yeah, we'd like to see this for four years...not. "but she's so 'continental'!"
Posted on 09/19/2004 10:08:29 AM PDT by CT CONSERVATIVE
So much for "building alliances"! Kerry has now acted to undermine a critical relationship in the war on terror just to score some electoral points. A failure on John Howard's part to be re-elected would certainly give Kerry ammunition to attack George Bush on his standing overseas. However, with Howard running ahead of the pack in Australia, Kerry sent his little sister to attempt to influence the Australian election -- which, if reversed, would have Americans screaming bloody murder.
(Excerpt) Read more at captainsquartersblog.com ...
Amazingly, the Left expects everyone to fall in line should they win this election. This is after they've trashed a good man and our allies around the world. Of course, we know that if and when they lose they have no intention of uniting behind this country. Heck, you can see by their actions today, the desperation and division they are already sewing into society. They are already preparing for the possibility of this loss by further trying to delegitimze a Bush victory. My mother thinks that if Bush wins, we will see outright violence from these people. I told her...we already are.
She could be right; I want Bush to win, for sure, but we have to face the fact that after the election, these people will not go away.
I'm just hoping that Bush gets a good enough margin to shut some of these people up.
I think it was Bob Beckel or someone from the Kerry campaign had mentioned on Fox News Sunday a couple of weeks ago that they were talking to the South Korean government already.
I have a feeling that the Kerry team is working over time behind the Bush administration's back to undermine its results.
Kerry is the same guy he was in '71. His political aims are more important than the Nation's war aims.
God Help me, but I really hate Kerry. He makes Clinton-Gore look like statesman.
Those are questions I'd like to know .. and what else is this nit wit been saying to other countries?
NOVEMBER 30, 2003 : (FORMER GEORGIAN PRESIDENT SHEVARDNADZE ACCUSES SOROS OF BACKING PROTESTS WHICH FORCED HIM TO RESIGN) Former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze accused multibillionaire philanthropist George Soros of donating millions of dollars to an uprising earlier this month that forced him to resign. Shevardnadze said in a newspaper interview that he could not point to specific countries that had backed the uprising. Instead, international groups, such as the Soros Foundation, had financed the opposition, he said. In the interview published Sunday in the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot, Shevardnadze said the "principles and goals" of the Soros Foundation was to lead to a situation similar to Yugoslavia, where mass protests in 2000 lead to Slobodan Milosevic's ouster. "I am shocked how international organizations can get involved in the internal issues of a country in such a brash manner and to such a great extent," Shevardnadze told Yediot Ahronot. "I can't give you exact numbers, but one ambassador told me that we are talking about $2.5 million to $3 million." In addition, Shevardnadze said he did not blame Georgian security forces for failing to stop the protests or forecasting their scope. "They are not the Israeli Mossad that knows everything a person is thinking on the other end of the earth," Shevardnadze said, comparing what he described as Georgia's fledgling security forces to Israel's well-established spy service.- "Shevardnadze blames Soros for his downfall," By ASSOCIATED PRESS via Jerusalem Post , Nov. 30, 2003
NOVEMBER 2003 mid : (VENEZUELAN PRESIENT CHAVEZ SAYS IT IS UNFAIR THAT BOLIVIA HAS NO COAST) Chavez said at a forum over the weekend in Bolivia that it was not fair that the country had no coast and some day he would like to visit a Bolivian beach. Bolivia lost its outlet to the sea to neighboring Chile in the War of the Pacific in 1879. Chile says the issue is closed permanently and there is no room for modifying the 19th century treaty defining the borders between Bolivia, Chile and Peru. - "Chavez raises hackles with "Bolivian beach" comment," By Fiona Ortiz , Reuters Alertnet, Reuters, 18 Nov 2003 21:18:10 GMT
NOVEMBER 2003 Tuesday : (VENEZUELA SAYS IT IS PUSHING FOR A 'FRIENDLY SOLUTION' TO BOLIVIA'S LACK OF SEA ACCESS) Venezuela said on Tuesday it was pushing for a friendly solution to Bolivia's problem. "Evidently to be able to bathe in the waters of the Pacific (in Bolivia) there would have to be a negotiated solution between the two sides, and that is our profound wish, born of our profound brotherhood with Chile," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Roy Chaderton said at a press conference in Caracas. - "Chavez raises hackles with "Bolivian beach" comment," By Fiona Ortiz , Reuters Alertnet, Reuters, 18 Nov 2003 21:18:10 GMT
NOVEMBER 2003 : (UN SECRETARY GENERAL KOFI ANNAN SAYS HE IS OPEN TO MEDIATING BETWEEN CHILE & BOLIVIA OVER TALKS ABOUT SEA ACCESS FOR BOLIVIA; CHILE RESPONDS THAT THERE IS NOTHING TO NEGOTIATE) Chile also had a chilly response last week when U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, on a visit to the region, said he was open to a mediating role if Bolivia and Chile were to talk about sea access. Chile said there was nothing to negotiate. - "Chavez raises hackles with "Bolivian beach" comment," By Fiona Ortiz , Reuters Alertnet, Reuters, 18 Nov 2003 21:18:10 GMT
NOVEMBER 18, 2003 : (CHILE RECALLS ITS AMBASSADOR IN VENEZUELA AFTER VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT CHAVEZ ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR BOLIVIA'S QUEST FOR ACCESS TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN) SANTIAGO, Chile, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Chile on Tuesday recalled its ambassador in Caracas after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez voiced support for land-locked Bolivia's quest for access to the Pacific Ocean, a sore point between Chile and Bolivia for 125 years.
The recall of the ambassador "is a signal regarding expressions (Chavez) should not have made. We as a country take care of our own bilateral affairs and we don't like third parties getting involved," Chilean Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear told a news conference in Santiago. - "Chavez raises hackles with "Bolivian beach" comment," By Fiona Ortiz , Reuters Alertnet, Reuters, 18 Nov 2003 21:18:10 GMT
yeah, we'd like to see this for four years...not. "but she's so 'continental'!"
NOVEMBER 6, 2003 : (VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT CHAVEZ SPEAKS OF THE RIGHT OF INDIGINOUS TRIBES OF BOLIVIA TO GROW COCA - ALSO, SUGGESTS THAT BOLIVIA HAS A LEGITIMATE RIGHT TO SEA ACCESS - NAMELY, THROUGH CHILE) Hugo Chávez, president of Venezuela, a country where the coca leaf does not grow, today spoke for the first time publicly in defense of the right of the indigenous of Bolivia to cultivate their millenarian sacred plant.
Agence France Press reports:
He [Hugo Chavez] reminded that the Bolivian indigenous "have planted coca for 10,000 years," and therefore, "it's not their fault that chemical components have appeared to make cocaine, or that the rich consume it, while the poor do not..."
And where did you hear it first?
Chávez also lights a fire under the neoliberal presidents of Perú and Chile, suggesting that landlocked Bolivia, which lost its seaports in the War of the Pacific (1879-1884) to Chile, "has a legitimate and historic territorial right" to sea access. "It was not a war against the Empire," noted Chávez, who mentioned that he has tried to raise this issue at presidential summits "but the governments of Chile and Perú don't want to talk about the issue."
"This is a conversation," he said, "between brothers." South America is behaving, more and more, as a Union. - "Hugo Chavez Goes To Bolivia (Seeking to start a South American Narco War)," by Al Giordano, BigLeftOutside & Agence France Presse 11/06/03
NOVEMBER 2003 : (VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT CHAVEZ IS GOING TO BOLIVIA ACCOMPANIED BY BOLIVIAN CONGRESSMAN & COCA GROWER EVO MORALES) Chávez, after next week's Latin American Presidents Summit in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, is going to the coca-growing Chapare region, accompanied by Evo -- and maybe even some other interesting leaders, or their delegates, from other lands...
The "Authentic Journalism swarm with no name" will be present, too, with a multinational delegation to bring word of this historic turning point.- "Hugo Chavez
Love those Old Bible Proverbs!
Howard's opponent wants to withdraw from Iraq, as does Kerry. They would let the terrorists take over Iraq and the Middle East.
Some of Clinton and other rats' travels, well timed, involve North Korea :
SEPTEMBER 2003 late : (GERMANY : FORMER IAEA DIPLOMAT FROM NORTH KOREA IS ACCUSED OF ORDERING SPECIALIZED ALUMINUM TUBING ON BEHALF OF NORTH KOREA) HAMBURG, Germany (AFP) - A former North Korean diplomat is accused of ordering material from a German firm that could be used in the production of nuclear weapons, Germany's Der Spiegel reported in its Monday edition. The news magazine said a German businessman would go on trial in Stuttgart, southwest Germany, next month in connection with the case. The diplomat was named by Spiegel as Yun Ho Jin. It said he used to work as a Pyongyang representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. According to Der Spiegel, Yun Ho Jin ordered special aluminium tubes from the businessman which, experts say, are used to build gas ultracentrifuges in which uranium is enriched.
The equipment was impounded in April after being loaded on board a ship.
The unidentified businessman, who got to know the diplomat in the late 1980s, is accused of breaching trade export laws and "attempts to encourage production of a nuclear weapon."
Experts from the IAEA, the German foreign ministry and the German foreign intelligence service are expected to testify, the magazine added. - "North Korean diplomat implicated in nuclear plot: German press," Agence France-Presse , September 21, 2003
(* My note: Note that the Washington Post's Gelman as well as [former] State Dept's Greg Thielman would go out of their way in the following weeks to try to downplay, distort, and flat out lie about the signifigance of aluminum tubes obtained by Iraq)
SEPTEMBER 2003 : (PUTIN : CRYPTIC COMMENTS ABOUT BEING APPROACHED BY SOME WANTING TO FIGHT AGAINST THE US IN AFGHANISTAN)To: Just mythoughts : That's interesting to tie Putin's words to this and you could be right. The press must have hated it that Putin said if they hadn't joined the US in Afghanistan, there would have been a different outcome because he was approached by various countries(?), organizations(?) who wanted to fight against our soldiers there. 212 posted on 09/29/2003 3:16 PM PDT by Peach *
(* My note to self : I need to dig up the transcripts and look into what Putin said.)
SEPTEMBER 29, 2003 Monday : (AL AMOUDI IS ARRESTED; HE WAS A DNC AND CLINTON DONOR, A BOARD MEMBER OF THE AMC, AND FOUNDER OF THE AMERICAN MUSLIM ARMED FORCES AND VETERAN AFFAIRS COUNCIL) A terrorist sympathizer whose organization donated $50,000 to Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign three years ago and who openly defended Hamas during an earlier visit to the Clinton White House has been arrested. U.S. officials confirmed Monday morning the arrest of Abdurahman Alamoudi, a prominent member of the American Muslim Council, which presented a $50,000 check to Mrs. Clinton at a June 2000 fundraiser in Boston.
Alamoudi also personally donated $1,000 to Mrs. Clinton. Her campaign camouflaged the donations in Federal Election Commission filings as coming from "the American Museum Council," but later said the mistake was a typo. According to Reuters, Alamoudi is a board member of the American Muslim Council, as well as the founder of the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veteran Affairs Council. U.S. officials declined to say whether his arrest was connected to the war on terror.
"We are the ones who went to the White House and defended what is called Hamas," Alamoudi boasted after his [Clinton] White House visit. Alamoudi's arrest was first reported by al Jazeera, but neither they nor Reuters noted his ties to Sen. Clinton. - "Hillary Donor, Terrorist Sympathizer, Arrested," Monday Sept. 29, 2003; 12:07 p.m. EDT
OCTOBER 1, 2003 : (WILSON WAS SCHEDULED TO BRIEF THE HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS, BUT DEMOCRATS CALLED OFF THE SESSION) Yesterday, Mr. Wilson, a lover of the limelight, was to brief the House Democratic Caucus. But Democrats called off the session for fear they would make the investigation a partisan affair, which Republicans say it already is. - "Wilson, wife have tight ties to Democrats. " By Rowan Scarborough, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 2 Oct 03
OCTOBER 2, 2003 : (WILSON MEETING WITH HOUSE DEMOCRAT CAUCUS) Wilson is expected to meet with members of the House Democratic Caucus today, but he denies he is doing it out of partisanship. Democratic lawmakers have called for the appointment of an independent counsel to investigate the leak. "I'm meeting with the Democratic Caucus because they invited me," he said. "If the Republican Caucus were to invite me, I would go up and meet with them as well." Wilson said he would be asked about his views on Bush's $87 billion budget request for reconstructing Iraq and Afghanistan, but said he expected to be asked about the investigation as well. Wilson said he believed his views concerning the way ahead are "nonpartisan, are the best way ahead for our country — not for one political party or another." The investigation concerning his wife should not be viewed as a partisan matter either, he said. "We're talking about a crime against the national security of the United States. That is not a partisan activity. That is a crime against the country." - "Ambassador Says White House Adviser Told Press His Wife Was ‘Fair Game’ ," abcnews.com , Octo. 2, 2003
OCTOBER 2, 2003 : (SANDY BERGER GETS QUESTIONED BY NATIONAL ARCHIVES PERSONNEL OVER AT LEAST ONE MISSING COPY OF THE POST-MILLENNIUM REPORT HE HAD PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED WAS MISSING) Breuer said the Archives staff first raised concerns with Berger during an Oct. 2 review of documents that at least one copy of the post-millennium report he had reviewed earlier was missing. Berger was given a second copy that day, Breuer said. --- "AP: Clinton Adviser Probed in Terror Memos [Sandy Berger, is the focus of a criminal investigation," John Solomon, AP via Yahoo, July 20, 2004
OCTOBER 2, 2003 : (WILSON NOW WORKS AT THE [SAUDI FUNDED?] MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE AND ALSO RUNS J C WILSON INTERNATIONAL VENTURES) Mr. Wilson now works at the Middle East Institute as a scholar and frequent Bush critic. He also runs JC Wilson International Ventures. A Senate Republican staffer jokes that he is already on the short list for secretary of state, no matter who the Democratic nominee is. - "Wilson, wife have tight ties to Democrats. " By Rowan Scarborough, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, 2 Oct 03
OCTOBER 3, 2003 : (BUSH ADMIN SAYS CIA FRONT COMPANY WAS EXPOSED BY LEAK OF CIA OPERATIVE'S NAME) The leak of a CIA operative's name has also exposed the identity of a CIA front company, potentially expanding the damage caused by the original disclosure, Bush administration officials said yesterday. The company's identity, Brewster-Jennings & Associates, became public because it appeared in Federal Election Commission records on a form filled out in 1999 by Valerie Plame, the case officer at the center of the controversy, when she contributed $1,000 to Al Gore's presidential primary campaign. After the name of the company was broadcast yesterday, administration officials confirmed that it was a CIA front. They said the obscure and possibly defunct firm was listed as Plame's employer on her W-2 tax forms in 1999 when she was working undercover for the CIA. - "Leak of Agent's Name Causes Exposure of CIA Front Firm," by Walter Pincus and Mike Allen, Washington Post, October 4, 2003 Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40012-2003Oct3.html
OCTOBER 3, 2003 : (KAY'S TEAM INVESTIGATING INFO THAT NORTH KOREA & SOME UNIDENTIFIED EUROPEAN COUNTRIES INVOLVED IN AIDING IRAQ'S MISSILE PROGRAM AND IN DUAL USE MATERIALS) The team is also gathering information about foreign assistance to Iraq, which was mainly in the missile area and some dual-use areas, that involved North Korea and some European countries which he declined to identify. - "Kay: Two Iraqi WMD Scientists Shot for Helping U.S.," by Tabassum Zakaria, Reuters , 10/3/03
OCTOBER 10, 2003 : (FRENCH PAPER "LIBERATION" ON WILSON) Here's a French article, Oct. 10, from the paper "Liberation" Interestingly, it mentions Rock Creek and that Wilson is a "Francophile". It sounds like the French are familiar with him indeed.
La Maison Blanche aurait balancé un espion de la CIA. A le voir comme ça, Joe Wilson, consultant et ancien ambassadeur, n'a l'air de rien. C'est un type direct et simple, démocrate, francophile, spécialiste de l'Afrique et de l'Irak, consultant au cabinet Rock Creek Corporation."------ "Bush dans les affres de l'affaire Wilson," "LIBERATION (01-10-03) , http://www.izaronews.org/noticias/(28_09_03)/extranjera2.htm via 39 posted on 01/02/2004 9:21:17 PM PST by Shermy
OCTOBER 13, 2003 Monday : (SOUTH KOREA : SBS ANNOUNCES FORMER PRESIDENT CLINTON WILL VISIT S KOREA IN NOVEMBER) Former United States President Bill Clinton will visit South Korea from Nov. 13-15 at the invitation of SBS, a spokesman for the broadcasting service said yesterday. (Oct 14, 2003) - "Bill Clinton to Visit Korea Nov. 13-15 ," Korea Times, October 14, 2003, Tuesday
OCTOBER 13, 2003 : (CBS NEWS: GREG THIELMAN, FORMER STATE DEPT DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC, PROLIFERATION AND MILITARY ISSUES OFFICE IN THE BUREAU OF INTELLIGENCE AND RESEARCH, APPEARS ON CBS) - "Ex-Aide: Powell Misled Americans ," CBS News, 10/13/03
(* My note: I am wondering if this Thielman might be the guy that the Wash Po's writer Gelman later used as their "source" on Kay's WMD finds - and got pasted for his erronous article it by Kay and Aussie General Meekin.)
OCTOBER 2003 midmonth : (WILSON IN GERMANY AT "BOOK FAIR"?) [Wilson] will attend a book fair in Germany... to test the market. He said he first turned down the suggestion that he go, but changed his mind after publication of the fact he was considering it. - "Wilson: Bush Not Party to Leak," by Walter Pincus, The Washington Post, 10/6/2003
OCTOBER 2003 midmonth : (NORWAY : EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS MEET WITH TOP US DEMOCRATS, INCLUDING HILLARY CLINTON, JOSEPH BIDEN [See Kerry], RON KLAIN [see Wesley Clark] AND STAN GREENBERG, FORMER CLINTON CAMPAIGN STRATEGIST) Norway's Labour Party is joining other European social democrats in linking up with the Democrats in the US. The goal is to be prepared with common strategies if a majority of them on both sides of the Atlantic come back to power. A group of European social democrats, led by former British Foreign Minister Robin Cook, met last week with several top Democratic politicians and party officials. They included US senators Hilary Clinton and Joseph Biden.
They also had meetings with Ron Klain of presidential candidate Wesley Clark's campaign, and Stan Greenberg, former US President Bill Clinton's campaign strategist in 1992.
On the agenda was European concern over current US foreign policy and the effects of globalization.
Espen Barth Eide, who led the Norwegian delegation, said the group met "understanding" that "economic globalization must be accompanied by political globalization."
There remain wide differences between the European social democrats and their counterparts in the US, who tend to be far more conservative.
Barth Eide called it "natural" however, "to begin with those (in the US) who are closest to us (in ideology), even though the Democrats of course aren't social democrats."--- "Norwegian Labour Party Forges Ties With US Democrats," Norway Aftenposten, October 23, 2003
(Freepnote: To: Shermy So, this clinches it. The Democrats are making arrangements to host the Fourth Internationale. 19 posted on 10/23/2003 9:16:05 PM PDT by okie01)
OCTOBER 15 +/-, 2003 : (TAIWAN : GORE & MCAULIFFE VISIT) Al Gore and Terry McAuliffe visit Taiwan... Gore met with the President, Chen Shui-bian, and Vice- President, Annette Lu, of Taiwan at the conference. (a security and technology conference) Amazingly coincidentally, DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe was in Taiwan at the same time!!! Here is McAuliffe meeting with Taiwan's President. (photo)
OCTOBER 15, 2003 : (CHINA : GORE & MCAULIFFE VISIT) They (Gore & Mcauliffe) are in China today to celebrate with and congratulate the Chinese on their recent technological advancements... This is no coincidence.41 posted on 10/15/2003 10:34 AM PDT by At _War_With_Liberals
OCTOBER 15, 2003 : (CHINA : GORE & MCAULIFFE VISIT CHINA) They (Gore & Mcauliffe) are in China today to celebrate with and congratulate the Chinese on their recent technological advancements... This is no coincidence.41 posted on 10/15/2003 10:34 AM PDT by At _War_With_Liberals
OCTOBER 2003 : (WMD : SOUTH CAROLINA : RICIN FOUND AT POST OFFICE FACILITY SERVING GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT) A package containing ricin was also found at a post facility serving Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina in October. - "Senate Powder Tests Positive for Ricin," AP Wire, February 3, 2004 12:20 AM EST
OCTOBER 15, 2003 : (FORMER STATE DEPT DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC, PROLIFERATION AND MILITARY ISSUES OFFICE IN THE BUREAU OF INTELLIGENCE AND RESEARCH, GREG THIELMAN, DENOUNCES COLIN POWELL FOR HIS FEBRUARY 5, 2003 UN PRESENTATION - THIELMAN SPINS SAME LINES AS AMB JOE WILSON HAD) - October 16, 2003 CyberAlert, via "60 Minutes II Re-Runs Ex-Official’s Attack on Powell’s UN Case," by Brent Baker, Media Research Center , 2-5-04
(* Note Clinton's BS below- also note that the Sandy Berger in the article below is the same one who was stealing classified documents from the National Archives and stuffing them into his pants- as well as "losing" some of them. But be advised tha the Kerry campaign has at least one friend in the upper echelons of the National Archives as well...)
OCTOBER 17, 2003 : (BILL CLINTON CLAIMS HE WARNED BUSH ABOUT BIN LADEN) Washington - Ex-President Bill Clinton says he warned President Bush just before he left office that Osama Bin Laden - not Iraq - was the biggest security threat to America. Speaking Wednesday at a lunch sponsored by the History Channel, Clinton said he and Bush discussed national security in his "exit interview."
"In his campaign, Bush had said he thought the biggest security issue was Iraq and a national missile defense," Clinton said. "I told him that in my opinion, the biggest security problem was Osama Bin Laden."
Clinton said his inability to convince Bush of Al Qaeda's danger was "one of the two or three of the biggest disappointments that I had," Reuters reported. The White House had no comment.
After the 9/11 catastrophe, members of both administrations pointed fingers at each other. Bush supporters blamed Clinton for turning down a secret 1996 offer from Sudan to arrest and hand over Bin Laden.
Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, and his terrorism chief, Richard Clarke, briefed Bush national security adviser Condoleezza Rice just before she took office in January 2001. During his first months in office, Bush's priority was to construct a missile defense shield. He also was focused on domestic issues.
Top Bush administration officials did not meet to discuss Al Qaeda until Sept. 4 - a week before hijacked planes brought down the World Trade Center.--- "I WARNED W ON OSAMA," By HELEN KENNEDY DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU, Daily News (New York), October 17, 2003
[* Freepmail note by shermy: October 2003 connection...remember the first time Bill floated the "I warned Dubya" line?.... -- From Shermy | 07/20/2004 10:39:32 AM PDT new]
OCTOBER 22, 2003 : (JOHN KERRY CAMPAIGN-OPERATED WEB SITE "RESTOREHONESTY.COM" IS REGISTERED) [former Ambassador Joseph] Wilson has a website dedicated to him http://www.restorehonesty.com/. The website is operated by the John Kerry campaign. It was registered October 22, 2003. -- Source: FreeRepublic's Shermy , in 1 posted on 04/16/2004 1:01:47 PM PDT by Shermy
OCTOBER 22, 2003 (WILSON'S WEBSITE RESTOREHONESTY.COM IS REGISTERED) Wilson's website, restorehonesty.com, is registered:-- http://www.geektools.com/whois.php
* See also :
"Indeed, Wilson's website, denouncing the perfidy of the Bush administration, was created and paid for by "John Kerry for President." (Why haven't any crack investigative journalists noticed that?)" Cat's out of the bag. Better download the web pages before they "disappear." For history's sake.
www.restorehonesty.com
Same:
www.johnkerry.com/honesty
11 posted on 07/14/2004 4:52:26 PM PDT by Shermy
(* My note: After the 9/11 conclusions made Wilson look like quite the fool, the Kerry campaign website deleted its links to restorehonesty.com)
OCTOBER 26, 2003 Sunday approx 6 am : (BAGHDAD, IRAQ : ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON PAUL WOLFOWITZ FAILS, BUT US ARMY LT COL CHARLES H BUERING IS KILLED IN ROCKET ATTACK) One of the most frightening examples of how the militants put French weapons to use against the Americans came Oct. 26, 2003. That morning, at about 6 o'clock, they bombarded the Rashid Hotel in Baghdad with French missiles.
The French rockets nearly killed Wolfowitz, whom Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has called "the brains" of the Pentagon.
The deputy defense secretary had just gotten dressed in his room that Sunday morning when a car stopped several hundred yards from the hotel. It dropped off what appeared to be one of the blue electrical generators that were common in the power-starved Iraqi capital. The driver stayed just long enough to open a panel on the end of the metal box that was pointing upward toward the hotel.
The car sped off. Minutes later, a pod of 40 artillery rockets set off by remote control began firing at the hotel, their trails leaving sparks as they flew. The rockets hit one floor below where Wolfowitz and about a dozen aides and reporters were staying.
One rocket slammed into the room of Army Lt. Col. Charles H. Buehring, a public-affairs officer. The explosion hit Buehring, 40, in the head. A reporter discovered him and tried to help, but the Fayetteville, N.C., resident died a short time later.
In all, between eight and 10 missiles hit the hotel. The casualties might have been higher, and included Wolfowitz, if the improvised rocket launcher had fired all the missiles. Because of a malfunction, 11 failed to go off. Half the missiles fired at Wolfowitz's hotel were French-made Matra SNEB 68-millimeter rockets, with a range of two to three miles. The others were Russian in origin. The French missiles were "pristine," Navy SEAL commandos reported.
"They were either new or kept in very good condition," said one SEAL who inspected the rocket tubes.
The rockets were thought to have been taken from Iraq's French-made Alouette or Gazelle attack helicopters. The fact that new French missiles were showing up in the hands of Saddam loyalists months after the fall of Baghdad made Wolfowitz and his close aides livid. --- "French connection armed Saddam," excerpt from the book "Treachery," By Bill Gertz, THE WASHINGTON TIMES Sept 8, 2004, http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040908-123000-1796r.htm
OCTOBER 27, 2003 : (FEITH MEMO ON AL QAEDA / IRAQ COLLABORATION IS SENT TO SENATORS ROBERTS & ROCKEFELLER; SAYS IRAQ AND AL QAEDA CONTACTS BEGAN IN 1990 AND CONTINUED UNTIL MID-MARCH 2003 JUST BEFORE WAR BEGAN) The memo, dated October 27, 2003, was sent from Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas J. Feith (search) to Senators Pat Roberts and Jay Rockefeller, the chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. It was written in response to a request from the committee as part of its investigation into prewar intelligence claims made by the administration.
Intelligence reporting included in the 16-page memo comes from a variety of domestic and foreign agencies, including the FBI, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency. Much of the evidence is detailed, conclusive, and corroborated by multiple sources. Some of it is new information obtained in custodial interviews with high-level Al Qaeda terrorists and Iraqi officials, and some of it is more than a decade old. The picture that emerges is one of a history of collaboration between two of America's most determined and dangerous enemies.
According to the memo, which lays out the intelligence in 50 numbered points, Iraq-Al Qaeda contacts began in 1990 and continued through mid-March 2003, days before the Iraq War began. Most of the numbered passages contain straight, fact-based intelligence reporting, which in some cases includes an evaluation of the credibility of the source. This reporting is often followed by commentary and analysis. - The Weekly Standard, Nov. 24, 2003
NOVEMBER 2003 : (14 OF PERHAPS 100 SENATE JUDICIARY DEMOCRATIC MEMOS ARE LEAKED TO THE PRESS- REVEAL DEMOCRATS ARE WORKING WITH ASSORTED GROUPS TO DEFEAT BUSH'S JUDICIARY NOMINEES; KENNEDY STAFFER CONCERNS ABOUT ETHICS ARE IGNORED, DURBIN TARGETS NOMINEE ESTRADA BECAUSE HE IS LATINO) Fourteen of those memos were leaked to the press last November [2003] . Two sources familiar with the memos tell NRO there were dozens of additional memos — perhaps as many as 100 — that were downloaded by Republicans but never made public. ...When the memos were leaked to the Wall Street Journal editorial page, Democrats cried foul, accusing Republicans of stealing the documents and calling for an investigation of how the memos came into GOP hands. ...
The memos that were leaked ...[in 2003]... showed Senate Democrats working in close consultation with groups like People for the American Way, the Alliance for Justice, NARAL, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in an effort to defeat President Bush's judicial nominees. ...One memo, from a staffer to Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy, dated April 17, 2002, detailed how the NAACP Legal Defense Fund asked Democrats to delay the confirmation of Julia Scott Gibbons to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Legal Defense Fund officials did not want her on the court when the University of Michigan affirmative action case was decided. Members of Kennedy's staff conceded they were "a little concerned about the propriety of scheduling hearings based on the resolution of a particular case." But they nevertheless worked to delay the confirmation.
Another memo, from a staffer to Illinois Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin, dated November 7, 2001, described a meeting with the liberal interest groups in which the groups "identified [Bush nominee] Miguel Estrada (D.C. Circuit) as especially dangerous, because he has a minimal paper trail, he is Latino, and the White House seems to be grooming him for a Supreme Court appointment." The staffer continued: "They [the groups] want to hold Estrada off as long as possible." - "There Are More Democratic Memos," by Byron York, NRO , February 06, 2004
2003 late : (SOROS AND BUFFET) He and Buffett the imposter have both taken huge short dollar positions as of late.
I still can't figure this one out. When Soros has taken out currencies before, he's always had for his goal the tripping of some level at which the currency can no longer be defended. In the case of the Bank of England, he pushed the pound and lira out of an EU stabilization pact. In the case of Thailand, he broke the baht's peg to the dollar.
The US isn't defending the dollar (we think it's overvalued); Japan and China are, and the EU may be considering currency controls to protect the euro from overvaluation.
Unless there's something linked to the value of the dollar that will bust if the dollar hits a certain level (FNMA/GNMA, for example), this move is completely out of character for Soros. If he's truly trading on emotion, he's going to get creamed. Buffett doesn't strike me as the currency trading type. 27 posted on 12/04/2003 10:20:07 PM PST by seamole
NOVEMBER 2003 : (VIAL OF THE [*Liquid?] TOXIN RICIN IS MAILED TO THE WHITE HOUSE; BUT NEWS OF IT IS NOT RELEASED UNTIL FEB 2004) ... a letter containing a vial of the poison ricin was mailed in November to the White House. ...The letter, officials [later] said, never reached the White House because it was intercepted at an offsite mail facility. - "FBI Says Ricin Also Mailed to White House in Nov.: Powder Found in Frist's Senate Office Is Confirmed," http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8403-2004Feb3.html
NOVEMBER 2003 early : (SOROS COMMITS TO DONATING $5 MILLION TO MOVEON.ORG) Soros is also spending a bloody fortune on the U.S. presidential race, making the defeat of President Bush at the polls next year "the central focus of my life" and "a matter of life and death." This week, he committed $5 million to MoveOn.org, a left-wing activist group begun to aid President Clinton during his impeachment battle. The new donation brought to $15.5 million the total he has contributed to oust Bush from power. "If necessary, I would give more money," the 74-year-old told the Washington Post. "America, under Bush, is a danger to the world. And I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is." He likened Bush to the Nazis and said he believes a supremacist ideology" guides the White House. "When I hear Bush say, 'You're either with us or against us,' it reminds me of the Germans." - "Joseph Farah: "Meet a Real Capitalist Pig" {George Soros}," by Farah, Joseph, WND.com, 11-12-03 Posted: November 12, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern
NOVEMBER 1, 2003 Saturday : (IRAQ STUDY GROUP'S DR. DAVID KAY REBUKES WASHINGTON POST REPORTER BARTON GELLMAN FOR KNOWINGLY MISREPRESENTING THE FACTS ABOUT KAY'S IRAQI WMD REPORT) The head of the CIA's Iraq Study Group that is investigating Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) programs issued a stinging rebuke of the Washington Post on Saturday. David Kay alleged that Post reporter Barton Gellman knowingly misrepresented information he had gathered in Iraq about the hunt for Saddam's WMDs and had misidentified a key source as well as the information Kay had provided Gellman in an interview....... Insight asked Washington Post editorial-page editor Fred Hiatt why the Post ran the Kay and Meekin letters in the weekend "Free for All" section, instead of on the more prominent op-ed page during the week. "The Free for All page is designed primarily to give space to letters and short pieces that take the Post to task, whereas letters to the editor on the daily letters page may present substantive arguments on issues of the day without representing a complaint about coverage," Hiatt replied. "I do not regard any of these pages as more or less prominent." Washington Post ombudsman Michael Getler, who worked for the Post as a reporter and editor for 26 years before taking up his current post in November 2000, told Insight he was "looking into" the Gellman/Kay story but would not comment on whether the Post stood by Gellman's reporting. "Anything I do will be in my column this Sunday," he said. So far, he added, he hasn't interviewed Gellman in relation to Kay's complaints of misreporting and misrepresentation. The ombudsman's column is where the Washington Post comments on reports that its news coverage is biased or has contained serious inaccuracies.- "David Kay Rebukes Washington Post Coverage,"By Kenneth R. Timmerman , Posted Nov. 3, 2003
NOVEMBER 4, 2003 Tuesday : (NEWSMAX REPORTS ON DEMOCRAT'S SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE MEMO WHICH OUTLINES PLOT TO DESTROY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES) Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003 4:38 p.m. EST
Dem Intel Committee Memo Reveals Anti-Bush Plot A memo circulated among Democrats on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence shows the committee's minority plotting to use classified information against the White House in next year's presidential campaign.
The document, obtained and disclosed by nationally syndicated radio host Sean Hannity Tuesday afternoon, suggests that the top priority among senior Democrats entrusted with guarding the nation's security is instead driving the Bush administration from power based on claims it exaggerated intelligence on the threat posed by Iraq.
The memo as reported by Hannity reads as follows:
"We have carefully reviewed our options under the rules and believe we have identified the best approach. Our plan is as follows:"1) Pull the majority along as far as we can on issues that may lead to major new disclosures regarding improper or questionable conduct by administration officials. We are having some success in that regard.
"For example, in addition to the President's State of the Union speech, the chairman [Sen. Pat Roberts] has agreed to look at the activities of the office of the Secretary of Defense, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, as well as Secretary Bolton's office at the State Department.
"The fact that the chairman supports our investigations into these offices and cosigns our requests for information is helpful and potentially crucial. We don't know what we will find but our prospects for getting the access we seek is far greater when we have the backing of the majority.
[We can verbally mention some of the intriguing leads we are pursuing.]
"2) Assiduously prepare Democratic 'additional views' to attach to any interim or final reports the committee may release. Committee rules provide this opportunity and we intend to take full advantage of it.
"In that regard we may have already compiled all the public statements on Iraq made by senior administration officials. We will identify the most exaggerated claims. We will contrast them with the intelligence estimates that have since been declassified. Our additional views will also, among other things, castigate the majority for seeking to limit the scope of the inquiry.
"The Democrats will then be in a strong position to reopen the question of establishing an Independent Commission [i.e., the Corzine Amendment.]
"3) Prepare to launch an independent investigation when it becomes clear we have exhausted the opportunity to usefully collaborate with the majority. We can pull the trigger on an independent investigation of the administration's use of intelligence at any time. But we can only do so once.
"The best time to do so will probably be next year, either:
"A) After we have already released our additional views on an interim report, thereby providing as many as three opportunities to make our case to the public. Additional views on the interim report (1). The announcement of our independent investigation (2). And (3) additional views on the final investigation. Or:
"B) Once we identify solid leads the majority does not want to pursue, we would attract more coverage and have greater credibility in that context than one in which we simply launch an independent investigation based on principled but vague notions regarding the use of intelligence.
"In the meantime, even without a specifically authorized independent investigation, we continue to act independently when we encounter footdragging on the part of the majority. For example, the FBI Niger investigation was done solely at the request of the vice chairman. We have independently submitted written requests to the DOD and we are preparing further independent requests for information.
"SUMMARY: Intelligence issues are clearly secondary to the public's concern regarding the insurgency in Iraq. Yet we have an important role to play in revealing the misleading, if not flagrantly dishonest, methods and motives of senior administration officials who made the case for unilateral preemptive war.
"The approach outlined above seems to offer the best prospect for exposing the administration's dubious motives." [End of Memo Excerpt.]
NOVEMBER 5, 2003 Wednesday : (REPORT REVEALS THAT BILLIONAIRE SOROS' OSI CONTRIBUTED TO LOBBYIST GROUPS DEMANDING CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM) Soros’ Open Society Institute Has Contributed Over $6.8 Million To Reform Groups Like Common Cause, Public Campaign And Democracy 21 That Aim To “Reduce The Role Of Big Special Interest Money In American Politics.” (Byron York, “Democrats Throw The Spirit Of Reform Out The Window,” The Hill, 11/5/03)
NOVEMBER 5, 2003 : (BILLIONAIRE SOROS PLEDGES $15.5 MILLION IN SOFT MONEY) By Pledging At Least $15.5 Million In Soft Money To Defeat Bush, Soros Is Single Largest Political Contributor In American History. (Laura Blumenfeld, “Soros’s Deep Pockets Vs. Bush,” The Washington Post, 11/11/03; Byron York, “Democrats Throw The Spirit Of Reform Out The Window,” The Hill, 11/5/03)
NOVEMBER 6, 2003 Thursday : (RUSSIA : GEORGE SOROS' OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE IS EVICTED BY THE BUILDING OWNER, KARAMZIN) Institute employees were kicked out of their headquarters Nov. 6 when a group of about 50 gunmen acting on orders from building owner Kantemir Karamzin seized the building in a rent dispute. - "20 Masked Attackers Storm Soros Institute (Soros on war path)," by Denis Maternovsky, Moscow Times, Monday, Nov. 17, 2003.
NOVEMBER 6, 2003 : (ROCKEFELLER SENATE INTEL MEMO SCANDAL : DEMOCRAT EFFORT TO SUBVERT WAR INTELLIGENCE FOR POLITICAL ENDS IS EXPOSED) The plan, made public by Fox News on Nov. 6, went like this: "Prepare to launch an independent investigation when it becomes clear we have exhausted the opportunity to usefully collaborate with the majority. We can pull the trigger on an independent investigation at any time – but we can only do so once. The best time to do so will probably be [in 2004]." - "Democrats subvert war intelligence(threatened national security?) ," J. Michael Waller, http://worldnetdaily.com/ , December 23, 2003
NOVEMBER 6, 2003 : (MEMOGATE : ROCKEFELLER INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE PLOT TO UNDERMINE THE PRESIDENT AND THE WAR EFFORT IS EXPOSED) It [the plan] centered on duping the panel's Republican chairman, Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, into approving probes that in actuality would be fishing expeditions inside the State Department and Pentagon. The authors hoped to dig up and hype "improper or questionable conduct by administration officials." According to a staff memo, the committee then would release the information during the course of the "investigation," with Democrats providing their "additional views" that would, "among other things, castigate the majority [Republicans] for seeking to limit the scope of the inquiry."
In other words, they would manufacture and denounce a cover-up where none existed. The Democrats then would drag the issue through the 2004 presidential campaign by creating an independent commission to investigate, according to the memo.
The plan, made public by Fox News on Nov. 6, went like this: "Prepare to launch an independent investigation when it becomes clear we have exhausted the opportunity to usefully collaborate with the majority. We can pull the trigger on an independent investigation at any time – but we can only do so once. The best time to do so will probably be [in 2004]." - Democrat Senator Rockefeller's office memo via Fox News
(* Note: Even before the memo was written, Rockefeller's staff already was off on its own, well outside the traditional bipartisan channels. According to the memo, the "FBI Niger investigation" of reports that Saddam Hussein's regime had tried to buy uranium from West Africa "was done solely at the request of the vice chairman." )
NOVEMBER 2003 first week : (BILL CLINTON VISITS CHINA "TO PROMOTE THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS" ) - "Small Chinese Clothier Courts Clinton," By STEPHANIE HOO, AP via AOL .c The Associated Press, 11/13/03
NOVEMBER 2003 first week : (BILL CLINTON VISITS CHINA "TO PROMOTE THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS" ) - "Small Chinese Clothier Courts Clinton," By STEPHANIE HOO, AP via AOL .c The Associated Press, 11/13/03
NOVEMBER 8?, 2003 Friday : (WASHINGTON, DC : STATE DEPT EMPLOYEE JOHN KOKAL FOUND DEAD OUTSIDE AGENCY HEADQUARTERS) — A State Department employee was found dead outside the agency headquarters in Washington, D.C., Friday around 5 p.m., Fox News has confirmed. State Department sources told The Washington Post that John Kokal worked in a unit that dealt with intelligence and research. Sources said he handled classified documents regularly but was not involved in intelligence analysis. Police said the official cause and manner of death is to be determined by the D.C. medical examiner, the Post reported.
Fox News has confirmed that Kokal, 58, did work for the State Department Intelligence and Research Bureau, but has not yet confirmed that the body is that of Kokal. Fire Department Spokesman Alan Etter said the man, a white male, was wearing a dress shirt, tie and slacks, but was not wearing shoes nor a suit jacket. He was found lying in the bottom of a concrete window well near 23rd and D streets, about eight stories below the top of the building. The well drops about 20 feet from ground level. The department is in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of the District of Columbia.
It was not yet known whether the employee jumped or fell. Firemen told Fox News that the D.C. police were handling the investigation and that the death could possibly be a homicide and that the body would not be immediately removed.- "State Dept. Worker Found Dead Outside Agency," Fox News , 11/08/03
NOVEMBER 9, 2003 : (FOX NEWS SUNDAY APPEARANCE OF SENATE INTEL COMMITTEE MEMBER SENATOR CARL LEVIN- HE CLAIMS THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION IS EXAGGERATING INTELLIGENCE, QUESTIONS AL QAEDA & IRAQ TIES ) CRITICS OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION have complained that Iraq-al Qaeda connections are a fantasy, trumped up by the warmongers at the White House to fit their preconceived notions about international terror; that links between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden have been routinely "exaggerated" for political purposes; that hawks "cherry-picked" bits of intelligence and tendentiously presented these to the American public. Carl Levin, a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, made those points as recently as November 9, in an appearance on "Fox News Sunday."
Republicans on the committee, he complained, refuse to look at the administration's "exaggeration of intelligence."
Said Levin: "The question is whether or not they exaggerated intelligence in order to carry out their purpose, which was to make the case for going to war. Did we know, for instance, with certainty that there was any relationship between the Iraqis and the terrorists that were in Afghanistan, bin Laden? The administration said that there's a connection between those terrorist groups in Afghanistan and Iraq. Was there a basis for that?"
There was, as shown in the [Feith] memo to the committee on which Levin serves. - "The U.S. government's secret memo detailing cooperation between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. ," by Stephen F. Hayes, 11/24/2003, the Weekly Standard, Volume 009, Issue 11
NOVEMBER 11, 2003 Tuesday : (BILLIONAIRE SOROS SAYS HE WOULD GIVE UP HIS FORTUNE TO DEFEAT BUSH IF IT WERE GUARANTEED) “Asked whether he would trade his $7 billion fortune to unseat Bush, Soros opened his mouth. Then he closed it. The proposal hung in the air: Would he become poor to beat Bush? He said, ‘If someone guaranteed it.’” (Laura Blumenfeld, “Soros’s Deep Pockets Vs. Bush,” The Washington Post, 11/11/03)
NOVEMBER 11, 2003 : (THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTS THAT BILLIONAIRE SOROS THINKS THE DEFEAT OF BUSH IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH) Why? Defeating Bush Is “The Central Focus” Of His Life And “A Matter Of Life And Death.” (Laura Blumenfeld, “Soros’s Deep Pockets Vs. Bush,” The Washington Post, 11/11/03)
NOVEMBER 11, 2003 : (THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTS THAT BILLIONAIRE SOROS COMPARES BUSH ADMINISTRATION TO NAZIS, SAYS AMERICA IS A DANGER TO THE WORLD) Likened Bush Administration To Nazis, Calling America “A Danger To The World” Under Bush. (Laura Blumenfeld, “Soros’s Deep Pockets Vs. Bush,” The Washington Post, 11/11/03)
NOVEMBER 11, 2003 : (THE WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTS ON DNC EFFORTS TO CIRCUMVENT CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW) Democrats’ 2004 Battle Plan Against Bush Includes Effort To “Maneuver Around The New Campaign-Finance Law By Redirecting Now-Banned Big Donations Away From The Democratic Party To A New Set Of Groups That Will Coordinate Attacks On Mr. Bush.” (Jacob M. Schlesinger and Jeanne Cummings, “Game Plan: To Beat President, Democrats Hone A 5-Point Strategy,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/13/03)
NOVEMBER 12, 2003 Wednesday : (THE BOSTON GLOBE REPORTS THAT BILLIONAIRE SOROS WILL SPEND $100 MILLION TO DEFEAT PRESIDENT BUSH) [Soros] Will Reportedly Spend $100 Million To Defeat Bush. (Robert Kuttner, “Growing Power Of Small Money,” The Boston Globe, 11/12/03)
NOVEMBER 13 - 15, 2003 : (BILL CLINTON TO VISIT SOUTH KOREA) Former United States President Bill Clinton will visit South Korea from Nov. 13-15 at the invitation of SBS, a spokesman for the broadcasting service said yesterday. (Oct 14, 2003) - "Bill Clinton to Visit Korea Nov. 13-15 ," Korea Times, October 14, 2003, Tuesday
NOVEMBER 14, 2003 Friday night : (RUSSIA : SOROS' OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE IS RAIDED) About 20 masked men carrying clubs swooped down on the disputed headquarters of George Soros' Open Society Institute on Friday [Nov 14] night in an attack that injured 10, including the building's owner. "Open Society's employees were asked to come to the offices on Friday night. We were told that court marshals would show up and force Karamzin to vacate the building and that we could make a list of missing personal belongings on the spot," the source said.
"We waited until half past 10 like complete fools and no one came. And then, when the attack started, we were called by lawyers and told to get out of there."
Karamzin told NTV that he was sure that the Soros foundation was behind Friday night's attack. Karamzin said he and five of his employees suffered minor injuries, while four others were briefly hospitalized with injuries including a broken nose and a concussion.
- "20 Masked Attackers Storm Soros Institute (Soros on war path)," by Denis Maternovsky, Moscow Times, Monday, Nov. 17, 2003.
NOVEMBER 14, 2003 : (SOUTH KOREA : THE DATE FORMER US PRESIDENT CLINTON IS TO GIVE SPEECH ON "DIALOGUE-BASED" NORTH KOREA POLICY) Former United States President Bill Clinton will visit South Korea from Nov. 13-15 at the invitation of SBS, a spokesman for the broadcasting service said yesterday. (Oct 13, 2003) Clinton, who last visited here in 1998, is scheduled to give a televised speech on Nov. 14, timed to coincide with the station's 13th anniversary, he added. ''His speech is likely to evolve around the current North Korean crisis. I think he will stress the importance of a dialogue-based North Korea policy he pursued while in office,'' the spokesman also said.
A courtesy call to President Roh Moo-hyun could take place on Nov. 14, and a separate meeting with South Korean children is scheduled during his stay here. SBS has also invited U.S. Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe, who will arrive here on Nov. 15 to give a televised speech on his personal and his party's views on the current North Korean nuclear crisis.- "Bill Clinton to Visit Korea Nov. 13-15 ," Korea Times, October 14, 2003, Tuesday
NOVEMBER 2003 early : (CHINA : CLINTON TRIP TO "PROMOTE THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS" ) Clinton was in Beijing this week to promote the fight against AIDS. - "Small Chinese Clothier Courts Clinton," by STEPHANIE HOO, AP via AOL .c The Associated Press 11/13/03
NOVEMBER 15, 2003 Saturday : (SOUTH KOREA : SBS : MCAULIFFE) SBS has also invited U.S. Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe, who will arrive here on Nov. 15 to give a televised speech on his personal and his party's views on the current North Korean nuclear crisis.- "Bill Clinton to Visit Korea Nov. 13-15 ," Korea Times, October 14, 2003, Tuesday
A timeline above- Some democrats seem to have the hots for traveling to Korea, etc.
That's not true anymore. Howards opponent (Mark Latham) did say that ("Troops home by Christmas") but also has Kerry's flip-flopping disease. He said it. The polls showed that the Australian people strongly believed that we should be there till the job is done, even those who don't like us being there in the first place, and Latham did a little back flip on the issue. He does however believe in Australia focusing on our own backyard (terrorism in South East Asia) and not sending troops 'to the other side of the world'. There is merit in this I guess. Our backyard here is basically the 2nd Front behind the Middle East, but I simply don't trust him to get the job done.
But in the end, in a few weeks, Howard will be re-elected. No doubt about it.
fyi - I forgot to ping you to this new timeline
MARCH 2003 : (AUSTRALIA : ANDREW WILKIE RESIGNS FROM THE OFFICE OF NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS) [Andrew] Wilkie resigned from Australia's elite Office of National Assessments (ONA) in March in protest against the government's alleged misuse of information provided by the agency. The ONA is an elite agency which evaluates intelligence from all Australian and allied agencies and passes on that advice to Prime Minister John Howard's office. The Howard government has been a staunch supporter of the Bush administration position on Iraq and contributed troops and military hardware to the U.S.-led "coalition of the willing". - "Australia sexed-up Iraq dossier, former spy claims... WMD: Australia accused of hype," Drudge/CNN , Friday, August 22, 2003
AUGUST 22, 2003 Friday : (AUSTRALIA : ANDREW WILKIE ACCUSES AUSTRALIA OF "SEXING UP" INTELLIGENCE ON IRAQ) CANBERRA, Australia (CNN) -- The heat being generated over Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction has moved to Australia with a former senior intelligence officer accusing Canberra of exaggerating the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's regime. ...Speaking to an inquiry called by the Australian Senate, Andrew Wilkie said Friday information in intelligence reports had been distorted by the prime minister's office and "sexed up" to suit the government's political agenda. ...Wilkie told the Senate inquiry Friday that key words from ONA reports which qualified the veracity of intelligence reports on Iraq's WMDs had been removed by the prime minister's office. They had been replaced by more emotive language which supported the government's position on the threat of Iraq, he said. "The material was going straight from ONA to the prime minister's office and the exaggeration was occurring in there, or the dishonesty was occurring somewhere in there," Wilkie told the inquiry, The Associated Press reports. Asked if he was accusing Howard's office of "sexing up" intelligence, Wilkie replied, "Yes, it was sexed up." Australian National University political analyst Ross Babbage told CNN Friday that other officers within the ONA did not support Wilkie's views. He said Wilkie's allegations had changed from the claims he made when he resigned -- that humanitarian issues involved in invading Iraq were being underplayed -- to now reflect the charges being made in Britain over the Blair government's alleged distortion of intelligence information. Babbage said that it was his understanding that within the ONA Wilkie's views were "not widely shared". - "Australia sexed-up Iraq dossier, former spy claims... WMD: Australia accused of hype," Drudge/CNN , Friday, August 22, 2003
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- "Andrew Wilkie speech at 'Don't Be Bush Whacked',"Sydney Peace and Justice Coalition, © Walk Against the War Coalition 2003, This page: http://nswpeace.org/features/1066944641_6126.html , footer : Site proudly donated by Social Change Online, [http://online.socialchange.net.au/] Last Modified: Friday, 24-Oct-2003 12:06:51 EST
Well what an extraordinary year this has been so far. And it's only October!
For a start one of the most stupid and dangerous US Presidents in living memory has invaded pre-emptively a sovereign state, without UN endorsement, for reasons that have now been completely discredited - Iraq obviously did not pose an imminent threat to us all with any massive arsenal of weapons of mass destruction; nor obviously was Saddam Hussein cooperating with Osama bin Laden.
Along the way of course thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed; tens of thousands more have been wounded, injured, maimed, orphaned and terrorised; the fragile Iraq nation has been pushed over the edge into near-anarchy; and close to 150,000 coalition troops have become bogged down in a frustrating, dangerous and contentious quagmire of indeterminate duration.
Significantly, hatred of the West in the Middle East and beyond has now been stirred up. Already Iraq has become a magnet for Jihadists like was the case during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan during the 1980s.
The irony of Iraq having now become part of the so-called War on Terror is of course simply staggering. After all, despite political manipulation to the contrary, Iraq was completely unrelated to the September 11 terrorist attacks, other than it being one of those misunderstood places that after 9/11 made many Americans feel angry and vulnerable; manipulation strikingly similar to how Howard has for his own political purposes leveraged off the anger and insecurity fuelled by the Bali tragedy.
The implications of the US's recklessness of course goes far beyond the immediate. Perhaps most worrying for me remains the way in which Bush's ill-considered adventurism is surely encouraging the further proliferation of WMD, especially in Syria, Iran and North Korea. After all, acquiring WMD is all that such countries can now strive for if they are to deter US aggression.
But enough picking on Bush for a moment, because just about every criticism of Bush can be applied to our own Howard. After all, he's the one tripping over himself to sign up to every half-arsed idea coming out of Washington. His decision to sign onto this crazy US scheme of boarding North Korean shipping by force is an especially memorable cracker. Shame it'll amount to acts of war by most sensible standards.
Mind you, Howard's latest nonsense pales in significance to the way in which he has obscenely distorted the broader Australia-US alliance relationship; so much so that current Australian foreign policy is hostage to the Government's belief in supporting the US at any cost, normally now at the expense of the other pillars of Australian security, such as the UN and regional engagement. And this is dumb.
I'm a friend of the US and a supporter of a limited Australia-US alliance relationship. But the current relationship undermines our sovereignty by tying us too closely to the US's strategic interests; undercuts our democracy by shifting decision making from Canberra to Washington; risks our security by encouraging Australia to assume the reliability of US security guarantees; and risks our broader interests by encouraging the US to pre-suppose Australian subservience. The bottom line is that under Howard we've lost leverage with the US - we're not noticed, and when we are we're just taken for granted.
Not understood by Howard is that the friendship is best served by honest advice. So not exploited by Howard will be the opportunity to act like a real friend and to tell Bush what he needs to hear: that it's time to acknowledge that the Iraq adventure is a political, foreign policy, humanitarian and military disaster; and that the time has come to swallow pride, admit mistakes, re-engage with the international community, start sorting out the mess and to pull back from all the other follies on the radar screen.
Now Saddam is a horrid man and Iraq should one day be a better place for his passing. But, that said, I object to the terrible way in which this matter has come about - I object to the way in which Bush and Howard ignored popular opinion in their determination to wage war. I object to how Bush and Howard have implicated us by association in their war crimes. And I object especially to how Bush and Howard routinely betrayed our trust during the months leading up to the conflict and have continued to do so ever since.
After all trust is a priceless commodity. But yet that never stopped Bush or Howard lying every time they needed to spin their case for war - remember they lied through their teeth every time they skewed, misrepresented, used selectively and fabricated their Iraq story; and they've been lying ever since as they've laboured mightily to justify the terrible mess they've made. Lies beget lies.
Of course the lies have turned out to be only the start of it, because the whiff of criminal behaviour now hangs over both the Bush and Howard administrations - in the US over the White House leaking secret information to discredit Joe Wilson, the man who exposed the Niger story as fraudulent; here the Government's leaking of secret information in an attempt to discredit me. Amazingly, I'm still to be contacted by the AFP regarding this matter. I can only assume that the rule of law means nothing to Howard and some senior people in the AFP.
Priceless too is our democracy. But yet this week that same democracy will take a terrible flogging from the Howard Government when our Parliament is declared off-limits to ordinary Australians, when in the name of national security the right to assemble freely is removed, and when most politicians will stand as one and cheer in a mass of mindless, spineless mediocrity.
In closing, I encourage you all to remain committed to making the world a better place. You've been proven right over Iraq already, and you'll be proven right eventually for your stand on other issues. Yes, there are many things that annoy and exasperate us, not the least of which are Howard and Bush and their cronies. But remember; all Governments fall eventually and it's only a matter of time before the current ones find themselves also on the scrap heap facing the scrutiny of historians. All we've got to do is just try our hardest to speed up the process.
Yes, what an extraordinary year this has been so far. And it's still only October.
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I've noticed that Wilkie likes to cite Greg Thielman- see the guy in my timeline above. Also noted when I googled Googled Wilkie's "NWSpeace" group and Wilson's "Education for Peace in Iraq Center" and came up with : movsoc.org
"Does John Kerry care more about grabbing power than he does about the United States? It certainly appears that way. Who gave the order for Diana Kerry to interfere with the Australian election? Who told her to act in a manner that is calculated to undermine the American-Australian partnership on the terror war? Frankly, not only should this disqualify him for the presidency, it should disqualify anyone involved in his campaign from ever holding public office. Those who condone this interference in a wartime alliance must be punished at the polls, and their party as a whole should be blocked from any power whatsoever until they atone for their actions."
This paragraph alone should make people run away from the democrats at full speed.
Thanks. We've also seen Wilson & Co. speak of bringing down Blair's government as well as Bush's. So we've got coordination between the enemies of Bush, Blair, and Howard. We know France is involved on the anti-Blair/anti-Bush end of things. But who benefits from attacking Howard? As mentioned, Australia's backyard is Southeast Asia; Howard's policies have been opposed to China's ambitions in Southeast Asia, which coincide with Al Qaeda's ambitions in esp. the Philippines and Indonesia.
Thanks for the information!
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