Assault on Fallujah - Justified?

Saucy

He is no longer anonymous. He was interviewed on 60 Minutes last week and retired before he came forward. These kinds of leaks are the reason the administration is now cleaning house at the CIA. Its pretty clear that there are many in the CIA/intelligence community who believe that this administration is not only duplicitous but downright incompetent. Those who have been critical are all getting their asses fired now.

Weisse Luft

Not quite so fast. The CIA had long been regarded as the "silent service" because one did not ever go public on such matters. After 8 years of the Clinton Administration, politics entered the CIA and polluted its mission. It wasn't the rank and file, it was directors which usually change with administrations. Usually because in 2001, very few changes were made. Tenet had been director for SEVEN years.

davidmc

After General Clark's book, we all know that the Bush wanted people (Clark) to "go fishing" for certain fact's, don't we? Clark said that Bush wanted him to find info. on Iraq, not the terrorist's, immediately following 9-11. General Clark was dismayed at this contradictory order as would anyone be w/ a modicum of intelligence. That's handpicking info. from the CIA for self-serving, political ends. Makes me sick. Are you going to denigrate General Clark, now, for speaking the truth As we all know, Bush made the famous statement, "He tried to kill my daddy", when his other arguments, for going to war, were not producing the desired result's. Censure on the senate floor, at a minimum; or impeachment would be the appropriate punishment for using the U.S. military for personal reason's. Maybe criminal prosecution, after his removal from office, whatever the law call's for

__________________
I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.
George Carlin
US comedian and actor (1937 - )

limerickman

The only ones that have ever been complicit in undermining everything - for the sake of profit - are your lot.

Weisse Luft

Right. That vote of "No Confidence" byt the UN on Kofi Annan means nothing. " Don't pay attention to that man behind the curtain..."

davidmc

I'm definitely going to follow this to see where it leads although some U.S. companies were involved too(?) There are always some bad apples in any country but that does'nt mean they had gov't approval. I'm interested to see who the payout's went to, if it turn's out to be true.

__________________
I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.
George Carlin
US comedian and actor (1937 - )

limerickman

We've been over this tired old ground, before.

The UN sanctions were instigated in the early 1990's - under a separate Sec.Gen (De Cuelliar) and then renewed by the subsequent Sec. Gens (Boutrous-Galli and Annan).

The UN Oil for Food program is controlled by means of an escrow account in New York - which means that all oil revenue was to deposited in to an account controlled by signaturies, since the early 1990's.
Annan did not implement this program - nor is a signatury to this escrow account.

If there is any money missing - try those usuary charging bankers.
After all, we both know all about bankers don't we - we know where their
affiliations lie.
Perhaps you'd like to answer that one.

Weisse Luft

Juicy. The bank? BNP Paribas. Yes, they have offices in New York but they clearly are a French corporation. Guess again.

You probably have not heard of the vote of no confidence because the steamliner hasn't made it across the pond.

Its looking mighty sticky for old Kofi.

limerickman

It's waffle.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/040927/oil_...tigation_8.html

Yes, I am aware of who Banque National de Paris, is.

No coverage of this alleged story has been prominent in Europe because there are no conclusions - it's waffle at present.

limerickman

Hey Herschell : looks like you're on the wrong side of history (again) !

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Bush administration expressed confidence in U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) on Thursday and said he should stay in office, in a belated rebuff to demands from Republicans in Congress for his resignation.

U.S. Ambassador John Danforth called reporters together to deliver the comments, saying that he had to clarify the U.S. position after his colleagues and the media believed the United States government was not supporting Annan.

"We are expressing confidence in the secretary-general and his continuing in office," Danforth said, "No one to my knowledge has cast doubt on the personal integrity of the secretary-general. No one."

"We are not suggesting or pushing for the resignation of the secretary-general," said Danforth, adding that he was speaking for the White House and the State Department.

U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (news, bio, voting record), a Minnesota Republican, who was later joined by five congressmen, last week called for the resignation of Annan, who has two more years in office before completing his second five-year term.

They accused him of presiding over corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program for Iraq (news - web sites), administered by the United Nations (news - web sites) but supervised by the 15-nation Security Council.

In reaction, the 191-member U.N. General Assembly gave Annan a standing ovation on Wednesday and the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Australia either issued statements or telephoned the secretary-general to voice support.

Previous statements by the White House and by Danforth have mainly emphasized the need for an open investigation into the scandal and Danforth repeated that on Thursday.

After Coleman's statement, President Bush (news - web sites) neither defended Annan nor joined calls for his ouster, saying only he wanted a "full and open accounting" of the now-defunct oil-for-food program.

"The worst thing, to continue the cloud over an organization, is to give the impression that something is being hidden or that there is not total cooperation," Danforth said. "And that really is deadly in any kind of an organization and that would have to be resolved."

But he said, "Our view of the performance of the secretary-general is that he has done a good job, that he is doing a good job, that we have worked with him, that we anticipate working with him in the future.

He noted Annan's help on the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and on planned elections in Iraq.

Danforth also played down reports that Annan's son, Kojo, had not full disclosed his ties to a firm hired by the United Nations to inspect goods in Iraq. The younger Annan worked for the Swiss company Cotecna in West Africa.

"The son is an adult and I think generally speaking there is a perceived difference and a real difference between adult children and parents," he said.

The oil-for-food program, investigated by some five congressional committees, was launched in December 1996 and continued until last year to allow Baghdad to supply civilian goods to ordinary Iraqis, suffering under U.N. sanctions imposed in 1990.

Most of the corruption revealed so far involves illegal transfers or smuggling of oil, which the Security Council, including the United States, knew about and controlled.

But investigations, including one set up by Annan, are also looking into whether any U.N. employees received bribes from Iraq and how much U.N. staff knew about inflated contracts.

FredC

Nasty news again from the Murkyans. Now they claim weapons are buried in Syria and Jordan. Not only that, they are now blaming terrorists attacks are the work of Syrian, and Syrian based bandits, who are ranging back and forth over the border at will. Well who's fault is that? They also claim that 100,000 Iranians are in Iraq signing on for voting. Well who's fault is that? They also are making claims that American tactics? are being undermined by lack of intelligence from the CIA and their agents. Well who's fault is that?
I like Fux News if only for the saxophone playing during the weather briefs.

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The media is a self perpetuating publicity stunt.