Apologies if Paddy already posted this, but as I said, at school I have no access to TPC. A quick copy and paste:
William Timmons, the Washington lobbyist who John McCain has named to head his presidential transition team, aided an influence effort on behalf of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to ease international sanctions against his regime.
The two lobbyists who Timmons worked closely with over a five year period on the lobbying campaign later either pleaded guilty to or were convicted of federal criminal charges that they had acted as unregistered agents of Saddam Hussein's government.
During the same period beginning in 1992, Timmons worked closely with the two lobbyists, Samir Vincent and Tongsun Park, on a previously unreported prospective deal with the Iraqis in which they hoped to be awarded a contract to purchase and resell Iraqi oil. Timmons, Vincent, and Park stood to share at least $45 million if the business deal went through.
Timmons' activities occurred in the years following the first Gulf War, when Washington considered Iraq to be a rogue enemy state and a sponsor of terrorism. His dealings on behalf of the deceased Iraqi leader stand in stark contrast to the views his current employer held at the time. [...]
Virtually everything Timmons did while working on the lobbying campaign was within days conveyed by Vincent to either one or both of Saddam Hussein's top aides, Tariq Aziz and Nizar Hamdoon. Vincent also testified that he almost always relayed input from the Iraqi aides back to Timmons. [...]
Moreover, there was a major financial incentive at play for Timmons. The multi-million dollar oil deal that he was pursuing with the two other lobbyists would only be possible if their efforts to ease sanctions against Iraq were successful.
You'll have to follow the link for the rest. I'm due to teach in a minute.
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13 comments:
As Rhandi Rhodes would say "There you have it"
This whole country first slogan is a crock of SH%T . McCain and his lobbyist team will consort with and represent anyone who has a checkbook.
Isn't this great news the day before the debate when McCain says he will bring up Ayers "to his face". Obama challenged McCain and his ego/anger problem, plus promising his supporters "we've got them where we want them" looks like he has too many glass houses.
Obama has to bring this up in the debate. This will kill McCain's chances. This character is in charge of McCain's transition team, seems to me the type of slime he would put in his administration.
Yeah!
you have to ask yourself, is he TRYING to lose?? my goodness...
in better news, the great schlep made the front page of cnn.com!
Kerry, the sad thing is, McCain really was the best chance that the GOP had this year. Pathetic.
I cannot understand all this attention to Ayers. Ayers was released and charges thrown out. Ayers has done much good for the country since then through teaching many of our youth. He is interested in educating the poor children, and inner city children, so imho, Ayers is not a bad man. He may have done a bone headed thing in the days of his youth, but who hasn't. John McCain crashed three planes, one injuring many of his shipmates. Yet nobody talks about that.
www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/14/
christopher-buckley-resig_n_134628.
html#postComment
Not only is the above article fascinating (Buckley resigns from National Review and lambastes the repubs)
BUT the interview with Parker at the bottom is a must see!!!!!!
www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.
jhtml?videoId=188303
She is one gutsy woman! and nearly endorses Obama
What a debate dilemma for McCain. He has made a promise to bring up Ayers to Obama's face at the debate, but now McCain knows that if he does, Obama will unload this upon McCain. McCain is bringing a knife to a gun fight.
My bet is McCain keeps his mouth shut.
Lucy, as an academic, I know more than a fair share of radicals, leftists, and "unrepentant" types that are left-overs from the cultural clashes of the 1960s & 1970s (Heck, my first grad adviser was a leader of SDS who was kicked out of Harvard as an undergrad for his activity in that group). I too am a bit baffled by those who simply will not let the 60s or the Vietnam War go. Not only is it a tired argument that gets us nowhere, the primary ongoing instigators on both sides are generally self-aggrandizing blowhards with agendas that have little to do with whatever it is they're complaining about presently.
That being said, Ayers was a member of a violent radical organization. He's done a fair job of cleaning himself up and trying to make a go of it as a respectable citizen, but he's got a fairly dark cloud that will (and should) follow him around until his last day.
Of course, there's not a damn thing wrong with knowing the man, working with him, or even befriending him. They're have been much worse people who have been "rehabilitated" and gone mainstream. If people really want to start locking up all the "terrorists" from that time period, I say we could do a lot worse than starting with Henry Kissinger.
As the repubs say 'guilt by association', and McCain has had some pretty scary associations. Not to mention Sarah's break away from the US 'party'
Say it ain't so, Johnny! "Guilt by association" -- saddam shame, in'it? LOL
Let's hope that tomorrow in the debate Obama isn't too much the gentleman to bring this up, especially if McCain starts harping on Obama's palling around with terrorists. D.
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