Hillary: One of my achievements was getting out of Iraq

Do you think Hillary Clinton actually pays attention to what's happening in the world on a day-to-day basis? Maybe she doesn't, since most of these stories are not directly related to her poll numbers or what the consultants say about how she can "soften her image" or "appeal to the base" or whatever. So maybe she doesn't know that Al Qaeda-affiliated ISIS is taking advantage of America's abandonment of Iraq to overrun the country.

It's pretty much the only way to explain this from her interview with CBS's Jane Pauley:

As Secretary of State, she famously traveled nearly a million miles. What does she say she accomplished? "I helped to restore America's leadership," said Clinton. "How do you quantify that accomplishment?" asked Pauley.

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"We quantify it in a number of ways. Clearly, ending our role in the war in Iraq. In Afghanistan, putting more troops in, in order to try to beat back the Taliban advance so that we could get to the point where we are today, that they've had a peaceful election. Taking on the challenges that are posed by Iran. Getting Russia and China on board to pass tough sanctions in the U.N. Security Council. Negotiating a cease fire in Gaza to try to prevent a war. And I think we laid the groundwork for the world as it is and how America has to engage in it."

The most astonishing word in the bold passage is "clearly." Not only does she assert that getting out of Iraq was some sort of positive accomplishment - indeed, one that "helped restore America's leadership" - but she sees this as clearly true, not even a matter of serious debate. Really? With Mosul and Tikrit under ISIS control and Baghdad in jeopardy? It's not even worth considering that signing a status of forces agreement with the Iraqis might have been a better way to go than simply abandoning the country at a time when it was relatively peaceful and had a real shot at achieving political stability? Or does Hillary just regard this as "clearly" a good thing because it was consistent with a political talking point that resonated with the electorate? That is, after all, pretty much the way she judges everything. If it's helpful to her politically, it's an achievement, regardless if it's putting an entire nation under the threat of terrorist domination. But looking at it that way is giving Hillary way too much credit. How can you possibly site the abandonment of Iraq as an achievement given what's going on there today? There only way to explain such a statement is to observe that the person who made it is simply not very intelligent.