This Bugs Me; Is It a Coincidence?

GOP furious about timing of Rumsfeld resignation
By Patrick O'Connor

Donald Rumsfeld's abrupt resignation from the Pentagon the day after Republicans lost both chambers of Congress has infuriated some GOP officials on and off Capitol Hill.

Members and staff still reeling from Tuesday's rout are furious about the administration's decision to dump the controversial defense secretary one day after their historic loss, they said in a series of interviews about the election results.

President Bush announced Rumsfeld's resignation on Wednesday and named Bob Gates, a former CIA chief and president of Texas A&M University, as his replacement...

Gates Hearing in Senate May Have Echoes of 1991

By SCOTT SHANE
Published: November 10, 2006

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 — The accusations lodged against Robert M. Gates the last time he came before the Senate for confirmation, in 1991, sound eerily contemporary in the wake of the debate over skewed prewar intelligence on Iraq.

Mr. Gates, in the words of one Central Intelligence Agency subordinate, Jennifer L. Glaudemans, “politicized intelligence analysis,” insisting on slanted reports that became the basis for “momentous foreign policy decisions.”

The Senate will have to decide whether such claims, which did not prevent the C.I.A. veteran from becoming the agency’s director 15 years ago, have new relevance now that President Bush has named him to succeed Donald H. Rumsfeld as defense secretary.

Senators may revisit assertions that Mr. Gates falsely denied knowledge of the Reagan administration’s secret scheme to sell arms to Iran and use the proceeds to support the Nicaraguan contra rebels, an issue that derailed his first nomination to lead the C.I.A. in 1987...

U.S. seeks better ties by aiding militaries
Updated 11/10/2006 8:09 AM ET

By Barbara Slavin, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Concern about leftist victories in Latin America has prompted President Bush to quietly grant a waiver that allows the United States to resume training militaries from 11 Latin American and Caribbean countries.

The administration hopes the training will forge links with countries in the region and blunt a leftward trend. Daniel Ortega, a nemesis of the United States in the region during the 1980s, was elected president in Nicaragua this week. Bolivians chose another leftist, Evo Morales, last year.

A military training ban was originally designed to pressure countries into exempting U.S. soldiers from war crimes trials.

The 2002 U.S. law bars countries from receiving military aid and training if they refuse to promise immunity from prosecution to U.S. servicemembers who might get hauled before the International Criminal Court. The law allows presidential waivers.

The White House lifted the ban on 21 countries, about half in Latin America or the Caribbean, through a presidential memorandum Oct. 2 to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice...

So we have a CIA chief from the Iran-Contra era brought back to power, Republicans upset about the timing of the personnel move, and news that the USA is stepping up military influence in Latin America.

Maybe these are not connected, but it bugs me that Gates -- who was in the thick of the Iran-Contra mess -- would be brought back into power at the same time that we are stepping up military involvement in Central America. And the timing of the move upset Congressional Republicans. So why would the move be done at this time...a time when everyone is paying attention to something else? Is it hoped that no one will notice the coincidence?

Plus this happens at a time when a lot of money is missing from operations in Iraq? Where did the money go? Who has it, and what are they doing with it? posted by : Joseph j7uy5 | link | | |
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