More 'classified' Hillary emails released
The State Department performed one of their weekend document dumps, releasing another 550 Hillary Clinton emails—more than 1000 pages. They also reclassified another 84 emails, bringing the total number of sensitive communications that had no business being on a private server to more than 1700.
Here are some highlights:
The case for a Syrian no-fly zone: In one 2012 email, Tom Malinowski, then the Washington director for Human Rights Watch who later became assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, argued in favor of a no-fly zone in Syria after hearing reports from a team his organization sent into the northern part of the country.
"I recognize that the cavalry is not suited up and ready to ride, and that the mission would be far from simple or cost-free, even if limited to no-fly," Malinowski wrote, understanding the administration's misgivings about the idea. "But in the meantime, even maintaining a credible threat of action would have a positive impact."
Clinton's decision to support a no-fly zone in Syria on the campaign trail is a rare case where she breaks from President Barack Obama on foreign policy.
High morale within Free Syrian Army: Then-U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford wrote to Clinton in the summer of 2012 to relay a conversation he'd had with NBC correspondent Richard Engel after the latter returned from Syria. Among the conclusions in the note is the assertion that "morale very high among (the Free Syrian Army) -- they sense they are winning."
Ford also wrote that Engel will be joining a U.S. focus group "to get advice on how to help Syrian media sector prepare for post-Asad [sic] period" -- a period that remains elusive three and a half years later.
"Bravo!" on Libya: In March 2011, author and commentator Anne-Marie Slaughter wrote to Clinton to congratulate her, presumably for swaying Obama's opinion on joining NATO operations in Libya.
"Turning POTUS around on this is a major win for everything we have worked for," Slaughter wrote.
Clinton's active involvement in shaping the Obama administration's foreign policy has been a key tenet of her campaign for the presidency, and these emails on Libya and Syria shed some light on her doctrines.
More advice from Sidney Blumenthal: Clinton's communications with friend and unofficial adviser Blumenthal during her tenure as secretary of state have raised some eyebrows on Capitol Hill. In Saturday's batch, we once again hear from Blumenthal, who offered his take on a host of issues, related to both foreign policy and politics.
Clinton continues to insist that she received no emails marked "classified" or designated with any other sensitive label. Since she asked a staffer in at least one instance to remove the "classified" label before sending it to her unsecured server, this is probably true.
But what does it say about the intelligence and insight of a secretary of state who doesn't recognize the sensitivity of the information she is reading? In the end, Clinton will be indicted - if she is indicted - for her mishandling of information that any entry level staffer at the State Department should have known was too sensitive to be on an unsecured server.