Clinton Cites Her Role in Bin Laden Raid as Example of How She Handles Crises

‘I was part of a very small group that had to advise the president about whether or not to go after bin Laden’

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:
DICKERSON: "We begin the final segment of this debate with something none of you saw coming, something quite unexpected. Soon after your inauguration, you will face a crisis. All presidents to. What crisis you have experienced in your life that suggests you've been testd and can face that inevitable challenge? Secretary Clinton, you first." 
CLINTON: "Well, there are so many, I don't know where to start. ( Laughter ) I guess the one I-- I would pick is the fact that I was part of a very small group that had to advise the president about whether or not to go after bin Laden. I spent a lot of time in the situation room as secretary of state, and there were many very difficult choices presented to us. But probably that was the most challenging because there was no certainty attached to it. The intelligence was by no means absolute. We had all kinds of questions that we discussed, and, you know, at the end, I recommended to the president that we take the chance to do what we could to find out whether that was bin Laden and to finally bring him to justice. It was an excruciating experience. I couldn't talk to anybody about it. In fact, after it happened, the president called my husband-- he called all the former presidents and he said, "I assume Hillary has told you about this." He said, "No, no, she hasn't." There was nobody to talk to and it really did give me insight into the very difficult problems presidents face."

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