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Obama Takes Back Clinton's Comments on Mexico

Hillary called drug war an 'insurgency'

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 10, 2010 7:04 AM CDT
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(Newser) – President Obama took Hillary Clinton’s foot out of the administration’s mouth yesterday, taking back her comments that likened Mexico to the Colombia of the ‘80s and ‘90s. “Mexico is an ample democracy, with a growing economy,” Obama said in an interview with the Spanish-language La Opinion newspaper, translated by Yahoo, “and because of that you can’t compare what is happening to Mexico with what happened in Colombia 20 years ago.”

Yesterday, of course, Clinton made precisely that comparison in a gathering of foreign policy experts. Mexico’s drug traffickers are “morphing into … what we would consider an insurgency,” Clinton said. “It’s looking more and more like Colombia looked 20 years ago.” Those comments offended Mexican politicians, according to the Christian Science Monitor. Many worried the comments presaged a Plan Colombia-style US military intervention.

President Barack Obama approaches the podium with Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell in this file photo.
President Barack Obama approaches the podium with Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell in this file photo.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 27 comments
Monkeyfleas
Sep 30, 2010 9:57 PM CDT
This administration sure needs to grow a pair... Hilary is absolutly correct, if you go to Mexico you take your life into your own hands. Read the newspaper, people are dieing daily because of the drug wars. Obama doesn't like what Hilary said but what she says is true. Who cares if Mexican officials don't like what is truth, who wants to hear that their state is run by druggies? Instead of always apoligizing for everything and bowing down before dictators just be a man and stick to your guns, maybe,just maybe the Mexican government might do something about the drug lords, for the innocent peoples sake..
Rocket448
Sep 10, 2010 9:32 PM CDT
How can you say that Mexico is on the road to an insurgency? Sure, its a useful analogy and might have been meant as such...I'm not apologizing I'm just saying. If the President had let that stand as if it were State Department policy he would have been ridiculed worldwide. There's a whole world out there and lots of the people in it have TVs or at least listen to radios. Well, parochialism is an American tradition.
Cat-Lover
Sep 10, 2010 9:14 PM CDT
No nos gusta la senora Clinton. Pero, dicemos, "Si" por el Presidente Obama. She knows the "program" and must stick to it. Peace and love!!! It's worked before...

 
Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • Mexico • Colombia • Mexican drug war

 

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