Wednesday, July 31, 2002 11:15 a.m. EDT
Clinton Pledges to Fight as Combat Soldier With Israeli Army
Ex-President Bill Clinton told an audience in Toronto, Canada, on Tuesday that he would personally fight "in the trench" alongside the Israel Defense Forces to repel an attack on the Jewish state by Iraq.
"I would grab a rifle and get in the trench and fight and die," Clinton proclaimed, according to a report by the Canadian Press news service.
The one-time Vietnam War-era draft dodger was addressing a packed fundraiser for Canada's Hadassah-Wizo Organization.
While discussing his efforts to bring peace to the Middle East as president, Clinton stressed that America must remain involved because U.S. participation is the only way to ensure the long-term trust of the Israelis.
"Israel believes America is the only big country who cares if they exist," he contended.
Clinton then delighted the mostly Jewish audience by saying he would be willing to physically fight for Israel.
"If Iraq came across the Jordan River ... I would grab a rifle and get in the trench and fight and die," he pledged.
The audience erupted in "massive applause" at the Clinton promise, the CP said.
At the height of the Vietnam War, the ex-president received three separate draft notices while studying abroad in Great Britain. But his uncle Raymond Clinton was eventually able to secure a slot in the ROTC in Arkansas, which allowed him to postpone his military service.
When the time came to keep his military commitment, however, Clinton wrote Arkansas ROTC Commander Col. Eugene Holmes, explaining that he couldn't serve because he "loathed the military." |
