Bush Advisers Cashed in on Saudi Gravy Train

Corporation Watch ^ | 12-11-02

[Magician]

The only way to get rid of this kind of corruption is to defund the government and reduce it to its absolute essentials. Make it small enough to watch the connections (thinly disguised bribery) of the politicians and beaurocrats.

VOTE LIBERTARIAN

[meenie]

There is nothing wrong if it can be shown that there was no bribery. By bribery I include campaign contributions. The conflict of interest by officials accepting campaign contributions and then voting in favor of issues benefiting the contributor is bribery pure and simple.

Making it a crime would be the best campaign law imaginable. I go along with the idea that government meddles in far too many businesses and unions. I recommend a vote for the Constitution or Libertarian parties in our primaries to show our displeasure with the Republcrat party.

[weikel]

The Saud I agree are our real enemy but it makes sense to take out all the rest of our enemies in the middle east 1st before we march on the "two holy cities"

[mickie]

Politics and politicans are really rotton to the core........how do they sleep at night or look in the mirrow?
Washington is just one big 'money grab'........is that the only reason to go into politics?

[Howlin]

This is a recylced article with facts that have been mostly debunked, including this one:

At the same time that the elder Bush counsels his son on the ongoing war on terrorism

They do NOT talk to each other, both have stated that.

[Wphile]

Ditto.

[vrwc54]

From Best of the Web (opinionjournal.com) on Saudi corruption and perfidy:

Our Friends the Saudis
U.S. News & World Report has another damning article on Saudi perfidy and corruption. Noting Riyadh's reluctance to cooperate with America's investigation of the Sept. 11 atrocities--though 15 of the 19 perpetrators were Saudi--the magazine explains:

One reason, high-level intelligence sources tell U.S. News, is that at least two Saudi princes had been paying, on behalf of the kingdom, what amounts to protection money to Osama bin Laden since 1995. In November of that year, a bomb at the Saudi National Guard headquarters in Riyadh killed several American military advisers who worked closely with the force. One source, a former senior Clinton administration official, said that the two princes, whose names have not been disclosed, began making payments to bin Laden soon after the bombing. The official added that Washington did not learn of the payments until at least two years later. "There's no question they did buy protection from bin Laden," he says. "The deal was, they would turn a blind eye to what he was doing elsewhere. 'You don't conduct operations here, and we won't disrupt them elsewhere.' "

The Saudis deny the charge. The magazine adds that "the Washington-Riyadh relationship is marred by another problem":

Over the past decade, the United States has sold Riyadh $33.5 billion in military hardware. That's more than Israel and Egypt combined have received. U.S. companies have also done billions of dollars in commercial business with the kingdom. According to well-placed Saudi sources and a review of several little-known lawsuits, Saudi agents and royalty often demand enormous commissions to accompany these deals. Ordinarily, the payment of such fees to secure contracts would constitute a violation of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. But prosecutors say bribery is one of the toughest charges to prove.

Link to the entire article:
Princely payments- Saudi royalty, it is claimed, make out like bandits on U.S. deals

[Paulus Invictus]

Why is this liberal and libertarian junk still being posted on a conservative site?

[Dog Gone]

It's worse than that. It's "progressive" which is another word for Ralph Nader's new brand of communism.

Corporations are bad.

People who work for corporations are bad.

Oil is bad.

People who know people who work for oil companies are bad.

People who serve on Boards of Directors of corporations are especially bad.

People who make money are bad.

Money is bad.

It's all commie crap and the fact that some people here fall for it is nothing short of amazing.

[Aaron_A]

The Saudis own big chunks in many American companies. You can't look at a couple of companies, and ignore the hundreds more that they have clout in. Citgroup & AOL-Time Warner are also quite influential and have big Saudi stakes.

[IRtorqued]

Free Republic is an online gathering place for independent, grass-roots conservatism on the web. We're working to roll back decades of governmental largesse, to root out political fraud and corruption, and to champion causes which further conservatism in America. And we always have fun doing it. Hoo-yah!

corruption is corruption no matter where it is found.

[zog]

--that's my position posting and reading here as well, being an "Independent". Putting partisan named political parties over the US interest as a whole is "not cool" in my book, and has lead to the bulk of the scandals and messes we have on the political scene, IMO.. I prefer to be independent, then I don't have to squirm and try to weasel out of political reality like the party loyalists do. Geez, it has to get embarassing sometimes to try and defend the undefensible, but after watching the dims and repugs keep doing it for decades, I guess they get used to it. I belong to no political party, and like it that way after years of being a member/supporter.

[IRtorqued]

roger that.

[Magician]

how do they look in the miror

Politicians don't produce images in mirrors or cast shadows in the sunlight.

VOTE LIBERTARIAN

[Magician]

There isn't a dime's worth fo difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. The Republican agenda these days is identical the the Democrats' agenda of 30-40 years ago. I'm old enough to remember.

LIBERTARIANS ARE THE ULTIMATE CONSERVATIVES, THE ONLY REAL CONSERVATIVES.

[jaso]

They do NOT talk to each other, both have stated that.

Is that the debunking you mentioned? Its not unreasonable to believe an oil man would have ties to Saudi Arabia, especially one who dumped millions of dollars in aid into the country while President. You conservatives are just as bad as liberals, so concerned with being on the winning side you can't tell right from wrong, but you can tell right from left, and I'm sure thats all that matters to you.

[Howlin]

I didn't say anything like that; I said that 41 and 43 do not discuss the presidency or this war; they both have said that. Much as you all would like to think this is an extension of 41's term, it's not.