Former officials launch fresh look at US Iraq policy (James Baker!)

[Barrett808]

Former officials launch fresh look at US Iraq policy
By Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prominent former American officials announced a high-powered task force on Wednesday to look at alternatives for U.S. policy there amid plummeting support for the conflict that has killed thousands of Americans and Iraqis since it began three years ago.

The study group is headed by former Secretary of State James Baker, a Republican, and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, a Democrat who co-chaired the September 11 commission that examined those attacks.

Baker said the 10-member panel was created at the urging of members of the U.S. Congress who felt a need for "an honest assessment of where we are and how we go forward and take this out of politics."

Four think tanks organized the group. They are the United States Institute of Peace; the Center for Strategic and International Studies; the Center for the Study of the Presidency and the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Texas.

A large group of senators and congressmen, including Senate Armed Services Committee chairman John Warner, a Republican of Virginia, and Sen. Joseph Biden, a Democrat of Delaware who is a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, attended the launch of the group to lend it political weight.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060315/pl_nm/iraq_usa_dc

[havocmom]

1. James Baker, brother-in-law the the man Cheney shot

Kevlar anyone?

[TomInTib]

3. Of all my posts here...

that Mercedes Baker Whittington post really has legs.

I am so glad I did that (even tho it has caused me some grief).

[Barrett808]

4. Can you post the link?

Or maybe journal it? :)

[havocmom]

20. I'm glad you did it too. We get accused so often of seeing conspiracy

all the time, it does the public some good to be reminded that they really ARE all connected at the roots.

I loved your catch & post so much, I bring up the issue as often as possible, cuz I know there are newbies and lurkers out there all the time who haven't caught up on everything yet ;)

[TomInTib]

2. Whitewash

James A Baker III and "honest assessment" do not belong in the same universe.

This should be about as enlightening as Mr Hamilton's 911 panel findings.

[0007]

9. James A. Baker III is only interested in what and how the results

of anything can help the Carlyle Group.

This statement is about as phony as, cough cough .... Baker said the 10-member panel was created at the urging of members of the U.S. Congress who felt a need for "an honest assessment of where we are and how we go forward and take this out of politics."

Who heard congress urging and calling for the help of Mr. Baker the super hero, the impeccable, the omnipotent, the only one where truth can be found?

What a guy!!

[ConcernedCanuk]

12. "how we go forward and take this out of politics"

.
.
.

How does one going about taking an illegal invasion and occupation out of politics?

OH, right . . .

Muzzle the Media

silly me

[goforit]

23. Yep....another white wash!! Can't wait till they face the World Court !!!

[seafan]

5. Wow, when they call for the consigliere, they're scared. n/t

[acmavm]

6. Lovely. From the guy who wants to do 'business' with the

UAE. Of course, I'm sure he'd do business with Sata himself.

[Critters2]

14. With Santa?

:shrug:

[saigon68]

17. Satan

I think

[Critters2]

22. Oh...

that would make more sense.

Critters,
being quite the smart ass today

[saigon68]

24. LOL

We all need some humor here

[Lexingtonian]

7. Reading between the lines

This is Poppy's effort to push Junior and Dick to come to their senses about Iraqmire.

[UpInArms]

8. related: Bush Family Consigliere to 'Investigate' Halliburton

http://claudialong.com/blog/2004/02/15/bush_family_consigliere_to_investigate_halliburton.html

In one of those moves that, in saner times, might have made you gasp with the sheer brazen audacity of it, Halliburton has hired Bush family fixer, James Doty, to 'investigate' internal corruption.

Mr. Doty has a long history of fealty and valuable service to the Don, uh, former President Bush and later, to President Sonny. If these people hadn't already worn out my gag reflex, I'd be talking on the big white phone right now. Read this and weep at what has happened to your country -- and what the craven whimpering prostituted mainstream press, by not doing its job, is allowing to happen.

Halliburton Co. has hired Bush family lawyer James Doty to investigate allegedly corrupt payments made in Nigeria at a time when Vice President Dick Cheney was CEO of the company, the Corporate Crime Reporter has learned.

Doty is lead partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Baker Botts. Halliburton announced earlier this month that it had hired an outside law firm to conduct an internal investigation into the brewing scandal, but the company refused to name the law firm or the lawyer conducting the inquiry.

That might be because of the law firm's and the lawyer's close ties to the Bush family and administration.

The Baker in Baker Botts is of course Bush family lawyer James Baker the lawyer credited with winning Florida for Bush Jr. over Gore and Secretary of State under Bush Sr.

...more...

BUSH FAMILY LAWYER JAMES DOTY HIRED TO CONDUCT INTERNAL PROBE OF HALLIBURTON INVOLVEMENT IN NIGERIA PAYMENTS

Halliburton Co. has hired Bush family lawyer James Doty to investigate allegedly corrupt payments made in Nigeria at a time when Vice President Dick Cheney was CEO of the company, the Corporate Crime Reporter has learned.

Doty is lead partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Baker Botts. Halliburton announced earlier this month that it had hired an outside law firm to conduct an internal investigation into the brewing scandal, but the company refused to name the law firm or the lawyer conducting the inquiry.

That might be because of the law firm’s and the lawyer’s close ties to the Bush family and administration.

The Baker in Baker Botts is of course Bush family lawyer James Baker the lawyer credited with winning Florida for Bush Jr. over Gore and Secretary of State under Bush Sr.

James Doty represented Bush Jr. when he bought the Texas Rangers.

<snip>

Doty has also represented Baker Hughes in a corrupt payments scandal in Nigeria, Angola and Kazakhstan. And last year, he defended Reliant Resources against charges that the company artificially increased trading volume. The case was resolved without any fines being levied against the company.

...more...

Ummm... yeah.... I'm going to believe every slimy thing that oozes from those lips. :eyes:

[wordpix2]

10. The Janitor Baker will clean up another mess---yeah, right

[RedEarth]

11. The Florida vote fixer comes to the rescue......

[Bridget Burke]

13. Does that mean he's finished investigating BP?

BP leads the U.S. refining industry in deaths over the last decade, with 22 fatalities since 1995 — more than a quarter of those killed in refineries nationwide, a Houston Chronicle analysis shows.

The company's total includes 15 contractors who died in the March 23 Texas City accident, as well as those who died in seven other fatal accidents, including one just last week in Washington state.

More than 10 times as many people have died in BP refineries as in those owned by Exxon Mobil Corp., considered the company's major U.S.-based peer.

www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/05/blast/3182510.html

Hey--the fact that his law firm represents BP doesn't mean he shouldn't head the investigation, does it?

It's good he's been freed up to work on this latest project. I guess Henry Kissinger was busy.

[Critters2]

15. My God, he's a busy man!!

[AlCzervik]

16. Is there anything he isn't involved with?

[wordpix2]

18. it appears he's one of the "One World Government" PNAC rulers

[LynnTheDem]

19. a need for "an honest assessment ..." Hey no problem;

We're FUCKED. Thanks to BUSH & his illegal immoral Hitleresque "supreme crime" war of aggression.

That honest enough for them?

[havocmom]

21. That works

:thumbsup:

[oblivious]

25. US leaders could try the Saddam approach - go hide in a hole in the ground