Weapons of Mass Discussion

Hillary: Iraqi Women Had Rights Under Saddam

From the White House Briefing Room:

Q: On Wednesday, at the Brookings Institution, Senator Hillary Clinton called for a statement from the President to the effect that the U.S. will not have become the vehicle by which women's rights in Iraq were turned back. She said that under Saddam Hussein -- and I'll quote -- "women had rights. They went to school, they participated in the professions, they participated in government and business. And as long as they stayed out of his way, they had considerable freedom of movement." Do you agree with her assertion that women under Saddam Hussein had more rights than they do today?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think that the former regime was one that was oppressive of the rights of the Iraqi people. This was a regime that brutalized the Iraqi people. We went into Iraq and liberated some 25 million Iraqis, just as we did in Afghanistan, as well. You're seeing in Afghanistan that progress is being made and that we're moving forward on making sure that there is greater rights for women. And we are also moving forward on the transitional law -- the Iraqi people are moving forward on the transitional law. It's one of the -- again, one of the fundamental elements of that is equality. And so I think that the Iraqi people are pleased to be free of that oppressive regime that you mention.

As usual, the emphasis is ours.

Matt's Chat

Are we to infer, Madame Shrillary, that you think that Iraqi women no longer have rights now that Saddam is out of power. Can we infer that you think that women would be better off under Saddam? Can we infer that you would rather Saddam were still in power?

For such a "smart" woman, this is a very DUMB thing to say...

Get the whole speech here... Hat tip to Blogs for Bush for the link.

Mark's Remarks

Wow, Mrs. Clinton, I guess the right to be raped or tortured is far more important than the right to be free and make your own way. You are saying that a regime that had compounds set aside for raping women and children and torturing them was better to women than post-Saddam Iraq. How terrible!!! I wonder if the thousands raped by Saddam and his followers would agree with you. I wonder if rape victims here at home would appreciate your comments, that it is better to have serial rapists in power than to liberate women from oppressive regimes. You are sick and twisted. You are a demented she-troll who will say anything to disparage this administration, no matter how insipid and virulent. These comments are destructive, not just to Iraqi women, but to American women here at home who have been raped. I guess it is ok to be considered property and nothing more than a baby factory if you are allowed to get a degree. It does not matter that you can be subjected to rape anytime. Wow, that says a lot for your women's rights beliefs, Hillary.