Those kicked out of govt by Iran-Contra scandal, now at center of power

[kentuck]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1200412,00.html

<snip>
The serious constitutional issues and governmental abuses, the methods and even the continuity of some personnel that Woodward catalogues evoke memories of the Reagan Iran-contra scandal. That involved a network of aides outsourcing US foreign policy to circumvent the separation of powers - selling missiles to Iran to fund the Nicaraguan contras. The Iraq war was conceived by the president and his war cabinet in an apparent effort to evade constitutional checks and balances. In Iran-contra, the national security council, CIA and Pentagon were stealthily exploited from within; in Iraq, they were abused from the top.

When the Iran-contra scandal was revealed, the Reagan administration was placed into receivership by the old Republican establishment. Neoconservatives and adventurers, criminal or not, were purged, from Elliott Abrams to Richard Perle. Now they are at the centre of power.

Woodward reports that in July 2002 Bush ordered the use of $700m to prepare for the invasion of Iraq, funds that had not been specifically appropriated by Congress, which alone holds that constitutional authority. No adequate explanation has been offered for what, strictly speaking, might well be an impeachable offence.

Woodward also reports that the battle plan was unfurled for Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to the US. On its top, it was stamped "Top Secret: Noforn" - "No Foreign", not to be seen by anyone but Americans with the highest security clearance. Following Bush's instructions, the vice-president, Cheney, and the secretary of defence, Rumsfeld, briefed Bandar, who responded by promising to lower oil prices just before the election. As we can now see, prices have skyrocketed, giving oil-producers windfall profits upfront, and ultimately exaggerating the political effect of any subsequent drop in prices.

...more

[Webster Green]

1. Whats next?...Oliver North appointed ambassador to Haiti? (n/t)

[kentuck]

2. Remember when Ollie and Fawn Hall shredded all night.....?

and then carried documents out of the White House at night? It was such a proud moment for conservatives....

[Tellurian]

6. yes, Fawn stashing documents in her boot!

IIRC, she mentioned that in her testimony..

[calimary]

9. I still have my Fawn Hall t-shirt from a visit to Wshington DC around that

time. It had a stick figure-type drawing of a blond girl by a crudely-drawn machine and the caption read: "See Fawn Shred. Shred, Fawn, Shred."

I still have that around here somewhere...

Oh, and by the way, for anyone grousing about CNN pandering for ratings - I can recall the media ballyhoo about her testimony. It was the highest-rated coverage CNN had, to date. Their ratings didn't leap that high again until the bombs started going off in Baghdad the first time.

[Webster Green]

10. LOL!...Ah, yes....Fawn Hall....I had almost forgotten.....

Hottie with big hair, as I recall.

I'm surprised she isn't working as a CNN anchor-bimbo.

[calimary]

12. Actually, she got an agent out of it, and there were numerous reports of

her being "in talks" and "in meetings" to develop some sort of broadcasting career. She got hired to do some fluff job (don't remember all the details) for a VERY brief time. I vaguely recall one of those vapid network "stupid people tricks" specials wherein she was deployed as a reporter for man-on-the-street stuff or some such fleeting thing. Then, thankfully, she just sorta vanished. I remember being REALLY angry about this, though. I was scrounging for a better on-air job at that point, and a number of my friends (who could have done VERY nicely by some of the breaks she was getting, and were LIGHTYEARS more deserving of them than she was) were out of work. So it just pissed me off SO seriously to see she was getting this A-list treatment for having done nothing beyond being a capriciously well-placed secretary. Bye-bye, Fawn, you li'l twinkie. Back to Nobody-land for you! Obscurity is where she belongs.

Yet another testament to Andy Warhol's "15 minutes of fame."

[NMDemDist2]

3. No US press dares to say it

once again thank heaven the Brits still have a free press

[baby_bear]

8. Actually, they don't

Their libel laws prevent much from being printed, or even placed on web sites.
See, for example, http://www.indexonline.org/indexindex/20021219_britain.shtml

s_m

[baby_bear]

4. Great post, Kentuck

That article scared the hell out of me. Why are so many Americans NOT scared of this administration?

:shrug:

s_m

[opihimoimoi]

5. kick

:kick:

This is too important to just let go.

[Tellurian]

7. All that is needed now to complete the circle is

Casper(the pardoned ghost) Weinberger(sp?)

[jus_the_facts]

11. since they weren't made to PAY FOR THEIR CRIMES....

....we have what we have today....why should we expect them to pay for the crimes they're committing NOW? If DEMS weren't able to enforce the LAW against 'em THEN....why should there be any HOPE whatsof'n EVER of gettin' 'em THIS time when we have NO control in the gov't AT ALL NOW? This is what we've sown by being TOO easy on 'em during the Clinton years as well...we play the bipartisan game and NEVER hold them accountable for what they do....the end result is THE REALITY OF TODAY.....WE* are the footnote in the big picture...that is the reality. :evilfrown:

[Bandit]

13. Exactly ~ They figured out long ago it is easier to say I'm sorry than to

ask permission. They get their little pinkie slapped and then get right back to bidness.

[jus_the_facts]

16. And the sad reality that we Dems have allowed it to happen.....

....by always gettin' sucked into their web of greed....and they crucify US by abusing their powers while in office....while us GOOD GUYS ALWAYS FINISH LAST because we follow the RULES! :evilfrown:

[JHB]

18. My biggest beef with Clinton...

...is that he let all these matters drop (Iran contra, contra drugs, BCCI, Iraqgate (illegal arms sales to Saddam before Kuwait), BNL, the S&Ls, etc. ad nauseum). Pursuing them wasn't "on their radar screen", and they (and we) paid the price of letting them maneuver at will.

[kentuck]

14. I think an unreported aspect of the Iran-Contra scandal was.....

the role of George W Bush in Latin America and elsewhere....He was involved. Now he has paid back his friends with good inside jobs withing his Administration, people like Elliot Abrams....Remember his role in the Iran-Contra scandal and his testimony before Congress?

[DAGDA56]

15. That reminds me...does anybody have a list...

...of the people Poppy pardoned? I suspect alot of them (especially the Iran-Contra crew) are regular household names today.

[Tellurian]

17. Poppy is so thoughtful...

"Bush Pardons Weinberger, Five Others Tied to Iran-Contra." President Bush granted pardons to former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and five other individuals for their conduct related to the Iran-Contra affair, calling Weinberger a "true patriot."

"I am pardoning him not just out of compassion or to spare a 75-year-old patriot the torment of lengthy and costly legal proceedings, but to make it possible for him to receive the honor he deserves for his extraordinary service to our country," Bush said in a proclamation granting executive clemency.

The president also pardoned five other persons who already had pleaded guilty or had been indicted or convicted in connection with the Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages investigation. They were Elliott Abrams, a former assistant secretary of state for Inter-American affairs; former National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane; and Duane Clarridge, Alan Fiers, and Clair George, all former employees of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Explaining those pardons, Bush said the "common denominator of their motivation -- whether their actions were right or wrong -- was patriotism." They did not profit or seek to profit from their conduct, Bush said, adding that all five "have already paid a price -- in depleted savings, lost careers, anguished families -- grossly disproportionate to any misdeeds or errors of judgment they may have committed."

Asked about the pardons at a news conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, later in the day, President-elect Clinton said he did not have all the details on the matter and would withhold comment until he had had a chance to study the president's statement and related information.

However, Clinton said he was concerned "by any action which sends a signal that, if you work for the government, you're above the law, or that not telling the truth to Congress under oath is somehow less serious than not telling the truth to some other body under oath."

http://www.fas.org/news/iran/1992/921224-260039.htm

...as Clinton sai: "They don't fire criminals; they hire them.."