Whatever happened to Sec. of State James Baker?

[alcuno]

Last I heard he was flying around the world to persuade nations to forgive Iraqi debt. Whatever happened with that? Was it just a big showy thing that went nowhere or did nations actually forgive the debt. Or did they say they would forgive the debt? Anybody?

[nostamj]

1. isn't he busy defending Saudis

against the lawsuit from the 9/11 victims?

patriot, ain't he?

[Katarina]

2. Here he is

http://www.thecarlylegroup.com/eng/team/l5-team391.html

<snip>
James A. Baker, III
Senior Counselor
Washington, DC

James A. Baker, III has been Senior Counselor of The Carlyle Group since 1993.

Mr. Baker has served at the senior levels of the U.S. government under three different Presidents. He served as the nation’s 61st Secretary of State from January 1989 through August 1992 in the Bush Administration. During his tenure at the State Department, Mr. Baker traveled to 90 foreign countries as the United States confronted the unprecedented challenges and opportunities of the post-Cold War era. Mr. Baker served from 1985 to 1988 as the 67th Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration.

[alcuno]

4. Yes, but what about the debt?

Billions and billions of dollars of Iraqi debt that needed to be forgiven and Baker was in charge of getting it done. Does anybody know what he did?

[pacifictiger]

3. I've been wondering that too

trying to cover the Bush Family's ASS-ets no doubt secretly behind the scenes.

[cosmicdot]

5. I've thought about him & that mission he was sent on, too

one minute he's front page news ... and, then, he's not

distractions~follow the money
they're slippery~he's the greaseman

Baker Takes the Loaf

By Greg Palast, AlterNet
December 9, 2003

Well, ho ho ho! It's an early Christmas for James Baker III.

All year the elves at his law firm, Baker Botts of Texas, have been working day and night to prevent the families of the victims of the September 11 attack from seeking information from Saudi Arabia on the Kingdom's funding of Al Qaeda fronts.

It's tough work, but this week came the payoff when President Bush appointed Baker Botts' senior partner to "restructure" the debts of the nation of Iraq.

And who will net the big bucks under Jim Baker's plan? Answer: his client, Saudi Arabia, which claims $30.7 billion due from Iraq (plus $12 billion in "reparations" from the First Gulf war).

Puppet Strings

Let's ponder what's going on here.

We are talking about something called 'sovereign debt.' And unless George Bush has finally named himself Pasha of Iraq, he is not their sovereign. Mr. Bush has no authority to seize control of that nation's assets nor its debts.

But our President isn't going to let something as meaningless as international law stand in the way of a quick buck for Mr. Baker. To get around the wee issue that Bush has no legal authority to mess with Iraq's debt, the White House has crafted a neat little subterfuge. The President, says the official press release, has not appointed Baker, rather Mr. Bush is, "responding to a request from the Iraqi Governing Council." That is, Bush is acting on the authority of the puppet government he imposed on Iraqis at gunpoint
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17343

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=baker+and+iraqi+debt

Jr probably doesn't even know Greaseman Baker was his envoy reporting directly to him

"Secretary Baker will report directly to me and will lead an effort to work with the world's governments at the highest levels, with international organizations and with the Iraqis in seeking the restructuring and reduction of Iraq's official debt," Bush said in a statement read by White House press secretary Scott McClellan.

"read by WH press secty" - it's all scripted for him

The Pentagon Plot
Baker's trip isn't about debt, and the contracts directive isn't about money.
By Fred Kaplan
Posted Friday, Dec. 12, 2003, at 3:40 PM PT


Things are not what they seem in the Bush administration's latest internecine imbroglio over Iraq. The mess appears to involve two contradictory developments: 1) the Pentagon's directive banning countries that didn't support the war from sharing in its spoils (i.e., from bidding for reconstruction contracts); and 2) James Baker's impending trip to Europe, on behalf of President Bush, to convince the largest of those antiwar countries to forgive Iraqi debt.

http://slate.msn.com/id/2092440/#ContinueArticle