mubarak and crazy ones about Gadhafi. And he couldn’t help mentioning a conversation with Putin, the prime minister of Russia, from last year. He asked him if the U.S. could win against Afghanistan. “Of course not,” he said. And asked if it was a mistake to continue occupying the country, Putin responded, “Absolutely not. You’re controlling the playing field for al Qaida.” Clinton’s conclusion was that we needed to stay in order to construct a civil society and guide grassroots development.

In addition, 42 stigmatized the Muslim hearings requested by Congressman Peter King. It’s politics explained to dummies, and it’s fascinating. Hillary, with her wars weighing on her, must not appreciate it, and this might mean there could be trouble within the formidable couple.

And Obama’s probably not too happy either? Unless this is referring to three-cushion billiards, which Obama and Clinton play with skill. We have already seen Bill take the mike in the White House pressroom in a combined duet with the president, and it works pretty well.