PressInfo # 183 – Part 2
Continued from Part 1.
DONALD RUMSFELD, PAUL WOLFOWITZ & RICHARD PERLE
Secretaries.
Ideologists with their own Special Plans. Masters of a war meaning peace and other “Newspeak”
With the illegal war on and occupation of Iraq, the first two personalities need no further introduction. They are Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Secreary of Defence, Paul Wolfowitz.
Then there one of the leading architects of the whole Iraq imbroglio, “The Prince of Darkness”, Richard Perle of the American Enteprise Institute and of the Defense Policy Board. It’s objective is to “serve the public interest by providing the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary for Policy with independent, informed advice and opinion concerning major matters of defense policy. Nine members of the Board have ties to defense contractors. Further, Perle is well-connected to the international media world through Hollinger Digital Inc., the media management and investment arm of Hollinger International Inc. whose online newspapers and holdings include The Daily Telegraph in London and Jerusalem Post. Perle is also former director of the latter. He is on the board of Onset Technology, the world’s leading provider of message conversion technology also with close ties to Israeli companies and investment funds. Here is a more personal interview with Perle about his background and beliefs. Perle is on the advisory board of JINSA, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. Los Angeles Times recently revealed more about Perle’s combined political and business interests.
There is so much about them on the Internet. The most recent – and best – related to the Iraq problematic is Seymour Hersh’ Selective Intelligence from The New Yorker of May 2003. Hersh analyses “the Cabal – a small cluster of policy advisers and analysts now based in the Pentagon’s Office of Special Plans. In the past year, according to former and present Bush Administration officials, their operation, which was conceived by Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, has brought about a crucial change of direction in the American intelligence community. These advisers and analysts, who began their work in the days after September 11, 2001, have produced a skein of intelligence reviews that have helped to shape public opinion and American policy toward Iraq.” In addition, it discusses the pivotal influence of the political philosopher Leo Strauss on the Cabal and on the director of the Special Plans operation, Abram Shulsky who happens to be a scholarly expert on Strauss.
You may acquaint yourself with the real policy makers and Iraq pundits in a more humorous manner in Slate.
ZALMAY KALILZAD
White House special envoy for both Afghanistan and Iraq
Tremendously important behind the scenes operator
President Bush announced on December 2 the appointment of Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad as his Special Envoy and Ambassador at Large for Free Iraqis. As Special Envoy, Dr. Khalilzad will serve as the focal point for contacts and coordination among Free Iraqis for the United States Government and for preparations for a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said in a statement.
“Dr. Khalilzad will continue as the Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan to ensure that the United States’ commitment to working in partnership with the Afghan Government remains firm and resolute. Dr. Khalilzad also serves as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Southwest Asia, Near East and North African Affairs, National Security Council. Dr. Khalilzad will relinquish this position so as to devote full time to Afghanistan, Free Iraqis, and outreach to the Muslim community. Dr. Khalilzad will continue to serve as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for these matters,” the press secretary’s statement said.”
Here follows a presentation of Kalilzad that shows his position in the Cheney-Rumsfeld-RAND Corporation circles:
“Dr. Khalilzad headed the Bush-Cheney Transition team for the Department of Defense and has been a Counselor to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Between 1993 and 1999, Dr. Khalilzad was Director of the Strategy, Doctrine and Force Structure program for RAND’s Project Air Force. While with RAND, he founded the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Between 1991 and 1992, Dr. Khalilzad served as Assistant Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Planning. He also served as a senior political scientist at RAND and an associate professor at the University of California at San Diego in 1989 and 1991. From 1985 to 1989 at the Department of State, Dr. Khalilzad served as Special Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, advising on the Iran-Iraq War and the Soviet War in Afghanistan. From 1979 to 1989, Dr. Khalilzad was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. Dr. Khalilzad holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago (1979).
National Journal says that Khalilzad is a charter member of the neoconservative group that has been pushing for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. With Paul Wolfowitz he co-wrote the 1997 Weekly Standard article “Overthrow Him” that was the rallying cry for the bring-down-Saddam cause and an early blueprint for the Bush doctrine of pre-emption. As a Pentagon aide to Wolfowitz during the administration of George H.W. Bush, Khalilzad was among those pushing for a march to Baghdad during the first Persian Gulf War. In 1988, in the final months of the Reagan administration, Khalilzad had urged Secretary of State George Shultz to explore rapprochement with Iran as a way to counter the growing influence of Iraq. Shultz, with memories of the Iran-Contra scandal still fresh, rejected the idea, but it caught on and was pursued with zeal by the Clinton administration.
In The Wall Street Journal, he called for NATO expansion, a go-slow approach to independence for East Timor, and the arming of rebel forces in Kosovo…
According to CorpWatch, Zalmay Kalalzad has a long-standing experience with Islamic fundamentalists in Afghanistan and elsewhere, a good understanding of the region and of the importance of the oil industry:
CorpWatch writes:
“Khalilzad became an American citizen, while serving as a key link between US imperialism and the Islamic fundamentalist mujahedin fighting the Soviet-backed regime in Kabul — the milieu out of which both the Taliban and bin Laden’s Al Qaeda group arose. He was a special advisor to the State Department during the Reagan administration, lobbying successfully for accelerated US military aid to the mujahedin, including hand-held Stinger anti-aircraft missiles which played a key role in the war. He later became undersecretary of defense in the administration of Bush’s father, during the US war against Iraq, then went to the Rand Corporation, a top US military think tank.
After Bush was installed as president by a 5-4 vote of the US Supreme Court, Khalilzad headed the Bush-Cheney transition team for the Defense Department and advised incoming Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Significantly, however, he was not named to a subcabinet position, which would have required Senate confirmation and might have provoked uncomfortable questions about his role as an oil company advisor in Central Asia and intermediary with the Taliban. Instead, he was named to the National Security Council, where no confirmation vote was needed.
At the NSC Khalilzad reports to Condoleeza Rice, the national security advisor, who also served as an oil company consultant on Central Asia.”
Here he gives a Breakfast Interview with David Frost, BBC and here is another portrait of Kalilzad. He is not a man afraid of making bold promises way beyond his control. The Anadolu Agency ran this report on March 20:
Khalilzad: War Will Last Short And Nothing Will Happen To Civilians
Anadolu Agency: 3/20/2003
Recalling that the U.S. attack against Iraq started, Khalilzad said that the war would last short and nothing would happen to civilian people. He added that they would also exert every kinds of efforts for Iraqi people after the war.”
Here is another example from timesunion.com. When the first meeting of various Iraqi groups, invited by the US, was held “in the tent” at Ur on April 15, this is what Associated Press reported Kalilzad to have said:
“The first step toward creating a postwar government took place under a white-and-gold tent at Ur, the biblical birthplace of the patriarch Abraham and the cradle of civilization itself.
Participants included Kurds and Sunni and Shiite Arabs from inside Iraq and others who spent years in exile. U.S. officials invited the groups, which picked their own representatives.White House envoy Zalmay Khalilzad assured the delegates that the United States has “no interest, absolutely no interest, in ruling Iraq.We want you to establish your own democratic system based on Iraqi traditions and values,” Khalilzad said.”
L. PAUL BREMER III
Ambassador, Presidential Envoy and Senior Coalition Official
Ex-Kissinger Associates, hawkish anti-terorist and risk management expert, adviser to US Homeland Security
On May 1 it was announced that Paul Bremer III had been appointed as Presidential Envoy to Iraq and Senior Coalition Official to Iraq. This is how CNN reports the relations between Bremer and the rest:
The man who is currently in charge of overseeing Iraq’s rebuilding, retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, reports to Franks. But White House officials say Garner will at some point report to Bremer. The two men will work together as issues dictate, the sources said.
Bremer will likely focus on political issues, including overseeing the emergence of a provisional authority in Baghdad, while Garner will be concerned with restoring services and civil authority, Pentagon and administration officials said.
The provisional authority essentially is the “face of the U.S. government” in Iraq, Pentagon sources said.
This is how ambassadort Bremer is presented by the US National Commission on Terrorism of which he served as chairman. Paul Bremer III has been Managing Director of Kissinger Associates. During a 23-year career in the American diplomatic service, Ambassador Bremer served in Asia, Africa, Europe and Washington, D.C. He was Ambassador to the Netherlands from 1983 to 1986. From 1986-1989, he served as Ambassador-at-Large for Counter-Terrorism, where he was responsible for developing and implementing America’s global polices to combat terrorism. Bremer has most recently served as an adviser to Bush on the Homeland Security Advisory Council. He also serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Crisis Consulting Practice of Marsh Inc. a risk management firm. From Republicons.org we can learn that he shares many views with Perle and Wolfowitz and has staunchly anti-Iran attitudes.
In this capacity Bremer addressed the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in June 2000. He said ‘Iran is still the most egregious state-sponsor of terrorism, despite the election of a reformist president. The Commission is concerned that recent American gestures toward Iran could be misinterpreted as a weakening of our resolve to counter Iranian terrorism.’
The New York Times presents Ambassador Bremer in this, not all that friendly, manner.
But Mr. Bremer’s appointment has raised concerns among some human rights advocates. As chairman of the Congressionally appointed National Commission on Terrorism in 2000, Mr. Bremer advocated dropping Central Intelligence Agency guidelines restricting the recruitment of sources with records of human rights abuses, over the protests of human rights groups. “His willingness to strike a deal with an abusive figure could be problematic in Iraq, if he takes a similar approach,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.
Some Congressional Democrats have also questioned whether Mr. Bremer, a 61-year-old who has not been involved in a major reconstruction project before, has the proper experience and personality to lead the endeavor in a country as large and complex as Iraq.
If you want to know about the hawkish views Ambassador Bremer has about terrorism and the Arab world, see his article on what President Clinton should do if he was serious about the problem, published in Wall Street Journal in August 1996. Countries with alleged or documented relations with terrorism must expect to be smashed. Here is one “if our country gets any indication of Iranian involvement in terrorism against Americans anywhere, Iran can expect to receive the full weight of American might. The Joint Chiefs of Staff are to update target lists within Iran”.
Bremer has edited books on the terrorist challenge; here is the report from the National Commission on Terrorism and he is co-author of a Heritage Foundation study on Defending the American Homeland (2002).
Ambassador Bremer reports to Donald Rumsfeld, not to Colin Powell. His deputy will be John Sawers, British ambassador to Cairo, who has been appointed as Britain’s special representative to Iraq.
We have not been able to find evidence that he has any particular qualifications or experience in post-war civilian reconstruction, socio-political and economic development, nation-building or reconciliation.
TOMMY FRANKS
Commander, US Central Commend
The de facto defence minister of Iraq, “Raw country boy and college dropout” facing allegations. Not a man of many words – or empathy.
Here is the official bio of General Tommy Franks who has led the war and who entered Baghdad for the first time on April 16. This is what Newsweek wrote about him: “A college dropout, Franks can seem like a raw country boy. But he has won his stars – as well as his command of the most powerful military force in the world – by combining a sharp eye with a strong will.” Unfortunately, during the Iraq war he was unable to express sympathy for the death of fellow coalition soldiers, Iraqi soldiers or civilians – as a decent soldier should [Go here and scroll down to Article 34].
As recently as February 2003, Franks faced “several allegations” according to CNN:
“Sources have told CNN that Franks, the man who would lead U.S. forces in the event of a military strike on Iraq, faces several allegations — including one that he allowed his wife, Cathy, to be present during discussions of highly classified material.”
Generally, little is known about Franks’ background but he revealed parts of his personal beliefs to Esquire in 2002 and here is what CBC has about him. Franks has two deputies, Michael DeLong and John Abizaid.
Point 1 in the US Central Command’s strategic goals is formulated here: Protect, promote and preserve U.S. interests in the Central Region to include the free flow of energy resources, access to regional states, freedom of navigation, and maintenance of regional stability.
PETER McPHERSON
Financial coordinator for Iraq
The man chosen to control Iraq’s oil revenue, manager of Iraq’s central Bank
Former USAID, Deputy Treasury Secretary and, you guessed it, energy adviser…
Former U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Peter McPherson has been named financial coordinator for Iraqi reconstruction, Treasury Secretary John Snow has announced. In an April 25 news release, Snow said that McPherson will serve as the principal financial and economic policy advisor to Jay Garner, chief of the U.S. Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) in Iraq. McPherson’s background includes service as administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) from 1981 to 1987. He is currently president of Michigan State University. In a separate announcement, Snow said that Treasury Deputy General Counsel George Wolfe will serve as the deputy financial coordinator of the Iraq reconstruction office. The two officials and will work closely with Iraqis to assist in rebuilding the finance ministry, the central bank and the banking system in Iraq, Treasury said.
Here is the bio of McPherson. Like most other info on the net it does not mention that McPherson is also Chair of the Secretary of Energy Avisory Board for the US Department of Energy. With an expertise in both finance matters and energy, Pherson must be uniquely competent.
And, so, he is. He is the man centrally placed in the US draft resolution to the UN. Here is Column Lynch’s report for the Washington Post Service of May 9:
Under the system proposed by the administration, the proceeds of Iraq’s oil revenues would be placed in an Iraqi Assistance Fund held by the Central Bank of Iraq, which is being managed by Peter McPherson, a former deputy treasury secretary and Bank of America executive.
The United States and its allies would have the sole power to spend the money on relief, reconstruction and disarmament operations and to pay ”for other purposes benefiting the people of Iraq.” The ”funds in the Iraqi Assistance Fund shall be disbursed at the direction of the [U.S.-led coalition], in consultation with the Iraqi Interim Authority,” the resolution states.
He is a friend of vice-president Cheney, according to the Washington Post. We have not been able to find evidence that he has any particular qualifications or experience in post-war civilian reconstruction, socio-political and economic development, nation-building or reconciliation.
Continued here in Part 3.
