Bill Clinton Foreign Policies
Much more involved on a global scale!
Governor of…
Vice-President…
First Lady…
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Early success in the Middle East…
Oslo Peace Accords
Yitzhak Rabin & Yasser Arafat
Somalia Civil War
Somalia
• UN distributing food to starving
Somali victims of a civil war
1. Operation Restore Hope
2. Distribution proved difficult because of
warlord Mohammed Farrah Aidid
a) Used food for his soldiers & to sell for
weapons (80% of food stolen)
b) Cot: drug causes aggressive behavior;
warlords used it to recruit more members
“If it shoots or blows up
they have it in Somalia.”
Mohammed Farrah Aidid
• Key warlord who was
trying to take over
the country and not
cooperating with
food distribution
efforts
• US forces continually
sent in to capture
high ranking officials
loyal to Aidid
Somalia
• US forces sent in to help distribute food
• By 1993, the mission had expanded to try
to put an end to the violence resulting in
several deaths on both sides
• Initially, Somalis supported US presence,
but this changed as more and more
Somalis were killed
• Climax occurred in Oct. 1993 in a bloody
battle in the capital of Mogadishu
Battle of Mogadishu
• American special forces were sent in to
capture high ranking members loyal to
Aidid.
• Mission only supposed to last 30 Min.
• 2 American Black Hawk helicopters shot
down by RPGs.
• Many soldiers were trapped at the crash
site; forced to fight their way out; lasts
throughout the night
Black Hawk Down
Black Hawk Down
• 18 killed; 73 wounded
• Result:
–Clinton withdraws US forces from
Somalia
• Importance:
–Bitter experience helped
discourage Clinton from sending
forces to help out Rwanda
Rwanda Genocide
• What is a genocide?
–Systematic
extermination of
a particular group
of people because
of ethnic, racial,
religion,
nationality, etc.
Rwanda Genocide
• Originally controlled by…
–Belgium
• Two Ethnic Groups:
–Tutsis: Minority; tall, warrior-like;
favored by Belgium
–Hutus: Majority; farmers; resented
Tutsi favoritism
Rwanda Genocide
• After Belgium withdrew in the early 1960s, a
power vacuum was created
• Eventually Hutus gain control; fighting
continues the next several decades
• 1990 – Tutsi rebels launch a major offensive
in Rwanda to attempt to take back control
• 1993 – UN pressures the Tutsis and Hutus
into a ceasefire with hopes of an eventual
peace accord
Rwanda Genocide
Hutu President Juvenal Habyarimana
killed in a mysterious plane crash
Interahamwe – Hutu power group
Weapon of Choice = Machete
Rwanda Genocide
Rwanda Genocide
Rwanda Genocide
Technical School in Rwanda; Tutsi schools were specifically targeted
Rwanda Genocide
• How did it turn into a genocide?
1. Couldn’t be a moderate Hutu; “kill or be
killed;” Interahamwe very well
organized; claimed Tutsis would enslave
Hutus
2. UN/US did not step in to stop it; UN
soldiers were forbidden to shoot
3. Hutu-controlled radio
It wasn’t always Tutsis…
Rwanda Genocide
• Eventually, the Tutsi rebels gain upper hand
and end violence in Rwanda, but the conflict
spills over into neighboring countries
• In total, 800,000 Rwandans were killed
• Estimates range from 500,000 – 1 million
• Millions of refugees fled into neighboring
countries
• Many women, especially Tutsi women,
infected with HIV as a result of Hutu “rape
squads.”
RTLM Radio spread Hutu propaganda
Hutus who participated in the killings must wear
pink in prison
Mille Collines Hotel (Hotel Rwanda)
Breakup of Yugoslavia
• Yugoslavia = USSR Satellite
State
• What is a Satellite State?
– State under heavy influence &
control of another
• Yugoslavia begins to break
apart beginning 1989 and is
closely associated with the
collapse of the Berlin Wall
• A foreshadow of things to
come for the USSR when it
collapses in 1991
Breakup of Yugoslavia
• When Yugoslavia broke
apart, it did so along
ethnic lines
• Yugoslavia was
comprised of several
ethnic groups &
historical enemies of
each other
• By 1991, it ceased to
exist and was replaced
by several smaller
countries
Bosnia/Herzegovina and Serbia
• Ethnic clash begins when Serbia occupies
territory inside Bosnia over a border dispute
• Within these countries, violence raged
• Characterized by indiscriminate killing –
everyone was a target (Sniping in Sarajevo)
• Around 100,000 killed
• UN/US launch limited air strikes
Dayton Accords
Dayton Accords
• Ends 3 ½ years of fighting
• Why Dayton???
–Fewer distractions
–Not much to do
The Serbian Conflict
• Serbian leader
Slobodan
Milosevic
launches a
genocide against
ethnic Albanians
in Kosovo
The Serbian Conflict
• Clinton successfully urged NATO forces to
conduct bombing campaigns against Serb
forces to get them to leave Kosovo
• Unwilling to put any ground troops into
harms way
• Why?
–Black Hawk Down
Crisis in Kosovo
• Milosevic tried
for crimes
against
humanity
• Dies while in
prison
NAFTA
• Free trade
between the
US, Canada,
and Mexico
Scandal & Impeachment
White House Intern Monica Lewinsky
Blue Dress
Clinton Impeached
1. Lying under oath: “I did not have
sexual relations with that woman.”
2. Influencing Lewinsky’s testimony
3. Senate tried him but failed to
receive 2/3 majority to remove
from office
Aftermath
• Clinton’s approval ratings actually go up after
the scandal
• Why?
• The economy was doing well
• “Wag the Dog”
– Clinton launches cruise missiles to take out
al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan
– Media heavily criticizes him
– Trying to deflect attention away from
Lewinsky scandal