Free Republic

Ben Carson is not stupid, and anyone who says he is can be ignored in serious political discussions. But a man who spends his life reaching the summit of the medical profession obviously hasn't had a lot of time to learn the details of government policy. Every presidential candidate faces a learning curve; one who has no history in politics, such as Carson, faces a steeper climb. Duane Clarridge, chief of the CIA's Latin American division from 1981 to 1987 and an advisor to Carson, caused a major kerfuffle this week when he told the New York Times that,...

Former CIA officer Duane Clarridge has maintained that economic interests were the real reasons France and Russia those countries opposed the invasion of Iraq. "I think the world needs to know why some countries didn’t want Saddam Hussein removed from power.”

Duane Clarridge is running a private probe, seeking evidence that France took prewar payoffs and that Russia received illegal Iraqi oil. WASHINGTON — After nearly two decades on the sidelines, Duane "Dewey" Clarridge, the legendary CIA officer who played a key role in the Reagan administration's secret war in Nicaragua, is back in the game — this time in Iraq and as a private citizen. Clarridge has launched his own self-financed investigation into alleged prewar financial dealings between Saddam Hussein's regime and France and Russia. And he has arranged to keep U.S. intelligence agencies briefed on what he uncovers. "It...

Former CIA officer Duane Clarridge has maintained that economic interests were the real reasons France and Russia those countries opposed the invasion of Iraq. "I think the world needs to know why some countries didn’t want Saddam Hussein removed from power.” Now the officer, infamous for his role in the Reagan administration’s secret war in Nicaragua, is out to prove his charges – with his own investigation of the financial dealings, according to a report in the LA Times. Clarridge has been on the ground in Iraq scouting for evidence that French politicians took secret payoffs from Hussein in...