Let's party like its 1999! The right wear smear machine -- NY Times axis is back together again (did it ever go away?) producing another "scandal" with a lot of ominous tone and no underlying facts. Let's look at what actually happened
Bill Clinton is a fundraiser -- that's his primary job for the Clinton Global Initiative. This organization focuses on global problems of Education, Energy & Climate Change, Global Health, and Poverty Alleviation. Clinton has raised and committed billions for these causes, and he doesn't have Bill Gates wealth. He's used his rolodex for worldwide good.
If you know anything about fundraising, its about networking and calling in favors. More than two years ago, in September 2005, Clinton traveled to Kazakhstan with Frank Giustra, a mining company executive who was a big donor to the CGI.
There's no doubt that showing up at a meeting with Bill Clinton is impressive. So Giustra gained Clinton's aura.
Clinton went to a dinner banquet that included Nazarbayev, the leader of Kazakhstan. According to Kazakhstan, it was their eighth meeting in eight years. So this was hardly a breach of routine for Clinton.
He had two charitable goals of his own at this meeting. The first was raising money for victims of Hurricane Katrina, and he got a commitment from Nazarbayev to o that. Second, the Clinton Global Initiative set up a program in Kazakhstan to provide funds for AIDS drugs.
As there alway is at these things, there was a news conference. Kazakhstan's propaganda ministry then issued a press release that quotes positive things Clinton said (we don't know any negative things he said because the press release, which appears to by the NYTimes source on this, is written by propagandists for Kazakhstan.) Here are the positive comments in the press release
the former U.S. President praised Kazakhstan’s denuclearization saying he was "especially grateful to Nursultan Nazarbayev for nuclear disarmament." He believes this was "a difficult decision" which helped pave the way for denuclearization of other countries of the former Soviet Union and is still important today. "given the new wave of terrorism and our understanding that terrorists have fewer chances to get nuclear weapons." "Only now do we understand how wise that [denuclearization] decision was," he said.
At independence in 1991, Kazakhstan inherited more than a thousand nuclear warheads, as well as intercontinental missiles and other means of delivery.
Gosh, I know, that's awful stuff. Praising peaceful nuclear disarmament.
Now here is the supposedly controversial quote:
Clinton commended President Nazarbayev’s commitment to "opening up the social and political life of your country." Referring to the Kazakh leader’s statement earlier this month on his commitment to ensure "free, fair and transparent" presidential election, Clinton said, "It’s important that you made these statements before the election at the end of this year and I believe it will be quite influential in what I hope will be a successful bid to be the leader of the OSCE in 2009. I think it’s time for that to happen, it’s an important step, and I’m glad you’re willing to undertake it."
The "that" in "its time for that to happen" is free and fair elections in Kazakhstan. How awful, for Clinton to hold the leader of Kazakhstan to his commitment to free and fair elections and state that its time to happen.
But there's more to the story. Demonstrating that Clinton was a buddy had made an impression for Giustra, and he got his deal to mine uranium in Kazakhstan.
He also continued his support for Clinton's charitable causes. He pledged $131 million to improve education, alleviate poverty, and fight global warning.
So Clinton was able to raise more money to alleviate poverty in the developing world with this fundraising effort than the entire Live Aid effort in 1985.
This is another example of a Clinton "scandal" that has no there there, except here there is no "that" there.