The Right-Wing Wackos Don't Want you to See This
Rob
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Fox was the first network to call Florida for Bush. Before
that, some other networks had called Florida for Gore, and they changed
after Fox called it for Bush.
* łWith information provided from the Voter News Service, NBC was the
first network to project Gore the winner in Florida at 7:48 pm. At 7:50 pm
,CNN and CBS project Gore the winner in Florida as well.˛ By 8:02 pm , all
five networks and the Associated Press had called Gore the winner in
Florida. Even the VNS called Gore the winner at 7:52 pm. At 2:16 am, Fox
calls Florida for Bush, NBC follows at 2:16 am. ABC is the last network to
call the Florida for Bush, at 2:20 am, while AP and VNS never call Florida
for Bush. CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/stories/02/02/cnn.report/cnn.pdf
* Ten minutes after the top of the hour, network excitement was again
beginning to build. At 2:16 a.m., the call was made: Fox News Channel, with
Bush's first cousin John Ellis running its election desk, was the first to
project Florida -- and the presidency -- for the Texas governor. Within
minutes, the other networks followed suit. "George Bush, Governor of Texas
will become the 43rd President of the United States," CNN's Bernard Shaw
announced atop a graphic montage of a smiling Bush. "At 18 minutes past two
o'clock Eastern time, CNN declares that George Walker Bush has won Florida's
25 electoral votes and this should put him over the top."PBS:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/media/election2000/election_night.html
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: The man who was in charge of the decision desk at FOX on
election night was Bushąs first cousin, John Ellis.
* łJohn Ellis, a first cousin of George W. Bush, ran the network's
Odecision deską during the 2000 election, and Fox was the first to name Bush
the winner. Earlier, Ellis had made six phone calls to Cousin Bush during
the vote-counting.˛ William OąRourke, łTalk Radio Key to GOP Victory,˛
Chicago Sun-Times, December 3, 2002.
* A Fox News consultant, John Ellis, who made judgments about
presidential Ocallsą on Election Night admits he was in touch with George W.
Bush and FL Gov. Jeb Bush by telephone several times during the night, but
denies breaking any rules. CNN, November 14, 2000;
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/11/14/politics/main249357.shtml.
* John Ellis, the Fox consultant who called Florida early for George
Bush, had to stop writing about the campaign for the Boston Globe because of
family Oloyaltyą to Bush. CBS News,
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/11/14/politics/main249357.shtml,
November 14, 2000.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łMake sure the chairman of your campaign is also the vote
countiną woman and that her state has hired a company thatąs gonna knock
voters off the rolls who arenąt likely to vote for you. You can usually
tell them by the color of their skin.˛
* łThe vote total was certified by Florida's secretary of state,
Katherine Harris, head of the Bush campaign in Florida, on behalf of Gov.
Jeb Bush, the candidate's brother.˛ Mark Zoller Seitz, łBush Team Conveyed
an Air of Legitimacy,˛ San Diego Union-Tribune, December 16, 2000.
* The Florida Department of State awarded a $4 million contract to the
Boca Raton-based Database Technologies Inc. (subsidiary of ChoicePoint).
They were tasked with finding improperly registered voters in the stateąs
database, but mistakes were rampant. łAt one point, the list included as
felons 8,000 former Texas residents who had been convicted of misdemeanors.˛
St. Petersburg Times (Florida), December 21, 2003.
* Database Technologies, a subsidiary of ChoicePoint, łwas responsible
for bungling an overhaul of Floridaąs voter registration records, with the
result that thousands of people, disproportionately black, were
disenfranchised in the 2000 election. Had they been able to vote, they
might have swung the state, and thus the presidency, for Al Gore, who
lost in Florida. Oliver Burkeman, Jo Tuckman, łFirm in Florida Election
Fiasco Earns Millions from Files on Foreigners,˛ The Guardian, May 5, 2003
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,949709,00.html. See also,
Atlanta-Journal-Constitution, May 28, 2001.
* In 1997, Rick Rozar, the late head of the company bought by
ChoicePoint, donated $100,000 to the Republican National Committee. Melanie
Eversley, łAtlanta-Based Company Says Errors in Felon Purge Not Its Fault,˛
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 28, 2001. Frank Borman of Database
Technologies Inc. has donated extensively to New Mexico Republicans, as well
as to the Presidential campaign of George W. Bush. Opensecrets.org, łFrank
Borman.˛
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Gore got the most votes in 2000.
* [A] consortium [Tribune Co., owner of the Times; Associated Press; CNN;
the New York Times; the Palm Beach Post; the St. Petersburg Times; the Wall
Street Journal; and the Washington Post] hired the NORC [National Opinion
Research Center, a nonpartisan research organization affiliated with the
University of Chicago] to view each untallied ballot and gather information
about how it was marked. The media organizations then used computers to sort
and tabulate votes, based on varying scenarios that had been raised during
the post-election scramble in Florida. Under any standard that tabulated all
disputed votes statewide, Mr. Gore erased Mr. Bush's advantage and emerged
with a tiny lead that ranged from 42 to 171 votes. Donald Lambro, łRecount
Provides No Firm Answers,˛ Washington Times, November 12, 2001.
* łThe review found that the result would have been different if every
canvassing board in every county had examined every undervote, a situation
that no election or court authority had ordered. Gore had called for such a
statewide manual recount if Bush would agree, but Bush rejected the idea and
there was no mechanism in place to conduct one.˛ Martin Merzer, łReview of
Ballots Finds Bush's Win Would Have Endured Manual Recount,˛ Miami Herald,
April 4, 2001.
* See also, the following article by one of the Washington Post
journalists who ran the consortium recount. The relevant point is made in
Table I of the article. http://www.aei.org/docLib/20040526_KeatingPaper.pdf
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Congressional Black Caucus members tried to object to the
election outcome on the floor of the House; no Senator would sign the
objections.
* łWhile Vice President Al Gore appeared to have accepted his fate
contained in two wooden ballot boxes, Democratic members of the
Congressional Black Caucus tried repeatedly to challenge the assignment of
Florida's 25 electoral votes to BushS. More than a dozen Democrats followed
suit, seeking to force a debate on the validity of Florida's vote on the
grounds that all votes may not have been counted and that some voters were
wrongly denied the right to vote.˛ Susan Milligan, łItąs Really Over: Gore
Bows Out Gracefully,˛ Boston Globe, January 7, 2001.
* The Congressional Black Caucus effort failed for łlack of the necessary
signature by any senator.˛ Sen. Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) had
previously advised Democratic senators not to cooperate. OThey did not.ą˛
Robert Novak, łSweeney Link Won't Help Chao,˛ Chicago Sun-Times, January 14,
2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łOn the day George W. Bush was inaugurated, tens of
thousands of Americans poured into the streets of D.C. They pelted Bushąs
limo with eggs.˛
* łShouting slogans like OHail to the Thiefą and OSelected, Not Elected,ą
tens of thousands of protesters descended on George W. Bush's inaugural
parade route yesterday to proclaim that he and Vice President Dick Cheney
had Ostoleną the election.˛ Michael Kranish and Sue Kirchhoff, łThousands
Protest OStoleną Election,˛ Boston Globe, January 21, 2001.
* łScuffles erupted between radicals and riot police while an egg struck
the bullet-proof presidential limousine as it carried Mr. Bush and wife
Laura to the White House.˛ Damon Johnston, łBush Pledges Justice as Critics
Throw Eggs,˛ The Advertisers, January 22, 2001.
* See also film footage.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łThe inauguration parade was brought to a halt and the
traditional walk to the White House was scrapped.˛
* Bush made one concession to the weather -- or to security concerns: He
stayed in his limousine nearly the entire length of the mile-long inaugural
parade, waving through a slightly foggy window. He got out to walk only for
a brief distance when his motorcade reached the VIP grandstands in front of
the Treasury Department and the White House. Doyle McManus, et al., łBush
Vows to Bring Nation Together,˛ Los Angeles Times, January, 21, 2001.
* Bush's limo, which traveled most of the route at a slow walking pace,
stopped dead just before it reached the corner of 14th St. and Pennsylvania
Ave., where most of the protesters had congregated. Then it sped up
dramatically, and Secret Service agents protecting the car on foot had to
follow at a full run. When they reached a section of the parade route where
the sidewalks were restricted to official ticketholders, Bush and his wife,
Laura, who wore a flattering electric turquoise suit, got out of the limo to
walk and greet supporters. Helen Kennedy, łBush Pledges a United US,˛ New
York Daily News, January 21, 2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łFor the next eight months, it didnąt get any better for
George W. Bush.˛
* In a poll conducted September 5 to September 9, 2001, Investorąs
Business Daily and the Christian Science Monitor showed President Bushąs
approval rating at 45%, down from 52% in May ( Investorąs Business
Daily/Christian Science Monitor Poll, conducted by TIPP, 9/5 to 9/9, 2001).
Zogbyąs polling had Bush at 47% in late July 2001, down from 57% in February
(Zogby, 7/26 to 7/29, 2001).
* In June 2001, a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll showed President
Bush's approval rating at 50 percent, which was the lowest presidential
approval rating in five years. Richard L. Berke, łG.O.P. Defends Bush in
Face of Dip in Poll Ratings,˛ The New York Times, June 29 2001
* On July 26, 2001, in an article entitled łBush Lacks the Ability To
Force Action on Hill,˛ Dana Milbank of the Washington Post wrote, ł It may
be premature to conclude that Bush has lost control of his agenda, but
lawmakers and strategists in both parties said that Bush's next year is much
more likely to look like the fractious month of July than like the orderly
march toward Bush's tax cut this spring.S The troubles began, of course,
with Vermont Sen. James M. Jeffords' departure from the GOP, giving control
of the Senate to the Democrats. But the problems are nearly as bad in the
House, where moderates who supported Bush's tax cut are proving recalcitrant
on other issues. They rebelled against GOP leaders on campaign finance
reform and held up Bush's "faith-based" legislation over concerns about
discrimination. Next week, they're likely to oppose Bush's proposal to drill
in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.˛
* California energy crisis also took a toll on Bushąs approval ratings.
Due to rolling blackouts and rising utility bills Bushąs ratings took a toll
among Californians. The poll showed that almost as many Californians
disapproved of the Presidentąs job as approved of it with an
approve/disapprove of 42/40. łCalif. Governor Says He'll Sue to Force
Government Action,˛ The Houston Chronicle, May 30, 2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łIn his first eight months in office before September 11,
George W. Bush was on vacation, according to the Washington Post, forty-two
percent of the time.˛
* łNews coverage has pointedly stressed that W.'s month-long stay at his
ranch in Crawford is the longest presidential vacation in 32 years.
Washington Post supercomputers calculated that if you add up all his
weekends at Camp David, layovers at Kennebunkport and assorted to-ing and
fro-ing, W. will have spent 42 percent of his presidency Oat vacation spots
or en route.ą˛ Charles Krauthammer, łA Vacation Bush Deserves,˛ The
Washington Post, August 10, 2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Bush relaxes at Camp David, Kennebunkport and his ranch in
Crawford Texas.
* As of April 2004, President Bush had made 33 trips to Crawford during
his presidency, bringing his total to more than 230 days at the ranch in
just over three years. łAdd his 78 trips to Camp David and five to his
familyąs compound at Kennebunkport, Maine, and Bush has spent all or part of
500 days or about 40 percent of his presidency at one of these his three
retreats.˛ łBush Retreats to a Favorite Getaway: Crawford ranch,˛ Houston
Chronicle, April 11, 2004.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: On Sept. 10, 2001 , Bush joined his brother in Florida
where he slept the night in ła bed made of fine French linens.˛
* Bush has not been bashful about visiting Florida, ground zero in the
vote-recount battle that followed last year's election. On this trip, he
was spending a good deal of time with his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush. "
President to Push Congress on Education in Fourth Florida Visit,˛ Associated
Press, September 10, 2001; See also, CNN Inside Politics, September 10,
2001.
* Two individuals prepared the presidentąs room łand made the bed with
some of the family's fine French linens.˛ Tom Bayles, łThe Day Before
Everything Changed, President Bush Touched Locals' Lives,˛ Sarasota
Herald-Tribune, September 10, 2002.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łAs the attack took place, Mr. Bush was on his way to an
elementary school in Florida . When informed of the first plane hitting the
World Trade Center, where terrorists had struck just eight years prior, Bush
just decided to go ahead with his photo opportunity.˛
NOTE: It should be emphasized that at the time Bush was notified of the
first plane attack, he (unlike the rest of America) was already aware that
Osama bin Laden was planning to attack America by hijacking airplanes, per
the August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Brief (PDB). He was also aware, of
course, that the World Trade Center had been historically a target for
terrorist attacks. He nonetheless went ahead with this photo opportunity in
a school full of children.
* łMr. Bush arrived at the school, just before 9 am, expecting to be met
by its motherly principal, Gwen Rigell. Instead he was pulled sharply aside
by the familiar, bulky figure of 51-year-old Karl Rove, a veteran political
fixer and trusted aide of both Mr. Bush and his father, George Sr. Mr. Rove,
a fellow Texan with an expansive manner and a colorful turn of phrase, told
the President that a large commercial airliner (American Flight 11) had
crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Centre . Mr. Bush clenched
his teeth, lowered his bottom lip and said something inaudible. Then he went
into the school.˛ William Langley, łRevealed: What Really Went on During
Bushąs OMissing Hours,ą˛ The Telegraph, December 16, 2001.
* łThe airborne attack on the World Trade Center was at least the second
terrorist attempt to topple the landmarks. In 1993, terrorists sought to
bomb one building so that it would explode and fall into the other. The plot
did not succeed, but six people were killed and more than 1,000 injured.˛
Cragg Hines, łTerrorists Strike from Air; Jetliners Slam into Pentagon,
Trade Center˛ The Houston Chronicle, September 11, 2001.
* August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Brief (PDB), łBin Ladin Determined to
Strike Inside US˛: łAl-Qa'ida members -- including some who are US citizens
-- have resided in or traveled to the US for years, and the group apparently
maintains a support structure that could aid attacksS FBI information since
that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country
consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks,
including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York.˛ August 6,
2001, Bin Ladin Determined to Strike Inside US,
http://www.cnn.com/2004/images/04/10/whitehouse.pdf
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łWhen the second plane hit the tower, his chief of staff
entered the classroom and told Mr. Bush the nation is under attack.˛
* łAt 9:05 a.m., the White House chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr.,
stepped into the classroom and whispered into the president's right ear, OA
second plane hit the other tower, and America's under attack.ą˛ David E.
Sanger and Don Van Natta Jr., łAfter The Attacks: The Events; In Four Days,
A National Crisis Changes Bush's Presidency,˛ The New York Times, September
16, 2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łMr. Bush just sat there and continued to read My Pet
Goat.˛
* łIt was while attending a second-grade reading class at Emma E. Booker
Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla., to promote his education reforms that
President Bush learned America was under attack. In the presence of her VIP
guest, teacher Sandra Kay Daniels, 45, conducted the day's lesson, which
centered on a story about a pet goat.˛ ł9/11: A Year After,˛ Los Angeles
Times, September 11, 2002.
* President Bush listened to 18 Booker Elementary School second-graders
read a story about a girl's pet goat Tuesday before he spoke briefly and
somberly about the terrorist attacks. łBush hears of attack while visiting
Booker,˛ Sarasota Herald-Tribune, September 12, 2001.
* See also film footage.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łNearly seven minutes passed with nobody doing anything.˛
* ł[H]e lingered in the room for another six minutes [after being
informed of the second plane]S [At] 9:12, he abruptly retreated, speaking to
Mr. Cheney and New York officials.˛ David E. Sanger and Don Van Natta Jr.,
łAfter The Attacks: The Events;In Four Days, A National Crisis Changes
Bush's Presidency,˛ The New York Times, September 16, 2001 .
* łMr. Bush remained in the elementary school for nearly a half an hour
after Andy Card whispered in his ear.˛ Michael Kranish, łBush: US To Hunt
Down Attackers,˛ Boston Globe, September 11, 2001.
Factual Back-Up for Fahrenheit 9/11: Section Two
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łShould he have held at least one meeting since taking
office to discuss the threat of terrorism with his head of
counterterrorism?˛
* ł[T]hey didn't allow me to brief him on terrorism. You know, they're
saying now that when I was afforded the opportunity to talk to him about
cybersecurity, it was my choice. I could have talked about terrorism or
cybersecurity. That's not true. I asked in January to brief him, the
president, on terrorism, to give him the same briefing I had given Vice
President Cheney, Colin Powell and Condi Rice. And I was told, OYou can't do
that briefing, Dick, until after the policy development process.ą˛ Richard
Clarke interview with Tim Russert on NBCąs Meet the Press, March 28, 2004.
* "Clarke asked on several occasions for early Principals Committee
meetings on these issues [outlined in his January 25, 2001 memo] and was
frustrated that no early meeting was scheduled. He wanted principals to
accept that al Qaeda was a Ofirst order threatą and not a routine problem
being exaggerated by Ochicken littleą alarmists. No Principals Committee
meetings on al Qaeda were held until September 4, 2001.˛ National Commission
on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Threats and Responses in 2001,
Staff Statement No. 8, łNational Policy Coordination,˛ pp 9-10;
http://www.9-11commission.gov/hearings/hearing8/staff_statement_8.pdf
* See Testimony of Richard A. Clarke before the National Commission on
Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, March 24, 2004:
MR. ROEMER: Okay. Let's move into, with my 15 minutes, let's move into the
Bush administration. On January the 25th, we've seen a memo that you had
written to Dr. Rice, urgently asking for a principals review of al Qaeda.
You include helping the Northern Alliance, covert aid, significant new '02
budget authority to help fight al Qaeda --
MR. CLARKE: Uh-huh.
MR. ROEMER: -- and response to the U.S.S. Cole. You attached to this
document both the Delenda Plan of 1998 and a strategy paper from December
2000. Did you get a response to this urgent request for a principals meeting
on these, and how does this affect your time frame for dealing with these
important issues?
MR. CLARKE: I did geta response. The response was that in the Bush
administration I should, and my committee, the counterterrorism security
group, should report to the deputies committee, which is a sub-cabinet level
committee, and not to the principals, and that therefore it was
inappropriate for me to be asking for a principals meeting. Instead, there
would be a deputies meeting.
MR. ROEMER: So, does this slow the process down to go to the deputies rather
than to the principals or a small group, as you had previously done?
MR. CLARKE: It slowed it down enormously, by months. First of all, the
deputies committee didn't meet urgently in January or February. Then, when
the deputies committee did meet, it took the issue of al Qaeda as part of a
cluster of policy issues, including nuclear proliferation in South Asia,
democratization in Pakistan, how to treat the problems, the various
problems, including narcotics and other problems in Afghanistan, and,
launched on a series of deputies meetings extending over several months to
address al Qaeda in the context of all of those interrelated issues. That
process probably ended, I think, in July of 2001, so we were readying for a
principals meeting in July, but the principals' calendar was full, and then
they went on vacation, many of them, in August, so we couldn't meet in
August, and therefore the principals met in September.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łMaybe Mr. Bush was wondering why he had cut terrorism
funding from the FBI.˛
* łThis question of resources will also come up in the commission's
questioning of Attorney General John Ashcroft, who was brand-new on the job
in the fall of 2001 and on September 10th cut the FBI's request for new
counterterrorism money by 12 percent.˛ John Dimsdale, łFormer FBI Director
Louis Freeh and Attorney General John Ashcroft to appear before 9/11
commission tomorrow,˛ NPR Radio: Marketplace, April 12, 2004. See also, 2001
budget documents including Attorney General John Ashcroft FY 2003 budget
request to Office of Management and Budget, September 10, 2001, showing $65
million offset in the FBI budget for counter-terrorism equipment grants:
http://www.americanprogress.org/atf/cf/%7BE9245FE4-9A2B-43C7-A521-5D6FF2E06E
03%7D/FY03ASHCROFT.PDF
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: The security briefing that was given to him on August 6,
2001, said that Osama bin Laden was planning to attack America by hijacking
airplanes.
* August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Brief (PDB): łAl-Qa'ida members --
including some who are US citizens -- have resided in or traveled to the US
for years, and the group apparently maintains a support structure that could
aid attacks. Two al-Qa'ida members found guilty in the conspiracy to bomb
our Embassies in East Africa were US citizens, and a senior EIJ member lived
in California in the mid-1990s. A clandestine source said in 1998 that a
Bin Ladin cell in New York was recruiting Muslim-American youth for
attacks. We have not been able to corroborate some of the more sensational
threat reporting, such as that from a ... (redacted portion) ... service in
1998 saying that Bin Ladin wanted to hijack a US aircraft to gain the
release of OBlind Shaykhą 'Umar 'Abd al-Rahman and other US-held
extremists. Nevertheless, FBI information since that time indicates
patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations
for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of
federal buildings in New York.˛ August 6, 2001, Bin Ladin Determined to
Strike Inside US, http://www.cnn.com/2004/images/04/10/whitehouse.pdf
* łThe Aug. 6, 2001, document, known as the President's Daily Brief, has
been the focus of intense scrutiny because it reported that bin Laden
advocated airplane hijackings, that al-Qaida supporters were in the United
States and that the group was planning attacks here.˛ Clarke J. Scott,
łClarke Gave Warning on Sept. 4, 2001; Testimony Includes Apology to
Families of Sept. 11 Victims, Associated Press, March 25, 2004.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: On August 6 th, 2001, George W. Bush went fishing.
* łPresident Bush swung into vacation mode Monday, fishing for bass in
his pond, strolling the canyons on his 1,600-acre ranch, taking an
early-morning run. Associated Press, łPresident Bush Vacationing in Texas,˛
August 6, 2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łWas it the guy my daddyąs friends delivered a lot of
weapons to?˛
* In 1995, a member of Reagan's National Security Council and co-author
of his National Security Directives, Howard Teicher, signed a sworn
affidavit stating: łFrom early 1982 to 1987, I served as a Staff Member to
the United States National Security Council.S In June, 1982, President
Reagan decided that the United States could not afford to allow Iraq to lose
the war to Iran. President Reagan decided that the United States would do
whatever was necessary and legal to prevent Iraq from losing the war with
Iran. Pursuant to the secret NSDD, the United States actively supported the
Iraqi war effort by supplying the Iraqis with billions of dollars of
credits, by providing U.S. military intelligence and advice to the Iraqis,
and by closely monitoring third country arms sales to Iraq to make sure that
Iraq had the military weaponry required. This message was delivered by Vice
President Bush who communicated it to Egyptian President Mubarak, who in
turn passed the message to Saddam Hussein. Under CIA Director Casey and
Deputy Director Gates, the CIA made sure that non-U.S. manufacturers
manufactured and sold to Iraq the weapons needed by Iraq. In certain
instances where a key component in a weapon was not readily available, the
highest levels of the United States government decided to make the component
available, directly or indirectly, to Iraq. I specifically recall that the
provision of anti-armor penetrators to Iraq was a case in point. The United
States made a policy decision to supply penetrators to Iraq." Affidavit of
former Howard Teicher, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. CARLOS CARDOEN et al,
January 31, 1995. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1413.htm
* łQuestions have been raised about whether the United States not only
ignored foreign arms shipments to Iraq, but actually encouraged or even
arranged them. A former National Security Council official, Howard Teicher,
said in a 1995 court affidavit that the CIA made sure Iraq received weapons
from non-U.S. manufacturers.˛ Ken Guggenheim, łWar Crimes Trial for Saddam
Could Reveal Details of Past U.S. Help,˛ Associated Press, January 24, 2004.
* łThere is ample documentation demonstrating that the Reagan and Bush
administrations supplied critical military technologies that were put
directly to use in the construction of the Iraqi war machine. There is also
strong evidence indicating that the executive branch's failure to crack down
on illegal weapons traffickers or keep track of third party transfers of
U.S. weaponry allowed a substantial flow of U.S.-origin military equipment
and military components to make their way to Iraq.˛ William D. Hartung,
Weapons at War; A World Policy Institute Issue Brief, May 1995. See also,
Alan Friedman, Spider's Web: The Secret History of How the White House
Illegally Armed Iraq, (Bantam Books, 1993); Kenneth R. Timmerman, The Death
Lobby: How the West Armed Iraq, (Houghton, Mifflin, 1991).
* łRep. Dante Fascell, D-Fla., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, said S that the United States could not Omake a claim for purityą
on arms sales, since the U.S. government has sold weapons to Iran, Iraq Oand
everybody else in the world.ą˛ Robert Shepard, łCongress Approves Aid for
Former Soviet Republics,˛ United Press International, October 3, 1992.
* łA covert American program during the Reagan administration provided
Iraq with critical battle planning assistance at a time when American
intelligence agencies knew that Iraqi commanders would employ chemical
weapons in waging the decisive battles of the Iran-Iraq war, according to
senior military officers with direct knowledge of the program. Those
officers, most of whom agreed to speak on the condition that they not be
identified, spoke in response to a reporter's questions about the nature of
gas warfare on both sides of the conflict between Iran and Iraq from 1981 to
1988. Iraq's use of gas in that conflict is repeatedly cited by President
Bush and, this week, by his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, as
justification for "regime change" in Iraq. The covert program was carried
out at a time when President Reagan's top aides, including Secretary of
State George P. Shultz, Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci and Gen. Colin
L. Powell, then the national security adviser, were publicly condemning Iraq
for its use of poison gas, especially after Iraq attacked Kurds in Halabja
in March 1988.˛ Patrick E. Tyler, łOfficers Say U.S. Aided Iraq in War
Despite Use of Gas,˛ The New York Times, August 18, 2002.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łWas it that group of religious fundamentalists who visited
my state when I was governor?˛
* łA senior delegation from the Taleban movement in Afghanistan is in the
United States for talks with an international energy company that wants to
construct a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan across Afghanistan to Pakistan. A
spokesman for the company, Unocal, said the Taleban were expected to spend
several days at the company's headquarters in Sugarland, Texas.˛ łTaleban in
Texas for talks on Gas Pipeline,˛ BBC News, December 4, 1997 (Sugarland is
22 miles outside Houston.)
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łOr was it the Saudis? Damn, it was them.˛
* łThe 27 classified pages of a congressional report about Sept. 11
depict a Saudi government that not only provided significant money and aid
to the suicide hijackers but also allowed potentially hundreds of millions
of dollars to flow to Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups through suspect
charities and other fronts, according to sources familiar with the
document. One U.S. official who has read the classified section said it
describes Overy direct, very specific linksą between Saudi officials, two of
the San Diego-based hijackers and other potential co-conspirators Othat
cannot be passed off as rogue, isolated or coincidental.ą˛ Of all the
hijackers, 15 of the 19 were Saudi. Josh Meyer, łReport Links Saudi
Government to 9/11 Hijackers, Sources Say,˛ Los Angeles Times, August 2,
2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łIn the days following September 11th , all commercial and
private airline traffic was grounded.˛
* łOn the morning of September 11th, there were 4,873 instrument flight
rule (IFR) flights operating in U.S. airspace. As soon as Secretary Mineta
was aware of the nature and scale of the terrorist attack on New York and
Washington -- that we were faced with, not one, but four possible
hijackings, and several other rumors of missing or unidentified aircraft --
the Secretary ordered the air traffic system shut down for all civil
operations. Jane F. Garvey on Aviation Security Following the Terrorist
Attack on September 11th, September 21, 2001;
http://www.faa.gov/newsroom/testimony/2001/testimony_010921.htm; see also,
łAirports to Remain Closed, Mineta Says,˛ Department of Transportation Press
Release, September 12, 2001
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łThe White House approved planes to pick up the bin Ladens
and numerous other Saudis.˛
* Fearing reprisals against Saudi nationals, the Saudi government asked
for help in getting some of its citizens out of the country. National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Threats and
Responses in 2001, Staff Statement No. 10, The Saudi Flights, p. 12;
http://www.9-11commission.gov/hearings/hearing10/staff_statement_10.pdf
* łNow, what I recall is that I asked for flight manifests of everyone on
board and all of those names need to be directly and individually vetted by
the FBI before they were allowed to leave the country. And I also wanted
the FBI to sign off even on the concept of Saudis being allowed to leave the
country. And as I recall, all of that was done. It is true that members of
the Bin Laden family were among those who left. We knew that at the time. I
can't say much more in open session, but it was a conscious decision with
complete review at the highest levels of the State Department and the FBI
and the White House.˛ Testimony of Richard Clarke, Former Counterterrorism
Chief, National Security Council, before The Senate Judiciary Committee,
September 3, 2003.
* łI was making or coordinating a lot of decisions on 9/11 and the days
immediately after. And I would love to be able to tell you who did it, who
brought this proposal to me, but I don't know. Since you pressed me, the
two possibilities that are most likely are either the Department of State,
or the White House Chief of Staff's Office. But I don't know.˛ Testimony of
Richard A. Clarke before the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon
the United States, March 24, 2004.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łAt least six private jets and nearly two dozen commercial
planes carried the Saudis and the bin Ladens out of the U.S. after September
13th. In all, 142 Saudis, including 24 members of the bin Laden family,
were allowed to leave the country.˛
NOTE: It should be noted that even though the film does not make the
allegation, strong evidence has recently come to light that at least one
private plane flew to pick up Saudi nationals while private flights were
still grounded. Moreover, for nearly three years, the White House has
denied that this flight existed. This was reported in the June 9, 2004 St.
Petersburg Times article cited below.
* After the airspace reopened, six chartered flights with 142
people,mostly Saudi Arabian nationals, departed from the United States
between September 14 and 24. One flight, the so-called Bin Ladin flight,
departed the United States on September 20 with 26 passengers, most of them
relatives of Usama Bin Ladin. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon
the United States, Threats and Responses in 2001, Staff Statement No. 10,
The Saudi Flights, p. 12;
http://www.9-11commission.gov/hearings/hearing10/staff_statement_10.pdf
* It should be noted that the US Customs and Border Protection document
released by the Department of Homeland Security under the FOIA, Feb 24, 2004
lists 162 Saudi Nationals who flew out of the country between 9/11/2001 and
9/15/2001, departing from New Yorkąs Kennedy airport, Washingtonąs Dulles,
and Dallas Fort Worth.
http://www.judicialwatch.org/archive/2004/homelandsecurity.pdf.
* For an official list of Saudi Passport holders (names redacted) who
flew out of the country between 9.11.2001 9.15.2001, see US Customs and
Border Protection document released by the Department of Homeland Security
under the FOIA, Feb 24, 2004;
http://www.judicialwatch.org/archive/2004/homelandsecurity.pdf.
* TheSt. Petersburg Times reported on Jun 9, 2004:
o "Two days after the Sept. 11 attacks, with most of the nation's air
traffic still grounded, a small jet landed at Tampa International Airport,
picked up three young Saudi men and left. The men, one of them thought to
be a member of the Saudi royal family, were accompanied by a former FBI
agent and a former Tampa police officer on the flight to Lexington, Ky. The
Saudis then took another flight out of the country.˛
o Moreover: łFor nearly three years, White House, aviation and law
enforcement officials have insisted the flight never took place and have
denied published reports and widespread Internet speculation about its
purposeS The terrorism panel, better known as the 9/11 Commission, said in
April that it knew of six chartered flights with 142 people aboard, mostly
Saudis, that left the United States between Sept. 14 and 24, 2001. But it
has said nothing about the Tampa flightS The 9/11 Commission, which has said
the flights out of the United States were handled appropriately by the FBI,
appears concerned with the handling of the Tampa flight.
o "Most of the aircraft allowed to fly in U.S. airspace on Sept. 13 were
empty airliners being ferried from the airports where they made quick
landings on Sept. 11. The reopening of the airspace included paid charter
flights, but not private, nonrevenue flights.˛ Jean Heller, łTIA now
verifies flight of Saudis; The government has long denied that two days
after the 9/11 attacks, the three were allowed to fly.˛ St. Petersburg
Times, June 9, 2004
Factual Back-Up for Fahrenheit 9/11: Section Three
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: In 2001, one of Osamaąs sons got married in Afghanistan;
several family members attended the wedding.
* łBin Laden as well as his mother, two brothers and a sister, who flew
from Saudi Arabia, attended the wedding of one of his sons, Mohammad, in the
Afghan city of Kandahar on Monday, the Arabic daily Al-Hayat said.S Another
of bin Laden's sons married one of al-Masri's daughters in January. Al-Hayat
said several members of the bin Laden family, who run a major construction
company in Saudi Arabia, also traveled from the kingdom to attend the
wedding. Agence France Presse, łBin Laden Full of Praise for Attack on USS
Cole at Son's Wedding˛, Thursday, March 1, 2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łWe held hundreds of people˛ immediately after 9/11.
* łMore than 1,200 foreigners have been detained as part of the
government's investigation into the terror attacks, some spending months in
prison. Some civil liberties advocates have complained, but government
officials insist they are simply enforcing long-standing immigration laws.˛
łA Nation Challenged,˛ New York Times, November 25, 2001.
* łThe Department of Homeland Security announced new rules yesterday
designed to prevent a recurrence of the lengthy detention of hundreds of
foreign nationals, many of whom were prevented from making telephone calls
or contacting lawyers for months after they were jailed in the wake of the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The guidelines, made public yesterday by Asa
Hutchinson, the department's undersecretary for border and transportation
security, were welcomed by civil rights groups that had bitterly denounced
the detention of 762 immigration violators after the attacks, based on
sometimes ill-founded FBI suspicions that they had links to terrorism. The
new rules are a response to a highly critical 198-page report last June by
Glenn A. Fine, the Justice Department's inspector general. It concluded that
in the chaotic aftermath of the terrorist strikes on the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon, hundreds of Arab and South Asian men who had committed
sometimes minor immigration violations languished in jail without timely
review by U.S. officials. Guards mistreated some of them. The average
detention lasted three months, and the longest was 10 months before the
immigrants were cleared of terrorism ties and released from jail.˛ John
Mintz, łNew Rules Shorten Holding Time for Detained Immigrants,˛ Washington
Post, April 14, 2004.
* łIn the days, weeks and months following the tragic events of September
11, 2001, hundreds of American immigrants were rounded up and detained,
often under harsh or abusive conditions, in the name of keeping America
safe. Not because of evidence (or even sound hunches) that they were
involved in the terrorist attacks that brutally ended the lives of more than
3,100 people. Not because they were found to have ties to or even
knowledge of terrorist groups who might threaten American security in the
future. Instead, hundreds of immigrants were arbitrarily snared in this
dragnet, marked for arrest and thrown (literally, at times) in jail. The
exact number is unknown, because the government refuses to release that
information. They had one thing in common: Almost all were Arab or South
Asian men, and almost all were Muslim... Once arrested, many immigrants were
labeled "of interest" to the September 11 investigation and thrown into
legal limbo detained for weeks or months in connection with a criminal
investigation, but denied the due process rights that they would have been
entitled to had they actually been charged with crimes.˛ ACLU, "Americaąs
Disappeared: Seeking International Justice for Immigrants Detained after
September 11," January 2004.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: The FBI conducted ła little interview, check[ed] the
passport.˛
Last year, the National Review reported that the FBI conducted brief,
day-of-departure interviews with the Saudis -- in the words of an FBI
spokesman, "at the airport, as they were about to leave." Experts
interviewed by the National Review called the FBI's actions "highly unusual"
given the fact that those departing were actually members of Osama bin
Laden's family. "They [the FBI] could not have done a thorough and complete
interview," said John L.Martin, the former head of internal security at the
Justice Department. "The Great Escape : How did assorted bin Ladens get out
of America after September 11?" National Review, September 29, 2003.
* łThirty of the 142 people on these flights were interviewed by the FBI,
including 22 of the 26 people (23 passengers and 3 private security guards)
on the Bin Ladin flight. Many were asked detailed questions. None of the
passengers stated that they had any recent contact with Usama Bin Ladin or
knew anything about terrorist activity." National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks Upon the United States, Threats and Responses in 2001, Staff
Statement No. 10, The Saudi Flights, p. 12;
http://www.9-11commission.gov/hearings/hearing10/staff_statement_10.pdf
* łI talked to several people who were with the FBI during the actual
repatriation. And they told me there was a lot of back-and-forth between
the FBI and the Saudi Embassy. And the Saudi Embassy tried to get people to
leave without even identifying them. The FBI succeeded in identifying people
and going through their passports. But, in many cases, you had the FBI
meeting people for the first time on the tarmac or on the planes themselves
as they were departing. That was not time for a serious interview or a
serious interrogation.˛ Interview with Craig Unger, CNN, September 4, 2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: White House released records in response to Mooreąs charge
of deserter.
* Left-leaning filmmaker Michael Moore got the discussion started in
January, when he endorsed Clark for president and called the president a
Odeserter.ą The White House responded by releasing the president's service
records, including an honorable discharge. James Rainey, łWho's the Man?
They Are; George Bush and John Kerry Stand Shoulder to Shoulder in One
Respect: Macho is Good. Very Good. It's Been That Way Since Jefferson's
Day,˛ Los Angeles Times, March 18, 2004.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: There is one glaring difference between the records
released in 2000 and those he released in 2004. A name had been blacked
out. In 1972, two airmen were suspended for failing to take their medical
examination. One was George W. Bush and the other wasJames R. Bath.
* See National Guard Bureau, Aeronautical Orders Number 87, September 29,
1972, Attachment B, paragraph 7 (original document):
The Document as Released in 2000: Page 1
http://www.michaelmoore.com/_media/images/documents/2000-Grounded-p1.jpg
Page 2
http://www.michaelmoore.com/_media/images/documents/2000-Grounded-p2.jpg
The Document as Released in 2004: Page 1
http://www.michaelmoore.com/_media/images/documents/2004-grounded-p1.jpg
Page 2
http://www.michaelmoore.com/_media/images/documents/2004-grounded-p2.jpg
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: James R. Bath was the Texas money manager for the Bin
Laden family.
* See Notarized Trust Agreement, Harris County, Texas, signed by Salem M.
Binladen, July 8, 1976 (original document), Attachment C (łI, Salem M.
Binladen, do hereby vest unto James Reynolds Bath, 2330 Bellefontaine,
Houston, Texas, full and absolute authority to act on my behalf in all
matters relating to the business and operation of Binladen-Houston offices
in Houston, Texas.˛ Notarized Trust Agreement, Harris County, Texas, July 8,
1976.
* łAccording to a 1976 trust agreement, drawn shortly after [George H.
W.] Bush was appointed director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Saudi
Sheik Salem M. Binladen appointed Bath as his business representative in
Houston. Binladen, along with his brothers, owns Binladen Brothers
Construction, one of the largest construction companies in the Middle
East.˛ Jerry Urban, łFeds Investigate Entrepreneur Allegedly Tied to
Saudis,˛ Houston Chronicle, June 4, 1992.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: George W. Bush and James R. Bath had become good friends.
* łBath, 55, acknowledges a friendship with George W. Bush that stems
from their service together in the Texas Air National Guard.˛ Jonathan
Beaty, łA Mysterious Mover of Money and Planes,˛ Time Magazine, October 28,
1991.
* łIn a copy of the record released by the National Guard in 2000, the
man in question, James R. Bath, was listed as being suspended from flying
for the National Guard in 1972 for failing to take a medical exam next to a
similar listing for Mr. Bush. It has been widely reported that the two were
friends and that Mr. Bath invested in Mr. Bush's first major business
venture, Arbusto Energy, in the late 1970's after Mr. Bath began working for
Salem bin Laden.˛ Jim Rutenberg, łA Film to Polarize Along Party Lines,˛
New York Times, May 17, 2004.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łAfter they were discharged, when Bushąs dad was head of
the CIA, Bath opened up his own aviation business, after selling a plane to
a man by the name of Salem bin Laden, heir to the second largest fortune in
Saudi Arabia, the Saudi bin Laden Group.˛
* łBath opened his own aircraft brokerage firm in 1976.˛ Jonathan Beaty,
łA Mysterious Mover of Money and Planes,˛ Time Magazine, October 28, 1991.
(Bush was CIA director, 1976-1977.)
* łSometime around 1974S Bath was trying to sell a F-27 turboprop, a
sluggish medium-range plane that was not exactly a hot ticket in those days,
when he received a phone call that changed his life. The voice no the other
end belonged to Salem bin LadenS Bath not only had a buyer for a plane no
one else seemed to want, he had also stumbled upon a source of wealth and
power that was certain to pique the interest of even the brashest Texas oil
baron.˛ Craig Unger, House of Bush, House of Saud, pp,19-20 (Scribner: New
York, 2004).
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łGeorge W. Bush founded an oil company, a drilling company,
out in west Texas called Arbusto, which was very good at drilling dry
holes.˛
* łAfter graduating from the Harvard Business School, Bush organized his
first company, Arbusto Energy (Arbusto is Spanish for Bush) in 1977 on the
eve of a run for Congress. According to records on file with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, Arbusto didnąt start active operations until March
1979.S According to 1984 securities filings, Bushąs limited partners had
invested $4.66 million in Bushąs various drilling programs but they had
received cash distributions of only $1.54 million. However, Bushąs CFO
stated, OWe didnąt find much oil and gas,ą adding OWe werenąt raising any
money.ą George Lardner Jr. and Lois Romano, łBush Name Helps Fuel Oil
Dealings,˛ Washington Post, July 30, 1999.
* łBush eventually renamed his company Bush Exploration and later merged
with a firm called Spectrum 7. Documents filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission show that the firm lost money from 1979 to 1982 and that
investors who put in nearly $4.7 million got back just $1.5 million.
Published reports contend that Bush Exploration was salvaged by Cincinnati
oilmen Bill DeWitt and Mercer Reynolds. Bush today says otherwise, that his
company was on firm financial footing and that the merger was a strategic
one. Either way, George W. drilled his fair share of dry holes. As Conaway
rues to this day, the company Onever hit . . . the Big Kahuna.ą˛ Maria La
Ganga, łBush Finesses Texas 2-Step Of Privilege, Personality,˛ Los Angeles
Times, March 2, 2000.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łThere is no indication that daddy wrote a check to start
Bush off in his company.˛
* łSeed money, upward of $4 million, was largely raised between 1979 and
1982 with the help of [Bushąs] uncle, financier Jonathan Bush. The Arbusto
investor list is filled with family and famous friends. His grandmother,
Dorothy W. Bush, chipped in $25,000. Corporate luminaries like George L.
Ball, chief executive of Prudential-Bache Securities, invested $100,000.
Macomber and William H. Draper III, who invested more than $125,000, were
later named presidents of the U.S. Export-Import Bank during the Reagan and
Bush administrations.˛ Maria La Ganga, łBush Finesses Texas 2-Step Of
Privilege, Personality,˛ Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2000.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łBushąs good friend James Bath was hired by the bin Laden
family to manage their money in Texas and invest in businesses. And James
Bath himself, in turn, invested in George W. Bush.˛
* See Notarized Trust Agreement, Harris County, Texas, signed by Salem M.
Binladen, July 8, 1976 (original document), Attachment C (łI, Salem M.
Binladen, do hereby vest unto James Reynolds Bath, 2330 Bellefontaine,
Houston, Texas, full and absolute authority to act on my behalf in all
matters relating to the business and operation of Binladen-Houston offices
in Houston, Texas.˛ Notarized Trust Agreement, Harris County, Texas, July 8,
1976.
* See 1981 Schedule 4 spreadsheet showing $50,000 investment by James
Bath in George W. Bushąs Arbusto Exploration, Attachment D (original
document).
* Bathąs business relationship with Salem bin Laden, and other wealthy
Saudi businessmen, has been well documented. See, e.g., Mike Ward, łBin
Laden Relatives Have Ties to Texas,˛ Austin American-Statesman, November 9,
2001; Jerry Urban, łFeds Investigate Entrepreneur Allegedly Tied to Saudis,˛
Houston Chronicle, June 4, 1992; Thomas Petzinger Jr., et al., łFamily Ties:
How Oil Firm Linked to a Son of Bush Won Bahrain Drilling Pact,˛ The Wall
Street Journal, December 6, 1991.
* ł[E]arly 1980s tax records reviewed by TIME show that Bath invested
$50,000 in Bush's energy ventures and remained a stockholder until Bush sold
his company to Harken in 1986.˛ Jonathan Beaty, łA Mysterious Mover of Money
and Planes,˛ Time Magazine, October 28, 1991.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łBush ran Arbusto nearly into the ground, as he did every
other company he was involved in until finally one of his companies was
bought by Harken Energy and they gave him a seat on their board.˛
* łBush's name Swas to help rescue him, just as it had attracted
investors and helped revive his flagging fortunes throughout his years in
the dusty plains city of Midland. A big Dallas-based firm, Harken Oil and
Gas, was looking to buy up troubled oil companies. After finding Spectrum,
Harken's executives saw a bonus in their target's CEO, despite his spotty
track record. By the end of September 1986, the deal was done. Harken
assumed $ 3.1 million in debts and swapped $ 2.2 million of its stock for a
company that was hemorrhaging money, though it had oil and gas reserves
projected to produce $ 4 million in future net revenue. Harken, a firm that
liked to attach itself to stars, had also acquired Bush, whom it used not as
an operating manager but as a high-profile board member.S It was one of the
biggest breaks of Bush's life. Still, the Harken deal completed a
disappointing reprise of what was becoming a familiar pattern. As an oilman,
Bush always worked hard, winning a reputation as a straight-shooter and a
good boss who was witty, warm and immensely likable. Even the investors who
lost money in his ventures remained admirers, and some of them are now
raising money for his presidential campaign. But the story of Bush's career
in oil, which began following his graduation from Harvard Business School in
the summer of 1975 and ended when he sold out to Harken and headed for
Washington, is mostly about his failure to succeed, despite the sterling
connections his lineage and Ivy League education brought him." George
Lardner Jr. and Lois Romano, łBush Name Helps Fuel Oil Dealings,˛ Washington
Post, July 30, 1999.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Bush was investigated by the S.E.C. The James Baker law
partner who helped Bush beat the rap from the SEC was a man by the name of
Robert Jordon, who, when George W. became president was appointed ambassador
to Saudi Arabia.
* łA week before George W. Bush's 1990 sale of stock in Harken Energy
Co., the firm's outside lawyers cautioned Bush and other directors against
selling shares if they had significant negative information about the
company's prospects. The sale came a few months before Harken reported
significant losses, leading to an investigation by the Securities and
Exchange Commission. The June 15, 1990, letter from the Haynes and Boone
law firm wasn't sent to the SEC by Bush's attorney Robert W. Jordan until
Aug. 22, 1991, according to a letter by Jordan. That was one day after SEC
staff members investigating the stock sale concluded there was insufficient
evidence to recommend an enforcement action against Bush for insider
trading.˛ Peter Behr, łBush Sold Stock After Lawyersą Warning,˛ Washington
Post, November 1, 2002.
* łPresident Bush has chosen as ambassador to Saudi Arabia a Dallas
attorney who represented him against S allegations arising from his sale of
stock in Harken Energy Co. 11 years ago.˛ G. Robert Hillman, łBush Taps
Dallas Attorney to be Ambassador to Saudi Arabia,˛ The Dallas Morning News,
July 21, 2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łAfter the Harken debacle, the friends of Bushąs dad got
him a seat on another board, of a company owned by the Carlyle Group.˛
* "Fred Malek, a senior advisor to Carlyle, who also served as the
director of the 1988 Republican Convention, suggested to Carlyle that the
Presidentąs eldest son, George W. Bush, would Obe a positive addition to
Caterairąs board.ą Mr. Malek was also a Caterair director and vice chairman
of Northwest Airlines, a major Caterair customer. OI thought George W. Bush
could make a contribution to Caterair,ą stated Malek. Malek further
claimed, OHe would be on the board even if his father werenąt President.ą"
Kenneth N. Gilpin, łLittle-Known Carlyle Scores Big,˛ New York Times, March
26, 1991
* Co-Founder of Carlyle Group, David Rubenstein, talking about setting up
Cater Air after Carlyle acquired it: łWhen weąre putting together the
board,˛ Rubenstein said, Osomebody came to me and said OLook, there is a guy
who would like to be on the board. He's kind of down on his luck a bit.
Needs a job. Needs some board positions. Could you put him on the board?
Pay him a salary and he'll be a good board member and be a loyal vote for
the management and so forth.ą SWe put him on the board and (he) spent three
years. Came to all the meetings. S And after a while I kind of said to
him, after about three years OYou know, I'm not sure this is really for
you. Maybe you should do something else. Because I don't think you're
adding much value to the board. You don't know that much about the
company.ą The board member told him, Rubenstein said, OWell I think I'm
getting out of this business anyway. I don't really like it that much. So
I'm probably going to resign from the board.ą And I said, 'Thanks.' Didn't
think I'd ever see him again. His name is George W. Bush,ą Rubenstein said.
OHe became president of the United States. So if you said to me, name 25
million people who would be president of the United States, he wouldn't be
in that category. So you neverknow." Nicholas Horrock, łWhite House Watch:
With Friends Like These,˛ UPI, July 16, 2003 .
Factual Back-Up for Fahrenheit 9/11: Section Four
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łThe Carlyle group is a multinational conglomerate that
invests in heavily government-regulated industries like telecommunications,
healthcare and, particularly, defense.˛
* łThe Carlyle Group is one of the worldąs largest private equity firms,
with more than $18.3 billion under management. With 23 funds across five
investment disciplines (management-led buyouts, real estate, leveraged
finance, venture capital and turnaround), Carlyle combines global vision
with local insight, relying on a top-flight team of nearly 300 investment
professionals operating out of offices in 14 countries to uncover superior
opportunities in North America, Europe, and Asia. Carlyle focuses on
sectors in which it has demonstrated expertise: aerospace & defense,
automotive & transportation, consumer, energy & power, healthcare,
industrial, real estate, technology & business services, and
telecommunications & media.˛ Carlyle Group web site,
http://www.thecarlylegroup.com/eng/company/index.html
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: The Bin Laden and Bush families were both connected to the
Carlyle Group, as were many of the Bush familyąs friends and associates.
* In the early 1990s, George W. Bush served on the board of directors for
CaterAir, an airline catering company. CaterAir was owned by the Carlyle
Group. Kenneth N. Gilpin, łLittle-Known Carlyle Scores Big,˛ The New York
Times, March 26, 1991. łGeorge W. Bush left the company in 1994, a year
after his fatherąs presidency ended.˛ Ross Ramsey, et al., łCampaign ą94
Fisherąs Staff Slips Up On Spanish,˛ The Houston Chronicle, September 17,
1994.
* In the mid-1990s, George H.W. Bush joined up with the Carlyle Group.
łUnder the leadership of ex-officials like Baker and former Defense
Secretary Frank C. Carlucci, Carlyle developed a specialty in buying defense
companies and doubling or quadrupling their value. The ex-president not only
became an investor in Carlyle, but a member of the company's Asia Advisory
Board and a rainmaker who drummed up investors. Twelve rich Saudi families,
including the Bin Ladens, were among them. In 2002, the Washington Post
reported, OSaudis close to Prince Sultan, the Saudi defense minister ...
were encouraged to put money into Carlyle as a favor to the elder Bush.ą
Bush retired from the company last October, and Baker, who lobbied U.S.
allies last month to forgive Iraq's debt, remains a Carlyle senior
counselor. Kevin Phillips, łThe Barreling Bushes; Four Generations of the
Dynasty Have Chased Profits Through Cozy Ties with Mideast Leaders, Spinning
Webs of Conflicts of Interest,˛ Los Angeles Times, January 11, 2004.
* The bin Laden family first invested in Carlyle in 1994. Representing
Carlyleąs Asia Board, George H.W. Bush visited the bin laden family's
headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Kurt Eichenwald, łBin Laden Family
Liquidates Holdings With Carlyle Group,˛ The New York Times, October 26,
2001.
* James Baker was a Carlyle Senior Counselor beginning in 1993. Carlyle
Group web site, http://www.thecarlylegroup.com/eng/team/l5-team391.html.
* Bush's OMB chief, Richard Darman, was with Carlyle by 1994. Bob Cook,
Mergers & Acquisitions Report, December 12, 1994.
* George W. Bush was with Caterair -- owned by Carlyle -- until 1994,
after Fred Malek, a senior advisor to Carlyle, who also served as the
director of the 1988 Republican Convention, suggested to Carlyle that the
Presidentąs eldest son would łbe a positive addition to Caterairąs board.˛
Kenneth N. Gilpin, łLittle-Known Carlyle Scores Big,˛ New York Times, March
26, 1991.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łCarlyle Group was holding its annual investor conference
on the morning of September 11th in the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Washington,
D.C. At that meeting were all of the Carlyle regulars, James Baker, likely
John Major, definitely George H. W. Bush, though he left the morning of
September 11th. Shafiq bin Ladin, who is Osama bin Ladenąs half-brother,
and was in town to look after his familyąs investments in the Carlyle
Group. All of them, together in one room, watching as the uh the planes hit
the towers.˛
* On the morning of September 11, 2001, łin the plush setting of the
Ritz-Carlton hotel in Washington, DC, the Carlyle Group was holding its
annual international investor conference. Frank Carlucci, James Baker III,
David Rubenstein, William Conway, and Dan DąAniellow were together, along
with a host of former world leaders, former defense experts, wealthy Arabs
from the Middle East, and major international investors as they terror
played out on television. There with them, looking after the investments of
his family was Shafiq bin Laden, Osama bin Ladenąs estranged half-brother.
George Bush Sr. was also at the conference, but Carlyleąs spokesperson says
the former president left before the terror attacks, and was on an airplane
over the Midwest when flights across the country were grounded on the
morning of September 11. In any circumstance, a confluence of such
politically complex and globally connected people would have been curious,
even newsworthy. But in the context of the terrorist attacks being waged
against the United States by a group of Saudi nationals led by Osama bin
Laden, the group assembled at the Ritz-Carlton that day was a disconcerting
and freakish coincidence.˛ Dan Briody, The Iron Triangle, John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., 2003, p. 139-140. See also, Melanie Warner, łWhat do George
Bush, Arthur Levitt, Jim Baker, Dick Darman, and John Major Have in Common?
(They All Work for the Carlyle Group),˛ Fortune, March 18, 2002,
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łWith all the weapons companies it owned, The Carlyle Group
was in essence, the 11th largest defense contractor in the United States.˛
* łBy virtue of its holdings in companies like U.S. Marine Repair and
United Defense Industries, Carlyle is the equivalent of the eleventh-largest
defense contractor in the nation. It has $16.2 billion under management and
claims an average annual return of 35%.˛ Phyllis Berman, łLucky Twice,˛
Forbes, December 8, 2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łIt owned United Defense, makers of the Bradley armored
fighting vehicle. September 11th guaranteed that United Defense was going to
have a very good year. Just 6 weeks after 9-11 Carlyle filed to take United
Defense public and in December made a one day profit of $237 million
dollars.˛
* łOn a single day last month, Carlyle earned $237 million selling shares
in United Defense Industries, the Army's fifth-largest contractor. The stock
offering was well timed: Carlyle officials say they decided to take the
company public only after the Sept. 11 attacks. S On Sept. 26, [2001], the
Army signed a $665-million modified contract with United Defense through
April 2003 to complete the Crusader's development phase. In October, the
company listed the Crusader, and the attacks themselves, as selling points
for its stock offering. Mark Fineman, łArms Buildup is a Boon to Firm Run by
Big Guns,˛ Los Angeles Times, January 10, 2002.
* "Still, in its annual report for 2001, United announced that it had
been awarded a three-year, $697 million contract to complete full upgrading
of 389 Bradley units and had added a $ 655 million contract modification to
complete the Crusader's 'definition and risk-reduction phase contract,'
which would be worth $ 1.7 billion through 2003. Together, the Crusader and
Bradley programs contributed 41 percent of United sales in 2001, the report
said. With Crusader and the Bradley upgrade in hand, a decision was made to
sell United stock to the public in late 2001." Walter Pincus, łCrusader a
Boon to Carlyle Group Even if Pentagon Scraps Project,˛ Washington Post, May
14, 2002.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łWith so much attention focused on the bin Laden family
being important Carlyle investors, the bin Ladens eventually had to
withdraw.˛
* "Following the attacks on September 11, the bin Laden familyąs
investments in the Carlyle Group became an embarrassment to the Carlyle
Group and the family was forced to liquidate their assets with the firm."
Kurt Eichenwald, łBin Laden Family Liquidates Holdings with Carlyle Group,˛
The New York Times, October 26, 2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łBushąs dad stayed on as Senior Advisor to Carlyleąs Asia
Board for another 2 years.˛
* łFormer President Bush was at one time the Senior Advisor to the
Carlyle Asia Advisory Board but retired from that position in October 2003.
He holds no other positions at Carlyle.˛
http://www.thecarlylegroup.com/eng/news/l4-presskit681.html#8
* łThe former president is no longer a company adviser, but he still has
investments there, Mr. Ullman (vice president for corporate communications)
said.˛ Dallas Morning News, "Michael Moore keeps heat on at premiere", May
18, 2004
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: George H. W. Bush receives daily CIA briefings.
* "One of the people who corresponded with [former ambassador Joseph]
Wilson is George H. W. Bush, the only president to have been head of the
C.I.A.-- he still receives regular briefings from Langley." Vicky Ward,
łDouble Exposure,˛ Vanity Fair, January 2004.
* Former President Bush has made efforts to keep abreast of foreign
affairs, partly by exercising his right to be briefed by CIA personnel about
developments around the globe. Ha'aretz, łGeorge Bush Sr. Vouches for Son's
Support of Israel to the Saudis˛, July 16, 2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łThey are benefiting from the confusion that arises when
George H. W. Bush visits Saudi Arabia, on behalf of Carlyle, and meets with
the royal family and meets with the bin Laden family. Is he representing the
United States of America, or is he representing an investment firm in the
United States of America or is he representing both?˛
* Few firms could have rivaled the Carlyle Group for its array of
high-powered friends. The Washington-based venture capital house had been
likened to a retirement home for Gulf War veterans, and the likes of George
Bush Sr, James Baker, and John Major Ocan take credit for its rapid rise.ą
The Observer noted in a profile, łIt used to be fashionable to deride
Carlyle as a second-rate influence-peddler and dismiss its stable of retired
politicians as superannuated Oaccess capitalists.ą˛ S Carlyle had sponsored
visits by Bush Sr. to South Korea and China, and his clout with the Saudi
government perhaps Carlyleąs most important customer is also likely to
be valued. Conal Walsh, łThe Carlyle Controversy: With Friends in High
Places: Former World Leaders Give Carlyle Group Unrivalled Prowess in
Lobbying for Business,˛ The Observer, September 15, 2002.
* łąIt should be a deep cause for concern that a closely held company
like Carlyle can simultaneously have directors and advisers that are doing
business and making money and also advising the president of the United
States,ą says Peter Eisner, managing director of the Center for Public
Integrity, a non-profit-making Washington think-tank. OThe problem comes
when private business and public policy blend together. What hat is former
president Bush wearing when he tells Crown Prince Abdullah not to worry
about US policy in the Middle East? What hat does he use when he deals with
South Korea, and causes policy changes there? Or when James Baker helps
argue the presidential election in the younger Bush's favour? It's a
kitchen-cabinet situation, and the informality involved is precisely a mark
of Carlyle's success.ą" Oliver Burkeman Julian Borger, łThe Winners: The
Ex-Presidents' Club,˛ The Guardian, October 31, 2001.
* łThe Saudi family of Osama bin Laden is severing its financial ties
with the Carlyle Group, a private investment firm known for its connections
to influential Washington political figuresS In recent years, Frank C.
Carlucci, the chairman of Carlyle and a former secretary of defense, has
visited the family's headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as have former
President George Bush and James A. Baker III, the former secretary of state.
Mr. Bush works as an adviser to Carlyle, and Mr. Baker is a partner in the
firm.˛ Kurt Eichenwald, łBin Laden Family Liquidates Holdings With Carlyle
Group,˛ New York Times, October 26, 2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łAnother group of people invest in you, your friends, and
their related businesses $1.4 billion over a number of years.˛
* łIn all, at least $1.46 billion had made its way from the Saudis to the
House of Bush and its allied companies and institutions.˛ Craig Unger, House
of Bush, House of Saud, p. 200, (Scribner: New York, 2004). For a complete
breakdown of the investments, see Ungerąs Appendix C, pp. 295-298.
* This number includes investments made and contracts awarded at the time
that Bushąs friends were involved in the Carlyle Group:
James Baker was a Carlyle Senior Counselor beginning in 1993. Carlyle Group
web site, http://www.thecarlylegroup.com/eng/team/l5-team391.html.
Bush's OMB chief, Richard Darman, was with Carlyle by 1994. Bob Cook,
Mergers & Acquisitions Report, December 12, 1994.
George W. Bush was with Caterair -- owned by Carlyle -- until 1994, after
Fred Malek, a senior advisor to Carlyle, who also served as the director of
the 1988 Republican Convention, suggested to Carlyle that the Presidentąs
eldest son would łbe a positive addition to Caterairąs board.˛ Kenneth N.
Gilpin, łLittle-Known CarlyleScores Big,˛ New York Times, March 26, 1991
Bush Sr. was first involved in Carlyle by the mid-1990s and no later than
1997.Kevin Phillips, łThe Barreling Bushes; Four Generations of the Dynasty
Have Chased Profits Through Cozy Ties with Mideast Leaders, Spinning Webs of
Conflicts of Interest,˛ Los Angeles Times, January 11 , 2004; Dan Briody,
The Iron Triangle, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2003.
* Additional back up for these numbers is as follows:
Saudi investments in the Carlyle Group worth $80,000,000. Craig Unger,
łSaving the Saudis,˛ Vanity Fair, October 2003. The number was reported to
Unger by the head of Carlyle, David Rubenstein, in an interview.
In 1994, Carlyle owned military contractor BDM was ławarded a contract to
provide technical assistance and logistics support to the Royal Saudi Air
Force.˛ Worth: $46,200,000. PR Newswire, łBDM Federal Awarded $46 Million
Contract To Support Royal Saudi Air Force,˛ October 27, 1994.
During the 1990s, the Vinnell Corporation (a BDM subsidiary) held contracts
to train the Saudi Arabian National Guard, worth $819,000,000. Robert
Burns, łUS Advises Saudi Military On Range Of Threats<Including Terrorism,˛
Associated Press, November 13, 1995.
In 1995, BDM collected a contract to łaugment Royal Saudi Air Force staff in
developing, implementing, and maintaining logistics and engineering plans
and programs.˛ Worth: $32,500,000. Defense Daily, łDefense Contracts,˛ June
23, 1995, as cited by Craig Unger.
In 1996, BDM was awarded a contract łto provide construction of 110 housing
units at the MK-1 Compound, Khamis Mushayt, Saudi Arabia, for Technical
Support Program personnel assisting the Royal Saudi Air ForceS. This effort
supports foreign military sales to Saudi Arabia.˛ Worth: $44,397,800.
Department of Defense News Release, łBDM Federal, Incorporated,˛ April 1,
1996.
During the late 1990s, Vinnell was awarded a contract łfor the Saudi Arabian
National Guard (SANG) Modernization Program. The three-year contract,
awarded competitively, calls on Vinnell to continue to support SANG training
operations and related activities.˛ Worth: $163,300,000 . PR Newswire,
łVinnell Selected for Award of $163.3 Million Contract for Saudi Arabian
National Guard Modernization Program,˛ May 3, 1995. Kashim Al-An, łSaudi
Guard Gets Quiet Help from US Firm with Connections,˛ Associated Press,
March 22, 1997.
In 1997, BDM was awarded a contract łto provide for 400 contractor personnel
to support the Royal Saudi Air Force in developing, implementing, and
maintaining logistics, supply, computer, reconnaissance, intelligence and
engineering plans and programs.˛ Worth: $18,728,682 (note: this is a łface
value increase to a firm fixed price contract˛). Defense Daily, łDefense
Contracts,˛ February 4, 1997.
Note: Carlyle purchased BDM and its subsidiary Vinnell in 1992 and sold it
to TRW in Dec, 1997.
In November 2001, Dick Cheneyąs former company Halliburton was awarded ła
contract to provide services for the Saudi Arabian Oil Companyąs (Saudi
Aramco) Qatif Field development project in the eastern province of Saudi
Arabia.˛ Worth: $140 million. Halliburton press release, łHalliburton
Awarded $140 Million Contract by Saudi Aramco,˛ November 14, 2001.
The same month, a consortium of three companies led by Halliburton
subsidiary KBR won a łcontract for engineering, procurement, and
construction of an ethylene plant for Jubail United Petrochemcial Company, a
wholly owned company of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation.˛ Worth: $40
million. MaggieMulvihill, et al., łBush Advisers Cashed in on Saudi Gravy
Train,˛ Boston Herald, December 11, 2001 ; Halliburton press release,
łHalliburton KBR, Chiyoda, and Mitsubishi Win SaudiArabian Ethylene
Project,˛ November 19, 2001. (Note: The $40 million figure cited for this
contractin all likelihood is much too low. Three separate energy industry
journals place the value of the contract at $350 million. While there are
two other companies involved, all reports point out that Halliburton KBR led
the consortium and thus, if the contract were $350 million, it is likely
that their cut would be<as lead contractor<significantly more than $40
million. See, Petroleum Economist, łNews in Brief,˛ January 14, 2002;
Chemical Week, łKBR, Chiyoda, Mitsubishi Win Jubail Ethylene Contract,˛
December 5, 2001; Middle East Economic Digest, łProjects Update:
Petrochemicals,˛ March 7, 2000.
Soon after Harken bought out George W. Bushąs company Spectrum 7 in 1986 and
placed Bush on their board of directors, a Saudi sheik swooped in to save
the troubled Harken. Abdullah Taha Bakhsh purchased a 17% stake in the
company. Worth: $25,000,000. Thomas Petzinger Jr., et al., łFamily Ties:
How Oil Firm Linked to a Son of Bush Won Bahrain Drilling Pact; Harken
Energy Had a Web of Mideast Connections; In the Background: BCCI; Entrée at
the White House,˛ Wall Street Journal, December 6, 1991.
In 1989 Saudi Arabiaąs King Fahd donated money to the Barbara Bush
Foundation for Family Literacy. At the time, Ms. Bush was the First Lady of
the United States. The Kingąs contribution represented almost half the
amount the organization was able to raise that year. Worth: $1,000,000.
Thomas Ferraro, łSaudi King also Contributed to Barbara Bushąs Foundation,˛
United Press International, March 13, 1990.
Following George H. W. Bushąs departure from office, Saudi Ambassador to the
United States, Prince Bandar, donated money to the Bush Sr. Presidential
Library fund. Worth: At least $1,000,000. Dave Montgomery, łHail to a
Former Chief,˛ Fort Worth Star-Telegram, November 7, 1997.
Both George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush attended the elite Phillips
Andover Academy in Massachusetts. In the summer of 2002 the Academy
announced it had established a scholarship in Bush Sr.ąs name. Saudi Prince
Alwaleed binTalal bin Adul Aziz Alsaud -- the same Prince who bailed out
EuroDisney in the mid-Nineties -- was among the donors to the scholarship.
Worth $500,000. Phillips Academy-Andover press release, łA Statement from
Phillips Academy-Andover Regarding the Bush Scholars Program,˛ December 31,
2002.
Among the many presents George W. Bush has received from foreign leaders and
dignitaries during his term as President, perhaps none is grander than the
one Prince Bandar bestowed upon him. Bandar gave the current president a
łC.M. Russell oil canvas painting of a native American buffalo huntS.˛
Worth: $1,000,000. Siobhan McDonough, łGifts to President are Gratefully
Received, Quickly Carted into Storage,˛ Associated Press, July 14, 2003.
Factual Back-Up for Fahrenheit 9/11: Section Five
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Amnesty International condemns Saudi Arabia as a human
rights violator.
* łSaudi Arabia systematically violates international human rights
standards even after agreeing to be bound by them. For example, in September
1997 Saudi Arabia acceded to the Convention against Torture. Yet, torture is
widespread in Saudi Arabia's criminal justice system. (Saudi Arabia acceded
to the Convention against Torture and the Convention against Discrimination
on Sept 23, 1997).˛ Amnesty International, "Saudi Arabia: Open for
Business," February 8, 2000.
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engMDE230822000?OpenDocument&of=COUNTRI
ES% 5CSAUDI+ARABIA
* łSharon Burke, Amnesty International USA's advocacy director for the
Middle East and North Africa, said her organization confirmed with the Saudi
Ministry of the Interior that three men were beheaded for sodomy.˛
Washington Blade, January 4, 2002,
http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/saudi_arabia/saudinews15.htm
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łBush tried to stop Congress from setting up its own 9/11
investigation.S When he couldnąt stop Congress, he then tried to stop an
independent 9/11 commission from being formed.˛
* The original effort by the White House was to limit the scope of the
9/11 investigation to only two congressional committees. łPresident Bush
asked House and Senate leaders yesterday to allow only two congressional
committees to investigate the government's response to the events of Sept.
11, officials said.˛ Mike Allen, łBush Seeks To Restrict Hill Probes Of
Sept. 11; Intelligence Panels' Secrecy Is Favored,˛ Washington Post, January
30, 2002.
* łI, of course, want the Congress to take a look at what took place
prior to Sept. 11. But since it deals with such sensitive information, in
my judgment, itąs best for the ongoing war against terror that the
investigation be done in the intelligence committees,˛ President Bush said.
David Rosenbaum, łBush Bucks Tradition on Investigation,˛ The New York
Times, May 26, 2002.
* łAngry lawmakers [McCain, Pelosi, Lieberman] accused White House Friday
of secretly trying to derail creation of an independent commission to
investigate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks while professing to support the
idea.˛ Helen Dewar, łLawmakers Accuse Bush of 9/11 Deceit,˛ Los Angeles
Times, October 13, 2002.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: The White House censored 28 pages of the Congressional
9/11 report.
* łTop U.S. officials believe the Saudi Arabian government not only
thwarted their efforts to prevent the rise of al-Qaida and stop terrorist
attacks, but also may have given the Saudi-born Sept. 11 hijackers financial
and logistical support, according to a congressional report released
Thursday. Those suspicions prompted several lawmakers to demand that the
Bush administration aggressively investigate Saudi Arabia 's actions before
and after Sept. 11, 2001 -- in part by making public large sections of the
report that pertain to Riyadh but remain classified. The passages, including
an entire 28-page section, discuss in detail whether one of America's most
reluctant allies in the war on terrorism was somehow implicated in the
attacks, according to U.S. officials familiar with the full report.˛ Josh
Meyer, łSaudi Ties to Sept. 11 Hinted at in Report,˛ Houston Chronicle, July
25, 2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: More than 500 relatives of 9/11 victims filed suit Saudi
Royals and others. The lawyers the Saudi Defense Minister hired to fight
these 9/11 families was the law firm of Bush family confidant James A.
Baker.
* łJames Baker, whom Bush recently sent abroad seeking help to reduce
Iraq's debt, is still a senior counselor for the Carlyle Group, and Baker's
Houston-based law firm, Baker Botts, is representing the Saudi defense
minister in Motleyąs [plaintiffąs council in class-action suit in connection
with September 11th attacks] case.˛ New York Times, łA Nation Unto Itself,˛
March 14, 2004
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Saudiąs have $860 billion dollars invested in America.
* łOver the next twenty-five years, roughly eighty-five thousand
Ohigh-net-worthą Saudis invested a staggering $860 billion in American
companies an average of more than $10 million a person and a sum that is
roughly equivalent to the gross domestic product of Spain.˛ Craig Unger,
House of Bush, House of Saud, (Scribner: New York, 2004).
* łAllan Gerson, an attorney who represents about 3,600 family members of
victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks S said he is not suing the
Saudi government, but he is pursuing OSaudi interestsą in the United States
he estimated totaled about $860 billion.˛ ł $113 Million in Terrorism Funds
Frozen,˛ CNN, November 20, 2002.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: In terms of investments on Wall Street, $860 billion is
łroughly six or seven percent of America.˛
* łWith a total market capitalization exceeding $12 trillion, the NYSE
Composite represents approximately 82 percent of the total U.S. market cap.˛
New York Stock Exchange News Release, łNYSE to Reintroduce Composite Index,˛
January 2, 2003. ($860 billion is about 7 percent of $12 trillion.)
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Citigroup, AOL TimeWarner have big Saudi investors.
* łHis name is Alwaleed bin Talal. His grandfather was Saudi Arabia's
founding monarch. With huge stakes in companies ranging from Citigroup Inc.
to the Four Seasons luxury hotel chain, he is one of the richest men on the
planet....Last year, Forbes magazine ranked Alwaleed the fifth-richest man
in the world, with a net worth of nearly $18 billion. His Kingdom Holding
Co. spans four continents. Over the years, he has acquired major stakes in
companies such as Apple Computer Inc., AOL Time Warner Inc., News Corp. and
Saks Inc., parent of retailer Saks Fifth Avenue .˛ Richard Verrier,
łDisney's Animated Investor; An Ostentatious Saudi Billionaire Prince Who
Helped Bail Out the Company's Paris Resort in the Mid-'90s is Being Courted
to Do So Again,˛ Los Angeles Times, January 26, 2004.
* łCarlyleąs first major transaction with the Saudis took place in 1991
when Fred Malek steered Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, a flamboyant 35-year-old
Saudi multibillionaire, to the firm for a deal that would enable him to
become the largest individual shareholder in Citicorp.˛ Craig Unger, House
of Bush, House of Saud, (Scribner: New York, 2004).
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łI read where the Saudis have a trillion dollars in our
banks, their money.˛
* łOthers have said the investment is even more, as much as a trillion
dollars on deposit in U.S. banks an agreement worked out in the early
1980s by the Reagan administration, in yet another effort to get the Saudis
to off-set the US budget deficit. The Saudis hold another trillion dollars
or so in the US stock market.˛ Robert Baer, Sleeping with the Devil, p. 60,
(Crown Publishers: New York, 2003).
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łBandar is one of the best protected ambassadors in the
world with a six-man security detail provided by the State Department.˛
* łThe dean of the diplomatic corps by virtue of his long assignment in
Washington, Bandar is the only ambassador who has his own State Department
security detail -- granted to him because of Othreatsą and his status as a
prince, according to a State Department spokesman.˛ Robert G. Kaiser, et
al., "Saudi Leader's Anger Revealed Shaky Ties," Washington Post, February
10, 2002.
* łPrince Bandar is often considered the most politically savvy of all
the foreign ambassadors living in Washington. That may or may not be true --
but he certainly is the best-protected. According to a Diplomatic Security
official, Prince Bandar has a security detail that includes full-time
participation of six highly trained and skilled DS officers. (DS officers
are federal government employees charged with securing American diplomatic
missions.)˛ Joel Mowbray, Dangerous Diplomacy: How the State Department
Threatens American Security, (Regnery, 2003).
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łBandar is so close to the Bushes they considered him a
member of the family. They even have a nickname for him, Bandar Bush.˛
* łWhen President [George H.W.] Bush arrived in Riyadh, he took Bandar
aside and embraced him. OYou are good people,ą the president said. Bandar
claims that Bush had tears in his eyes. Visiting the Bush summer home in
Kennebunkport, Maine, the Saudi ambassador was affectionately dubbed OBandar
Bush.ą Bandar returned the favor, inviting Bush to go pheasant hunting at
his English estate. (Since leaving the White House, Bush has also profited
by acting as a kind of glorified door-opener for the Carlyle Group, an
investment company that handles considerable Saudi wealth.)˛ Evan Thomas, et
al., łThe Saudi Game,˛ Newsweek, November 19, 2001 .
* łThe Saudi ambassador attended the unveiling of former President George
H.W. Bush's official portrait when he returned to the White House in 1995.
He was among the guests at a surprise 75th birthday party in 2000 for former
first lady Barbara Bush, and the former president has vacationed at Bandar's
home in Aspen, Colo. Bandar has been a guest at the Bush ranch in Crawford,
Texas. Just last year he presented the first family with a C.M. Russell
painting, a gift worth $1 million that will be stored in the National
Archives, along with other presents from well-wishers destined for a [George
W.] Bush presidential library.˛ Mike Glover, łKerry Criticizes Bush on Saudi
Meeting˛, Associated Press, April 23, 2004.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łTwo nights after September 11th, George Bush invited
Bandar Bush over to the White House for a private dinner and a talk.˛
* Two days after the attacks, the President asked Bandar to come to the
White House. Bush embraced him and escorted him to the Truman balcony.
Bandar had a drink and the two men smoked cigars. Elsa Walsh, łThe Prince,˛
The New Yorker, March 24, 2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Bandarąs government blocked American investigators from
talking to the relatives of the 15 hijackers.
* łThe report strongly criticized top Saudi officials for their Olack of
cooperationą before and after the Sept. 11 attacks, even when it became
known that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis.SOne top U.S. official told
the joint inquiry staff that the Saudis since 1996 would not cooperate on
matters relating to Osama bin Laden. Robert Baer, a former CIA officer,
said the Saudis blocked FBI agents from talking to relatives of the 15
hijackers and following other leads in the kingdom.˛ Frank Davies, et al.,
łBush rejects call to give more 9/11 data,˛ Philadelphia Inquirer, July 30,
2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Saudi Arabia was reluctant to freeze the hijackers assets.
* Riyadh has not yet fully joined the international effort to block bank
accounts thought to be financing terrorist operations, U.S. officials say.
But the Bush administration, fearful of offending the Saudis, has not yet
raised a public complaint. Elaine Sciolino, et al., łU.S. is Reluctant to
Upset Flawed, Fragile Saudi Ties,˛ New York Times, October 25, 2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łIn 1997, while George W. Bush was governor of Texas, a
delegation of Taliban leaders from Afghanistan flew to Houston to meet with
Unocal executives to discuss the building of a pipeline through
Afghanistan.˛
* łA senior delegation from the Taleban movement in Afghanistan is in the
United States for talks with an international energy company that wants to
construct a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan across Afghanistan to Pakistan. A
spokesman for the company, Unocal, said the Taleban were expected to spend
several days at the company's headquarters in Sugarland, Texas.˛ łTaleban in
Texas for Talks on Gas Pipeline,˛ BBC News, December 4, 1997 (Sugarland is
22 miles outside Houston.)
* łThe Taliban ministers and their advisers stayed in a five-star hotel
and were chauffeured in a company minibus. Their only requests were to visit
Houston's zoo, the NASA space centre and Omaha's Super Target discount store
to buy stockings, toothpaste, combs and soap. The Taliban, which controls
two-thirds of Afghanistan and is still fighting for the last third, was also
given an insight into how the other half lives. The men, who are accustomed
to life without heating, electricity or running water, were amazed by the
luxurious homes of Texan oil barons. Invited to dinner at the palatial home
of Martin Miller, a vice-president of Unocal, they marvelled at his swimming
pool, views of the golf course and six bathrooms. After a meal of specially
prepared halal meat, rice and Coca-Cola, the hardline fundamentalists - who
have banned women from working and girls from going to school - asked Mr.
Miller about his Christmas tree.˛ Caroline Lees, łOil Barons Court Taliban
in Texas,˛ The Telegraph (London), December 14, 1997.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łAnd who got a Caspian Sea drilling contract the same day
Unocal signed the pipeline deal? A company headed by a man named Dick
Cheney, Halliburton.˛
* On October 27, 1997, both Unocal and Halliburton issued press releases
about their energy work in Turkmenistan. łHalliburton Energy Services has
been providing a variety of services in Turkmenistan for the past five
years.˛ Press Release, łHalliburton Alliance Awarded Integrated Service
Contract Offshore Caspian Sea In Turkmenistan,˛ October 27, 1997.
http://www.halliburton.com/news/archive/1997/hesnws_102797.jsp; łASHGABAT,
Turkmenistan, Oct. 27, 1997 - Six international companies and the Government
of Turkmenistan formed Central Asia Gas Pipeline, Ltd. (CentGas) in formal
signing ceremonies here Saturday.˛ Press Release, łConsortium Formed to
Build Central Asia Gas Pipeline,˛ October 27, 1997.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Enron stood to benefit from the pipeline.
* Dr. Zaher Wahab of Afghanistan, a professor in the US speaking at
International Human Rights Day event, łexplained that Delta, Unocal as well
as Russian, Pakistani and Japanese oil and gas companies have signed
agreements with the Turkmenistan government, immediately north of
Afghanistan, which has the fourth largest gas reserve in the world.
Agreements also have been signed with the Taliban, allowing these oil and
gas giants to pump Turkmenistan gas and oil through western Afghanistan to
Pakistan, from which it then will be shipped all over the world. The energy
consortium Enron plans to be one of the builders of the pipeline.˛ Elaine
Kelly, łNorthwest Groups Discuss Afghan, Iranian and Turkish Rights
Violations,˛ Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 31, 1997.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Kenneth Lay of Enron was Bushąs number one campaign
contributor.
* Mr. Lay, also a friend to former President George Bush, was the top
campaign contributor to Mr. Bushąs 2000 presidential election.˛ Jerry Seper,
łColossal Collapse: Enron Bankruptcy Scandal Carves a Wide Swath,˛ The
Washington Times, January 13, 2002; łAlthough Enron is George W. Bushąs No.
1 career donor, the president also is heavily indebted to the professional
firms that aided and abetted the greatest bankruptcy and shareholder
meltdown in U.S. history.˛ Texans for Public Justice, łBush Is Indebted To
Enronąs Professional Abettors, Too,˛ January 17, 2002
http://www.tpj.org/page_view.jsp?pageid=255
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: łThen in 2001, just five and a half months before 9/11, the
Bush administration welcomed a special Taliban envoy to tour the United
States to help improve the image of the Taliban government.˛
* łA Taliban envoy appealed to the Bush administration Monday to overlook
his group's support of extremist Osama bin Laden and the destruction of
priceless centuries-old Buddhist sculptures and lift sanctions on
Afghanistan to help alleviate a humanitarian crisis threatening the lives of
a million people. Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi delivered a letter from the
Taliban for President Bush that called for better U.S.-Afghan relations and
negotiations to solve the dispute over the Saudi-born Bin Laden. Robin
Wright, łTaliban Asks US to Lift its Economic Sanctions,˛ Los Angeles Times,
March 20, 2001.
* łThe Town Hall forum was Hashemi's final meeting in a weeklong visit to
California, where he spoke at several universities, including USC, UCLA and
UC Berkeley. Later Thursday, he left for New York for another stop on his
public relations tour before going to Washington, where he is scheduled to
deliver a letter from his party to the Bush administration.˛ Teresa
Watanabe, łOverture By Taliban Hits Resistance," Los Angeles Times, March
16, 2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: The Taliban were harboring the man who bombed the USS Cole
and our African embassies.
* łOsama bin Laden has claimed credit for the attack on U.S. soldiers in
Somalia in October 1993, which killed 18; for the attack on the U.S.
Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998, which killed 224 and injured
nearly 5,000; and were linked to the attack on the U.S.S. Cole on 12 October
2000, in which 17 crew members were killed and 40 others injured. They have
sought to acquire nuclear and chemical materials for use as terrorist
weapons.˛ łBritain's Bill of Particulars˛ New York Times, October 5, 2001.
* łOsama bin Laden, in recent years, has been America's most wanted
terrorism suspect, with a $5 million reward on his head for his alleged role
in the August 1998 truck bombings of two American embassies in East Africa
that killed more than 200 people, as well as a string of other terrorist
attacksS Most recently, the F.B.I. has named Mr. bin Laden as a prime
suspect in the suicide bombing of the American destroyer Cole, which was
attacked in Aden harbor, 350 miles by road southwest of here, on Oct. 12,
with the loss of 17 sailors' lives." John F. Burns, łWhere bin Laden Has
Roots, His Mystique Grows,˛ New York Times, December 31, 2000.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Hamid Karzai was a former Unocal advisor.
* łCool and worldly, Karzai is a former employee of US oil company Unocal
-- one of two main oil companies that was bidding for the lucrative contract
to build an oil pipeline from Uzbekistan through Afghanistan to seaports in
Pakistan -- and the son of a former Afghan parliament speaker.˛ Ilene R.
Prusher, Scott Baldauf, and Edward Girardet, łAfghan power brokers,˛
Christian Science Monitor, June 10, 2002.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0610/p01s03e-wosc.html.
* Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a former Unocal adviser, signed a treaty
with Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf and the Turkmen dictator Saparmurat
Niyazov to authorize construction of a $3.2 billion gas pipeline through the
Heart-Kandahar corridor in Afghanistan.˛ Lutz Kleveman, łOil and the New
OGreat Game," The Nation, February 16, 2004.
* TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH: łHe was a consultant for the American oil
company Unocal, while they studied the construction of a pipeline in
Afghanistan." Chipaux Francoise, łHamid Karzaď, Une Large Connaissance Du
Monde Occidental,˛ Le Monde, December 6, 2001.en minutes
Factual Back-Up for Fahrenheit 9/11: Section Six
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: "Bush also appointed as our envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay
Khalilzad, who was also a former Unocal advisor."
* "Mr. Khalilzad himself knows how compasses change. In the mid-1990's,
he briefly defended the Taliban while working as a consultant for Unocal,
the oil company that was then trying to build a pipeline through
Afghanistan. He later became one of the Taliban's fiercest critics." Amy
Waldman, "Afghan Returns Home as American Ambassador," New York Times, April
19, 2004.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: "Afghanistan signed the agreement to build a pipeline
through its country carrying natural gas from the Caspian Sea ."
* "The framework agreement defines legal mechanisms for setting up a
consortium to build and operate the long-delayed US$3.2-billion natural gas
pipeline, known as the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, which would carry gas
from energy-rich Turkmenistan to Pakistan. It would be one of the first
major investment projects in Afghanistan in decades." Baglia Bukharbayeva
"Pakistani, Turkmen, Afghan Leaders Sign US$3.2 Billion Pipeline Deal,"
Associated Press, December 27, 2002.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: "In the year 2000, [John Ashcroft] was running for
re-election as Senator from Missouri against a man who died the month before
the election. The voters preferred the dead guy."
* "Sen. John Ashcroft on Wednesday graciously conceded defeat in his
re-election campaign against the late Gov. Mel Carnahan and urged fellow
Republicans to call off any legal challenges." Eric Stern, "Ashcroft Rejects
Challenge To Election; Senator Says He Hopes Carnahanąs Victory Will Be OOf
Comfortą To Widow,"St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 9, 2000 .
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: "During the summer before 9/11, Ashcroft told acting FBI
director Thomas Pickard that he didnąt want to hear anything more about
terrorist threats."
* "Former interim FBI chief Thomas Pickard testified Tuesday that Atty.
Gen. John Ashcroft didnąt want to hear about terrorism when Pickard tried to
brief him during the summer of 2001, as intelligence reports about terrorist
threats were reaching a historic level." Cam Simpson, "Ashcroft Ignored
Terrorism, Panel Told; Attorney General Denies Charges, Blames Clinton,"
Chicago Tribune, April 14, 2004.
* See also film footage.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: "His own FBI knew that summer that there were al Qaeda
members in the U.S. , and that bin Laden was sending his agents to flight
schools throughout the country."
* [T]he July 2001 OPhoenixą memo, written by an FBI agent in Arizona,
warned about Oan inordinate number of individuals of investigative interestą
taking flight training. It urged the agency to collect data on flight
schools and foreign students, and to discuss the potential threat with other
intelligence agencies. ...[O]ne of the men mentioned in the memo was
arrested in Pakistan in 2002 with a senior al Qaeda facilitator, Abu
Zubayda. R. Jeffrey Smith, "A History of Missed Connections; U.S. Analysts
Warned of Potential Attacks but Lacked Follow-Through," Washington Post,
July 25, 2003.
* Excerpt from "Phoenix Memo": "The purpose of this communication is to
advise the Bureau and New York of the possibility of a coordinated effort by
USAMA BIN LADEN (UBL) to send students to the United States to attend civil
aviation universities and colleges. Phoenix has observed an inordinate
number of individuals of investigative interest who are attending or who
have attended civil aviation universities and colleges in the State of
Arizona." Read the entire Phoenix Memo at:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports/911.html
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: "[T]he photo of the man in the newspaper was not the Aaron
Stokes they had come to know, [a member of Peace Fresno]. He was actually
Deputy Aaron Kilner. And he had infiltrated their group."
* "Aaron Kilner, 27, who joined the force in June 1999 and had been
assigned the last 18 months to the anti-terrorist team under the
vice-intelligence unit, apparently was killed instantly when his blue Yamaha
motorcycle slammed into the right front side of a 1999 Buick, Fresno police
said." Louis Galvan, "Crash Kills Off-Duty Detective, Victim Joined Fresno
County Force in 1999," Fresno Bee, August 31, 2003.
* "It remains unclear why the Fresno County Sheriff's Department
infiltrated the peace group there, but Pierce said his department's actions
were legal. OWe can be anywhere we want to that's open to the public,ą
Pierce said in a telephone interview from his Fresno office." Sam Stanton
and Emily Bazar, "More Scrutiny of Peace Groups, Public Safety Justifies
Surveillance Since 9/11, Authorities Say," Sacramento Bee, November 9,
2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Barry Reingoldąs story.
* "Then there's San Franciscan Barry Reingold, who was awakened from his
afternoon nap by a buzzing intercom on Oct. 23. He called down to the street
to find out who it was. OThe FBI,ą was the response. He buzzed the two men
up, but decided to meet them in the hall. OI was a little bit shaken up,ą
says Mr. Reingold. OI mean, why would the FBI be interested in me, a
60-year-old retired phone company worker?ą When they asked if he worked out
at a certain gym, he realized the reason behind the visit. The gym is where
he lifts weights -- and expounds on his political views." Kris Axtman,
"Political Dissent Can Bring Federal Agents to Door," Christian Science
Monitor, January 8, 2002. See also, Sam Stanton, Emily Bazar, "Security
Collides With Civil Rights, War On Terrorism Has Unforeseen Results,"
Modesto Bee, September 28, 2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Congress did not read the Patriot Act before voting on it.
* "Later that morning [of October 12], the House voted 337-79 to pass the
bill. The outraged dissenters complained that no one could possibly have
had the time to read the enormously complex 342-page law that amended
fifteen different federal statutes and that had only been printed out hours
before." Steven Brill, After; How America Confronted the September 12 Era,
(Simon & Schuster, NY: 2003).
* "Many lawmakers were outraged that a bipartisan bill, which had passed
the Judiciary Committee by a unanimous vote, was set aside for legislation
negotiated at the last minute by a very small group. Members rose to say
that almost no one had read the new bill, and pleaded for more time and more
deliberation.... Asked about complaints that lawmakers were being asked to
vote on a bill that they had not read, the chairman of the Rules Committee,
Representative David Dreier, Republican of California, replied, OIt's not
unprecedented.ą" Robin Toner & Neil A. Lewis, "House Passes Terrorism Bill
Much Like Senate's, but With 5-Year Limit," The New York Times, October 13,
2001.
* See also film footage of Congressmen Conyers and McDermott.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Transportation Security Agency says itąs okay to take four
books of matches and two butane lighters in your pockets as you board an
airplane.
* "Consistent with Department of Transportation regulations for
hazardous materials, passengers also are permitted to carry no more than
four books of matches (other than strike anywhere matches) and no more than
two lighters for individual use, if the lighters are fueled with liquefied
gas (BIC-or Colibri-type) or absorbed liquid (Zippo-type).ąą 49 CFR 1540;
http://www.tsa.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/68_FR_9902.pdf
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: "Thanks to the budget cuts, Trooper Kenyon had to come in
on his day off to catch up on some paperwork."
* "Budget cuts that laid off 129 Oregon State Police officers earlier
this year have left a single trooper to cover the 1,400-square-mile
territory and 100 miles of state roads around this city on Oregon's central
coast." "Layoffs Leave Oregon Trooper Alone in Big Coastal Territory,"
Seattle Times, October 6, 2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: "On March 19th, 2003, George W. Bush and the United States
military invaded Iraq, which had never attacked or threatened to attack the
United States. A nation that had never murdered a single American citizen."
* "Iraq has never threatened nor been implicated in any attack against
U.S. territory and the CIA has reported no Iraqi-sponsored attacks against
American interests since 1991." Stephen Zunes, "An Annotated Overview of the
Foreign Policy Segments of President George W. Bushąs State of the Union
Address," Foreign Policy In Focus, January 29, 2003. Segments of President
George W. Bushąs State of the Union Address," Foreign Policy In Focus,
January 29, 2003
* "Iraq never threatened U.S.security. Bush officials cynically attacked
a villainous country because they knew it was easier than finding the real
9/11 villain, who had no country. And now they're hoist on their own
canard." Maureen Dowd, "Weąre Not Happy Campers," The New York Times,
September 11, 2003.
* "Iraq never threatened the US, let alone Australia. The basic
consideration was and remains the perception of America's wider strategic
interest in the Middle East." Richard Woolcott, "Thread bare Basis To The
Homespun Yarn That Led Us Into Iraq," Sydney Morning Herald, November 26,
2003<(Woolcott was Australiaąs Secretary of the Department of Foreign
Affairs And Trade during the first Gulf War.)
* For definition of murder of civilians (as opposed to combatants), see
Article 3 of the Geneva Convention . ("For persons taking no active part in
the hostilities, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any
time (a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds.")
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: The Coalition of the Willing included Palau, Costa Rica,
Iceland, Romania, The Netherlands, and Afghanistan.
* White House list of Coalition members, March 20th, 2003:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/print/20030320-11.html
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Morocco , according to one report, offered to send 2,000
monkeys to help detonate landmines.
* "The administration has even turned to the animal kingdom for help in
the war. First came the dolphins, those really smart mammals recruited to
help clear mines at the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr. Then came word that Morocco
was offering 2,000 monkeys to help detonate land mines." Al Kamen, "They Got
the OSlovą Part Right," Washington Post, March 28, 2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: "The government would not allow any cameras to show the
coffins coming home."
* "For the past 13 years, the Pentagon has barred reporters from
witnessing the transport of soldiers' flag-draped coffins to Dover Air Force
Base in Delaware." Amanda Ripley, "An Image of Grief Returns," Time, May 3,
2004.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: "At the end of January, of ą04, the unemployment rate in
Flint was actually 17 percent."
* Flint City, Jan 04, Unemployment Rate, 17.0%. Office of Labor Market
Information, Michigan State Government.
http://www.michlmi.org/LMI/lmadata/laus/lausdocs/049lf04.htm
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Bush "proposed cutting the soldiersą combat bonus pay 33
percent and assistance to their families by 60 percent."
* The Bush administration announced that it would roll-back Omodestą
increases of benefits to troops. The Army Times noted, "the administration
announced that on Oct. 1 it wants to roll back recent modest increases in
monthly imminent-danger from $225 to $150 (a cut of 33%) and
family-separation allowances from $250 to $100 (a cut of 60%) for troops
getting shot at in combat zones."
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292259-1989240.php
* "Thanks to a law passed this year, troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and
other high-risk areas now receive $225 a month in supplemental pay. That's
an increase of $75 from the previous amount for combat pay. Under that same
law, soldiers who have been forced to leave behind spouses and children
receive $250 a month in additional separation pay to help cover child care
and other additional expenses caused by assignment overseas. That's an
increase of $150 over the previous supplement. ... In its 2004 budget
request, the Pentagon asked Congress to cut both combat pay and separation
pay back to the previous levels." "Our Opinions: Proposal to Reduce Pay No
Way to Salute Military," Atlanta Journal Constitution, August 15, 2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: "He proposed cutting $1.3 billion in veteransą health care
and closing seven veteranąs hospitals. He tried to double the prescription
drug costs for veterans and opposed full benefits for part time reservist."
* "On Nov. 12, the Office of Management & Budget opposed restoring $1.3
billion in funding for Veterans Administration hospitals that the House
Appropriations Committee had cut. 'ąIt's as if they're not even aware [that]
there's a war on terror going on,ą says Steve Thomas, an American Legion
spokesman and Navy vet who notes casualties in Iraq could make demand for VA
services soar." Stan Crock in Washington, with William C. Symonds in Boston,
"Will The Troops Salute Bush In '04?," Business Week, December 8, 2003.
* "The White House had expressed its Ostrong oppositioną to the Senateąs
effort to expand military health benefits to reservists and National Guard
members, and boost 'veteransą health care spending by $1.3 billion."
Jonathan Weisman, "Bush Aides Threaten Veto of Iraqi Aid Measure,"
Washington Post, October 22, 2003.
* In early 2003, the Bush administration announced that it was closing
"seven of its 163 veteranąs hospitals in an effort to Orestructureą the
Department of Veterans Affairs." Suzanne Gamboa, "VA Proposes Overhaul, 13
Facilities Would Close or See Major Changes," Associated Press, August 4,
2003.
* In 2003, the Bush administration proposed increasing prescription drug
costs for veterans, a proposal that would have doubled the cost of
prescription drugs. "The Bush plan would have included a new $250 enrollment
fee and a co-pay increase from $7 to $15 for veterans earning over $24,000."
The House amended the proposal to reject the Bush administrationąs fee
increases and to recoup the $264 million in costs by reducing administrative
funding for the VA. "Panel Rejects Extra Funds for AmeriCorps," Washington
Post, July 22, 2003.
* "The Bush administration is flatly opposed to giving the Guard and
Reserve access to the Pentagon's health system." Opinion, The Daily News
Leader (Staunton, VA), October 25, 2003.
* "U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has helped push a bill through the
Senate to improve the health care benefits of Guard and Reserve members.
This bill has had broad bipartisan support since it was introduced in May.
Last week Graham had his health care plan attached as an amendment to the
$87 billion supplemental appropriations bill that President Bush is seeking
to pay for ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House should take
up the amendment next week. Strangely, the Bush administration has opposed
this new benefit for Guard and Reserve members, arguing that it would be too
expensive." Staff, "Helping our Guard and Reserve," The Greenville News,
October 16, 2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Nearly 5,000 wounded in the war.
* "A year ago at this time, more than 160 American soldiers had been
killed in Iraq. The total since has risen to more than 800, and last week
the Pentagon reported that the number wounded in action is approaching
4,700." Pete Yost, "Bush Hails U.S. War Dead and Veterans," Associated
Press, June 1, 2004.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: "Out of the 535 members of Congress, only one had an
enlisted son in Iraq."
* łOnly four of the 535 members of Congress have children in the
military; only one, Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., has a child who fought in
Iraq.˛ Kevin Horrigan, łHired Guns,˛ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 11, 2003.