Posted on 07/12/2003 12:52:33 PM PDT by Cathryn Crawford
George Tenet's admission last night that it was his mistake that caused President Bush to use faulty intelligence in his State of The Union address is interesting at the same time as it is convienent. In the statement itself, which is lengthy and filled with reasons as to the intelligence failure, Tenet wholeheartedly takes responsility for his agency.
"Let me be clear about several things right up front. First, CIA approved the President's State of the Union address before it was delivered. Second, I am responsible for the approval process in my Agency. And third, the President had every reason to believe that the text presented to him was sound. These 16 words should never have been included in the text written for the President. "
On the face of it, this admission seems like the perfect solution to the growing problems for both the Bush and Blair administration. It's all CIA's fault, they can claim. But is that really viable?
On the face of it, perhaps. But Bush is the President. He has to take final responsibility, doesn't he?
If Bush can truly claim to know absolutely nothing, then don't we have a serious problem - wouldn't that imply that Bush is either incompetent or is simply not paying attention?
For discussion purposes - has Bush been conned by Tenet? And if he has, isn't that rather serious?
And if he wasn't conned by Tenet, what is the alternative?
I've been attempting to follow the "money and connections trail" of some of these people to understand how they tie together. I'm particularly interested how funds are funnelled through non-profit orgs.
It appears Joseph C. Wilson IV is CEO of a business called JC Wilson International Ventures. A search on this company produced the following cached article on google:
Google Cache ofwww.africanperspective.com
The following quote is from the article on "Afican Perspective" titled : "Africa: Aggressive intervention from US. By Simba Kamunono"
"Look who came for Clinton's Dinner. As way of strengthening the US policy in Africa and in keeping with the aggressive pursuit of US interests in Africa, Clinton has sought to use African American Leaders to give a helping hand. They have responded to this manipulation by joining team with the Democratic Leaders. Jesse Jackson has accepted to become Presidents Ambassador to Africa. In recent White House Party in honor of Ghana's President Jerry Rawlings, the guest list read like who is who in the African American elite. It also included US officials that are helping shape the new aggressive policy on Africa. They came from the State Department, the Big Banks, the World Bank and other institutions. Below we print the guest list.
Vice President Gore and Tipper Gore
Jerry John Rawlings, president of the Republic of Ghana
Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, first lady of the Republic of Ghana
Fati Habib Jawula, Council of State
James Victor Gbeho, minister of foreign affairs
John Frank Abu, minister of trade and industry
Kofi Bentum Quantson, national security coordinator
Cecilia Johnson, deputy minister of local government and rural development
Mohammed Ibn Chambas, deputy minister of education
Koby Koomson, ambassador to the United States, and Bertha Koomson
Victor Selormey, deputy minister of finance
Kofi Attoh, member of parliament and chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs
Kojo Armah, member of parliament and member of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs
Kobina Wudu, director of state protocol
Henry Aaron, senior vice president, Atlanta Braves
Maya Angelou, writer and professor, Wake Forest University, and DeFoy Glenn
Vincent Anku, director, Cleveland Cancer Institute, and Cynthia Ferguson, National Summit on Africa
Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations, and Nane Annan
Dennis W. Archer, mayor of Detroit, and Judge Trudy DunCombe Archer
David L. Armstrong, mayor of Louisville, and Carol Armstrong
J. Brian Atwood, administrator, Agency for International Development, and Susan Atwood
Clarence Avant, chairman, Motown Records, and Jacqueline Avant
Thurbert Baker, attorney general, state of Georgia
Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance, actors
Samuel R. Berger, assistant to the president for national security affairs, and Susan Berger
Alma Brown, senior vice president, Chevy Chase Bank, and Ed Hitchcock, attorney, Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander
Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) and Shantrel A. Brown
Dwight Bush, principal, Stuart Mill Capital Partners, and Antoinette Cook Bush, partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary, National Council of Churches, and Albert M. Pennybacker, association general secretary, National Council of Churches
Myron M. Cherry, partner, Cherry & Flynn, Chicago, and Patricia Cherry
Rep. Eva M. Clayton (D-N.C.) and Theaoseus Clayton, attorney
Rep. John J. Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.)
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) and Linda Thompson, Maryland Governor's Office for Children, Youth and Families
Betty Currie, personal secretary to the president, and Robert Currie, environmental consultant
William M. Daley, secretary of commerce
Glyn T. Davies, executive secretary, National Security Council, and Jacqueline Davies, attorney, Williams & Connolly
Kenneth T. Derr, chairman and CEO, Chevron Corp.
Benjamin D. Dodoo, chairman of the board of directors, National Council of Ghanaian Associations, and Janie Dodoo Marian Wright Edelman, president, Children's Defense Fund, and Peter B. Edelman, professor, Georgetown University School of Law
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, LaFace Records, and Tracey Edmonds, CEO, Edmonds Entertainment/Yab Yum Records
Alphonso Michael Espy, former secretary of agriculture, and Portia Ballard, senior human resources analyst, Shell Chemicals America
Rep. Harold E. Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.)
Mary Mel French, chief of protocol
Mark D. Gearan, director, Peace Corps, and Mary Herlihy-Gearan
Denyce Graves, opera singer, and David Perry, musician Earl Graves Jr., president, Black Enterprise Magazine, and Roberta Graves
Dennis Green, head coach, Minnesota Vikings, and Marie Green
Ernest G. Green, managing director of public finance, Lehman Brothers, and Phyllis Green
C. Thomas Hendrickson, chairman, Triangle Environment Inc., and Jill D. Hendrickson, manager, Capital Club Properties
Alexis M. Herman, secretary of labor, and Charles Franklin Rep. Amory Houghton (R-N.Y.) and Priscilla Dewey Houghton
John Ijichi, World Bank, and Sabine Dohrn
Jesse L. Jackson, president and CEO, Rainbow-PUSH Coalition, and Jonathan Jackson, Rainbow-PUSH Coalition
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) and Howard Pyle Jr., director of legislative operations, Reliant Energy
Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) and Andrea G. Jefferson, vice chancellor, Southern University at New Orleans
Robert Benjamin Johnson, assistant to the president and director, White House Office on the President's Initiative for One America, and Jacqueline Johnson
Sheila Johnson, executive vice president, Black Entertainment Television, and Shannon McCormick Davis, Davis Construction
Star Jones, co-host, "The View," and Gary R. Lewis, director of business development, Vibe magazine
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Olympic gold medalist, and Robert D. Kersee, owner and trainer, Gold Medal Rehab and Fitness
Sam Kitadai, the Greenbrier Cos., and Mutsuko Kitadai
Helen Kofi, World Bank, and Gottfried A. Kofi, president and CEO, GAK Associates
Weldon Latham, senior partner, Shaw Pittman Potts & Trowbridge, and Constantia Latham
Victor Lawrence, advanced communications technology vice president, Lucent Technologies, and Penny Lawrence
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Carlottia Scott, chief of staff for Rep. Barbara Lee
Carl Lewis, Olympic gold medalist, and Carol Lewis
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Lillian Lewis
David Levering Lewis, history professor, Rutgers University, and Ruth Ann Stewart, public affairs professor, Rutgers University
Thomas Livingston and Georgianna McGuire, Peace Corps, Ghana, 1961-1963
C. Payne Lucas, president, Africare, and Freddie H. Lucas, president, Lodestar
Leon Lynch, international vice president, United Steelworkers of America, and Doris Tindal-Lynch, manager of employee relations, Group Health Inc.
George Madjitey and Henrietta Madjitey, Ghana Houston Association
Richard L. Mays and Jennifer Mays
Rep. James McDermott (D-Wash.) and Wilda E. Chisolm Cheryl Mills, deputy assistant and deputy counsel to the president
Minyon Moore, assistant to the president, and William Prentice Nelson
Najee Rasheed, musician, and Fareed Haqq, president, Fan Records
Bob J. Nash, assistant to the president, and Janis Kearney, special assistant to the president
Dean Ornish, president, Preventive Medicine Research, and Molly Blackwell
Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-N.J.) and Denise A. Banks, deputy director for civil rights, Department of Agriculture Thomas R. Pickering, undersecretary of state for African affairs
Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.)
Susan E. Rice, assistant secretary of state for African affairs
Linda Johnson Rice, president, Johnson Publishing, and Eugene H. Dibble IV, senior vice president, Cardenas Fernandez & Associates
John L. Richardson, partner, Seeger Potter Richardson, and Margaret M. Richardson, partner, Ernst & Young Kathryn D. Robinson, ambassador to Ghana, and Frank Young, U.S. Agency for International Development
Sonya Ross, Associated Press, and Tavis Smiley, host, "BET Tonight"
Rep. Edward Royce (R-Calif.) and Marie Porter Erica Barks Ruggles, director of African affairs, National Security Council, and Taylor Ruggles, Turkish affairs, Department of State
Rep. Robert C. Scott (D-Va.) and Deteria Hawkins
Lottie Shackelford, Overseas Private Investment Corp., and Howlie Davis, vice president, CH2M Hill
Sargent Shriver, chairman, Special Olympics, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Rodney Slater, secretary of transportation, and Cassandra Slater, senior adviser to the Social Security administrator
Gayle Smith, senior director for African affairs, National Security Council, and Rosa Whitaker, assistant U.S. trade representative for Africa
Jane E. Smith, president, National Council of Negro Women, and Alfred M. Byrd, vice president, Xerox of Greater Washington
Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) and John McKernan Jr., former governor of Maine
Woodrow Stanley, mayor of Flint, Mich., and Reta Stanley Robert Stanton, director, National Park Service, and Janet Stanton
John Stroger, president, Cook County (Ill.) Board of Commissioners, and Yonnie Stroger
John Sweeney, President, AFL-CIO, and Maureen Sweeney
Susan L. Taylor, editor in chief, Essence magazine, and Khephra Burns, writer and editor
Tracey Thornton, deputy assistant to the president for legislative affairs, and Peter McLarty, Texas Instruments
Michael Thurmond, labor commissioner, state of Georgia
Cicely Tyson, actress, and Walter J. Leonard, Oxford University
Carl Ware, president, Africa Group, and vice president, Coca-Cola Co., and Mary Ware
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Sidney Williams, former ambassador to the Bahamas
Wellington Webb, mayor of Denver
Togo West, secretary of veterans affairs, and Gail Berry
Alan Wheat, president, Wheat & Associates, and Yolanda Townsend Wheat, National Credit Union Administration
Jesse L. White Jr., federal co-chairman, Appalachian Regional Commission, and Timothy Scott Hovis, counsel for the North Carolina General Assembly
Anthony A. Williams, mayor, District of Columbia, and Diane Simmons-Williams
Carol Willis Jr., director of community services, Democratic National Committee, and Joyce Willis
Joseph C. Wilson IV, CEO, J.C. Wilson International Ventures Corp., and Valerie Wilson
Willie F. Wilson, pastor, Union Temple Baptist Church, and Mary Wilson, assistant pastor
BeBe Winans, recording artist, and Bishop Clarence Eugene McClendon, Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship
Elaine Wolfensohn, World Bank, and Adam R. Wolfensohn, Red Ramona "
Sorry for the long list, but I wanted to keep the complete context.
I've listed on other threads how truthout (who picked up the story, then dropped it) is funded in part by democrat supporting enviro/antiwar nonprofits.
See here:
I don't know how all this fits into the equation, but I believe it's important to know the background and beliefs of a source of information before you can properly evaluate it's merits. At least, this information of a connection to Africa via the Clinton Administration raises doubt in my mind as to Mr. Wilson's objectivity.
I also have questions as to the objectivity of the original sources which covered this "story". Even the reporter from Capitol Hill Blue, Doug Thompson, says he has set up his own "non-profit" orgs. Unfortunately, I cannot find any form 990's for these, yet.
Quote:
In 1999, Thompson started the Our America Foundation as a project to study America's problems and look for common sense solutions. The Buffalo Mountain Foundation was created in 2000 as a think tank for journalists and communicators and the Safe Highways Foundation began in 2001 to battle the growing problem of unsafe drivers on our nation's highways.
source:http://www.dougthompson.com/About.htm
Why are all these people connected to democrat organizations and/or weird non-profits? At the very least, it makes me wonder about the lack of oversight on non-profits and why we are constantly recycling the same people through the diplomatic corps.
Thanks for sticking with me and for the interesting debate. I look forward to any perspective you all might provide.
Actually, it's worse than ridiculous. The people making this charge are doing it despite the facts:
1. the statement, "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." was and remains the truth.
2. there is absolutely no evidence that Bush made this statement knowing it was false.
3. there is no evidence that his motivation for including this statement was predicated on deceiving the American public into a war.
4. the case for war against Iraq stands undiminished with this statement removed from the SotU and follow-on speeches (i.e. AEI).
So it is not just ridiculous, it is scandalous, intentionly so, and hypocritical since to make the charge the accuser must lie and use innuendo.
Other than that, the "Bush lied" and "He knew" crowd seems quite disingenuous.
In fact, said John Logsdon, a board member [of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board] and George Washington University expert on space policy, "human spaceflight had become a place where dissent was not welcome."(Source: Freeper Snopercod, quoting a Washington Post article. See reply 4014 on the "Observation on TPS damage on Orbiter" thread.)
It is the YOUR choice.
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/561/context/outrage
Run Date: 05/26/01
Bush Gives Taliban $10 Million To Fight Opium
I found this article while looking for the Pro-Life one for FreeReign, makes one proud to be for Bush, now doesn't it?
btw.. did you noticed the run date.. wasn't it before 11/Sept/2003?
Understand why some of us, do not follow any leader with blind faith yet?
Wilson is no "investigator".
In some of these I ask Cathryn Crawford to explain the penalty she thinks appropriate for this error, and she replies with what I consider an impossible solution, due to the Civil Sevice laws. There is also an exchange with a poster that considers Rumsfeld to be a possible puppetmaster in advance of the one-world government which will be headed by the anti-Christ (a position I disagree with) and an exchange with Dan of Michigan on the exact manner and interpretation of the statement in the State of the Union speech.
At no point any of these exchanges did I indicate that I thought there was no room for dissent.
I must ask you to explain why you have pinged me with this comment. If you are assuming that because I support the President I do not tolerate dissent, I must say that is not very civil of you, considering this thread has been up for over 750 replies, and I have NOT ONCE acted in the manner in which you accuse me.
Before you hurl accusations, I suggest that you read the entire thread carefully. Thank you.
There has been plenty of refutation of the *false* assertions made on this thread. I have posted some of it myself.
All of it has been ignored.
It seems those posing their baseless allegations are the ones who cannot argue with truth when they are confronted with it. I've noticed the tactic is to blatantly ignore, then regurgitate the original claim without producing a single piece of evidence to back up the by then discredited point.
To be clear I am talking about the pack mentality of so-called Bush supporters (that kind of support why it;s hard to say it is support for it sure seems to drive away more than it brings in), Whether you see yourself in that bunch, who can say. But for sure, to me, you have fallen in with that rude pack.
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