[marron]

The Saudis need a regime change in Washington in the worst way. I am expecting them to throw a lot of money into this upcoming election, and calling on all of their assets, everything but the kitchen sink.

Wilson is one of those assets. He's just another ex-diplomat who is attached to yet another Saudi-funded think tank.

Expect to see the various candidates jockeying to position themselves for under-the-radar Saudi money. So far Dean is the most transparent, with Clark making his play for Kingdom support. Most Jewish voters are Democrats, so you would expect during an election year to see all of the candidates lining up to swear their devotion to Israel, that is what usually happens. This time is different, you see the candidates "triangulating", trying to cut the distance between themselves and the arabs. This could be a play to peel the arab vote away from Bush, but that hardly seems necessary, it is more likely value given for value received. Or for future value hoped for.

[archy]

Wilson is one of those assets. He's just another ex-diplomat who is attached to yet another Saudi-funded think tank.

I don't know that *just* another diplomat accurately describes him. He's certainly more a career diplomat than many of the ambassadors appointed as a political plum.

Might he be related to former CIA and Naval Intelligence spook Edwin P. Wilson? The name is common enough, but their interest ceratinly overlaps in a few areas.

AMBASSADOR JOSEPH C. WILSON, IV

Ambassador Wilson is CEO of JCWilson International Ventures, Corp., a firm specializing in Strategic Management and International Business Development.

Ambassador Wilson served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council from June 1997 until July 1998. In that capacity he was responsible for the coordination of U.S. policy to the 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa. He was one of the principal architects of President Clinton’s historic trip to Africa in March 1998.

Ambassador Wilson was the Political Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of United States Armed Forces, Europe, 1995-1997. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Gabonese Republic and to the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe from 1992 to 1995. From 1988 to 1991, Ambassador Wilson served in Baghdad, Iraq as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy. During “Desert Shield” he was the acting Ambassador and was responsible for the negotiations that resulted in the release of several hundred American hostages. He was the last official American to meet with Saddam Hussein before the launching of “Desert Storm.”

Ambassador Wilson was a member of the U.S. Diplomatic Service from 1976 until 1998. His early assignments included Niamey, Niger, 1976-1978; Lome, Togo, 1978-79; the State Department Bureau of African Affairs, 1979-1981; and Pretoria, South Africa, 1981-1982.

In 1982, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Mission in Bujumbura, Burundi. In 1985-1986, he served in the offices of Senator Albert Gore and the House Majority Whip, Representative Thomas Foley, as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow. He was Deputy Chief of Mission in Brazzaville, Congo, 1986-88, prior to his assignment to Baghdad.

Ambassador Wilson was raised in California and graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1972. He is a graduate of the Senior Seminar (1992), the most advanced International Affairs training offered by the U.S. Government. He speaks fluent French.

Ambassador Wilson holds the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Award, the Department of State Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards, the University of California, Santa Barbara Distinguished Alumnus Award, and the American Foreign Service Association William R. Rivkin Award. Additionally, he has been decorated as a Commander in the Order of the Equatorial Star by the Government of Gabon and as an Admiral in the El Paso Navy by the El Paso County Commissioners.

He is married to the former Valerie Plame and has two sons and two daughters.

The Middle East Institute
1761 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036-2882
(202) 785-1141