THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
A birds-eye look at who’s protecting YOUR nest!
Sightings from The Catbird Seat
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February 26, 2006
Homeland Security Protested
Ports Deal
By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press, Yahoo! News
The Homeland Security Department objected at first to a United Arab Emirates company’s taking over significant operations at six U.S. ports. It was the lone protest among members of the government committee that eventually approved the deal without dissent.
The department’s early objections were settled later in the government’s review of the $6.8 billion deal after Dubai-owned DP World agreed to a series of security restrictions.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and other congressional leaders, the company and Bush administration officials were working on a compromise intended to derail plans by Republicans and Democrats for legislation next week that would force a new investigation of security issues relating to the deal….
“My comfort level is good, but I have 99 other United States senators who need the opportunity to ask their questions,” Frist told the Lexington Herald-Leader before speaking at a Republican dinner Saturday evening in Lexington, Ky.
“We’re behind the president 100 percent,” he added. “We believe the decision in all likelihood is absolutely the right one.”
Under one proposal being discussed, DP World would seek new approval of the deal from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, given the company’s surprise decision Thursday to indefinitely postpone its takeover of U.S. port operations. Other proposals included a new, intensive 45-day review of the deal by the government — something the White House had refused to consider as recently as Friday.
Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said discussions among congressional leaders centered on that issue. “It’s my understanding that they are trying to build support for a deal involving a new 45-day investigation,” he said.
Frist, R-Tenn., said that while legislation may not be necessary now, having “30 to 45 days” to step back and evaluate the deal still could be necessary.
“If there’s some question about the diagnosis, then maybe we need to get a second opinion,” said Frist, a former heart surgeon.
King, R-N.Y., said he would need to see all the details of a compromise before deciding if it met all of his concerns, or met the demands of the legislation he planned to offer.
Despite persistent criticism from Republicans and Democrats, the president has defended his administration’s approval of the ports deal and threatened to veto any measures in Congress that would block it. The company’s voluntary delay in taking over most operations at the six U.S. ports did little to quell a political furor or appease skeptical members of Congress that the deal does not pose any increased risks to the U.S. from terrorism. Republican House and Senate leaders are to meet Tuesday to discuss how to proceed….
A DP World executive said the company would agree to tougher security restrictions to win congressional support only if the same restrictions applied to all U.S. port operators. The company earlier had struck a more conciliatory stance, saying it would do whatever Bush asked to salvage the agreement.
“Security is everybody’s business,” senior vice president Michael Moore told The Associated Press. “We’re going to have a very open mind to legitimate concerns. But anything we can do, any way to improve security, should apply to everybody equally.”
The administration approved the ports deal on Jan. 17 after DP World agreed during secret negotiations to cooperate with law enforcement investigations in the future and make other concessions.
Some lawmakers have challenged the adequacy of a classified intelligence assessment crucial to assuring the administration that the deal was proper. The report was assembled during four weeks in November by analysts working for the director of national intelligence.
The report concluded that U.S. spy agencies were “unable to locate any derogatory information on the company,” according to a person familiar with the document. This person spoke only on condition of anonymity because the report was classified.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and others have complained that the intelligence report focused only on information the agencies collected about DP World and did not examine reported links between UAE government officials and al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden before the Sept. 11 attacks.
The uproar over DP World has exposed how the government routinely approves deals involving national security without the input of senior administration officials or Congress.
President Bush, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and even Treasury Secretary John Snow, who oversees the government committee that approved the deal, all say they did not know about the purchase until after it was finalized. The work was done mostly by assistant secretaries.
Snow now says he may consider changes in the approval process so lawmakers are better alerted after such deals get the go-ahead.
Stewart Baker, a senior Homeland Security official, said he was the sole representative on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States who objected to the ports deal. Baker said he later changed his vote after DP World agreed to the security conditions. Other officials confirmed Baker’s account.
“We were not prepared to sign off on the deal without the successful negotiation of the assurances,” Baker told the AP.
Officials from the White House, CIA, departments of State, Treasury, Justices, and others looked for guidance from Homeland Security because it is responsible for seaports. “We had the most obvious stake in the process,” Baker said.
Baker acknowledged that a government audit of security practices at the U.S. ports in the takeover has not been completed as part of the deal. “We had the authority to do an audit earlier,” Baker said.
The audit will help evaluate DP World’s security programs to stop smuggling and detect illegal shipments of nuclear materials at its seaport operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.
The administration privately disclosed the status of the security audit to senators during meetings about improving reviews of future business deals involving foreign buyers. Officials did not suggest the audit’s earlier completion would have affected the deal’s approval.
New Jersey’s Democratic governor, who is suing to block the deal, said in his party’s weekly radio address on Saturday that the administration failed to properly investigate the UAE’s record on terrorism.
“We were told that the president didn’t know about the sale until after it was approved. For many Americans, regardless of party, this lack of disciplined review is unacceptable,” Jon Corzine said.…
Bush’s national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, said there was no going back on the deal.
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February 20, 2006
P&O confident of Dubai takeover
P&O has said it is confident its takeover by
Dubai Ports World will go ahead despite
mounting opposition in the US.
BBC News
Several US senators have warned they will oppose the $6.8bn (£3.9bn) deal over “national security concerns”.
P&O controls six major ports in the US, including New York and Miami.
Meanwhile, a company based in the port of Miami has begun court action to prevent the takeover by DP World, which is backed by the Dubai government.
President Bush’s administration has given its backing to the deal, which was agreed by the two firms last week, and has resisted calls from Congress to reconsider its stance.
Security worries
But lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties have questioned the takeover, and at least one Senate oversight hearing is planned for later this month.
Over the weekend, opponents of the deal voiced their concerns about whether security would be compromised by allowing a firm backed by a member of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to takeover major US port operations.
The chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, has called for an immediate freeze on the deal and demanded a “full and thorough investigation” of the sale.
He also dubbed the government’s support of the deal “politically tone deaf”.
Senator Chuck Schumer said: “The question that needs to be answered is whether or not they (Dubai) can be trusted to operate our ports in this post 9-11 world.”
Assurances in place
But the US Government dismissed the concerns, saying it had given the deal a thorough review and had implemented the “appropriate” conditions and safeguards where necessary.
“We make sure there are assurances in place, in general, sufficient to satisfy us that the deal is appropriate from a national security standpoint,” Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told ABC television.
However, he declined to give further details saying the information was classified.
DP World also shrugged off the claims saying security was “at the forefront” of its business.
Meanwhile P&O has insisted it has cleared all the correct regulatory channels after a partner in Miami filed a lawsuit to block the deal.
Eller & Company subsidiary Continental Stevedoring & Terminals launched the action late on Friday, saying that the sale was prohibited under its current agreement with P&O.
It argued that under the terms of sale it became an “involuntary partner” with Dubai and it may seek damages of $10m.
The takeover of P&O will make DP World one of the three largest container ports businesses in the world when it is finalised on 2 March.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/4731560.stm
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January 24, 2006
DP WORLD EXECUTIVE NOMINATED FOR PRESITIGOUS US GOVT POSITION
DP World
Dubai – Global ports operator DP World today welcomed news that one of its senior executives, Dave Sanborn, has been nominated by US President George W. Bush to serve as Maritime Administrator – a key transportation appointment reporting directly to Norman Mineta the Secretary of Transportation and Cabinet Member.
The White House has issued a statement from Washington DC announcing the nomination. The confirmation process will begin in February.
Mr Sanborn currently holds the position of Director of Operations for Europe and Latin America for the Dubai-based company
Mohammed Sharaf, CEO, DP World said:
“While we are sorry to lose such an experienced and capable executive, it is exactly those qualities that will make Dave an effective administrator for MarAd. We are proud of Dave’s selection and pleased that the Bush Administration found such a capable executive. We wish him all the best in his new role.”
Ted Bilkey, Chief Operating Officer, DP World said:
“Dave’s decades of experience in markets around the world, together with his passion for the industry and commitment to its development, will allow him to make a positive contribution to the work of the Maritime Administration. We wish him well for the future.”
Mr Sanborn, a graduate of The United States Merchant Maritime Academy, joined DP World in 2005. He previously held senior roles with shipping lines CMA-CGM (Americas), APL Ltd and Sea-Land and has been based, besides the US, in Brazil, Europe, Hong Kong and Dubai during his career. He has also served in the US Naval Reserve.
Mr Sanborn is due to take up his new role based in Washington DC later in 2006.
www.dpiterminals.com/fullnews.asp?NewsID=39
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For more poop on Dubya and Dubai, GO TO > > >
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai#History
http://corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13322
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For more poop on Norman Mineta, GO TO > > > Hail To The Chief; The Eagle Awakes; The Eagle Hooded; Tarnished Wings: Graft and Greed at Lockheed Martin; The Torch of Eric Shine; Who’s Guarding the Hen House?; Year of the Dragon; Woo vs. Harmon: Witness Norman Mineta
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For more poop on the takeover of the world, GO TO > > > APCOA: Vultures in the Parking Lot; BCCI: The Bank of Crooks & Criminals; Dirty Gold in Goldman Sachs; The Carlyle Group: Birds That Drink From Cesspools; Investigating Investcorp; Nests In The Pentagon; The Eagle Hooded: The 9-11 Coverup; The Kissinger of Death; The Nature Conservancy; Thorns in The Rose Garden; Vampires in the City
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From The International Relations Center:
MICHAEL CHERTOFF
Michael Chertoff, a rabbi’s son from northern New Jersey, is widely respected for his razor-sharp mind and fearsome courtroom demeanor. While at Harvard Law School, he was a classmate of Scott Turow, whose semi-fictional memoir about law school, One L, was based in part on his memories of Chertoff’s brutal yet incisive manner of legal argument.
A political partisan, Chertoff became special counsel to the Whitewater Commission established in 1994 by the Republican-led Congress to investigate the involvement of Bill and Hillary Clinton in real estate deals in Arkansas and other business deals. Now widely regarded as a political witch hunt spearheaded by Sen. Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY) and Independent Counselor Kenneth Starr, the Whitewater Commission spent $40 million on the investigation, which ultimately failed to find that the Clintons had done anything illegal.
Chertoff is a longtime member and activist in the Federalist Society. This national association of right-wing lawyers and judicial reform activists is dedicated to realigning the country’s legal system to reflect a more conservative interpretation of the Constitution.
The Federalist Society, which since its founding in 1982 has been closely linked to the neoconservative political camp, aims to rid the system of liberal judges and stamp out what it sees are its overly egalitarian and secular impulses. Many association members believe that the Constitution and the country’s laws should primarily serve to ensure order and social orthodoxy rather than democracy and human rights.
As U.S. Attorney General in New Jersey, appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990, Chertoff gained a reputation as a political attack dog for the Republican Party. Leveraging his strong political base in New Jersey, Chertoff served as financial vice chair for Bush’s 2000 campaign in the Garden State. (2)
Chertoff was Bush’s second nominee to head Homeland Security, following the failed nomination of former New York City Police Chief Bernie Kerik, who admitted that he neglected to pay taxes for the “illegal immigrant” nanny he employed.
Chertoff himself has a less-than-stellar record on immigration issues. During his short stint as federal appeals court judge in the Third Court District, Chertoff demonstrated a generally dismissive attitude toward asylum claims—ruling against immigrants in 14 of 18 immigration cases. In one case, he denied asylum to a Bangladeshi man who was imprisoned, severely beaten in jail, and forced to denounce his dissident political party. Despite his requiring 19 days of medical care after his release, Chertoff denied asylum on the grounds that the treatment didn’t constitute torture. Chertoff also overruled a lower-court immigration judge’s decision to question the credibility of the asylum petition of a Chinese man who was seeking refuge because his wife was involuntarily sterilized.
As the architect of the post-September 11th initiatives on the domestic war on terror, Chertoff supervised the round-up of 750 Arabs and other Muslims on suspicion of immigration violations. Treated as suspected terrorist sympathizers or material witnesses, the “suspects” were held without bond for as long as three months, often in solitary confinement, despite having never been charged with any crime. Eventually, most were released or deported after secret tribunals.
In a 2003 report, the Justice Department’s inspector general criticized these draconian measures as “indiscriminate and haphazard.” The report also concluded that Chertoff and other top government officials had instituted a “hold until clear” policy for immigrant detainees, even though immigration officials questioned the policy’s legality. In his book After, author Steven Brill describes how Chertoff obstructed the access by the post-9/11 detainees to lawyers, reasoning that they “could be questioned without lawyers present because they were not being charged with any crime.”
Not one of the almost exclusively Muslim “detainees” was indicted for terrorism-related crimes. Chertoff, who also coordinated the aggressive questioning of more than 5,000 Arab Americans immediately after the 9/11 attacks, remains unapologetic and continues to argue that the “war on terrorism” justifies the government’s right to hold suspects indefinitely without counsel as possible “enemy combatants.”
A look at Chertoff’s strong, aggressive record and statements on homeland security shows that Chertoff supports the kind of hard-headed, threat profiling measures and immigration enforcement opposed by the anti-profiling zealots,” wrote Michelle Malkin, author of Invasion: How America Welcomes Terrorists, Criminals, and Other Foreign Menaces to Our Shores and In Defense of Internment.
Writing in the Weekly Standard in December 2003, Chertoff defended himself and the Justice Department against charges that the Bush administration had gone beyond the historical precedents in its determination of what is permissible under the U.S. Constitution. According to Chertoff, President Bush has “avoided the kind of harsh measures common in previous wars.”…
Concerning the detention of “enemy combatants,” Chertoff argued that the Bush administration followed “customary and well-accepted practice of incapacitating enemy soldiers overseas.” Regarding such matters as deciding “how long combatants can be held when we are fighting a war of extended or indefinite duration,” Chertoff said we must “think outside the box but not outside the Constitution.”…
What about the role of the U.S. military or the CIA in home-front operations? Chertoff, writing as an appeals court judge, said: “Basic policy questions like this cannot be simply left to the judiciary.”
Chertoff believes that it is time for “the most creative legal thinking” about the role of the U.S. justice system in “fighting a war of extended duration.”
According to Chertoff, “We are at a transition point in the evolution of legal doctrine to govern the armed conflict of terror.”
http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1099
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October 27, 2005
Maui man is charged with
selling B-2 bomber secrets
The FBI accuses the ex-Northrop engineer of
peddling stealth technology overseas
By Mary Vorsino, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
A 61-year-old Maui man who helped design the B-2 stealth bomber has been arrested for selling military secrets to foreign governments, the FBI said yesterday.
Noshir S. Gowadia, an engineer who worked for Northrop Corp. from November 1968 to April 1986, is being charged under federal espionage statutes for allegedly disclosing top-secret information relating to stealth technology to representatives of at least three countries.
The FBI would not reveal which countries got the information or how recently Gowadia was allegedly funneling them military secrets. Northrop officials could not be reached for comment last night.
Gowadia has been living in Maui for six years, a family member in Makawao said last night. She would not comment on the allegations against Gowadia, who made his first appearance in federal court in Honolulu yesterday afternoon….
Gowadia is in federal custody, charged with willfully communicating national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it. According to prosecutors, he faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
In a news release issued last night, FBI officials said that “Gowadia, over the last several years, has marketed himself to foreign military entities and other foreign persons.”
It also said the military secrets relating to the B-2 that Gowadia allegedly disclosed were aimed at assisting foreign countries “in obtaining a higher level of military technology.”
Gowadia was allegedly paid for the secrets, the FBI said….
This is the first case of its kind in the islands, U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said last night. He declined to talk about the investigation….
It is being investigated by the FBI, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement….
For more, GO TO > > > The Spy Who Came to Maui
For the latest REAL news, The Catbird recommends
Eric Shine’s radio program on:
The Republic Broadcasting Network
March 29, 2005
Pentagon Strips Air Force of
21 Major Weapons Programs
Las Vegas Review-Journal
WASHINGTON (AP) – In a highly unusual move, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer on Monday took away the Air Force’s authority to oversee 21 major programs with a combine value of $200 billion.
The move, called temporary, was made because of a civilian leadership vacuum at the Air Force after the departure last week of Peter Teets, who was under secretary of the Air Force as well as acting secretary. Teets had been fillin in since James Roche resigned as secretary in January.
It also comes amid continuing controversy over the Air Force’s handling of a multibillion-dollar Boeing aircraft lease deal that fell through last year and led to the conviction of former Air Force executive Darleen Druyun on charges of conspiring to violate conflict-of-interest rules.
Druyun admitted in court that she favored Boeing on deals worth billion of dollars because the company gave jobs to her daughter and son-in-law. Her admission led to a detailed Pentagon review of her nearly 10-year tenure as a key weapons buyer for the Air Force and prompted rival defense companies to file protests over Boeing contracts awarded during that period.
The episode has taken a tool on the Air Force. Since Roche departed, the White House has not nominated anyone to replace him as the Air Force secretary, a post that requires Senate confirmation. Some believe the current Navy secretary, Gordon England, will get the nomination.
In addition, no one has been nominated to replace Teets as the under secretary. What’s more, the post of Air Force acquisition chief has been vacant since Marvin Sambur left in January.
With Teets gone, the most senior civilian in the Air Force is Michael I. Dominquez, who has served since August 2001 as assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs….
In Monday’s announcement, the Pentagon said it was giving the decision-making authority for the 21 major Air Force weapons programs to Michael Wynne, the No. 2 Pentagon civilian in charge of weapons procurement.
The No. 1 slot has not had a Senate-confirmed holder since May 2003. Wynne was nominate for the top spot but his nomination – and others in the Air Force – have been blocked by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, as part of a long-running dispute over the Boeing lease deal….
The 21 programs include a $59.2 billion Boeing contract for C-17A Globemaster II advanced cargo aircraft, and a $31.7 billion Boeing and Lockheed Martin contract for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle….
Among other programs affected are air-to-air missiles, B-2 bomber radar modernization, C-5 cargo plane improvements, propulsion replacement for the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile and a $18 billion communications satellite program….
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January 1, 2005
Top U.S. contractors had
run-ins with government
Records show past problems of companies
working with Homeland Security office
By Matt Kelley, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON – The largest Homeland Security Department contractors include two companies that paid millions to settle charges they defrauded the Pentagon, one firm that paid a foreign corruption fine and a business accused of botching a computer system for veterans hospitals, records show.
About a quarter of the $2.5 billion awarded to the 50 largest Homeland Security contractors came under no-bid contracts, agency records show. That’s lower, however, than the 44 percent of Pentagon contracts given under “other than full and open competition.”…
Some of the nation’s largest federal contractors have won the new business of protecting America from terrorists, including many with a recent history of legal run-ins with the government, the records show.
The two companies with the most business, nearly $700 million between them, were Boeing Co. and Integrated Coast Guard Systems, a partnership of defense giants Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
Those companies have paid more than $250 million in the past three years to settle charges of improprieties with their Pentagon contracts. Homeland Security audits also have accused the two companies of overcharging, in Boeing’s case by $49 million.
Homeland Security officials gave Congress a list of the top contractors through July and their competition status amid criticism of the agency’s management and oversight of its money. The criticism has ranged from overcharges to exorbitant employee awards that came at taxpayers expense.
The department was created by pulling together 22 federal agencies with 180,000 employees and dramatically increased funding, up to $33 billion for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1….
Analyst James Carafano of the conservative Heritage Foundation said some agencies within the department, such as the Coast Guard, have more serious contract oversight problems than others….
While the list of big contractors is dominated by well-known, large companies, there are a few lesser-known players who won large contracts.
For instance, Chenega Technology Services Corp., an Alaska Native corporation, got a $500 million no-bid contract to maintain and repair screening equipment at ports and border crossings under a legislative provision written by Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Homeland Security’s biggest contractor this year, Integrated Coast Guard Systems, is upgrading and expanding the Coast Guard’s fleet of ships, boats, airplanes and helicopters.
Clark Kent Ervin, the department’s inspector general, said in a report that hiring IGCS to install new engines in HH-65 helicopters would take longer and cost more than if the Coast Guard did the work itself.
The original IGCS proposal for the project was a month late and included “$123 million worth of goods and services that the Coast Guard did not ask for and could not afford,” Ervin’s report said.
The Coast Guard defended the contract, telling Ervin it believes the program is properly managed. IGCS spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell-Jones said the company agreed.
Another report from Ervin said Boeing, Homeland Security’s second-largest contractor last year, overcharged the department $49 million on a massive contract to install and maintain bomb detection and other screening equipment at U.S. airports….
Homeland Security’s critics also questioned a $229 million contract to technology giant BearingPoint. The Department of Veterans Affairs abandoned a BearingPoint computer system for a Florida hospital last fall because it failed a nine-month testing process. The Justice Department and VA are investigating….
For more, GO TO > > > BCCI: The Bank of Crooks & Criminals International; Nests in the Pentagon; The Bribes & Boondoggles of Boeing; The Carlyle Group; The Greed at Lockheed; The Torch of Eric Shine
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December 3, 2004
Kerik nomination is
a ticking time bomb
Ellis Henican, Newsday
Campaign bodyguard to Rudy Giuliani.
Errand boy for the Saudi royal family.
Energetic exploiter of Sept. 11th tragedy.
Tough-talking publicity-hound vowing to bring law and order to Iraq – then hightailing it out of there after a disastrous 14 weeks, leaving the place far less safe than he found it.
Oh, the bullet points on Bernie Kerik’s real-life resume just go on and on. But is this really the guy we want standing between us and the terrorists?
George W. Bush apparently thinks so.
White House sources were saying last night that Kerik, the scandal-scarred former commissioner of the New York Correction and Police departments, will be named today to take Tom Ridge’s job as head of homeland security.
For now, let’s give the Bush folks the benefit of the doubt: Maybe they’ve been wowed by Kerik’s shameless swing-state Kerry-bashing in Bush’s behalf. (“I fear another attack, and I fear that attack with … Senator Kerry being in office responding to it.”)
Maybe they’ve been bullied by Giuliani’s bulldog lobbying for a loyal business buddy and after-hours pal. (“OK, Karl,” you can almost hear Rudy say, “I won’t be attorney general, but you gotta take Bernie at homeland security!”)
Or maybe it’s just that the FBI background check isn’t back from the field.
Whatever the reason, the White House personnel office really ought to ask some probing questions around New York. You can bet they’ll get an earful of heads-up about this hard-charging, thick-necked, shaved-head lightweight.
Let this be a warning from someone who’s followed the man’s ladder-climbing career: He’s a personal and professional time bomb the Bushies will learn to regret. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, guys!
That’s certainly the message that smart law-enforcement professionals in New York were exchanging yesterday, as they shook their heads in disbelief at Kerik’s latest career goal.
“He couldn’t run the Rikers commissary without getting greedy and making a mess, in a jam,” one correction veteran said. “Now he’s gonna be in charge of the Department of Homeland Security? Let’s just hope the terrorists don’t decide to come back.”
This former subordinate was referring to just one of many petty scandals that have hung over Kerik’s career. When he ran Correction, nearly $1 million of tobacco-company rebates were diverted into an obscure foundation Kerik was president of. This was for cigarettes bought with taxpayer money and then sold at inflated prices to jail inmates. But this rebate money – would kickbacks be a better word? – got spent entirely outside the normal rules for public funds.
No one was criminally charged. But a whole rash of IRS rules were seemingly violated. One board member quit in protest when the foundation treasurer refused to provide him with financial reports. And no one has ever explained where all the money went.
It was a typical Kerik deal. He behaved from start to finish like normal rules didn’t apply to him.
It isn’t possible in so little space to give an adequate tour of the man’s rise from Jersey high-school dropout to prospective anti-terror boss.
As a public service, however, let me suggest a few ripe areas of personal inquiry that someone in Washington might like to pursue.
Along the way, don’t lose sight of this: The homeland security chief stands between Osama bin Laden and our good-night sleep.
Why did he pull out of Iraq so suddenly? Does he think he did a pretty good job teaching the Baghdad police how to keep order and how to behave in “a free and democratic society,” to use his words at the time?
Was Sept. 11th Commission member John Lehman on to something when he called Kerik’s leadership after the terror attack “scandalous” and “not worthy of the Boy Scouts.”
What exactly does he do at Giuliani Partners? How’s that anti-crime campaign in Mexico City going? What companies and foreign governments are on his client list?
Why did Kerik send a New York City homicide detective to rouse TV hair and makeup artists in the middle of the night when his book publisher (and workout-partner) lost her cell phone?
What new job does he have in mind for John Picciano, his perennial chief of staff? Could Picciano really pass a federal background check? What about the complaint (later dropped) that he’d beaten up his correction-officer girlfriend and waved his gun around?
There are answers for all of it, I am sure. Answers to these few questions and many racier ones.
Over the weeks to come, Kerik will have a chance to answer all of them.
I, for one, am waiting.
So are a lot of people who’ve gotten to know the man in New York.
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.
November 14, 2004
Death in Federal Jail Raises
Questions of Cover-up
Relatives of a Taiwanese national dispute the official
determination that he killed himself
By Rob Perez, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
A Taiwanese national found hanging from a bunk in a Honolulu jail cell last year was being investigated for suspicion of spying, several relatives say.
The government classified the death of Chen Chi Huang, 58, a suicide.
But his relatives dispute that. They believe the spying charge was bogus and blame the U.S. government for his death, saying Huang never should have been jailed in the first place.
“I don’t believe the government is partly responsible,” said Oahu resident Aurex Huang, 32, a nephew of Huang. “I think it’s their fault completely.”
The story behind Huang’s death is filled with so many inconsistences and questions that some doubt a clear picture will ever emerge publicly, continuing a mystery that has triggered talk of espionage, international intrigue, government cover-ups – even murder.
The biggest question among Huang’s relatives and others is why a successful Taiwanese businessman who came to Hawaii to see his high-school son graduate with top honors would allegedly hang himself at the Federal Detention Center, a month before the graduation.
Huang was taken directly to the prison from Honolulu Airport after arriving on a China Airlines flight from Taiwan on April 12, 2003. Eight days later, an inmate discovered Huang hanging by a bedsheet attached to the top bunk in his cell, according to the autopsy report.
He was rushed to the hospital in a coma and died four days later, never having regained consciousness.
The federal government has said little about the case since the Star-Bulletin first reported on it in February. At that time, immigration officials wouldn’t even disclose the specifics of why Huang was arrested. All they said was that he was detained for allegedly violating immigration law.
A federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman confirmed last week that her agency and the FBI still were investigating the case, but she couldn’t provide any details, including what was being investigated. The FBI wouldn’t acknowledge the existence of an investigation.
Huang traveled frequently to Honolulu because his wife, who is a U.S. citizen, and their three sons live here. The family owns a Salt Lake condo that the couple purchased in 1988. They also owned two Oahu TCBY yogurt shops, both of which Huang purchased with cash, his relatives said.
Government documents the Star-Bulletin recently obtained show that Huang was jailed for trying to enter the country without an immigrant visa and a proper labor certification — alleged infractions that, by themselves, shouldn’t have led to his incarceration, several immigration attorneys told the newspaper. He had a tourist visa when he arrived.
A U.S. immigration official said Huang’s detention was by the book and not unusual.
“They were following the guidance for holding a person pending appearance” before any immigration judge, said Jim Kosciuk, acting assistant port director in Honolulu for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Although Huang had a tourist visa, he intended to work in Hawaii, but didn’t have the proper certification, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security documents, obtained by the Star-Bulletin through a Freedom of Information Act request. The documents also said Huang intended to apply for permanent U.S. residency but didn’t have the correct visa.
“To my knowledge, that’s not out of the ordinary” to detain someone for those alleged infractions, Kosciuk said.
Huang usually traveled at least five or six times a year to Hawaii and, whith the exception of one minor visa snafu in the early 1990s, never had any trouble entering this country, his relatives said.
If the visa issue was Huang’s only problem when he arrived from Taiwan last year, the worst penalty he faced was being sent back home – hardly something to commit suicide over, his relatives say….
Aside from the immigration issues, the relatives’ belief that Huang was the target of a national security investigation makes the case even more intriguing, though no federal agency has publicly confirmed – or ruled out – an espionage connection….
Huang ran an import-export business that dealt mainly in tropical fish, and in recent years he also started selling antiques, his relatives said. He did not have ties to Taiwan’s military or government, they said….
Adding to the intrigue, the Hawaii relatives and Huang’s wife have stopped talking since his funeral, even though she knows more about the case, the relatives said….
Huang’s wife, Nicole Huang, declined comment, noting that attorneys advised her not to fight the federal government, especially the FBI. She also said she wanted to protect her children. “The FBI put a lot of pressure on me and my kids,” she said, without elaborating.
Alan Ma, who represented Huang during his detention, also declined comment. Ma said he no longer represents the family.
The fact that federal authorities are still investigating this case nearly 20 months after Huang died, and after his death was ruled a suicide, fuels speculation about what happened.
The city Medical Examiner’s Office in May 2003 said Huang died from asphyxia due to a suicide hanging. It said a suicide note was found in his cell.
A year later, the prison bureau said it could not respond to the newspaper’s Freedom of Information request for the suicide note and other documents because they were part of an ongoing investigation.
An FBI spokesman had said in February that his agency conducted an inquiry and ruled out foul play.
Yet the fact that the FBI still is looking into the case only adds to the mystery.
The main mystery: What is being investigated?…
Many other oddities are linked to the case, adding to the suspicions that Huang’s relatives have about what actually happened – and whether a suicide really occurred. Though they have no evidence, the relatives said they believe Huang was murdered and question whether the government is involved in a cover-up.
“There was no way he would have killed himself,” Aurex Huang said.
Yueng Huang, who as the oldest of eight children raised Chen Chi Huang, the youngest, said the suicide note found in her brother’s cell didn’t appear to be in his handwriting. She said she briefly saw a copy Huang’s wife had, and the parts she saw mentioned leaving money to his wife and that he loved his sons.
The relatives also said the wife was told by a woman physician at Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi, when Huang was taken from the prison, that his case didn’t seem to be a suicide. They didn’t know the physician’s name.
The way the Huang case was handled at the government-to-government level raises more questions.
The Taiwan government office in Honolulu said it usually is notified immediately whenever an arriving Taiwanese national is taken into custody at the airport. But the office said it wasn’t contacted in the Huang case until after he hanged himself, prompting the top Taiwan official locally to write a letter to the U.S. government questioning whether Huang was treated properly during his incarceration.
Huang’s relatives also are puzzled by a statement in the Homeland Security documents that indicated Huang only had $100 when he was detained. He always carried a lot of cash, especially when traveling, because he hardly used credit cards, the relatives said.
They said when Huang came to Hawaii, he usually would bring thousands of dollars but never more than $10,000, the level triggering cash-reporting requirements for travelers entering the United States….
They also said Huang’s behavior and the topics he discussed in the days, weeks and months before his death indicated he was looking forward to the future – something not consistent with someone considering suicide.
Huang talked about shutting his Taiwan business and moving to Hawaii so he could spend more time with his family, according to Yueng Huang.
He was especially proud of his middle son, who graduated a month afte Huang’s death as co-valedictorian at Moanaloua High School. “My uncle always bragged about his middle son and how well he was doing,” Aurex Huang said.
The last time his lawyer saw Huang alive, Huang was in good spirits, his sister said, and he talked about what he wanted to do when released from jail – dye his white hair and enjoy time with his sons.
Not long after that prison visit, the attorney was notified that Huang was found hanging in his cell.
The news came just a day before Huang was scheduled to appear before an immigration judge. One of the topics to be covered, a relative said, was a bond for Huang’s release.
The questions surrounding Huang’s death continue to haunt his relatives, and they’re hoping to get answers.
“I don’t know why he passed on,” Yueng Huang said. “I used to cry every day thinking about it. I still don’t know what happened.”
www.starbulletin.com/2004/11/14/news/story3.html
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December 1, 2002
Tom Ridge takes on
his biggest battle
By Vicki Kemper and Richard T. Cooper, Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON – Of all the occupations that fill out Tom Ridge’s resume – prosecutor, congressman and governor of Pennsylvania among them – perhaps none more qualifies him to become America’s first secretary of Homeland that this: combat veteran.
Ever since President Bush proposed creating the department, an amalgam of 22 agencies and their 170,000 employees, old political hands have warned of a clash of bureaucratic cultures and intergovernmental turf wars.
But Monday, when Bush signed the bill creating the Department of Homeland Security, the strapping 6-foot-3 Ridge was right there with him as his choice for secretary.
Ridge, 57, brings more to the job – regularly described as requiring an encyclopedic mind and a biblical personality – than his Bronze Star, which he earned for valor in combat in the Vietnam War. He also has 13 months of experience as the first director of the White House Office of Homeland Security.
Not that this always was considered an asset. In his first months in the ill-defined – some said toothless – position, Ridge collected more bruises than medals.
Now, however, the same administration officials who long were rumored to have been considering practically everyone but Ridge say he is battle-tested and fully qualified for the post, which requires Senate confirmation.
Ridge has lived through a lot since he was sworn in as Bush’s homeland security adviser on Oct. 8 of last year – a day after the United States began bombing Afghanistan and three days after the first of what would be five anthrax-related deaths.
But many question how much safer the country is now, and whether the new department – which includes neither the FBI nor the CIA – can succeed in overcoming the intelligence failures that preceded the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks….
Above all, the new secretary of Homeland Security must demonstrate that the president is behind him.
That will be crucial in dealing with congressional challenges, said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. To persuade committee chairmen and others to yield turf, the secretary must present this as “an overriding national-security mandate which has the support of the president.”
Ridge appears to have no problem there.
His friendship with the Bush family dates to his political service to Bush’s father….
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THE NEW DEPARTMENT
AT A GLANCE
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Elements of legislation to create a 170,000-employee Homeland Security Department:
Major agencies transferred to
Homeland Security
Coast Guard
Customs Service
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Secret Service
Transportation Security Administration
Border inspection part of Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Immigration and Naturalization Service
Labor provisions:
In a concession to Democrats who felt labor rules were being usurped, the agency is required to negotiate workplace changes with the employees’ union. Absent agreement, the department can make whatever changes it wants.
The president can waive union rights for national security, but only after he notifies Congress and waits 10 days.
The bill also:
Allows commercial airline pilots to carry guns in cockpits.
Allows a one-year delay in the Dec. 31 deadline for airports to install explosive detection systems to screen all checked baggage.
Bars the homeland security agency from doing business with American companies that move offshore to avoid U.S. taxes. The head of the agency can waive that rule for national or economic security reasons or if the prohibition results in American job losses or additional costs to the government.
Transfers the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms from the Treasury Department to the Justice Department to better perform its law-enforcement responsibilities… ATF’s revenue-collection functions will remain at Treasury.
Expands federal planning for domestic preparedness and recovery from terror attacks to include not just Washington, D.C., but adjacent suburbs as well.
Includes provisions that Democrats described as favors to special interests allied to the Republicans. Among them were new liability protections for pharmaceutical companies that make a mercury-based vaccine preservative and companies that provide airport screening services and other companies making anti-terrorism technology. Another university-based homeland security research center describes in such a way that it could exist only at Texas A&M.
Includes language that could make it more difficult to obtain information under the Freedom of Information Act and makes it a crime for an agency employee to reveal information that is supposed to be secret….
See also: The Torch of Eric Shine
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December 1, 2002
No. 2 man has a long history
in corporate world, Washington
WASHINGTON – In announcing his choice of Gordon R. England to be No. 2 at the new Department of Homeland Security, President Bush picked a man with one leg in the corporate world and the other in national-security affairs.
England, 65, has served since May 2001 as Secretary of the Navy. From 1997 to 2001 he was executive vice president of General Dynamics, a military-equipment conglomerate. . . .
England also has served as a member of the Defense Science Board, a panel that advises the secretary of defense on a number of issues, especially technology. . . .
In the corporate world, he was responsible for General Dynamics’ information systems and international business. His official Navy biography also lists corporate positions as executive vice president of the Combat Systems Group, president of General Dynamics Land Systems and president of General Dynamics Fort Worth aircraft company. . . .
From 1993-1995, England was president of Lockheed Aircraft Company, Fort Worth, Texas.
Working with Adm. Vern Clark, the chief of naval operations, and Gen. James Jones, commandant of the Marine Corps, England was able to lobby for the programs of the Navy and Marines with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the rest of the executive branch and on Capitol Hill, officials said.
“It was a persuasive team in making the case for their programs, making their arguments fit the priorities that Rumsfeld had set, and also to meet the priorities of Congress,” said one senior military official.
England’s nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.
For more, GO TO > > > The Torch of Eric Shine
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Who’s Who in the Bush Administration – The Cabinet
Gordon England, Secretary of the Navy
Gordon England, who has received Senate confirmation as the 72nd Secretary of the Navy, continues the Bush administration’s trend of corporate appointees.
The Department of Defense leadership is now stacked with private businessmen experienced in industries such as energy, oil, and electronics.
England comes to the Pentagon after a long career with General Dynamics, most recently as an executive vice president.
A major defense contractor, General Dynamics focuses on producing information systems, shipbuilding and marine systems, and land and amphibious combat systems for the United States and its allies. Its military contracts include nuclear-powered submarines for the Navy and tanks for the Army. . . .
Before joining General Dynamics in 1966, England was an engineer with Honeywell, working on the Gemini Space Program, a transitional step between the pioneering Mercury and the Apollo Programs. He also served as program manager for Litton Industries on the Navy’s E-2C Hawkeye aircraft.
With no actual military service experience, England will have to rely on his corporate engineering background. After graduating from the University of Maryland in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, England earned a master’s degree in business administration from the M. J. Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University in 1975. . . .
USCFL – Who’s Who in the Bush Administration – The Cabinet
© Copyright 1997-2001 United States Committee For A Free Lebanon. All rights reserved.
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See also: The Torch of Eric Shine
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Reprinted from NewsMax.com
April 28, 2001
As China Threat Grows,
U.S. Navy Faces Sub Shortage
By Charles R. Smith
Faced with its greatest threat since the end of the Cold War, the United States is short of submarines and cannot build subs for Taiwan. To make matters worse, U.S. Navy contractor General Dynamics announced this week a merger with rival submarine maker Newport News Shipbuilding.
The move makes General Dynamics the only sub builder in the U.S., giving it a monopoly on U.S. Navy contracts….
“The General Dynamics merger with Newport News underscores the need for America to re-energize our shipbuilding industry,” stated Al Santoli, national security adviser to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.
“A single contractor bidding on all U.S. Navy submarine contracts does not sound like good news for the Navy, American national security or the U.S. taxpayer. Our Navy is already at the forefront of our greatest security challenge of the 21st century. We are already spread way too thin.”
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For more, GO TO > > > The Torch of Eric Shine
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General Dynamics
The primary business of General Dynamics is supplying weapons systems and services to the US government and its international allies. The company, which once was the largest defense contractor with $10.2 billion in revenue in 1990, underwent a massive downsizing between 1992 and 1994 in the face of declining defense budgets.
General Dynamics reversed course in 1995, making niche acquisitions and expanding it’s focus on weapons system integration.
GD has dominant market positions in areas of the defense budget where there is little competition, such as land combat systems, and has emerged as the dominant shipbuilder for the US Navy….
Divestitures
February 1992: Sold Cessna Aircraft Co. to Textron Inc. for $600 million in cash.
August 1992: Sold its missile systems business to Hughes Aircraft Co. in exchange for stock in General Motors Corp. (the parent of Hughes) that was later sold for $387 million. Later, received an additional $9 million from Hughes as part of the deal.
November 1992: Sold a military electronics business to the Carlyle Group for a $9 million gain.
March 1993: Sold its jet-fighter business to Lockheed Corp. for $1.5 billion in cash. (Lockheed merged with Martin Marietta Corp. in 1995.)
May 1994: Sold its rocket business to Martin Marietta for $209 million.
Acquisitions
September 1995: Bought Bath Iron Works from Prudential Insurance for $300 million.
March 1996: Bought Teledyne Vehicle Systems for $55 million.
January 1997: Bought two defense units that specialize in turrets, transmissions and ammunition from Lockheed Martin for $450 million.
October 1997: Bought Advanced Technology Systems, formerly owned by Lucent Technologies and, before that, AT&T Corp., for $267 million.
December 1997: Purchased Computing Devices International for $500 million.
November 1998: Acquired NASSCO Holdings, a San Diego shipyard, for $415 million in cash and assumed debt.
April 2001: Proposed purchase of Newport News Shipbuilding, for $2.6 billion. The combined company would account for about 70% of the Navy shipbuilding budget, employ about 80% of America’s military ship designers and engineers, and give General Dynamics control over the manufacture and maintenance of all nuclear- powered military ships. An attempt in 1999 to buy Newport News for $1.4 billion failed due to opposition from Newport News and the Navy. With the addition of Newport News, General Dynamics will have four military shipyards, while Northrop-Grumman owns the other two.
General Dynamics
For more, GO TO > > > The Torch of Eric Shine
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May 06, 2002
Here Is ANOTHER Huge Bush Scandal – TAIWANGATE!
In the past week, Taiwan has been rocked by the revelation that ex-president Lee Teng-hui operated a $100 million slush fund to buy influence overseas.
Part of this money was used to buy influence in the US through two people NOW IN TOP POSITIONS IN THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION.
Carl Ford was a lobbyist for Taiwan at Cassidy and Associates, which was reportedly paid $1.5 million from the slush fund to gain influence with Bush, and reportedly gave $1-$1.75 million to Bush and the Republicans in 1999 and 2000.
Ford’s reward was being appointed Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Research, where he engineered Bush’s sale of $4 billion in high-tech weapons to Taiwan last year. The sale included submarines built by General Dynamics – ANOTHER client of Ford’s.
James Kelly ran the Scaife-funded Pacific Forum (connected to CSIS), which received $100,000 from the slush fund. Kelly is now Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia.
This scandal has received NO coverage in the US! …
TAIWANGATE! Bush’s latest scandal.
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The Carlyle Group
by Victor Thorn
A few weeks ago, James Baker publicly offered advice to the Bush Administration on how they should proceed with their war on Iraq. What he and every newscaster or commentator failed to mention was that Baker is now employed by the highly-influential Carlyle Group, which is the eleventh largest defense contractor in the United States.
In essence, then, we have a man trying to influence public policy while privately employed by a company that has a vested interest in activating America’s War Machine.
If you’re not familiar with them, the Carlyle Group has become a powerhouse in affecting the direction in which our foreign policy takes, especially in regard to war. They accomplish this by hiring former government officials, then investing in private companies that are subject to government change (i.e. the military and telecommunications). Who, you may ask, do they employ to secure their government contracts?
Well, check-out this list for starters:
Frank Carlucci –– Department of Health, Education and Welfare – 1970’s
Deputy Director, CIA –– 1978-81
Deputy Secretary of Defense –– 1981-82
National Security Director –– 1987-89
George Bush – CIA Director –– 1976-77
Vice President of the United States –– 1981-89
President of the United States –– 1989-93
James Baker – Chief of Staff –– 1981-85
Secretary of the Treasury –– 1985-89
Secretary of State –– 1989-93
Dick Darman – Former White House Budget Chief
William Kennard – Former Head, FCC
Arthur Levitt – Former Head, SEC
John Major – Former Prime Minister, Britain
Fidel Ramos – Former Philippine President
Afsaneh Beschloss – Treasurer & Chief Investment Officer of the World Bank
Anand Panyarachum –– Former President, Thailand
Karl Otto Pohl – Former President, Bundesbank
Louis Vuitton – French Aerobus Company
Park Tae Joon – Former South Korean Prime Minister
Alwaleed Sin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud –– Saudi Arabian Prince
George Soros – New World Order/Bilderberg luminary & int’l financier
Fred Malek – George Bush Sr’s campaign manager . . .
Carlyle also employs the former chairman of BMW and Nestle, is interviewing former Clinton cabinet members (to insure that they have both sides of the aisle covered), plus once hired Colin Powell and AOL Time-Warner Chairman Steve Case to speak at a meeting at Washington D.C.’s Monarch House.
Plus, if we look at James Baker again, we’ll find that he’s on the board of Azerbaijan International Oil Company, in which two U.S. oil companies hold 40% of the shares.
Who are these two companies? The first is Amoco, who has on their payroll none other than Zbigniew Brzezinski (Trilateral Commission founder, National Security Advisor for the Carter Administration, Globalist supreme, and David Rockefeller’s puppet on a string).
The second is Pennzoil, who has on their payroll Brent Scowcroft, former
National Security Advisor under George Bush, Sr.
But the man that really brought it all together is Frank Carlucci, who
holds directorships on such companies as General Dynamics,
Westinghouse, the Rand Corporation, and Ashland Oil, plus sits on
the board of directors of twelve other companies.
Carlucci was also the college classmate of someone very closely related to our current administration’s War Machine – Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld!
What relevance does this association have you may wonder?
I think it is of great importance, for in February, 2001, Carlucci and Vice President Dick Cheney met with Donald Rumsfeld when the Carlyle Group had several billion-dollar defense projects under consideration. (If you haven’t guessed, the Carlyle Group fared quite well when all was said and done.)
Do you still think these ties don’t matter? Philip Agee, in his book “On the Run” details all of Carlucci’s CIA connections, many of whom he hired (along with his Pentagon cronies) when he joined Carlyle in 1989….
It’s all about power and access, folks, as Oliver Burkeman and Julian Burger pointed out in “The Guardian” on October 31, 2001:
“Carlyle has become the thread which indirectly links American military policy in Afghanistan to the personal financial fortunes of its celebrity employees, not the least the current President’s father.”
Is the picture becoming clearer? Now we’re getting to the bottom of America’s War Machine.
The Carlyle Group is set to make huge amounts of money from our upcoming military conflicts and weapons expenditures. In other words, when I talk about the War Machine, these folks are at the crux of it. They’re the war profiteers that keep its wheels greased!
Dan K. Thomasson, former editor of the Scripps Howard News Service, summed it up best in March, 2001. “Nothing in recent history seems to approach the success this group has had in the wholesale conversion of former high government rank to gigantic profits.”
Peter Eisner, Managing Director of the Center for Public Integrity, adds, “It should
be a deep cause for concern that a closely held company like Carlyle
can simultaneously have directors and advisors that are doing business
and making money and also advising the President of the United
States.” …
But who is the Carlyle Group?
Well, their office is located only a few blocks from the White House, and it was founded by three men:
David Rubinstein –– aide in the Carter Administration
Bill Conway –– Chief Financial Officer at MCI
Dan D’Aniello –– financial executive at Marriott
They named their group “Carlyle” after a New York hotel favored by one of their first investors, the Mellon family. They now have an ownership stake in 164 different companies, have 535 investors, operate in 55 different countries, and have $13.5 billion in capital. International financier George Soros invested $100 million in them, while the California Public Employees Retirement System dumped $305 million into their laps.
They also recently purchased the KorAm Bank, thus accelerating their entry into the highly lucrative Asian markets. . . .
On May 5, 2001, the New York Times described the Carlyle Group as such: “It owns so many companies that it is now in effect one of the nation’s biggest defense contractors and a force in global communications. Its blue-chip investors include major banks and insurance companies, billion dollar pension funds and wealthy investors.”
Hmm, they have a firm, controlling grip on both the War Machine and the media …… convenient, don’t you think?
After reading how deeply established they are as “Insiders,” do you think that the Carlyle Group has America’s best interests at heart, or their own which entails capitalizing on war? An excellent example can be found in the recent $470 million contract that “United Defense,” a Carlyle subsidiary, received.
And what did they get it for? To develop the CRUSADER, which is such a faulty, antiquated, horrendous product that it was described by Eric Miller of “The Project on Government Oversight” as follows. “The Crusader has been the GAO’s (Government Accounting Office) poster child for bad weapons development.”
The Crusader Project was so maligned that the government was set to drop it completely. But lo and behold, what happened? War was on the horizon, Carlyle pulled a few strings, and welluh –– a $470 million contract is thrown Carlyle’s way for the Crusader.
Funny how things happen, huh?
If that’s not bad enough, the Carlyle Group is also the financial advisor to a certain government.
Who?
Saudi Arabia.
In fact, they make nearly $50 million/year training the Saudi Arabian National Guard — troops that are sworn to protect the Saudi royal family!
Now, if all hell breaks loose in the Middle East, and considering that Saudi Arabia has said that it won’t support our efforts against Iraq, who do you think the Saudi soldiers will kill?
Their own kind –– Arabs –– or the invading “white American devils?”
If you ask me, we’ve entered very treacherous waters, all for the sake of making money off of warfare. Regardless of what they say, these men in the Carlyle Group epitomize a very nefarious form of evil via their actions….
For much more, GO TO > > > Birds that Drink from Cesspools!
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December 1, 2002
Bush cuts pay raises for federal workers
Move attributed to national emergency due to anti-terror campaign
Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Federal workers will get a smaller pay raise next month because of President Bush is freezing part of the increase, citing a national emergency because of the fight against terrorism.
The decision is yet another blow to the civilian federal work force, which has been the target of sweeping changes in the government bureaucracy.
“The same week the president claimed victory on the creation of the Homeland Security Department, he is sending the wrong message to the employees who will work there,” Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said yesterday….
In a letter sent Friday to congressional leaders, Bush said he was using his authority to change workers’ pay structure in times of “national emergency or serious economic conditions” to limit raises to 3.1 percent….
“A national emergency has existed since Sept. 11, 2001,” Bush wrote.
“Such cost increases would threaten our efforts against terrorism or force deep cuts in discretionary spending or federal employment to stay within budget.”
Military personnel still will receive a 4.1 percent increase and aren’t affected.
Earlier this month, the administration announced it wants to let private companies compete for up to half of the 1.8 million federal jobs.
Also, Bush won broad powers to hire, fire and move civil service-protected workers in 22 agencies being merged into the new Homeland Security Department.
“It’s been a tough year for federal employees,” said Paul Light, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and an expert on the federal work force.
“I don’t think any one of them will be surprised. It’s one of several lumps of coal in the stocking this year.”
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QUESTION
DO YOU STILL HAVE NO TROUBLE GOING TO SLEEP AT NIGHT?
(If not, why not?)
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AND, FOR MORE SCARY BEDTIME STORIES…
A Connecticut Yankee in King Kamehameha’s Court
BCCI: The Bank of Crooks & Criminals
Birds that Drinki from Cesspools
The Bribes & Boondoggles of Boeing
Tarnished Wings: The Greed at Lockheed
MUST >>> The Torch of Eric Shine <<< READ
The United Defense Industries Matrix
Uncle Sam’s Gullible Guinea Pigs
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Last Update June 30, 2004, by The Catbird