Hillary: I Knew Taliban Negotiation Would Be ‘Hard To Swallow’ For Americans

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks as she delivers the keynote address at the launch of the U.S. Global Development Lab, an initiative of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), on... Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks as she delivers the keynote address at the launch of the U.S. Global Development Lab, an initiative of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), on Thursday April 3, 2014 in New York. Congress and USAID are headed for a showdown over the Obama administration's creation of a Cuban Twitter communications network to undermine the communist government in Cuba. USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah is expected to testify on Tuesday before the Senate Appropriations State Department and foreign operations subcommittee. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) MORE LESS
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Hillary Clinton described in her new book her participation in the discussions about Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s release, knowing that any swap would be difficult for the public to accept.

“I acknowledged, as I had many times before, that opening the door to negotiations with the Taliban would be hard to swallow for many Americans after so many years of war,” she wrote, according to a copy of “Hard Choices” obtained by CBS.

Clinton explained that the U.S. always insisted on bringing Bergdahl home if they were to free Guantanamo detainees sought by the Taliban.

“The Taliban’s top concern seemed to be the fate of its fighters being held at Guantanamo Bay and other prisons. In every discussion about prisoners, we demanded the release of Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who had been captured in 2009. There would not be any agreement about prisoners without the sergeant coming home,” she wrote.

Read more excerpts from Clinton’s book here.

The publisher of Clinton’s book, Simon & Schuster, is owned by CBS.

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Notable Replies

  1. You obviously didn’t shove it far enough down their throats.

  2. Agreed. It’s too bad that the start of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars weren’t as ‘hard to swallow’ for the American people as the repercussions have been.

  3. Well, Hill, you voted for this. I, for one, am sick of her dribbling leaks to 1) sell her book, and 2) fill her war coffers.

    It is time for Hill and Bill to go gently into the sunset and be doting grandparents (and I voted for Bill twice).

  4. Everyone is saying she’s a foregone conclusion, but every time I see her in public I’m reminded of why she didn’t win the nomination the first time around. She just isn’t that likable. The clips of her on The View were just awkward to me. She said very pedestrian things as if they were great words of wisdom. “Once you retire, you’ve got to take some time for yourself.” Oh wow. That’s profound.

    Part of me thinks the GOP will spend all their effort beating her up (again) and totally miss the underdog who ends up getting the nomination.

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