Why Hillary Clinton’s “Strongest Issue” Is Actually Her Biggest Farce
POLITICS Why Hillary Clinton’s “Strongest Issue” Is Actually Her Biggest FarceTom Cahill | April 6, 2016
Hillary Clinton just might be the top salesperson for the military-industrial complex in US history, yet she is claiming to be the undisputed champion of gun control in the 2016 race.
The fact that Clinton has sold more weapons than George W. Bush in his second term isn’t mentioned much by the major cable news networks, who have allowed her to get away with the narrative that she wants to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of killers. But much of the unrest in the Middle East can be traced back to US-supplied weapons during Clinton’s years as Secretary of State, particularly to countries with deplorable human rights records.
As the International Business Times discovered, Clinton’s State Department sold $165 billion in weapons to 20 different countries between October 2010 and September 2012 that also donated to her family foundation. Saudi Arabia, for example, donated $10 million to the Clinton Foundation ahead of a sale of fighter jets in late 2011, during Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State. In what could be seen as an effort to grease the wheels, fighter jet manufacturer Boeing donated $900,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
But Clinton also assisted in selling $151 billion worth of weapons through Pentagon-brokered deals to 16 different countries that had donated to the Clinton Foundation. When this $316 billion total is compared with the Bush Administration’s arms sales approved by George W. Bush’s State Department, that amounts to 143 percent more arms sold over the same length of time.
All of this flies in the face of the anti-gun image the Clinton campaign has created for the former First Lady and Secretary of State. But at the end of the day, Clinton was front-and-center for a bulk of the weapons sales made during the Obama administration, which was the highest period of arms proliferation in US history since World War II.
Clinton has made her gun control position a central issue of her 2016 campaign, even lobbing false attacks at primary opponent Bernie Sanders in order to win liberals who prioritize gun control when casting their vote. But ultimately, gun control is about preventing dangerous weapons from finding their way into the hands of killers. Since Hillary Clinton’s most recent government job has been overseeing tremendous amounts of weapons transferring from the US to repressive dictatorships, when will the media start questioning her ownership of the gun control issue?
Tom Cahill is a writer for US Uncut based in the Pacific Northwest. He specializes in coverage of political, economic, and environmental news. You can contact Tom via email at tom.v.cahill@gmail.com.
http://usuncut.com/politics/clintons-sandy-hook-attack-backfires/
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