Clark Says O'Neill Book Vindicates Him (1/11)

[KittyWampus]

It's worth noting that Kerry declined to comment on O'Neill's revelation when asked about it Sunday night after the Democratic debate. Kerry brushed aside the question and proceeded to talk about Howard Dean.

Clark is calling on Congress to investigate why we went to war if we didn't have to fight. One would hope Kerry might take up this fight... although he seems pretty busy in Iowa. In fact Kerry is so busy he will have Governor Shaheen in NH going after Clark tomorrow.
...................................................................................................................................................................................................

Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark says a book by former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill vindicates what he has said all along about the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

snip
Clark first met O'Neill when Clark worked at the White House during the Ford administration, and calls him a man with "100 percent, rock-solid commonsense judgment." "When he writes that the Bush administration is planning and exchanging documents on how to go to war with Iraq as soon as they took office, that just confirms my worst suspicions about this administration," Clark said.

In Clark's book, "Winning Modern War", which came out in November, the retired Army general traced the plotting of the war in Iraq back to 1996, when he says a group left over from the first Bush administration recommended that Israel focus on removing Saddam from power.

Clark goes on to write that in 1998, the group of 20, which included Donald H. Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz, now Defense Secretary and Deputy Defense Secretary, respectively, wrote a letter to President Clinton, asking him to "aim, above all, at the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime from power."

"We went to a war in Iraq we didn't have to go to," Clark told a group of supporters. "I'm calling on the Congress of the United States to fully investigate exactly why this country went to a war it didn't have to fight."

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-clark-oneill,0,5131763.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

[Dr Fate]

1. Hot! Must read post!!

!!!

[kerrygoddess]

2. Clark at WEF

http://www.foei.org/media/2003/0126.html

Excerpt:



US Secretary of State Colin Powell is addressing the (World Economic Forum) WEF today amidst evident concern amongst many WEF business leaders and protests across Switzerland. However, many WEF attendees in the oil industry are set to benefit from an Iraq war.

A recent Deutsche Bank report <2> indicated a potential conflict of interest amongst the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council over the commercial implications of war in Iraq. Baghdad Bazaar - Big Oil in Iraq was published last October but only came to light last week. It indicates that a regime change in Iraq would benefit US and UK oil companies while a peaceful resolution would benefit oil companies based in Russia, France and China:

"On the one hand, Saddam might yield on weapons inspectors issues, and therefore retain power. Having conceded on Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), the UN would then be under pressure to ease sanctions and, in that scenario, Iraq would no doubt award contracts to its current supporters: Russia, France and China. With Saddam still in power, the US and the UK would probably continue to employ delaying tactics on implementation of deals that enhanced Baghdad's revenue flows. On the other hand, if Saddam's government is replaced - as seem to be the priority for the Bush administration - and sanctions eased, then the corporate line up in Iraq may well feature US and UK companies, particularly if there has been a US driven war in the country."

- p. 14, Baghdad Bazaar, Deutsche Bank, 21/10/03.

The report identifies the following companies as potential beneficiaries, who are also participants in this year's WEF meeting:

Vagit Alekperov, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lukoil Joint Stock Oil Company (Russian Federation)
Nick Butler, Group Vice President, Policy Development, British Petroleum - BP (UK)
Thierry Desmarest, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, TotalFinaElf SA, (France).
Sir Phillip Watts, Chairman and Chief Executive, Shell (UK/Netherlands)

Politicians and government officials present at the WEF include:

Colin Powell, Secretary of State, United States of America
Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister of Turkey

Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, United Kingdom

Cheng Siwei, vice Chairman of the Standing Committee. National People's Congress, People's Republic of China

Francis Mer, Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, France

Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Saudi-Arabia

General (Wesley) Clark - former supreme Allied Commander for Europe, NATO is also present at the WEF.

****************************

Sunday, 26 January, 2003, 17:15 GMT
Powell fails to woo sceptics

Leading European figures say a speech by US Secretary of State Colin Powell warning that time is running out for Iraq to disarm has not persuaded them that a military strike is necessary.
<snip>
From the business community, Cem Kozlu, chairman of Turkish Airlines, said the message from Mr Powell was bleak.
"What Mr Powell said is that if there is evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq there will be war. And if there is no evidence, there will be war. That is bad news."

<snip>
Praise for Powell

But for the US, Wesley Clark, former Nato supreme allied commander for Europe, led the plaudits for Mr Powell's speech.
"He gave a very reasoned explanation of US policy," Mr Clark said. "It will help bring everyone together."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2696033.stm

[KittyWampus]

5. Yes, Clark Understands The Importance Of Multilateralism

But for the US, Wesley Clark, former Nato supreme allied commander for Europe, led the plaudits for Mr Powell's speech. "He gave a very reasoned explanation of US policy," Mr Clark said. "It will help bring everyone together."


Especially when Congress gives the President a blank check to go to war.

And isn't great the way Clark has consistently been pointing a finger to the PNAC crowd and their agenda... just lioke Kerry used to do in the old days. :)

[Gloria]

3. I expected him to bring this up....but, this is fast! And Clark

may be the one who keeps this on the radar screen...because we know the media is ready to sweep this under the rug.

That bastard Bush lied all through the campaign; as author Suskind says,
everything he promised, he did the exact opposite.

Americans are brain dead; maybe Clark can wake a few up!

The end quote by Clark is icing on the cake:

"Clark said he was in the Pentagon immediately after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and heard officials joking that, "'if Saddam didn't do it, he should have, because if he didn't, we're going to get him anyway.'" "

[Renew Deal]

4. Clark swipes at PNAC and their agenda.

But, he is a PNAC plant. :shrug: Good for Clark. This will get the Bill Crystal crowd pissed bigtime. It got them then, now there is more proof.

[Clark4VotingRights]

6. All the candidates gotta thump on this!

That O'Neill revelation is serious shit.
At least it should be...

[hellhathnofury]

7. Write your congressman, I did and he's a Republican.

Dear Representative Dreier,

I am writing to express my dismay and disgust sparked by the recent comments made by former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill concerning the administration. I encourage you to call for a Congressional investigation into the veracity of these comments and to recommend what actions, if any, Congress should pursue in this case.

Thank you.