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From 9-17 Newsletter http://www.truthout.com/0284.Schakowsky.Taliban.htm
BUSH'S FAUSTIAN DEAL WITH THE TALIBAN Enslave your girls and women, harbor anti-U.S. terrorists, destroy every vestige of civilization in your homeland, and the Bush administration will embrace you. All that matters is that you line up as an ally in the drug war, the only international cause that this nation still takes seriously. That's the message sent with the recent gift of $43 million to the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan, the most virulent anti-American violators of human rights in the world today. The gift, announced last Thursday by Secretary of State Colin Powell, in addition to other recent aid, makes the U.S. the main sponsor of the Taliban and rewards that "rogue regime" for declaring that opium growing is against the will of God. So, too, by the Taliban's estimation, are most human activities, but it's the ban on drugs that catches this administration's attention. Never mind that Osama bin Laden still operates the leading anti-American terror operation from his base in Afghanistan, from which, among other crimes, he launched two bloody attacks on American embassies in Africa in 1998. Sadly, the Bush administration is cozying up to the Taliban regime at a time when the United Nations, at U.S. insistence, imposes sanctions on Afghanistan because the Kabul government will not turn over Bin Laden. The war on drugs has become our own fanatics' obsession and easily trumps all other concerns. How else could we come to reward the Taliban, who has subjected the female half of the Afghan population to a continual reign of terror in a country once considered enlightened in its treatment of women. At no point in modern history have women and girls been more systematically abused than in Afghanistan where, in the name of madness masquerading as Islam, the government in Kabul obliterates their fundamental human rights. Women may not appear in public without being covered from head to toe with the oppressive shroud called the burkha , and they may not leave the house without being accompanied by a male family member. They've not been permitted to attend school or be treated by male doctors, yet women have been banned from practicing medicine or any profession for that matter. The lot of males is better if they blindly accept the laws of an extreme religious theocracy that prescribes strict rules governing all behavior, from a ban on shaving to what crops may be grown. It is this last power that has captured the enthusiasm of the Bush White House. The Taliban fanatics, economically and diplomatically isolated, are at the breaking point, and so, in return for a pittance of legitimacy and cash from the Bush administration, they have been willing to appear to reverse themselves on the growing of opium. That a totalitarian country can effectively crack down on its farmers is not surprising. But it is grotesque for a U.S. official, James P. Callahan, director of the State Department's Asian anti-drug program, to describe the Taliban's special methods in the language of representative democracy: "The Taliban used a system of consensus-building," Callahan said after a visit with the Taliban, adding that the Taliban justified the ban on drugs "in very religious terms." Of course, Callahan also reported, those who didn't obey the theocratic edict would be sent to prison. In a country where those who break minor rules are simply beaten on the spot by religious police and others are stoned to death, it's understandable that the government's "religious" argument might be compelling. Even if it means, as Callahan concedes, that most of the farmers who grew the poppies will now confront starvation. That's because the Afghan economy has been ruined by the religious extremism of the Taliban, making the attraction of opium as a previously tolerated quick cash crop overwhelming. For that reason, the opium ban will not last unless the U.S. is willing to pour far larger amounts of money into underwriting the Afghan economy. As the Drug Enforcement Administration's Steven Casteel admitted, "The bad side of the ban is that it's bringing their country -- or certain regions of their country -- to economic ruin." Nor did he hold out much hope for Afghan farmers growing other crops such as wheat, which require a vast infrastructure to supply water and fertilizer that no longer exists in that devastated country. There's little doubt that the Taliban will turn once again to the easily taxed cash crop of opium in order to stay in power. The Taliban may suddenly be the dream regime of our own war drug war zealots, but in the end this alliance will prove a costly failure. Our long sad history of signing up dictators in the war on drugs demonstrates the futility of building a foreign policy on a domestic obsession. The Associated Press | Powell Announces Afghan Aid Program WASHINGTON (AP) -- May 17, 2001-- Calling Afghanistan a crisis area, Secretary of State Colin Powell announced Thursday a $43 million program of emergency assistance for that drought- and war-plagued country. Powell told reporters that the lives of nearly 4 million Afghanis are at risk, and he warned that a widespread famine could be in prospect. ``If the international community does not take immediate action, countless deaths and terrible tragedy are certain to follow,'' he said. Powell noted that the crisis stems from three years of drought coupled with a devastating civil war that has lasted more than 20 years. The new commitment raised the U.S. assistance total for the year to $124 million, compared with $114 million for all of last year. The donation includes 65,000 tons of wheat, as well as vegetable oil and blended foods like corn-soy blend, which are particularly useful in feeding the sick and undernourished. Funds also are being earmarked for health and shelter programs. U.S. aid to Afghanistan bypasses the ruling Taliban militia, which controls the bulk of the country but has no official relationship with the United States because of its alleged role as a sponsor of terrorism. There are no U.S. officials in Afghanistan managing the aid program. The assistance is donated through international agencies of the United Nations and non-governmental organizations. According to U.N. officials, more than 200,000 Afghanis have fled to neighboring Iran and Pakistan, joining more than 2 million who had fled there earlier because of the war. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is expected to issue an appeal to donors for additional aid to Afghani refugees in Pakistan. About a half million Afghanis are internally displaced, with refugee camps in Herat in western Afghanistan growing by an estimated 1,200 a day. Leonard Rogers, a top official of the Agency for International Development, citing estimates by U.N. agencies, said the crop shortfall for Afghanistan is estimated at 2 million tons this year, about twice the figure for last year. Rogers said precise information about the depth of the problem is hard to obtain because war-related security problems inhibit in-depth assessments. ``We have imperfect understanding of what's going on there,'' he said. The new aid commitment was welcomed by the Feminist Majority Foundation, which has been urging an increase of humanitarian assistance to Afghanis, especially to women and children. The Foundation said in a statement that the ``Taliban's barbaric rule'' was partially responsible for the uprooting of many Afghanis from their homes. The group, working through its Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan, has been especially critical of the Taliban because of its policy of denying rights to women and girls. (Editors Note : The day after this letter is dated the Bush administration
announced a gift of $43 million dollars to the Taliban Leadership of Afghanistan.)
SCHAKOWSKY ORGANIZES CONGRESSIONAL LETTER CALLING FOR AN END TO RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE AGAINST HINDUS BY TALIBAN GOVERNMENT IN AFGHANISTAN URGES PRESIDENT BUSH TO INTERVENE WASHINGTON - 05.23.01 | U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today organized a letter signed by more than 100 of her colleagues, including Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt (D-MO), calling on President Bush to intervene on behalf of Afghanistan's Hindu minority. Afghanistan's Taliban government is planning to force Hindu residents and other religious minorities to wear labels on their clothes to differentiate them from Muslim citizens. "The action of the Taliban toward Afghanistan's Hindu minority is disturbingly
reminiscent of Nazi Germany's treatment of the Jews. The United States
has a responsibility as the world leader to speak up now and to demand
an immediate end to this policy, before it's too late," said Schakowsky.
The Letter to President Bush is below. May 23, 2001 The Honorable George W. Bush
Dear President Bush: We are writing to you today because we are extremely concerned after hearing news reports which indicate that the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan plans to force Afghan Hindus to wear labels on their clothing to differentiate them from Muslims. We urge you to immediately take steps that will convince the Taliban to withdraw this proposal. History has shown over and over that segregation of this kind can lead to genocide. This action alone is enough to raise that specter. Afghanistan is also the source of disturbing reports of persecution of religious minorities and women in particular, making this recent news all the more troubling. News reports also indicated that the policy was justified by Taliban officials as a way to protect the Hindu population in that country. We believe this action will be counter-productive to that goal. As the leader of the free world, our nation has a solemn obligation to lead in opposition to such dangerous plans. We urge you to immediately fulfill that obligation
9-21 Newsletter This author of this article wrote Fortunate Son, the book about Dubya which was recalled and then reprinted by Soft Skull press. I did hte indexes for both softcover versions. He commited suicide on July 18th. OnJ is http://www.onlinejournal.com Why would Osama bin Laden want to kill Dubya (Bush) , his former business partner? America You Are Being Played A Fool! By James Hatfield Editor's note: In light of last week's horrific events and the Bush administration's reaction tothem, we are reprising the following from the last column Jim Hatfield wrote for Online Journal prior to his tragic death on July 18: July 3, 2001-There may be fireworks in Genoa, Italy, this month, too. A plot by Saudi master terrorist, Osama bin Laden, to assassinate Dubya during the July 20 economic summit of world leaders, was uncovered after dozens of suspected Islamic militants linked to bin Laden's international terror network were arrested in Frankfurt, Germany, and Milan, Italy, in April. German intelligence services have stated that bin Laden is covertly financing neo-Nazi skinhead groups throughout Europe to launch another terrorist attack at a high-profile American target-his first since the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen last October. According to counter-terrorism experts quoted in Germany's largest newspaper, the attack on Dubya might be a James Bond-like aerial strike in the form of remote-controlled airplanes packed with plastic explosives. Why would Osama bi Laden want to kill, Dubya, his former business partner? I knew that bombshell would whip your heads around. So here's the straight scoop, folks. In June 1977, Dubya formed his own drilling company, Arbusto Energy ("arbusto" means "bush" in Spanish), in Midland, Texas. Like his father before him, Dubya founded his oil business with the financial backing of investors, including James R. Bath, a Houston businessman whom Dubya apparently first met when they were in the same Texas Air National Guard unit. (Interestingly, both Dubya and Bath were both suspended from flying in August and September 1972, respectively, for "failure to accomplish annual medical examination.") Tax documents and other financial records show that Bath, an aircraft broker with controversial ties to Saudi Arabia sheiks, had invested $50,000 in Arbusto, granting him a 5 percent interest in two limited partnerships controlled by Dubya. Time magazine described Bath in 1991 as "a deal broker whose alleged associations run from the CIA to a major shareholder and director of the Bank of Credit & Commerce." BCCI, as it was more commonly known, closed its doors n July 1991 amid charges of multibillion-dollar fraud and global news reports that the financial institution had been heavily involved in drug money laundering, arms brokering, covert intelligence work, bribery of government officials and-here's the kicker-aid to terrorists. Bath was never directly implicated in the BCCI scandal, but according to The Outlaw Bank, an award-winning 1993 book by Time correspondents, Jonathan Beaty and S.C. Gwynne, Bath originally "made his fortune by investing money for [Sheikh Kalid bin] Mahfouz and another BCCI-connected Saudi, Sheikh bin Laden," reportedly the father of none other than Osama bin Laden, the man accused by the U.S. government of masterminding the August 1998 terrorist bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania which killed more than 250 people. According to court documents, Bath swore that in 1977 he represented four prominent and wealthy Saudi Arabians as a trustee and used his name on their investments in the United States. In return, he received a 5 percent interest in their deals. Time reporters Beaty and Gwynne suggest in their book that the $50,000 Bath invested in Dubya's Arbusto Energy drilling company may have belonged to Bath's Saudi clients since the Houston businessman "had no substantial money of his own at the time." The FBI and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network later investigated Bath after allegations were made by one of his American business partners that the Saudis were using Bath and their giant piggy bank to influence U.S. policy. (Dubya's father had been appointed by President Ford to head the CIA from 1976-77.) So, folks, the Middle Eastern oil money used to underwrite the first business venture of our future president of the United States, may have been derived at least in part from the family fortune of Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden, who is now being accused of masterminding his assassination. From the what-it's-worth-department: I think Dubya's handlers have fed disinformation through the CIA and other backdoor channels to German and Italian intelligence agencies about a possible hit on Dubya by the fugitive terrorist to gain public sympathy and concern for a U.S. president who has taken a nose-dive in the opinion polls. The latest New York Times/CBS News poll showed Dubya's approval rating fell to 53 percent from 57 percent a few weeks ago, its lowest since he took office. Only 50 percent of those polled approved of his handling of the economy, while 47 percent approved of his foreign policy performances. Some 44 percent felt Dubya was not respected by foreign leaders, a mere 39 percent agreed with his policies on the environment, and a whopping 61 percent of Americans believed the new prez was not addressing the issues they care most about. Obviously, the pollsters didn't call Dubya's sugar daddies-the oil and gas companies. Because he damn sure is taking care of their interests. 9-22 Newsletter Cayenne: This article that you sent me about Bin Laden and Bush being former business partners is so disgusting. What is interesting is that I have heard similar things - said about the Bush family - and their un-holy ties to scary organizations - all aimed at - creating a one world-global government. After the WTC disaster - on a gut level, I sensed that our government knew more about this this than we the American citizens could ever possibly imagine. It's like, I couldn't and can't put my finger on it - but I can barely look at George Bush - because something - from within my inner sense of awareness - doesn't TRUST HIM. And it's not just that smirk that covers his face...there's something else - that the mask he wears - doesn't reveal. Here is why - I believe that - what you sent to me - in this article - should cause all of us to pause... 1. The sophiscation of the tools that the intelligence community uses - to spy on and keep track of - people. Including sophiscated satellite systems. About one year ago, I was talking to a person up in Sacramento. We were discussing some very sensitive information - about her case against DPSS. Suddenly, she stopped me and said "let's not talk anymore about this over the phone" she continued..."I have just retired from the telephone company after 28 years. I know for a fact, that they have sophiscated - technology that picks up phone conversations - particularly certain words." In fact, there is a satellite right now - whirling around the planet - that is picking up - voice communication from telephone conversations. It is programmed to pick up - certain words - such as bomb, terrorists acts, assissnation etc and phone calls of certain individuals, who are known terrorists. (This is not something new - this satellite system was profiled on the CBS 60 Minutes - television program - last year) When you compare that - to what these television stations - are portraying on the screens i.e. Bin Laden - sitting in a 3rd world country - out in the desert - in a cave - a country which by the way has no - infrastructure for sophiscated telecommunications - much less a cell phones - then - I really wonder - in fact - today in the LA TIMES, a news-story says that Afghanstan is totally in shambles, and is run down and ragged and a shell of a country. Last evening on the news, they showed the mass evacuation of people who were fleeing the Capitol of Afghanistan....the cars were all old and the people were all ragged. This morning, in the LA TIMES, is an article (on page 17) which says that the United States denies reports that Israel WARNED the U.S. about Islamic militants slipping into the country (like they would admit it). Also, on one of the major networks, last week, on the bottom of the
page where the "scroll" occurs - there was a similar message that - said
"the United States was warned of this attack - 2 weeks previous - by (I
forgot the country) And now there is this story of the "Bush/Bin Laden"
connection. No wonder we are going to hell in a handbasket....around here.
MH
Molly Ivins, the famous columnist, wrote a book called SHRUB. In the second chapter she outlines some of Dubya's embarrasing business deals around oil and the Middle East, mentioning two Sheiks and others. It is available in paperback form, a must read. Isn't incredible how two spoiled brat rich boys can use the people to fight their personal disagreements and that so many people can die needlessly simply because America is asleep at the wheel. I would say that America is in the process of awakening, but it takes writers to bring out the entire story. That's all of us. B. Cayenne Bird
9-29 Newsletter Bush under FBI investigation for ties to Bin Laden via Carlyle Group...Judicial Watch, the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and abuse, reacted with disbelief to The Wall Street Journal report of yesterday that George H.W. Bush, the father of President Bush, works for the bin Laden family business in Saudi Arabia through the Carlyle Group, an international consulting firm. The senior Bush had met with the bin Laden family at least twice. Jim Hatfield was closer to the mark than anyone knew in Fortunate Son. Anyone wishing to read his book can get either version via http://www.softskull.com/ or emailing chris@softskull.com THE DEMOCRACY CHRONICLE
---------------------- NEWS ALERT ---------------------- Conservative Judicial Watch and Larry Klayman Accuse Former President Bush of Having Business Ties to the bin Laden Family Judicial Watch - September 29, 2001 http://www.judicialwatch.org/press_release.asp?pr_id=1624 Judicial Watch PRESS RELEASE: 9/28/2001 Press Office: 202-646-5172 WALL STREET JOURNAL: BUSH SR. IN BUSINESS WITH BIN LADEN FAMILY CONGLOMERATE THROUGH CARLYLE GROUP FAMILY HAD RENOUNCED TIES TO TERRORIST SON BUT FAMILY STILL UNDER FBI INVESTIGATION FATHER OF PRESIDENT SHOULD PULL OUT OF INTERNATIONAL CONSULTING FIRM (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and abuse, reacted with disbelief to The Wall Street Journal report of yesterday that George H.W. Bush, the father of President Bush, works for the bin Laden family business in Saudi Arabia through the Carlyle Group, an international consulting firm. The senior Bush had met with the bin Laden family at least twice. (Other top Republicans are also associated with the Carlyle group, such as former Secretary of State James A. Baker.) The terrorist leader Osama bin Laden had supposedly been "disowned" by his family, which runs a multi-billion dollar business in Saudi Arabia and is a major investor in the senior Bush's firm. Other reports have questioned, though, whether members of his Saudi family have truly cut off Osama bin Laden. Indeed, the Journal also reported yesterday that the FBI has subpoenaed the bin Laden family business's bank records. Judicial Watch earlier this year had strongly criticized President Bush's father's association with the Carlyle Group, pointing out in a March 5 statement that it was a "conflict of interest (which) could cause problems for America's foreign policy in Middle East and Asia." Judicial Watch called for the senior Bush to resign from the firm then. "This conflict of interest has now turned into a scandal. The idea of
the President's father, an ex-president himself, doing business with a
company under investigation by the FBI in the terror attacks of September
11 is horrible. President Bush should not ask, but demand, that his father
pull out of the Carlyle Group," stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General
Counsel Larry Klayman.
"This has the potential of making 'Billygate' (Jimmy Carter's brother's dealings with Libya) look like small potatoes," added Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. See "Bin Laden Family Could Profit From a Jump In Defense Spending Due to Ties to U.S. Bank," by Daniel Golden, James Bandler, and Marcus Walker, The Wall Street Journal, 9/28/01 ( www.wsj.com , subscription required). ---------------- Molly Ivins was very close to this in the second chapter of her book "Shrub". Wake up everybody - we're about to sacrifice more lives as pawns of two rich brats squabbling over oil. The defense budget was increased to 343 billion dollars after the WTC tragedy, now it surfaces that the Bush family will profit from this spending. What a scandal! I would really appreciate having someone who subscribes to the Wall Street Journal send me this article! B. Cayenne Bird 10-1 Newsletter Incredible articles about the Bush/bin Laden business relationships. This is the scandal of the century! Where's the mainstream media on this one? The Wall Street Journal article is contained herein as well! B. Cayenne Bird, UNION
-------------- Submitted by Janice... http://www.rense.com/general14/willsomedare.htm Will Some Dare Call It Treason?
(Extracted From 'The Silk Road' Series - Part One) In a Wall Street Journal article on September, 19, 2001 Larry Klayman, chairman of Washington-based Judicial Watch said, "Any companies doing business with the Binladin Group are disloyal to the interests of the United States and should be held accountable." http://www.rumormillnews.net/cgi-bin/config.pl?read=11818Link WHAT IF COMPANIES DOING BUSINESS WITH THE BIN LADIN GROUP ARE REPRESENTED BY THOSE IN THE WHITE HOUSE? HOW SHOULD THEY BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE? IS THIS TREASON? In fact, a Halliburton company, Bredaro-Shaw, is a joint venture partner of The Binladin Group. Bredaro-Shaw has done pipeline projects for Enron. Halliburton and Enron are well represented in The White House. Here is the proof of the above statements. Unfortunately, The Binladin Group's website is no longer accessible, but the part referenced from there was directly cut and pasted. I can also provide other proof of what was on the website. The website went down as I was completing an article on September 27th. This was under Saudi Binladin Group's Joint Venture Partners section. "Price Arabia Limited H.C.Price has been a leader in heavy construction since its establishment in 1921. The company built its reputation as a constructor of cross-country pipelines, totalling over 3,600 miles and fibre optic cable networks, totalling nearly 3000 miles. Over the years, Price has proven to be particularly successful in the execution of large projects such as Trans- Alaska Pipeline, the Northern Border Pipeline and the Florida Gas pipeline project, the largest single U.S. pipeline project awarded since 1992. Its international projects include Tehran to Tabritz Oil Products Line & Port Terminal Facility in Iran and the C Field, Block 65 to Tobruk Crude Transport Line in Libya." http://www.saudi-binladin-group.com/sbg52.htm On Enron's site we can see 2 of those pipelines, Northern Border and Florida Gas, are their projects. The Gas Pipeline Group Enron's Gas Pipeline Group owns interests in four interstate pipelines, operates 32,000 miles of pipelines in 21 states and transports 15 percent of U.S. natural gas. Florida Gas Transmission Florida Gas Transmission, the sole interstate natural gas pipeline serving peninsular Florida, is the fastest growing system in North America. With a surge in state population and demand for gas-fired electric generation, Florida Gas Transmission is working on two major expansions. Phase IV will consist of pipe and compression to extend its network to southwest Florida and add capacity of nearly 200 MMcf/d. This project is scheduled to be in service by mid-2001. The proposed Phase V expansion, once completed, will add approximately 400 MMcf/d of capacity and has an in-service date of 2002. The proposal was filed in December with FERC. The 4,795-mile pipeline had average daily capacity of 1.5 Bcf in 1999. Northern Border Pipeline Northern Border Pipeline runs from the U.S./Canadian border in Montana to Illinois, transporting approximately 23 percent of all Canadian gas imports to the U.S. The pipeline measures 1,214 miles and averaged daily deliveries of 2.4 Bcf in 1999. The Chicago Project expansion was put in service at the end of 1998. By interconnecting with multiple pipeline systems, this link fundamentally changed North American markets by establishing a new relationship between Canadian and NYMEX gas prices. Northern Border has proposed a second expansion, Project 2000, to connect to Northern Indiana Public Service Company and its industrial customer base in the Midwest. http://www.enron.com/corp/investors/annuals/annual99/transportation.html For the history of how H. C. Price, Binladin Group's joint venture partner, became a Halliburton company see the following: "Bredero Price's origins date back to the HC Price company, which has operated in the United States since the 1930s and was acquired by Dresser Industries Inc. in 1993. In 1996, Dresser and Shaw Industries Ltd. of Canada merged the pipecoating businesses of Bredero Price and Shaw Pipe Protection to form the Bredero-Shaw Group, the world's largest pipecoating company. Dresser was subsequently acquired by the Dallas-based Halliburton Co., giving Halliburton a 50 percent ownership stake in Bredero-Shaw." http://www.al.com/news/mobile/Nov2000/15-a419189a.html "Bredero-Shaw comprises a group of pipe coating companies owned jointly
by Halliburton Company of Dallas and ShawCor, Ltd. of Toronto. Both Halliburton
and ShawCor specialize in products and services for the energy and resource
industries. Through the years, the "Bredero-Shaw approach" has been to
provide the highest quality pipe coating services to its customers. Today,
companies in the Bredero-Shaw Group can be found throughout the United
States, Canada and Internationally, serving the pipeline industry with
corrosion coatings, weight coatings, insulation coatings and other related
products and services. With 27 permanent plants located on 6 continents,
Bredero-Shaw has grown to serve most world-wide markets. Today, Bredero-Shaw
is the world's largest international applicator of pipeline coatings for
the oil and gas industry, both onshore and offshore." http://www.bredero-shaw.com/
DICK CHENEY WAS AT THE HELM OF HALLIBURTON UNTIL HE BECAME THE VICE PRESIDENT. ENRON IS WELL CONNECTED TO W. BUSH AND HIS ENERGY ADVISERS REVEALED LARGE ENRON HOLDINGS. http://www.rense.com/general10/reveal.htmhttp://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA2D14LKOC.html The full extent of Enron's influence is not known because W. Bush is still ignoring a demand from the General Accounting Office for the names of lobbyists and business executives the Bush administration met with in formulating its energy plan. http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB999819802319758680.htm Cheney reportedly is (was?) a major stockholder in Enron. Wendy L. Gramm, the wife of Phil Gramm (R.Texas), is the Director for Enron Corp. http://www.skolnicksreport.com/rchintape.html Senator Gramm and W. Bush had been blocking the investigation of Osama
Bin Laden's money laundering operations.
http://www.robertscheer.com/1_natcolumn/01_columns/052201.htm Did this $43 million dollars have anything to do with a letter that The Taliban delivered to Bush last March? State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said he did not know who signed the letter to Bush on behalf of the Taliban . http://www.afghanra dio.com/news/2001/march/mar20c2001.html DO WE DARE CALL THIS TREASON? For more details, see: PART 3: SILK ROAD, THE BUSH/BINLADEN/CHENEY LINKS http://www.rumormillnews.net/cgi-bin/config.pl?read=12217 The SILK ROAD series, posted at www.RumorMillNews.com, gives the REAL story of the BUSH/OSAMA BIN LADEN/AFGHANISTAN connection. PART 1: THE AFGHAN KILLING FIELDS: BLOOD FOR OIL/GAS TO CHINA http://www.rumormillnews.net/cgi-bin/config.pl?read=12125 PART 2: US "SECRET" PLANS FOR AFGHANISTAN http://www.rumormillnews.net/cgi-bin/config.pl?read=12126 --------------------- Rumor Mill News Reading Room Forum
Binladin is Osama Bin Laden's family's business. This is the same company
that illegally operated through and probably funded George W's Houston
company, Harken. This was investigated by FinCEN,(Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network), in '92. This was detailed in my previous post: GLOBAL TERRORIST
HEADQUARTERS: OUR WHITE HOUSE? http://www.rumormillnews.net/cgi-bin/config.pl?read=11809
10-2 Newsletter Dear Cayenne: The message boards are FULL of the news that almost all of the Whitehouse is in the oil business closely connected to bin Laden. This certainly strengthens the argument that this is PERSONAL, unsettled business between the Bush family and the bin Laden's. It is the scandal of the century and hopefully the mainstream media
is going to do a better job with this outrageous situation.
10-3-01 Newsletter The brother of Osama bin Laden, Salem bin Laden was killed mysteriously in 1988 after his plane, an BAC 1-11, crashed in Texas soon after a meeting concerning an "oil deal" with George Bush. It is time for the American people to wake up and demand the truth. Go here and take a look at the map!!!!!! The proposed fueling lines go straight through Afghanistan. Your letters to mainstream media will force them to deal with this scandal of the century. It is already all over the internet. The public's right to know is sacred and this is something everyone needs to know right now! The "mysterious" death in Texas of bin Laden's brother says a great deal, does it not? B. Cayenne Bird
http://www.aztlan.net/judwatch.htm It's all about the "O" word! From Judicial Watch JudicialWatch.Org October 1, 2001 WALL STREET JOURNAL: Bush Sr. in business with bin Laden family conglemerate through Carlyle Group Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and abuse, reacted with disbelief to The Wall Street Journal report of yesterday that George H.W. Bush, the father of President Bush, works for the bin Laden family business in Saudi Arabia through the Carlyle Group, an international consulting firm. The senior Bush had met with the bin Laden family at least twice. (Other top Republicans are also associated with the Carlyle group, such as former Secretary of State James A. Baker.) The terrorist leader Osama bin Laden had supposedly been “disowned” by his family, which runs a multi-billion dollar business in Saudi Arabia and is a major investor in the senior Bush’s firm. Other reports have questioned, though, whether members of his Saudi family have truly cut off Osama bin Laden. Indeed, the Journal also reported yesterday that the FBI has subpoenaed the bin Laden family business’s bank records. Judicial Watch earlier this year had strongly criticized President Bush’s father’s association with the Carlyle Group, pointing out in a March 5 statement that it was a “conflict of interest (which) could cause problems for America’s foreign policy in Middle East and Asia.” Judicial Watch called for the senior Bush to resign from the firm then. “This conflict of interest has now turned into a scandal. The idea of the President’s father, an ex-president himself, doing business with a company under investigation by the FBI in the terror attacks of September 11 is horrible. President Bush should not ask, but demand, that his father pull out of the Carlyle Group,” stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman. “This has the potential of making ‘Billygate’ (Jimmy Carter’s brother’s dealings with Libya) look like small potatoes,” added Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. It's all about the "O" word!
10-6 Newsletter Dear Cayenne: The mainstream media is obviously filtering the news and doing us all a great injustice by not emphasizing the fact that the Bush/bin Laden feud has been going on for sometime. If the death of his brother Salem, doesn't establish motive, then what does? Shhheeeezzzzzz. And it appears that the entire Whitehouse is in the oil business which is really what this is all about. One way that we could cut their funding off at the knees (everything is powered by money) is to stop buying gas, buy electric cars, walk more often, carpool more often, take away their profits. It is just treason that our children are sent to die on behalf of a bunch of Lord Fountleroy's who will never see the front lines of war. We will have another shell-shocked generation of kids over OIL and the business interests of politicians. All the while the media stands by and covers this up. And the idiots at the baseball games should all have put their time and money into human rights groups and used the power of a crowd to march at the federal building. As you say, people are truly ignorant of what is really happening. Is the Wall Street Journal the only American news source that has explained that the Bush family will profit immensely from the $343 billion in increased defense budget? Wouldn't it be wonderful if that money was going into schools, rehabilitating prisoners and doing some good in the world instead of into killing? What is military except killers? We voters have been sleeping. Hopefully now that we are awake, we will all take the strong action to put smarter people into office. Susan Randall Dear Susan: Well said, and I pray that you are all writing letters to the editor and demanding news coverage of the Bush/bin Laden business ties, the death of his brother in a mysterious Texas plane crash in 1988 and we should all notice the bin Laden ties to the Alaskan pipeline and 15% of our utilities, to companies such as Halliburton and Enron. Use your talent to write, when enough letters arrive on a topic, the news media will cover it. What appears is up to you.
10-8 Newsletter Dear Cayenne: Re your statement " look up the article that outlines how the Bush family will profit from the $343 billion defense budget in the Wall Street Journal." I am not surprised but I have long realized the $ and 'pay back' $ involved with GW and his buddies. Am glad to see someone else sees it too. I just wonder how many can stop and see the 'big picture'. Some of the rich will get richer now. Gov. contracts, etc., will be dishing out millions of taxpayer $. The American Airlines executives, for example, get big $ and the airline should have been making big $ yet GWB is dishing out millions. Can't believe they are so poor that they couldn't operate with a weeks shutdown. ' READING is important but .... COMPREHENSION is the key' including the 'handwriting on the wall' written by the terrorists for years You are startlingly insightful and it is no wonder to me you are the leader of the UNION. Regards, Gary Dear Gary: Most people have no education in business or knowledge that our government is controlled by Corporations - individuals have no say unless they are organized into large, well-funded groups they create for themselves. The airline lobbyists must be some of the largest political donors around and the American people are easy to mislead, especially those who don't read or think. It's common sense that this is a war resulting from a long standing feud between Bush and bin Laden. After examining the business interests of most of the hawks in the Whitehouse, it is very clear they are almost all in the oil business, and have close ties to bin Laden and other Middle Easterners. I am beginning to think the Wall Street Journal is more of a news source than anyone else, and why more people don't see this scandal is a mystery to me. I can only attribute it to ignorance. Hopefully our UNION members will write enough letters to the editor to force this surface more widely than WSJ. Common sense and years of reading usually provides insightfulness, that's why I do not support retribution-style justice, because all it does it cause a never-ending cycle of violence and destruction. We need to locate bin Laden, not kill women, children and elderly. Our killing ways have earned us so much hatred at home and abroad and yet our people remain apathetic and allow this hell to be rained upon us. Let's bring back gladiators and send the politicians themselves to die - and they can pay for it. This old world technique is much more humane, although not as good for the economy and profit making ventures. The adage that one man's terrorism is another man's freedom fight is certainly appropriate here. My question is, why does the media keep parroting Bush with "this is going to be a long, drawn out process?" Profits, oil, squabbles between two rich brats, this is why our sons and daughters will die. We allow it, half the country voted for it when they elected Bush. But retribution has never been a solution, execution has never worked to deter crime, and blood cannot wash out blood. One good thing, people are finally waking up to messages we journalists have been trying to deliver for years. Thank you for writing. B. Cayenne Bird http://www.geocities.com/capitolhill/parliament/2398/advice.htm
10-9 Newsletter It's starting to seep out! This ongoing feud is all about oil and business relationships gone bad. Your letters to the editor will force the mainstream media to cover this vital aspect of the conflict. B. Cayenne Bird -----------
$3 Trillion in Oil & Gas Rense.com Asia Times - The Oil Behind Bush And Son's Campaigns By Ranjit Devraj Asia Times 10-8-1 NEW DELHI - Just as the Gulf War in 1991 was all about oil, the new conflict in South and Central Asia is no less about access to the region's abundant petroleum resources, according to Indian analysts. "US influence and military presence in Afghanistan and the Central Asian states, not unlike that over the oil-rich Gulf states, would be a major strategic gain," said V R Raghavan, a strategic analyst and former general in the Indian army. Raghavan believes that the prospect of a western military presence in a region extending from Turkey to Tajikistan could not have escaped strategists who are now readying a military campaign aimed at changing the political order in Afghanistan, accused by the United States of harboring Osama bin Laden. Where the "great game" in Afghanistan was once about czars and commissars seeking access to the warm water ports of the Persian Gulf, today it is about laying oil and gas pipelines to the untapped petroleum reserves of Central Asia. According to testimony before the US House of Representatives in March 1999 by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan together have 15 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. The same countries also have proven gas deposits totaling not less than nine trillion cubic meters. Another study by the Institute for Afghan Studies placed the total worth of oil and gas reserves in the Central Asian republics at around US$3 trillion at last year's prices. Not only can Afghanistan play a role in hosting pipelines connecting Central Asia to international markets, but the country itself has significant oil and gas deposits. During the Soviets' decade-long occupation of Afghanistan, Moscow estimated Afghanistan's proven and probable natural gas reserves at around five trillion cubic feet and production reached 275 million cubic feet per day in the mid-1970s. But sabotage by anti-Soviet mujahideen (freedom fighters) and by rival groups in the civil war that followed Soviet withdrawal in 1989 virtually closed down gas production and ended deals for the supply of gas to several European countries. Major Afghan natural gas fields awaiting exploitation include Jorqaduq, Khowaja, Gogerdak, and Yatimtaq, all of which are located within 9 kilometers of the town of Sheberghan in northrern Jowzjan province. Natural gas production and distribution under Afghanistan's Taliban rulers is the responsibility of the Afghan Gas Enterprise which, in 1999, began repair of a pipeline to Mazar-i-Sharif city. Afghanistan's proven and probable oil and condensate reserves were placed at 95 million barrels by the Soviets. So far, attempts to exploit Afghanistan's petroleum reserves or take advantage of its unique geographical location as a crossroads to markets in Europe and South Asia have been thwarted by the continuing civil strife. In 1998, the California-based UNOCAL, which held 46.5 percent stakes in Central Asia Gas (CentGas), a consortium that planned an ambitious gas pipeline across Afghanistan, withdrew in frustration after several fruitless years. The pipeline was to stretch 1,271km from Turkmenistan's Dauletabad fields to Multan in Pakistan at an estimated cost of $1.9 billion. An additional $600 million would have brought the pipeline to energy-hungry India. Energy experts in India, such as R K Pachauri, who heads the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI), have long been urging the country's planners to ensure access to petroleum products from the Central Asian republics, with which New Delhi has traditionally maintained good relations. Other partners in CentGas included the Saudi Arabian Delta Oil Company, the Government of Turkmenistan, Indonesia Petroleum (INPEX), the Japanese ITOCHU, Korean Hyundai and Pakistan's Crescent Group. According to observers, one problem is the uncertainty over who the beneficiaries in Afghanistan would be - the opposition Northern Alliance, the Taliban, the Afghan people or indeed, whether any of these would benefit at all. But the immediate reason for UNOCAL's withdrawal was undoubtedly the US cruise missile attacks on Osama bin Laden's terrorism training camps in Afghanistan in August 1998, done in retaliation for the bombing of its embassies in Africa. UNOCAL then stated that the project would have to wait until Afghanistan achieved the "peace and stability necessary to obtain financing from international agencies and a government that is recognized by the United States and the United Nations". The "coalition against terrorism" that US President George W Bush is building now is the first opportunity that has any chance of making UNOCAL's wish come true. If the coalition succeeds, Raghavan said, it has the potential of "reconfiguring substantially the energy scenarios for the 21st century". (Inter Press Service) ©2001 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd. Room 6301 The Center 99 Queen's Road, Central, Hong Kong http://www.atimes.com/global-econ/CJ06Dj01.html 10-10 Newsletter ---------------- (Editors Note : The first article now just over 7 months old examines efforts by former President Bush and others to secure Saudi favor for select business interests. Part two which follows below deals with the recent Bush appointment of Dallas attorney Robert Jordan to serve as ambassador to Saudi Arabia and his deep connections to those same select interests.) The New York Times | March 5, 2001, Monday
During the presidential campaign last year, former President George Bush took time off from his son's race to call on Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at a luxurious desert compound outside Riyadh to talk about American-Saudi business affairs. Mr. Bush went as an ambassador of sorts, but not for his government. In the same way, Mr. Bush's secretary of state, James A. Baker III, recently met with a group of wealthy people at the elegant Lanesborough Hotel in London to explain the Florida vote count. Traveling with the fanfare of dignitaries, Mr. Bush and Mr. Baker were using their extensive government contacts to further their business interests as representatives of the Carlyle Group, a $12 billion private equity firm based in Washington that has parlayed a roster of former top-level government officials, largely from the Bush and Reagan administrations, into a moneymaking machine. In a new spin on Washington's revolving door between business and government, where lobbying by former officials is restricted but soliciting investments is not, Carlyle has upped the ante and taken the practice global. Mr. Bush and Mr. Baker were accompanied on their trips by former Prime Minister John Major of Britain, another of Carlyle's political stars. With door-openers of this caliber, along with shrewd investment skills, Carlyle has gone from an unknown in the world of private equity to one of its biggest players. Private equity, which involves buying up companies in private deals and reselling them, is a high-end business open only to the very rich. Over the last decade, the Carlyle empire has grown to span three continents and include investments in most corners of the world. It owns so many companies that it is now in effect one of the nation's biggest defense contractors and a force in global telecommunications. Its blue-chip investors include major banks and insurance companies, billion-dollar pension funds and wealthy investors from Abu Dhabi to Singapore. In getting business for Carlyle, Mr. Bush has been impressive. His meeting with the crown prince was followed by a yacht cruise and private dinners with Saudi officials, including King Fahd, all on behalf of Carlyle, which has extensive interests in the Middle East. And Mr. Bush led Carlyle's successful entry into South Korea, the fastest-growing economy in Asia. After his meetings with the prime minister and other government and business leaders, Carlyle won a tough competition for control of KorAm, one of Korea's few healthy banks. The steady flow of politicians to lucrative private-sector jobs based on their government contacts is a familiar Washington tale. But in this case, it is being played out for more dollars, on a global stage, and in the world of private finance, where the minimal government rules prohibiting lobbying by former officials for a given period are not a factor. These rules say nothing about potential conflicts when former government officials use their connections and insights for financial gain, and they may attract more notice now that George W. Bush is president. Many of those involved with Carlyle, which invests largely in companies that do business with the government or are affected by government regulations, have ties to the Oval Office. For instance, Frank C. Carlucci, a Reagan secretary of defense who as much as anyone is responsible for Carlyle's success, said he met in February with his old college classmate Donald H. Rumsfeld, the secretary of defense, and Vice President Dick Cheney, himself a defense secretary under former President Bush, to talk about military matters -- at a time when Carlyle has several billion-dollar defense projects under consideration. Carlyle officials contend that the firm's activities do not present any potential conflicts since Mr. Bush, Mr. Baker and other former Republican officials now at Carlyle -- including Mr. Carlucci, who is Carlyle's chairman, and Richard G. Darman, Mr. Bush's former budget director -- do not lobby the federal government. Carlyle executives point out that many corporations have former government officials as board members. ''Mr. Bush gives us no advice on what do with with the federal government,'' said David Rubenstein, the firm's founder and a former aide in the Carter White House. ''We've gone over backwards to make sure that we do no lobbying.'' Others, however, see little difference between potential conflicts involving lobbying and those involving investments. ''Carlyle is as deeply wired into the current administration as they can possibly be,'' said Charles Lewis, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit public interest group based in Washington. ''George Bush is getting money from private interests that have business before the government, while his son is president. And, in a really peculiar way, George W. Bush could, some day, benefit financially from his own administration's decisions, through his father's investments. The average American doesn't know that and, to me, that's a jaw-dropper.'' It is difficult to determine exactly how much money the senior Mr. Bush and Mr. Baker have made. Mr. Baker is a Carlyle partner, and Mr. Bush has the title senior adviser to its Asian activities. With a current market value of about $3.5 billion on Carlyle's equity and with the firm owned by 18 partners and one outside investor, Mr. Baker's Carlyle stake would be worth about $180 million if each partner held an equal stake. It is not known whether he has more or less than the other partners. Unlike Mr. Baker, Mr. Bush has no ownership stake in Carlyle; he is an adviser and an investor and is compensated by obtaining stakes in Carlyle investments. Carlyle executives cited, for example, Mr. Bush's being allowed to put money he earns giving speeches for Carlyle into its investment funds. Mr. Bush generally receives $80,000 to $100,000 for a speech. He sits on no corporate boards other than Carlyle's. Carlyle also gave the Bush family a hand in 1990 by putting George W. Bush, who was then struggling to find a career, on the board of a Carlyle subsidiary, Caterair, an airline-catering company. From Carlyle's point of view, the involvement of Mr. Baker and the former president is invaluable. ''It punches up the brand awareness for us globally,'' said Daniel A. D'Aniello, a Carlyle managing director. ''We are greatly assisted by Baker and Bush. It shows that we are associated with people of the highest ethical standards.'' With $12 billion from investors, Carlyle claims to be the nation's largest private equity fund and makes money by investing in undervalued companies and reselling at a profit. These numbers put Carlyle in the same league as better-known private equity firms like Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company and Forstmann-Little & Company. Two hundred forty Carlyle employees are stationed throughout the world either raising money or finding ways to spend it. Carlyle has ownership stakes in 164 companies, which last year employed more than 70,000 people and generated $16 billion in revenues. About 450 institutions -- mainly large pension funds and banks -- are Carlyle investors. The California state pension fund invested $305 million with Carlyle, and the Texas teachers pension fund -- whose board was appointed when George W. Bush was governor -- gave Carlyle $100 million to invest in November. Carlyle also works as a financial adviser to the Saudi government. ''Let's say Carlyle is going fund-raising in the Middle East and they bring Bush along,'' said David Snow, editor of Private Equity Central, a trade publication. ''He led the U.S. Army into that region. That will catch the attention of very wealthy investors in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The fact that Bush is involved doesn't mean that Carlyle will make great investment decisions. But it will get them access to certain deals and certain countries that they might otherwise not have.'' One former Carlyle employee said, ''The firm understands that having Bush and Major around is like having movie stars around.'' Yet Carlyle's success is not just because of its high-powered connections. Carlyle has done well for its investors, returning an average of 34 percent a year over the last decade, in line with other private equity funds. It has done this by buying what it knows best -- companies that are regulated by the government. Nearly two-thirds of its investments are in defense and telecommunications companies, which are affected by shifts in government spending and policy. Carlyle has become the nation's 11th largest defense contractor, owning companies that make tanks, aircraft wings and a broad array of other military equipment. It also owns health care companies, real estate, Internet companies, a bottling company and even Le Figaro, the French newspaper. ''Carlyle is one of the most successful fund-raising groups,'' said Mario L. Giannini, president of Hamilton Lane, a Philadelphia consultant to institutional investors. ''They have tremendous access and they have done very well with their money.'' And its access extends well beyond American shores. In Europe, Carlyle has assembled an advisory board that besides Mr. Major includes Karl Otto Pöhl, former president of German's Bundesbank, and the past or present chairmen of B.M.W., Hoffman-LaRoche, Nestlé, LVMH-Moët Hennessy, Louis Vuitton and Aerospatiale, the French Airbus partner. Carlyle's Asia advisory board, which helps raise money and finds and reviews deals, includes former President Fidel V. Ramos of the Philippines, the former prime minister of Thailand and the executive director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The former South Korean prime minister Park Tae Joon was also an adviser to Carlyle. This star power is a source of great pride for Carlyle and part of an acknowledged long-term strategy to associate the firm with brand-name politicians and business executives in order to attract more of the same -- along with their money, insights and connections. That said, Carlyle partners bristle at any suggestion that the firm's success is based only on high-powered schmoozing. ''If our track record was not good, people would not invest with us,'' said Mr. Rubenstein, the founding partner. ''No one would gives us money just because Mr. Bush is one of our advisers.'' On that point, others agree. ''People took potshots at Carlyle early on and tried to denigrate their investment credentials because they had all these government officials over there,'' said Bernard Aronson, managing partner at ACON Investments, a private equity firm in Washington. ''But that's sort of a myth. The all-hat-and-no-cattle has disappeared because they performed consistently, delivered excellent returns and have become global players.'' One of the people who put Carlyle on the map -- developing its riches and its image -- is Mr. Carlucci, who joined the firm in 1989 when it had engaged in a string of ill-fated ventures. He is credited with steering Carlyle into successful defense industry acquisitions -- just when other investors were shunning them -- and with using his seat on more than a dozen corporate boards to bring Carlyle deals and investors. In an office adorned with photographs of Mr. Carlucci and the politically mighty -- he sits beneath an Oval Office picture of himself and Mr. Reagan -- Mr. Carlucci makes it clear that his extensive government and global ties are as fresh as ever. ''I know Rumsfeld extremely well,'' Mr. Carlucci said in an interview. ''We've been close friends throughout the years. We were college classmates.'' Pointing to a picture of the Chinese president, he said, ''There's a photo of me and Jiang Zemin. And there's me and the president of Taiwan.'' Right now, Carlyle is hoping that financing is provided for the $13.7 billion Crusader program. The Crusader is a heavy-duty tank made by a Carlyle portfolio company and other contractors. And Carlyle just lodged a complaint with the government after another of its portfolio companies lost a $4 billion contract to build a lightweight combat vehicle. While Mr. Carlucci is open about his discussions with Mr. Rumsfeld on Pentagon policies, he said he never lobbies. ''I've made it clear that I don't lobby the defense industry,'' Mr. Carlucci said. ''I will give our Carlyle bankers advice on what they might do and who they should talk to. But I do not pick up the phone and say you should fund X, Y or Z.'' If Washington's revolving door brought Republicans to Carlyle during the Clinton presidency, now the firm is preparing for an onslaught of Democrats. The day these interviews took place at Carlyle's Washington office, Gene Sperling, one of the Clinton administration's top economic advisers, was in for a job interview. New ambassador to Saudi Arabia is another Bush/Carlyle Group crony. October 9, 2001, Tuesday By Jonathan Ashley, Eyes On American Dallas attorney Robert Jordan was confirmed Wednesday by the United States Senate to serve as ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Jordan has no diplomatic experience. However, his connections leave no doubt as to why he was named to the post. He defended George W. Bush in a probe of insider trading allegations in 1990. The allegations involved the sale by Bush of 60% of his Harken Energy Corp. stocks two months before a 25% drop in the stock's price. According to a 7 Sep 2000 article by the Associated Press, "At the time of the investigation, Bush's father was president of the United States and the SEC was run by one of his biggest political supporters, Richard Breeden. The SEC's then-general counsel, James R. Doty, was another staunch presidential supporter who as a private attorney was George W. Bush's lawyer when he purchased his share of the Texas Rangers baseball team." This is not Jordan's only connection to the Bush family. Jordan is a corporate lawyer in the Dallas office of Houston-based Baker Botts. Baker Botts has an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The client list at Baker Botts includes "more than half of the Fortune 100 companies". The client list also includes The Carlyle Group. On the board of directors for Carlyle is former President George Herbert Walker Bush. James A. Baker III is the current Baker in Baker Botts. Baker was Secretary of State under the first President Bush. He is currently senior counsel to The Carlyle Group. Baker was a classmate of Donald H. Rumsfeld at Yale University. Rumsfeld, the current Secretary of Defense, was the roommate of Frank C. Carlucci at Yale. Carlucci, who was head of the National Security Counsel under President Ronald Reagan, is currently chairman of The Carlyle Group. The current President Bush was a director of Caterair during the years 1990-1994. Caterair is owned by The Carlyle Group. The board of directors of The Carlyle Group also includes: former Phillipines President, Fidel V. Ramos; former director of the U.S. Office of Management & Budget, Richard Darman; former Assistant to the President (Bush I), Robert Grady; former Prime Minister of South Korea, Park Tae Joon; former SEC chairman, Arthur Levitt; former Prime Minister of Great Britain, John Major; former general director of the World Health Organization, Michael Orloff; retired U.S. Army General, J. H. Binford Peay; former president of Deutsche Bundesbank, Karl Otto Pohl; and former chairman of the Joint Chief's of Staff, John Shalikashvili. Two-thirds of Carlyle's holdings are in defense and telecommunications companies. At leaset $2 million of Carlyle funding has come from the bin Laden family of Saudi Arabia. Reprinted from Eyes On America : http://eyesonamerica.org/200110/10050102.html --------------------- more posts about the Bush/bin Laden/Oil relationships.
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