2.20.2004
PNAC Signatories and Principles: A Tool for Greater Political Understanding- A Neocon "Who's Who"
The information below was found at Foreign Policy in Focus in an article by Tom Barry and Jim Lobe entitled "U.S. Foreign Policy-- Attention, Right Face, Forward March".
Knowing who the Neoconservatives are and where they fit into our political reality, offering a context to better be able to analyse what the media offers us seems essential. Having a perspective on where a talk show guest "expert" or "fellow"is coming from allows us to better interpret what information is being offered.
I hope you find this useful.
The Project for the New American Century
Signatories of 1997 Statement of Principles
Elliott Abrams
National Security Council Senior Director for Democracy, Human Rights, and International Operations
Former Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and for Inter-American Affairs in Reagan administration
Gary Bauer
1999-2000: Republican presidential candidate
1989-99: Founder and President, Family Research Council
Director, White House Office of Policy Development in Reagan administration
William J. Bennett
Codirector, Empower America; Chairman, Americans for Victory Over Terrorism
Distinguished Fellow, Heritage Foundation
Director, White House Office of Drug Control Policy in Bush Sr. administration
Secretary of Education in Reagan administration
Jeb Bush
Governor, State of Florida
Richard B. Cheney
Vice President to George W. Bush
1989-Jan. 1993: Secretary of Defense
1975-77: White House Chief of Staff
Eliot A. Cohen
Professor and Director of Strategic Studies, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
Policy planning staff of the Department of Defense in Bush Sr. administration
Midge Decter
Board of Trustees of the Heritage Foundation
Executive Director of the Committee for a Free World in Reagan administration
Founder of Coalition for a Democratic Majority in 1970s
Paula Dobriansky
Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs
Office of European and Soviet Affairs at the National Security Council in Reagan administration
Steve Forbes
President and CEO of Forbes magazine
1996 and 2000: Campaigned for Republican presidential nomination
Aaron Friedberg
Henry Alfred Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress
Consultant to the National Security Council in Reagan administration
Francis Fukuyama
Bernard Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy at The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University
State Department Policy Planning Staff in Bush Sr. administration
Author: The End of History and the Last Man (1992)
Frank Gaffney
CEO of Center for Security Policy
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy in Reagan administration
Fred C. Ikle
Senior scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy in Reagan administration
1973-77: Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in Nixon and Ford administrations
Donald Kagan
Professor of History and Classics, Yale University
Zalmay Khalilzad
U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan
Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Gulf, Southwest Asia, and other Regional Issues, National Security Council
Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Planning in Bush Sr. administration
State Department Policy Planning Staff in Reagan administration
I. Lewis Libby
Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney
Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs
1998: Legal Adviser to the U.S. House of Representatives' Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the Peoples' Republic of China, commonly known as the "Cox Committee"
1989-93: Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy
Norman Podhoretz
Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
1960-95: Editor in Chief, Commentary magazine
Dan Quayle
1989-93: U.S. Vice President
1980-89: U.S. Senator from Indiana
Peter W. Rodman
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
State Department Policy Planning Staff in Reagan administration
Stephen P. Rosen
Director, Olin Institute of Strategic Studies at Harvard University and Professor of National Security and Military Affairs at Harvard
Henry S. Rowen
Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
Director, Stanford University's Asia/Pacific Research Center
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Ford and Bush Sr. administrations
Donald Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense
1998-99: Chairman of the U.S. Government Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States
Vin Weber
Chairman of the Board of Directors, National Endowment for Democracy
Vice Chairman of Empower America
1981-93: U.S. House of Representatives member from Minnesota
George Weigel
John M. Olin Chair in Religion and American Democracy at Ethics and Public Policy Center
Former President, Ethics and Public Policy Center
Author: Witness to Hope: The Biography of John Paul II (1997)
Paul Dundes Wolfowitz
Deputy Secretary of Defense
1994-2001: Dean of The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University
Undersecretary of Defense for Policy in Bush Sr. administration
U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State, and Director of Policy Planning for the Department of State in Reagan administration
Other PNAC Principals
Bruce P. Jackson
Project Director, Project for the New American Century
Member of Board of Advisors of the Center for Security Policy
Vice President, Strategy and Planning, Corporate Strategic Development for the Lockheed Martin Corporation
2000: Chairman for Republican Party platform's subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Policy
1997-99: Director, Global Development for Lockheed Martin Corporation
Reuel Marc Gerecht
Director of the Middle East Initiative, Project for the New American Century
Resident Fellow and Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
1985-94: Middle Eastern Specialist, Central Intelligence Agency
Robert KaganCofounder and Project Director, Project for the New American Century
Contributing editor at The Weekly Standard
Department of State: Deputy for Policy, Bureau of Inter-American Affairs and principal speechwriter for Secretary of State in Reagan administration
Jeane Kirkpatrick
Senior Fellow, Scholar, and Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
Codirector of Empower America
1981-85: U.S. Representative to the United Nations
William Kristol
Cofounder and Chairman of the Project for the New American Century
Editor and publisher of The Weekly Standard
Chief of Staff to Vice President Dan Quayle
Chief of Staff to Secretary of Education William Bennett in Reagan administration
Richard Perle
Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Chairman, Defense Policy Board, Department of Defense
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy in Reagan administration
R. James Woolsey
Partner at the law firm of Shea & Gardner in Washington, DC
1999-2000: member of National Commission on Terrorism
1998: Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the U.S. (Rumsfeld Commission)
1993-95: Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Undersecretary of the Navy in Carter administration
2/20/2004
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2.19.2004
Stage Managed Reality: The GOP Way
"This event has been in the works for several weeks" -- White House spokesperson Scott McClellan on Mr Bush visiting Fort Polk, LA
The White House said that visiting Fort Polk had nothing to do with the media finally taking a look at Mr Bush's Air National Guard record. Yet enterprising reporters found that the visit, contrary to what the White House spokesperson said, was scheduled just last week. Enterprising? Yup, they picked up the phone, called the base and asked when the visit was scheduled.
"At one point, Louisiana had the highest percentage in the country of National Guard troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan."
The troops were given permission to cheer the President as he arrived to strains of "Hail to the Chief" rather than coming to attention as is usual protocol. They even practiced yelling before he arrived.
The Washington Post article "Ft. Polk Troops Practiced Their Hoo-ahs" by Dan Froomkin also points out other Bush Photo-op stage settings that will help "We the People" think correctly about Mr Bush and policy.
For instance, when Bush went to a window and door factory in Tampa on Monday, Mike Allen noted in The Washington Post that the White House actually brought its own windows. "Strengthening America's Economy" was emblazoned on two fake windows that revealed an inviting blue sky.photo
Pretty amazing. In the sense that these managed press "moments" are artificial; they are quite reflective of the administrations honesty on the whole, as well as it's legitimacy.
A couple weeks ago, on Bush's trip to Charleston, S.C., Allen reported that the "White House staff had to get the Coast Guard to reposition a cutter anchored behind him because it had drifted out of position and was no longer providing a perfect backdrop."
This sort of psychological stalking of the citizenry may be seen by some as just media savy. But when it seems Bush programs cannot stand on their own merits and need to be reinforced with subtle media manipulations my sense is that Democracy is not being served.
In St. Louis in January, Allen wrote that "Bush began his visit . . . on a low bench with three pupils at his side and 'No Child Left Behind' written in chalk on the blackboard behind him. He spent 22 minutes chatting with parents on a stage in front of a White House set with 'No Child Left Behind' written 10 times so it would appear in almost any camera shot."
The No Child Left Behind Act is a farce, just like the concept of credibility being applied to the present Administration.
"Last year alone, the Act was underfunded by $7.5 billion. Underfunding by such a drastic amount undermines not only successful implementation, but the very spirit of the law".
I leaned heavily today on the Froomkin article. Yesterdays lengthy piece on Team B and the history of Neocons still involved in government as part of the present administration to lie to have their policy wants met as well as to use the media strategically to shape public opinion; seems echoed by these Bush administration attempts to stage manage reality.
WaPo link gleaned at WTF is it Now?
2/19/2004
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2.18.2004
30 Years of "Cooked" Intelligence: Profiting From Fear
If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience. --George Bernard Shaw
This article from The American Conservative magazine highlights the situation Karen Kwiatkowski found herself in while working under William Luti and being exposed to the malignant Neoconservative influence on the intelligence that made its way to the White House via the Office of Special Plans.
This attempt to pre-empt vetted information from America's formal intelligence analysts at the CIA and DIA that the Neoconservatives didn't find useful to their ideological plans is not new. History shows it to be an ongoing and successful trend, both in implementing Neocon policy and in managing public opinion in that policies support. Many of the same players nearly thirty years ago worked to influence politicians and the media through leaks and politically "cooked" intelligence. This time the Neocons were afraid of President Ford's moves toward detente' with the Soviet Union.
Ford was concerned that he would lose the Republican Presidential nomination to Ronald Reagan, who called his Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger too liberal.
Under Kissinger and Ford," Reagan intoned, "this nation has become number two in a world where it is dangerous--if not fatal--to be second best."
Team B
President Ford was supportive of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II. The CIA assessments showed radically less arms spending by the USSR, dropping from 68% to less than 17% of their GNP. Soviet military expenditures were destroying their economy by the end of the 1960's. Showed that the missiles they had were less accurate than was widely thought. Using hard data, CIA National Intelligence Estimates showed a USSR that was no longer a threat. History shows that their supposedly "soft" estimates underestimated the weakness and instability of the Soviet government.
But politics won out over common sense. The word "detente'" disappeared from the Presidents vocabulary. He was afraid his support of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II would cause him to look soft on our ailing enemy. Kissinger was perceived as a liability to Ford during the election campaign.
A shakeup occured to Fords staff. Henry Kissinger lost his position as special assistant to the president for national security affairs but was retained as Secretary of State. Ford fired outspoken Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger, a one time RAND researcher and hired one of Fords closest associates and advisors, Donald Rumsfeld, former US Ambassador to NATO and part of Fords transition team to be the new Secretary of Defense. William Colby was replaced as Director of the CIA by George H.W. Bush. In a departure from the thought of Colby Bush was warm to the idea of non-analysts critiquing CIA intelligence estimates.
It was, Colby said, hard "to envisage how an ad hoc independent group of analysts could prepare a more thorough, comprehensive assessment of Soviet strategic capabilities than could the intelligence community".
Team B was started under the auspices of Bush.
1976 found our Neo-conservative lead actors staffing a George H. W. Bush - then Director of Central Intelligence- approved intelligence Team B. The Team was made possible by Neo-con leading light and Rand Corporation heavyweight Albert Wohlstetter. Staffers included Wohlstetter's son-in-law Richard Perle and associate Paul Wolfowitz. Team B was headed by Neo-con media maven Daniel Pipes' father, Richard. The President was Gerald Ford, high in his administration were Richard Cheney, who reportedly helped Bush Senior secure the CIA job, and Donald Rumsfeld. This early Neo-Con venture challenged and hoped to undermine nuclear detente with the USSR. CIA and State Department analysis were not well suited to this goal. Traditional and professional assessments were not panic inducing, questions and opposition remained credible- even reasonable. Opponents of containment needed another understanding to dominate. "Intelligence" from Team B offered a possible solution. The Team set out to develop its own assessments of Soviet Military might
An "untimely" end to the cold war could derail hawk/neocon plans for a pre-eminent US military authority in the world. Without the threat of the Soviet Union it would become hard to get the American people, who were growing more isolationist after the Viet Nam debacle, fully behind greatly increased US arms spending.
Today, the Team B reports recall the stridency and militancy of the conservatives in the 1970s. Team B accused the CIA of consistently underestimating the "intensity, scope, and implicit threat" posed by the Soviet Union by relying on technical or "hard" data rather than "contemplat[ing] Soviet strategic objectives in terms of the Soviet conception of 'strategy' as well as in light of Soviet history, the structure of Soviet society, and the pronouncements of Soviet leaders."
Team B ramped up the Soviet threat. Housed in the offices of Coalition for a Democratic Majority, bringing together Conservatives of all stripes, Republican and Democrat. Founded by Henry "Scoop" Jackson the group believes in
"peace through stength".
The CDM argued that the U.S. must have a strong national defense and a foreign policy of active resistance to what it calls "totalitarianism and repression." Further it urges strong support for "foreign allies who share America's democratic values--whether it is the government of Israel in the Middle East or the government of El Salvador's Jose Napoleon Duarte in Central America."
Bush, who had written Ford stating "I want to get the CIA off the front pages and at some point out of the papers altogether," under President Carter promoted the ad hoc intelligence group on "Meet the Press". The Times carried an article on Team B.
Team B promoted it's skewed intelligence through leaks to journalists and "top secret" briefings held with Legislators on the Hill. Through the revitalized Committee on the Present Danger media was managed to put the public in a state of fear concerning the Soviet Union. This undermined incoming President Jimmy Carter and his administrations efforts concerning disarmament and set the stage for the Reagan Presidential campaign based on fear of "the Evil Empire". This spin also allowed him to to drain the countries finances in a one sided arms race, enriching weapons manufacturers and ensuring campaign contributions and support from the military/industrial complex.
The Neocons presently controlling US policy rose to power based on lies and fear, and consolidated their hold on America under Reagan.
Rumsfeld again was party to using "cooked" intelligence to counter the CIA analysts counselling against a need for National Missile Defense when he chaired the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States. Newt Gingrich helped him to establish this group dedicated to pumping up fear contrary to a credible CIA assessment.
Much like Ford changing his stance on detente', Democrats do not wish to be seen as weak on defense. Clinton vetoed the idea but Rumsfeld would run with his pet project. He has longstanding ties to organizations funded by interested weapons contractors.Perhaps worst of all, for missile defense to become a reality, the landmark Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty needs to be amended--something the Russians are not eager to do. No matter, says Rumsfeld; at his confirmation hearings, he dismissed the ABM treaty as "ancient history" and said he had no compunction about abrogating it.
In his weekly radio address Mr Bush said that the US is threatened by ballistic missiles.
As the case of the intelligence concerning Iraq shows, the same players have been skewing intelligence to serve their ends since the mid seventies, coming up with a new "cause" in line with their inherent militarism each time the old one is revealed for the sham it is.
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it...
2/18/2004
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Slacktivist has some good information on the RNC courting the NASCAR crowd. The demographic information is eye opening, as is the fact that NASCAR doesn't name the figures for fans earning less than 30,000 dollars a year. Glad my public school education serves me so I can figure out the figure for myself. It is a good post, pretty much anything I could say here would be redundant...
Bush at Daytona, Bush at the Superbowl- some good free campaign commercials...
2/18/2004
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2.17.2004
Ashcroft Defendent in Law Suit
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino is suing Attorney General John Ashcroft. Mr Covertino alleges that he was subject of an internal Justice Department probe for speaking out about his concerns on how the Department was handling cases dealing with "The War on Terror" to a Senate committee. Probe information was leaked to the media. He had accused the Justice Department of "gross mismanagement" of the war on terrorism.
In a situation thart brings the Valerie Plame case to mind information was also leaked about a confidential informant
Covertino used, putting the informants life in danger as well as stopping the flow of terrorist information from him. The informant has fled the country. You'll remember that Ms Plame worked undercover for the CIA, and just as in this case Robert Novak's disclosure of her identity compromised her past contacts and the work she was doing. She was working on intelligence about Weapons of Mass Destruction. It seems Covertino was retaliated against in the same manner as Joseph Wilson, Plames husband when Wilson spoke the truth publically about the Bush Administration's sham claim that Iraq under Hussein had sought uranium from the country of Niger.
The National Whistle Blower Center will keep you informed on cases across a wide spectrum.
Anyone from NORAD or the Air Force reading this? An air traffic controller? Drop a dime about 9/11...
Without truth Democracy is just a word.
2/17/2004
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Stop over at American Amnesia to see Kirk's interview of Howard Zinn. He will be posting an interview he did with Noam Chomsky later this evening. Should be a lively comment section at this fresh and lively blog.
2/17/2004
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2.16.2004
Elected President Bush Assassination Attempt: Urban Legend
Have you read "A Case Not Closed" by Seymour Hersh? His New Yorker article refutes the Urban Legend that Saddam Hussein tried to assassinate the elected President Bush.
"Cooked" intelligence, Neocons, leaks, the article is from '93 but reads like yesterdays news.
2/16/2004
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Two pilots who served their country at Dannelly Air National Guard base in Montgomery, Alabama and retired with ranks of lieutenant colonel and colonel said it was common knowledge that Bush never appeared at the base.
Something not much commented on is the odd occurrence that Bush friend James Bath lost his flying privilege a month to the day after Bush.
The CBC offers an interesting perspective on the Bush/Bath connection (.pdf).
Wayne Madsen on Bush/Bath/Bin Laden.
A Texas Observer article by Andrew Wheat on Bush/Bath/Bin Laden
More lengthy documentation of the connection by Tom Flocco.
Kean Insight: Bush, bin Laden, BCCI and the 9/11 Commission ties current events up some.
Maybe the Bush Absent Without Leave issue is hardly an issue at all, comparatively. It may be the tip of the iceburg.
I bet Helen Thomas would ask about this Bush/Bath/Bin Laden connection information. She is a real journalist, no Rather or Russert....
2/16/2004
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Robert Novak knew full well that "outing" CIA operative Valerie Plame was wrong.
Two government officials have told the FBI that conservative columnist Robert Novak was asked specifically not to publish the name of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame in his now-famous July 14 newspaper column. The two officials told investigators they warned Novak that by naming Plame he might potentially jeopardize her ability to engage in covert work, stymie ongoing intelligence operations, and jeopardize sensitive overseas sources.
2/16/2004
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The Kerry smear goes down in flames.
How far will the right go in playing "dirty"? Lacking substance I guess that is all they have to work with. And besides, as even the mainstream news is showing, lies are their stock in trade.
2/16/2004
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