In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
George Bush, Saudi Arabia's best President
Baker said, "I fixed the election in Florida for George Bush."
For the Bush administration, this marks a new low in their Conflicts-R-Us appointments process.
Or maybe there's no conflict at all. That is, if you see Jim Baker's new job as working not to protect a new Iraqi democracy but to protect the old theocracy of Saudi Arabia.
Iraq owes something on the order of $120 billion to $150 billion, depending on who's counting. And who's counting is very important.
Much of the so-called debt to Saudi Arabia was given to Saddam Hussein to fight a proxy war for the Saudis against their hated foe, the Shi'ia of Iran. And as disclosed by a former Saudi diplomat, the kingdom's sheiks handed about $7 billion to Saddam under the table in the 1980's to build an "Islamic bomb."
Should Iraqis today and those not yet born have to be put in a debtor's prison to pay off the secret payouts to Saddam?
James Wolfensohn says 'No!' Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank, has never been on my Christmas card list, but in this case, he's got it right: Iraq should simply cancel $120 billion in debt.
Normally, the World Bank is in charge of post-war debt restructuring. That's why the official name of the World Bank is, "International Bank for Reconstruction and Development." This is the Bank's expertise. Bush has rushed Baker in to pre-empt the debt write-off the World Bank would have certainly promoted.
...
Why is our President so concerned with the wishes of Mr. Baker's clientele? What does Bush owe Baker? Let me count the ways, beginning with the 2000 election.
Just last week Baker said, "I fixed the election in Florida for George Bush." That was the substance of his remarks to an audience of Russian big wigs as reported to me by my somewhat astonished colleagues with BBC television.
It was Baker, as consiglieri to the Bush family, who came up with the strategy of maneuvering the 2000 Florida vote count into a Supreme Court packed with politicos.
Not feeling angry enough yet?... read the article.
- rob 2:37 PM - [PermaLink] -
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