Barak Obama takes a different approach to communists, he becomes their friend. Obama held his first political rally in the home of this communist, Bill Ayers:
Obama: friend to communists
Posted on 10/07/2008 1:21:13 AM PDT by markomalley
Since the mid-1980s, there’s been almost no attention paid to John McCain’s long-ago association with a controversial group implicated in a secretive plot to supply arms to Nicaraguan militia groups during the Iran-Contra affair.
But now, with the Republican presidential candidate stepping up his negative blitz against Democratic opponent Barack Obama, some Democrats are hoping that the group – the U.S. Council for World Freedom, and its founder, John Singlaub – will become for McCain what Bill Ayers has become for Obama: a fleeting past association used as ammunition for political broadsides.
Over past few days, a handful of Obama allies – none directly associated with his campaign – have called attention to McCain’s ties to the council to rebut the McCain campaign’sincreasing focus on Obama’s ties to Ayers, a founder of the 1960s radical Weather Underground.
“This guilt by association path is going to be trouble ultimately for the McCain campaign,” Democratic strategist Paul Begala said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “John McCain sat on the board of a very right-wing organization, it was the U.S. Council for World Freedom, it was chaired by a guy named John Singlaub, who wound up involved in the Iran contra scandal. It was an ultra conservative, right-wing group.”
Since Begala made his comments, in which he mentioned the Anti-Defamation League’s 1981 condemnation of the council’s parent group as anti-Semitic, a growing group of bloggers have referenced Begala’s self-described “shot across the bow,” and have tried to flesh out McCain’s ties to the council and to Singlaub, a decorated retired Army major general with a background in special operations and intelligence.
Some lefty bloggers urged Obama’s campaign, which on Monday unveiled an ad highlighting McCain’s involvement in the “Keating Five” savings-and-loan scandal, to expand its attacks to include the U.S. Council for World Freedom.
Singlaub founded the council in Phoenix in November, 1981, as the U.S. branch of the World Anti-Communist League, which he also helped run for a time. The league billed itself as a supporter of “pro-Democratic resistance movements fighting communist totalitarianism.” But the Anti-Defamation League in 1981 alleged that the anti-Communist league also had had “increasingly become a gathering place, a forum, a point of contact, for extremists, racists and anti-Semites.”
Singlaub eventually won some praise from the anti-defamation group for working to purge those elements form the league.
The U.S. Council recruited McCain soon after it set up shop in Phoenix, where McCain was starting to lay down roots as he eyed his first run for elected office, a 1982 U.S. House race he won.
An aide to McCain’s presidential campaign, who did not want to be identified discussing an episode the aide had no firsthand knowledge of, said McCain would never have gotten involved with the council if it had continuing ties to extremists, racists and anti-Semites.
“McCain has a long and consistent and strong record on issues involving Israel and he would never be associated with anything that was anti-Semitic in any way,” the aide said.
In October 1986, McCain told Phoenix’s New Times alternative weekly newspaper that he agreed to join the group’s advisory board because “they’re for freedom and they’ve got some good people involved,” but he also asserted he only attended one meeting.
The New Times article – and a handful of stories in other local papers – appeared in the days after the Reagan administration fingered the council for operating a plane that was shot down that month while flying supplies to Nicaraguan Contra rebels.
Singlaub, who did not respond to Politico’s telephone and e-mail messages seeking comment, at the time denied the council was involved with the plane. But he later acknowledged during congressional hearings on the Iran-Contra affair that he was part of a secret program carried out with the knowledge of U.S. military officials that used former intelligence operatives to arm the anti-Communist Contras, circumventing a ban on U.S. military assistance to the rebels.
At the time of the crash, McCain was running for Senate, and his campaign aides told the local press that he had resigned from the council’s board in 1984.
“John had heard at the time that they were supplying arms to the Contras,” Torie Clarke, then McCain’s Senate campaign spokeswoman, told the Phoenix Gazette. She told the Tucson Citizen that McCain “vehemently opposes any activity that would violate the neutrality act.” But she said McCain did not alert authorities to what she called the council’s “many questionable activities.” She also stressed to the Citizen that “there weren’t any real specific incidents. There was a general theme with which John was not aligned.”
According to New Times, though, McCain’s 1984 letter of resignation attributed his decision to part with the group to his lack of time, but praised the group’s “dedication to our country.” McCain remained on the group’s letterhead through March 1985, and he attended the group’s October 1985 “Freedom Fighter of the Year” award ceremony in Washington.
Brian Rogers, a spokesman for McCain’s presidential campaign, issued a statement to Politico asserting that McCain “disassociated himself” from the group “when questions were raised about its activities, but that in no way diminishes his leadership role in ensuring that the forces of democracy and freedom prevailed in Central America.”
Rogers said McCain “fought long, hard and proud in opposition to Communist influence in Central America throughout the 1980s at a time when many, including Senator Obama’s running mate Senator Joe Biden, tried to cut off money for anti-Communist forces in El Salvador and Nicaragua.”
Begala told Politico that he raised McCain’s connection to the U.S. Council because he wanted to prove that “it’s really unwise for the McCain campaign to begin a campaign of guilt by association. And I was trying to demonstrate the way I think that Democrats ought to run their campaign. I could have just gone on and said ‘Democrats need to counterattack.’ Instead, I thought: why don’t I just do it?”
AP, in a very thinly veiled, unsourced, hit piece entitled, McCain link to private group in Iran-Contra case, reported this Begala piece as if it were objective fact. Journalism by Democrat Press Release at its finest.
(BTW, I did not want to post the AP article, as I did not think it appropriate...I'm sure somebody else will post it once Drudge picks it up)
Begala is such a wuss. You know he wouldn't dare say most of the stuff he says to the faces of those he attacks from the safety of a TV studio.
This is what happens when the kid who gets his books dumped grows up.
As for this "shocking" scandal--talk about convoluted. Talk about a reach. But let them try--it seems that the only thing that lights a fire under McCain is attacking his personal integrity.
Since when has fighting the Godless communists been a bad thing?
Lol! Gee, McCain is connected to a pro-American, anti-Communist group. That sounds like a killer issue Begala. Keep up the good work.
Begala always looks like he’s afraid he’s about to get slapped when he spouts this stuff on TV. He called Bush a moron recently—gee, how brave.
He attended one meeting of the board and resigned? did he bomb the Pentagon? did he kill any cops?
There’s no there there, but libs are always trying to make people believe that apples = oranges.
Begala is such a waste of oxygen...
Let’s see how far we can spread this genuine quote from Bill Ayers:
“Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, kill your parents—that’s where it’s really at.”
Singlaub is part of foreign affairs. If they want to talk about the foreign connections, the better comparison is not Ayers but Odinga. Let Americans decide which one they would like to be a president.
“I don’t regret setting bombs]. I feel we didn’t do enough.”
It won't be the same. McCain is a well known entity. Even people learn about McCain's connections, they feel secure that nothing will happen. With 0bama, things are different. He is a newcomer with not so clear past. People may feel uncertain to vote for him. Read Rove's piece on Newsweak which cite several polls showing about 45% people are still unsure about 0bama, about the same numbers who say they are sure about him.
Begala ought to be careful - Bill Clinton was in on the Iran/Contra shipments, through the airport at Mena, Arkansas.
McCain associated with an anti Communist Organization?
As opposed to an Anti-American, voter fraud, housing money stealing, Communist, terrorist, bomb making, COP KILLING, Soviet KGB front origination?
The horror....
He helped to kill some communists. Very bad thing in the liberal world view. Better to bomb some of us in support of world communism.
Read “Hazardous Duty” By John Singlaub to find out what A Patriot this Man Was . His Story Makes Indiana Jones Look Weak
I know that it upsets the DemocRATS and Marxists like Hussein Obama but at one time, Americans fought AGAINST Communism.
But the Anti-Defamation League in 1981 alleged that the anti-Communist league also had had “increasingly become a gathering place, a forum, a point of contact, for extremists, racists and anti-Semites.”
Spoken like the true communist organization that the anti defamation league at that time had proven time and time again to be.
There is a complete story about this on MyWay.com
Perhaps someone can bring it here to FR
Isn’t Singlaub the General that Carter fired for daring to challenge his foreign policy? I remember that name from years ago and I think I’ve got it right.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.