Gordon,
Debating "Sean" is a futile exercise.
For several reasons:
1. "Sean McBride" is not a real persona.
2. "Sean" is the internet handle of John Foster "Chip" Berlet.
3. Chip gets $750,000 a year from the foundations to pour this blather
on the net.
4. Chip is a spook.
5. His "rhetoric" is an op to spread false memes to ensnare folks with
ignorance and prejudice.
Peace,
Kris Millegan
Publisher
TrineDay
1.800.556.2012
On May 28, 2008, at 8:40 AM, Gordon Peltz wrote:
"sigh" - it's a good thing you're not a lawyer Sean. Kissinger's
views on the Iraq war - i.e. now that we're there, what should we
do, etc. - in his twighlight years somehow make him a "ring
leader?" You have a relatively well-known reputation for not
substantiating your arguments or corroborating your statements...and
this only goes to further hurt your credibility.
Don't get me wrong - I don't support the Iraq War and never have.
Of course, I also recognize the fact that:
1. The Mossad had nothing to do with 9-11.
2. Israel is here to stay whether folks like it or not
3. Henry Kissinger isn't a neo-conservative. His "realpolitik"
views are more than documented. His views on what do about Iraq
once we got there have little to do with how we should pursue
foreign policy.
4. He has no power or authority in the Bush administration.
Influence? Perhaps - Kissinger is a legend, for better or worse.
5. Regarding the Arab oil fields, as usual Sean, you miss the
context - based on your m.o., it appears to be deliberate. The
conversations about seizing oil fields happened during the embargo
and were discovered by Jack Anderson in 1975. Here is what ACTUALLY
transpired:
A call from Jack Anderson must have set off alarm signals in
Kissinger's mind. As writer of a widely-syndicated column,
Washington Merry Go Round (originally established decades earlier by
Drew Pearson), Anderson was famous for his assiduous and successful
efforts at developing governmental contacts that were often the
source of leaked documents. For example, Anderson's contacts
provided him with memcons of Washington Special Actions Group
deliberations during the 1971 South Asian war. While the call might
have worried Kissinger, rather than refusing it he tried to manage
the situation as best as he could. In this instance, Anderson had
gotten hold of a document about a 19 December 1973 meeting between
Kissinger and the former French Foreign Minister Michel Jobert,
where the two discussed oil prices, U.S. attitudes toward the Shah
of Iran, and the question of military action against the oil
producers. Kissinger provided his own spin on Anderson's account but
strongly denied that there had been any interest in military action,
"total nonsense," he argued. Kissinger vainly tried to get Anderson
to identify the source. Interestingly, a U.S. record of the Jobert-
Kissinger talk has been declassified among State Department records,
but it does not include specific discussion of the Shah and only
hints at a tough stance toward the oil producers. (Note 3a) While
Anderson mentions that he got some information from the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, one wonders where Committee members or
staffers got details on the talks. (In the available U.S. record,
Jobert refers to discussion in the car, so perhaps there was some
record of that). In any event, despite Kissinger's denial about the
use of force against Arab oil producers, recently declassified
British documents show that the Nixon administration had at least
considered the possibility of sending in troops to seize oil fields
in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi during the 1973-74 oil embargo. (Note 4)
Sean McBride <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Keep in mind that this very same Henry Kissinger argued for seizing
Arab oil fields by force back in 1975, a policy idea that was
strongly opposed by American oil lobby leaders like James Akins and
James Baker.
Describing Henry Kissinger as a key ringleader of the Iraq War seems
fair and apt:
http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/200601002_woodward_on_kissinger/
BEGIN ARTICLE
Woodward: Kissinger Re-Fighting Vietnam via Bush
Posted on Oct 2, 2006
Woodward and Wallace
From CBS
CBS’ Mike Wallace speaks to The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward about
his new book, “State of Denial.”
In his “60 Minutes” interview, Bob Woodward said Henry Kissinger “is
almost like a member of the [Bush] family,” and that in his frequent
meetings with Bush and Cheney, Kissinger’s dogmatic ‘stay the
course’ advice on Iraq amounts to “fighting the Vietnam war again.”
Watch it
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/10/01/woodwards-60-minutes-interview-on-state-of-denial/
“60 Minutes” transcript via Crooks and Liars:
Wallace: Cheney stunned Woodward by revealing that a frequent
advisor to the Bush white house is former Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger, who served Presidents Nixon and Ford during the Vietnam
War.
>> Woodward: He’s back. In fact, Henry Kissinger is almost like
a member of the family. If he’s in town, he can call up, and if the
president’s free, he’ll see him.
>> Wallace: Woodward recorded his on-the-record interview with
Cheney, and here’s what the vice president said about Henry
Kissinger’s clout.
>> Dick Cheney: Of the outside people that I talk to in this
job, I probably talk to Henry Kissinger more than just about anybody
else. He just comes by, and I guess at least once a month I sit down
with him.
>> Wallace: And the same with the president?
>> Woodward: Yes. Absolutely.
>> Wallace: President Bush is, I understand…
>> Woodward: A big fan of his. Now, what’s Kissinger’s advice?
In Iraq, he declared very simply: Victory is the only meaningful
exit strategy. This is so fascinating. Kissinger’s fighting the
Vietnam War again, because in his view, the problem in Vietnam was
we lost our will. That we didn’t stick to it.
>> Wallace: So Henry Kissinger is telling George W. Bush, “Stick
to it. Stay the course.”
>> Woodward: That’s right. It’s right out of the Kissinger
playbook.
END ARTICLE
