During the 1996 Presidential Election I wrote a letter to the editor of The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and it was published Oct. 2, 1996. My husband was attending the Army War College and we were living in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

I was deeply distressed and disgusted by Clinton’s presidency and especially, by his treatment of the U.S. Military. Many may not recall today but during the eight years of Clinton’s presidency the U.S. military was cravenly used by Bill Clinton to accomplish political ends and strategic, national security purposes were considered secondary at most. I was digging through an old cedar chest earlier today and found a copy of the letter. Here it is……

Publication: Patriot-News, The (Harrisburg, PA)

Date: October 2, 1996
Page: A8
Column: LETTERS

The headline the editors of the paper gave it was………

“How many more will bleed for Clinton?”

I appreciated Robert A. Hall’s commentary, “Who served in place of Clinton?” (Sept. 16). This question has bothered me for a long time. I’m an Arkansas native who has watched Clinton sidestep and prevaricate for many years.

Butch Cecil wasn’t the only friend from Arkansas who died in Vietnam, but his death was
devastating to me as an idealistic teenager. The letters he wrote to me and my family the 45 days he was in Vietnam are full of heart break, fear and grit. When he was drafted, he served, without thought of running.

I believe that of all the scandalous “gates” that have followed the president, “Draftgate” itself is the shame that will endure as an indictment of the American people.

In 1974 I met Bill Clinton. He was running for Congress. He noticed my engagement ring and
asked who I was marrying. When I told him about my soon-to-be graduating West Pointer, he gave me a look of distaste. It was obvious that military service was something he disrespected.

During the Gulf War Clinton claimed he did and claimed he didn’t support it. My brothers, who are in the Arkansas Army National Guard, were deployed out of Fort Sill, Okla. On the day they were due to depart for the Gulf, the Oklahoma governor met with the troops to farewell them. he invited then Gov. Clinton to come along because the unit was comprised of Arkansans.
Clinton declined.

After the Gulf War, Clinton invited the troops to a picnic at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. Ever the politician.

I was astonished when in 1992 Clinton ran for the presidency and people took him seriously. It is really disheartening that our moral standards are so low that we now have a poltroon in office.

Who served in place of Clinton? Maybe it was my friend, Butch Cecil. Perhaps it wasn’t, but you can be sure that many battalions of Arkansas-bred boys bravedly served and bled for our country. Mr. Clinton now sends young Americans in harm’s way to serve, not the nation, but his own political ambitions.

Since Jan. 20, 1993, Americans have shed their blood in Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Bosnia. How much more blood is America willing to sacrifice?

Laura Lee Donoho
Carlisle

Section: EDITORIAL
Edition: FINAL

Copyright 1996, 2005 The Patriot-News Co. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

How many more did bleed for Clinton? An administration that considered the political implications of every action over the impact on our nations national security did not take terrorists threats seriously although they were evident and ever present from 1993 on.

It’s a fact that all the braying, threats and intimidation by the Democrats won’t be able to shout down.

And now that a few shards of truth of the era of Clinton are about to be broadcast on ABC his faithful hounds are howling.