Obama Should Worry About the Bush Family Tentacles Undermining His Plans (Russ Baker)

[Octafish]

Bartcop pointed out the BFEE is not dead.

Obama Should Worry About the Bush Family Tentacles Undermining His Plans

By Russ Baker, AlterNet
Posted on January 22, 2009, Printed on January 22, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/story/121243/

As George W. Bush leaves office and Barack Obama takes over, we are in danger of missing the opportunity for change our new president has promised -- unless we come to grips with what the great historian and Librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin called our "hidden history," not just of the past eight years but of the past half-century and more.

President Obama will face a staggering array of challenges, most, if not all, of which stem from the policies of Bush. But efforts at reform will fall short if we fail to probe and confront the powerful forces that wanted this disastrous administration in the White House in the first place -- and that remain ready and able to maintain their influence behind the scenes today.

Like most people, I took the failings of George W. Bush at face value: an inattentive, poorly prepared man full of hubris, who committed colossal blunders as a result. Then I spent five years researching my new book, Family of Secrets and came to see that the origins go much deeper. This backstory is getting almost no attention in the talking-heads debate over the Bush legacy. Yet it will continue to play, affecting our country and our lives, long after Bush leaves office.

A more profound explanation for the rise of George W. Bush came as I studied the concerted effort to convince the public that he was independent of, and often in disagreement with, his father. The reason for this, it turned out, was that exactly the opposite was true. W. may have been bumptious where his father was discreet, but in fact the son hewed closely to a playbook that guided his father and even his grandfather.

CONTINUED...

http://www.alternet.org/story/121243/

A right cheeky bunch of warmongers, and that's just going back three generations.

[Jamastiene]

1. This should be heeded and remembered.

If Obama doesn't watch his back with any leftover Bush cronies in place, he'll find his plans to bring the country out of the mess we are in thwarted at ever turn.

[Octafish]

5. The return of a Department of Justice where the word ''integrity'' is the norm...

... and not unmentionable is really nice.

Being out of office really doesn't mean being out of money or without power.
For example, Neil is known to have done business with Boris Berezovsky.

Know your BFEE: Neil Bush hangs out with Russian Mafiya Godfather

[drm604]

2. He has to be aware of this.

Whether or not he has a plan to fight it and whether or not that plan will be effective, remains to be seen.

[Octafish]

9. Axelrod and Emanuel are on his side.

The President also needs our help.

To me, that means investigating the hell out of the last eight years:

Two disastrous, unnecessary, immoral and illegal wars that have claimed millions
Spying on Americans and who knows what other civil rights destroying crap
Ignoring the pleas of a drowning city filled with people of color in need
Trillions of money disappeared in unregulated hedge funds and derivatives
And a fiscal policy that enriched his cronies and penured the American people.

For starters.

[deaniac21]

3. Obama transcends all opposition.

[drm604]

4. Wouldn't it be nice if we could believe that.

Unfortunately, he's not Superman and he's up against a powerful bunch of people.

[deaniac21]

6. Yes he is.

[Sinistrous]

7. Powerful, and as evil and amoral as any clan in creation.

[drm604]

10. What gets me is that I think they really believe that they are in the right.

They think that they are a privileged elite and deserve everything they have. They believe that they really do know what is best and that they are fighting against the ignorant masses and the evil forces of socialism and populism. They believe that this fight is so important and so right that any means are justified.

[blm]

22. What gets me is that some powerful Dems helped them at every turn, especially in 1993 when they were

at their MOST exposed and weakest point because of the YEARS of risky work put in by a few HONEST Dems who uncovered and scrutinized BFEE's covert operations - IranContra, BCCI, CIA drugrunning - fully revealed would have stopped the Bushes from ever gaining power again, would have prevented a 9-11 event, and no invasion of Iraq would have been possible.

[bertman]

30. BLM, I assume you are referring to the Iran-Contra hearings. I'm not up on the Dems

who were doing the heavy lifting in that particular investigation. Could you enlighten me? Thanks.

[blm]

32. The actual hearings didn't do that much at the time. The initial investigation was

done by Kerry who uncovered the operation after a year of gathering evidence and even though he met resistance from other senate Dems who were in support of the policy. When it came time for hearings he was pushed out by Dem leaders who caved in to Bush's demand to get rid of Kerry, smearing him as a 'zealot' - however Kerry used the opportunity to negotiate another, BIGGER investigation of banking irregularities he uncovered while investigating IranContra....BCCI.

The real meat of IranContra was entwined with BCCI's operations - the unraveling was ongoing even long after the IranContra hearings we all remember. BCCI report came out in Dec 1992 with an entire section devoted to FURTHER SCRUTINY of outstanding matters, and Lawrence Walsh's IranContra investigation came to a halt shortly after Clinton took office pushing the 'let's move on' theme and criticized Walsh's investigation as zealotry. Sound familiar? Turns out Clinton supported the IranContra policy, including the arms and drugrunning that supported the covert operations. The CIA drugrunning hub was Mena, Arkansas in the 80s.

Here's a thread you may recall - has lots of links and useful information.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3833716#3838806

[bertman]

36. Thanks for the link, blm, and also the explanation about IranContra. Over the years

I have read quite a bit about Big Dawg's link to the Mena operations and some of the casualties that resulted from that covert op.

The articles about Keating, Lindner, and Marley were very interesting also.

It appears that all of our Presidents have had strong ties to Mafia/CIA/military-industrial groups. That makes me wonder who is buttering President Obama's bread. I guess when you look at the DLC connection you have to see the Clintons and their cohorts in the background and now in the foreground--as in S of S--and Emmanuel as C of S. Doesn't bode well for any major changes, IMO.

[blm]

46. What I am hoping is that some of these folks are being coopted by Obama. All Obama has to do

really, is stay with his commitment to openness and let investigative journalists, historians, or senate and congressional investigators have fuller access to documents long suppressed by past administrations.

[AntiFascist]

57. The problem I see is that they always want to look forward, never back....

which is too bad because the same corrupt mechanism simply reappears sometime in the future catching everyone by surprise.

[blm]

60. Obama can look forward all he wants, just don't block OTHERS from looking back and examining

materials they need to get at the truth. I don't expect Obama to follow Clinton's path and actually prevent further scrutiny.

[bdamomma]

39. we are not so ignorant if we were out there to support President

Obama on his inauguration. The right should not underestimate us.

[dansolo]

49. They don't believe that they really do know what is best

Their motives are purely to help themselves and their friends increase their power and wealth. They aren't ideologically driven, where they believe that they know what is best for the country. They don't give a shit about the country or its citizens.

[crikkett]

15. but we've got his back, like the verizon network.

a million million computer geeks can do a lot with their spare time.

[bdamomma]

38. we should have his back, and we need to speak out against

the media too, they are still in bush's back pocket.

[tomp]

12. what an utterly silly thing to say! nt

[deaniac21]

14. moo

[tomp]

54. i think i made my point. nt

[Octafish]

21. Let's hope so. He's up against some serious NAZIs.

Warmongers make strange bedfellows. These NAZIs (and the Soviet spies among their number) were the ones who helped stoke the flames of the Cold War. As such, they represent the hidden power center in the United States:

How Was The CIA Formed?

By absorbing the Nazi war criminal infrastructure

by Jared Israel

On Oct 8, 1998, the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act became US law. This legislation:

“...calls for the establishment of the Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group to locate, identify, and make available to the public Nazi war criminal records.” (1)

The IWG’s task was to organize previously classified documents from the OSS, predecessor of the CIA, as well as from the CIA and other intelligence sources, and to make these documents available to the public. These were to include documents relating to possible collusion between US government organizations and Nazi war criminals.

Millions of pages have been released but very little information has trickled down to the broad public. And this trickle has been presented in a way calculated to minimize public awareness of the extent to which the Nazi apparatus was recruited in order - literally - to *become* the US covert operations and intelligence apparatus (the CIA etc.)

This story centers around the figure of Reinhard Gehlen.

Who was Reinhard Gehlen, and how did US intelligence use him?

From April 1942 on, Gehlen was head of German Armies East, the Nazi Army’s intelligence corps in conquered Soviet territory. Commenting on the release of some previously classified documents concerning Gehlen, the IWG wrote:

“Working immediately after the war with Army Intelligence, the Gehlen Organization became the responsibility of the CIA, which continued the relationship until 1956. One document released by the IWG on June 26, 2000, shows an early connection between the Strategic Services Unit (predecessor of the CIA) and Gehlen’s group. The SSU searched for members of Gehlen’s organization in POW camps and extensively interrogated them. As the Cold War developed during 1946, American intelligence officials found themselves lacking recent experience with Soviet intelligence activities and decided to use German experts on the Soviet Union - even though some may have been war criminals.”(2)

The above paragraph includes not one false statement; yet it is completely misleading. This suggests that the IWG’s talent may lie in disinformation rather than research.

1) The statement that the Gehlen organization was “working...with Army Intelligence” is misleading because “working with” implies equality of power: one does not “work with” men hiding from the law. The Nazis recruited by US intelligence were wanted for the worst war crimes; they were “employees” whose alternative was the hangman's noose. Surely they did what they were told.

2) The use of “working with” is also misleading because it suggests that Gehlen’s Organization (the 'Org’) was separate from the Strategic Services Unit and later from the CIA. This is not true. Gehlen’s Org became a decisive, perhaps *the* decisive component of the CIA’s worldwide apparatus. Its thousands of highly experienced operatives, much older than incoming CIA recruits, had to have a big effect on the culture of the CIA. Thus, US intelligence was Nazified.

3) The statement that, “As the Cold War developed during 1946, American intelligence officials found themselves lacking recent experience with Soviet intelligence activities and decided to use German experts on the Soviet Union - even though some may have been war criminals,” is false for three reasons.


a) First, it states that the advent of the so-called Cold War preceded the decision to use Gehlen. But in fact, the relationship between US intelligence and Gehlen began before World War II ended. That is, it began considerably before the ‘outbreak’ of the Cold War.

b) Second, under the terms of the agreements at the Potsdam Conference, (2A)


"5. War criminals and those who have participated in planning or carrying out Nazi enterprises involving or resulting in atrocities or war crimes shall be arrested and brought to judgment. Nazi leaders, influential Nazi supporters and high officials of Nazi organizations and institutions and any other persons dangerous to the occupation or its objectives shall be arrested and interned."

As we shall see, Gehlen and his Foreign Armies East organization did participate in "planning or carrying out Nazi enterprises involving or resulting in atrocities or war crimes."

Moreover, Gehlen brought numerous SS and Gestapo figures into the Gehlen Org, as his part of the US intelligence apparatus was known. US intelligence officials were required under the terms of the Nuremberg Tribunal to arrest these men. Given that US intelligence officials would inevitably discover whom he was recruiting, Gehlen would not have dared to involve SS and Gestapo officers without US approval. <2B>

CONTINUED...

http://emperors-clothes.com/analysis/gehlen.htm

And that's why I love Leon Panetta.

[BrklynLiberal]

8. Hopefully, Presdient Obama is fully aware of all this...and prepared or will be prepared

to handle it.

[Octafish]

17. President Obama is the smartest chief executive in a long time...

...His advisors, on the whole, are top-notch. To be successful, the new President needs us to warn him about those people and relationships he may not know about or things he and his team may not see. For example:

Know your BFEE: Scions of the Military Industrial Complex

Know your BFEE: Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ford Covered Up CIA Murder of American Scientist

Know your BFEE: Spawn of Wall Street and the Third Reich

Know your BFEE: Money Trumps Peace. Always.

I very much appreciate you understanding, BrklynLiberal.

[BrklynLiberal]

25. Anyone who ignores the BFEE is in deeptrouble. Never underestimate your

enemies....

[Parker CA]

11. Pretty chilling piece. Hopefully Obama has what it will take to negotiate

this shadow government in a delicate but successful manner.

[Octafish]

18. The War Party

Many of its members are obvious. The ones we need to worry about hide behind smiles.

Know your BFEE: At every turn, JFK was opposed by War Party

Thank you for understanding, Parker CA.

[Triana]

13. The bu$h family - remember from whence they came.....

...made their family fortune laundering money for Hitler.

[Octafish]

24. ''Money Trumps Peace'' -- George W Bush, Feb. 17, 2007

Know your BFEE: Money Trumps Peace. Always.

War profiteering must run in the family.

Know your BFEE: Nazis couldn’t win WWII, so they backed Bushes.

Big Time, as Sneer would say.

Know your BFEE: Scions of the Military Industrial Complex

[ProfessorPlum]

16. The Harkonens leaving Arakis.

[backscatter712]

31. Sounds about right.

Baron Bush Harkonnen leaves Arrakis, and for a while, it's left in family Democratreides. Then the Bush's attack, retake Arrakis, and the Baron leaves the planet in the hands of his son/nephew Beast W. Rabban.

Of course, Rabban runs Arrakis into the ground, there's a rebellion led by Barack Muad'Dib Obama. Of course, Baron Bush Harkonnen planned it all out - he lets the planet suffer under Beast Dubya for a while, then he'll want to put his pretty-boy nephew Jeb Feyd in charge.

Muad'Dib's gonna have to be up to the challenge. Where's a gom jabbar when we need one?

[Octafish]

55. Safari Club

Former Saudi Ambassador Bandar was the wonderful prince who gave us the "Safari Club" for the CIA's use, back when Jimmy Carter was president. The Safari Club financed CIA ops that ended up damaging Carter's policies. That's treason, in my book and what was America before November 22, 1963.

From p. 100 of Joseph Trento's "Prelude to Terror: The Rogue CIA, The Legacy of America's Private Intelligence Network and the Compromising of American Intelligence"

...During George Bush’s Zapata-Offshore years, he had met most of the Gulf region’s royals and had developed close personal relationships with several of them. When Saudi money began flowing into Texas in the 1970’s, Bush and his family became very friendly with the most influential Saudis living in the United States.

The most important friendship Bush had was with a quiet, dignified man named Sheikh Kamal Adham, Director of Saudi Intelligence, whom Bush had met through his father. Bush has told reporters, ‘I never met Kamal Adham personally.’ But according to lawyers for the late Saudi intelligence head and several officials at the CIA who served under Bush, there were several official meetings inside and outside the United States, both before and after Bush was the DCI. ‘Bush and Kamal were old friends. I was present when they met in New York when Bush was still United Nations Ambassador,’ Sarkis Soghanalian said. Bush and Adham shared a fascination with intelligence. Bush also took a deep interest in the sheikh’s American-educated nephew, HRH Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Sa’ud.

Prince Tuki had been a subject of CIA interest ever since his father had sent him to prep school at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. Agency talent spotters on the faculty at Georgetown University kept close track of Turki until he dropped out of Georgetown University to return home at the outbreak of the 1967 war with Israel. After later completing his education in England, Turki again returned home to prepare himself to eventually succeed his uncle-Kamal Adham as Director of Saudi intelligence.

SNIP...

Both Prince Turki and Sheikh Kamal Adham would play enormous roles in servicing a spy network designed to replace the official CIA while it was under Congressional scrutiny between the time of Watergate and the end of the Carter administration. The idea of using the Saudi royal family to bypass the American Constitution did not originate in the Kingdom. Adham was initially approached by one of the most respected and powerful men in Washington, Clark Clifford, who rose to power under Harry Truman and had enjoyed a relationship with the intelligence community for years. ‘Clark Clifford approached Kamal Adham and asked that the Saudis consider setting up an informal intelligence network outside the United States during the investigations,’ Robert Crowley said. Crowley, in his role as the CIA’s liaison to the corporate world, was privy to the plan, in which worldwide covert operations for the Agency were funded through a host of Saudi banking and charity enterprises. Several top U.S. military and intelligence officials directed the operations from positions they held overseas, notably former CIA director Richard Helms, at this time Ambassador to Iran.

Barbara calls the fellah "Bandar Bush," a member of the family.
Really, nice people.

[bvar22]

19. Like it or not...

The Economic Policies and Foreign Policies of the Bush41 administration continued, and in some cases accelerated, under the administration of 42.

I am still hopeful that Obama is a true outsider, but he is surrounded by many of the same faces that aided the Corporate takeover of America.

[Octafish]

56. Clinton signed the executive order opening up the JFK assassination records.

These have shined a big light on the BFEE. So, I don't believe Bill's a member, but he knows some of the same people. The late Pamela "Brown Brothers" Harriman (Know your BFEE: Hitler’s Bankers Shaped Vietnam War) and Jackson "BCCI" Stephens (National Corruption Index Beta), f'r instance. Likewise for Obama, the guy needs to watch his friends, like the Crown family, big shareholders in General Dynamics and War Inc.

[Karenina]

20. HAL-LO!

Frohes Neues, Liebling! :loveya:

[Octafish]

58. Happiest and All the Best to You and Yours, my Friend!

A belated present:

http://www.liesofourtimes.org/

Archivieren Sie bitte, bevor sie weg sind.

[Karenina]

62. Vielen Dank!

[PVnRT]

23. OK, I thought thread title said "testicles" for a second there

[Glenda]

34. LOL!

I would find both tentacles and testicles worrisome in this case

[Octafish]

61. Boy Octopii probably have testicles AND tentacles.

I haven't checked and not to disparage intelligent invertebrates, or anything, but...

UNTANGLING THE OCTOPUS

by Steve Mizrach

October Surprise, Iran-Contra, Noriega, Iraqgate, and BCCI

Before he died in an ineptly performed 'suicide,' the young journalist Danny Casolaro was working on a book that he claimed tied together many of the 'gates' and 'miniscandals' surrounding the Bush presidency. The book identified the web which tied all the scandals together as the "Octopus," a mythical creature with tentacles stretching everywhere. Perhaps the birth of the Octopus lies in the 1980 Presidential election; and its growth occurred under the eight years of the Reagan presidency. Casolaro soon found that the Octopus may have consisted of a 'shadow government' apparatus that went back even further than Bush and Reagan. But what's left of his notes seem primarily to focus on events in the 80s and 90s.

It is very possible that in 1980, Bill Casey and other members of the Reagan team may have conspired with the Iranians to delay the release of the American hostages: they were afraid of an "October Surprise" which might damage Reagan's chances of defeating Carter. Sure enough, the hostages were released right as Reagan was being inaugurated, and in 1981, the first shipment of arms to Iran began. Gunther Rossbacher, an ex-Navy pilot, and two other foreign sources, insist that on October 21st and 22nd, Bush met with Iranian delegates in Paris. The "October Surprise" may have been how Bush and other Reagan team members located the Iranian 'moderates' that played a role in the Iran-Contra scandal. In 1984, the Boland amendment forbade any more military assistance to the Contras. So, in 1985, the underground "Enterprise" - Operation Yellowfruit - began selling arms to Iran and using the proceeds to furnish weapons to the Contras. George Bush claims Iran-Contra has nothing to do with him, but other administration figures' records show he was at the secret meetings - Poindexter, in particular. Amiram Nir, an Israeli terrorism expert, insists he discussed Iranian arms deals with Bush, but that can't be confirmed... he died in a mysterious plane crash in Mexico in 1988.

It turns out the Iran-Contra scandal may have been part of a larger arms-for-hostages deal. The Iranians needed weapons in their war against Iraq, and the Reagan administration felt that the Iranians might have been able to convince the Shiite terrorists in Lebanon to release the American hostages held there. Reagan claimed no "quid pro quo," but then he also claimed he really didn't remember much, either. In any case, additional hostages were seized after the 'non-deal', and many may remain in captivity today, including the Lebanon CIA station head. One man who may have known a great deal about the Iran-Contra business was Manuel Noriega, whose name came up in the 1988 Dukakis-Bush debates. Noriega knew about the Contra drug pipeline, because he was a pusher, himself, while on the CIA payroll throughout the 1980s, and during his trial in Miami in 1989, some testimony emerged which suggested he knew something about the Central American end of the Iran-Contra affair and where some on the missing money may have 'disappeared' into.

On the Middle Eastern end, another man who was a delighted beneficiary of American generosity throughout the 1980s was Saddam Hussein of Iraq. The Agriculture Department and other agencies gave Saddam agricultural credits worth millions of dollars which he used to purchase American attack helicopters, chemical weapons for using on the Kurds, and the components of a nuclear weapons program. It is suspected that the CIA and Justice Department overlooked, or aided, the Banco Nazionale Lavoro (BNL) of Italy while it funneled billions in military aid to Iraq. This recently burgeoning scandal, "Iraqgate," suggests we were playing both sides against the middle during the Iran-Iraq war. We were selling arms to both the Iranians and the Iraqis, and the CIA at various points double-crossed both sides. It is no wonder that America is so distrusted in that part of the world. In any case, there were two men that knew too much, and when Bush became president, he had to clean them up, and he would wage two "cleanup wars" to do it.

CONTINUED...

http://www.fiu.edu/~mizrachs/octopus.html

Secrecy and priviledge should not play central roles in democratic government.

[SpiralHawk]

26. Mega Thanks for pointing out the ugly BFEE multi-generations dynasty of EVIL

and what it has done AGAINST the interests of Americans and America.

[leftofthedial]

27. They must be stopped and their influence ended.

They are vermin. Parasites.

[bdamomma]

41. exactly the repigs have screwed up this country for a long time

their philosophy is fucked up and they have shown us a number of times they are not for the people.

[bertman]

28. This is a very enlightening OP, Octafish. Thank you. Organized crime is another

big player in this power squadron. (And I'm not referring to the BFEE). Over the last 40 years they have been the beneficiaries of a PR transformation that has lead many Americans to believe that the Mafia is out of business or only a two-bit player. Aside from the Godfather-type movies and an occasional trial of a mafiosi there is a prevailing thought that the government somehow put organized crime out of business. Quite the contrary, their business operations have become much more sophisticated and have netted them respectability that they did not have in previous generations. No doubt they still use muscle to get what they want when other means fail, but they are still big, powerful and well-represented in the halls of power.

I am reading Legacy of Secrecy by Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann. This tome is a well-documented look at the assassination of JFK, RFK and MLK Jr. What struck me was how pervasive the mafia's influence was in the inner workings of CIA and government. And this was in the 60's.

All of the power of these forces is arrayed against our new President. It's going to take a HUGE grassroots effort to overcome the influence of the BFEE, the financial elites, and others who have gained control of our machinery of government.

I look forward to reading Family of Secrets.

Recommend highly.

Edited for typo.

[bluesmail]

29. because Obama is sharp, I'm willing to say

he already knows and has taken the precautions to keep damage at a minimum. JMO. I worry more about the American people and what the BFEE has done and is doing and is going to try to do to them.

[Progressive Son]

43. Cheneys Secret Army

Looks like Cheney still has control over this war. When will they let go? I think this is part of their plan to discredit Obama and make him look weak and not in control. I couldn't believe this when I read it today.

18 Dead After Suspected U.S. Missile Strike in Pakistan

Friday, January 23, 2009




ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Suspected U.S. missiles killed 18 people on the Pakistan side of the Afghan border Friday, security officials said, the first attacks on the Al Qaeda stronghold since President Barack Obama took office. It is quietly being investigated as possibly being the work of Cheney's sercret army, left intact as the previous administration left Washington.

At least five foreign militants were among those killed in the strikes by unmanned aircraft in two parts of the frontier region, an intelligence official said without naming them. There was no information on the identities of the others.

Pakistan's leaders had expressed hope Obama might halt the strikes, but few observers expected he would end a tactic that U.S. officials say has killed several top Al Qaeda operatives and is denying the terrorist network a long-held safe haven.

The United States has staged more than 30 missile strikes inside Pakistan since August last year — a barrage seen as a sign of frustration in Washington over Islamabad's efforts to curb militants that the U.S. blames for violence in Afghanistan and fears could be planning attacks on the West.

Pakistan publicly protests the strikes in the northwest as violations of its sovereignty that often kill civilians and undermine its own campaign against terrorists that have also launched bloody attacks on domestic targets.

But many observers believe the government secretly agrees with the tactic and may provide intelligence on the targets, noting that Islamabad's admitting to assisting the attacks would be politically damaging.

The first attack Friday took place in the village of Zharki in North Waziristan, when a single drone fired three missiles in the space of 10 minutes, the security officials said.

The missiles destroyed two buildings, killing 10 people, at least five of whom were foreign militants, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Hours later, a second missile struck a house in South Waziristan, killing eight people, the officials said, giving no more details.

The United States does not acknowledges firing the missiles, which are believed to be mostly fired from drones operated by the CIA and launched from neighboring Afghanistan.

According to an AP tally based on accounts from Pakistani security officials, at least 263 people — most of them alleged militants — have been killed in the strikes since last August.

A U.S. strike on New Years Eve killed two Kenyans said to be among al-Qaida's top operatives on the FBI's most-wanted terrorist list, an American official said recently.

Gen. David Petraeus, who is in charge of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the AP late last year that at least three top extremist leaders were killed in recent months due to the missile strikes.

Pakistan's government has little control over the border region, which is considered a likely hiding place for al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and other terror leaders.

Obama is making the war in Afghanistan and the intertwined Al Qaeda fight in Pakistan his top foreign policy priority. He has not commented on the missile strike policy, but struck a hawkish tone during his election campaign.

On Thursday, he named former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke a special envoy to both countries, an appointment welcomed by Pakistan's government.

In a statement, the country's foreign office said it "looked forward to enhanced and fruitful engagement with the special envoy to further the cause of peace and stability of the region."

Earlier Friday, a suicide attack and a roadside bomb killed two soldiers and three civilians in the Swat Valley, a one-time tourist destination close to the border region, officials said.

Pakistan has launched military offensives in parts of the northwest, but insurgents are making inroads in Swat, blowing up schools, killing police and soldiers and calling for the imposition of a hard-line interpretation of Islamic law.

Militancy in Swat is seen as especially dangerous for Pakistan because the valley lies away from the areas where al-Qaida and the Taliban have traditionally operated.

An indication of the difficulties facing the government, more than 1,000 hard-liners demonstrated in the capital, saying there would only be peace in Swat and other frontier regions if the government severs its ties with the United States.

"The lawlessness cannot end until the end of the pro-America policy," one speaker told the crowd gathered close to the Parliament building in Islamabad.

[AzDar]

33. K & R

:kick:

[Hotler]

35. Why are so many of position and power on the hill...

afraid of the BFEE? Are they all compromised by the BFEE? That's alot of dirt on alot of people.

[FatDave]

37. The last time The Bush family (and those they serve) were in the position they're in right now...

...they plotted a fascist coup in America.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot

[Blue_In_AK]

40. This is a good warning.

The book is dense, but well worth the read. Lots of info.

[Kip Humphrey]

42. TRANSLATION: Global Fascism is alive and well, and still needs to be eviscerated..

If Obama doesn't go after the fascists, they will surely go after him.

[TheUnspeakable]

44. kick for the morning crowd

my fondest hope is that some day everyone in this country understands the damage this crew has done.
No more airports or buildings named after poppy. They should be spoken about in the same way as Hitler or Osama bin laden.

[MagickMuffin]

45. I think Cheney and Bush should have the communications wiretapped

I don't trust any of these MOFO's. They have always been working with the terrorists. That's how they make their money and maintain their power.

This is the main reason that one should never move forward without looking back. You can not turn the page on these Evildoers. Otherwise the same mistakes will continue to be made over and over and over again.

Look at what happened when Clinton didn't pursue Poppy Bush for BCCI and Iran Contra. The same players GOT into power again but this time things turned out much much worse.

Thanks for posting Octafish:applause:

[supernova]

47. To me, this is where we can help

on the internet.

We can still keep exposing the BFEE for who they really are. And whether or not they are, in the present, trying to thwart what Barack wants to do either by smearing him (hardly likely), or by keeping tight reigns on their loyal terriers in Congress (highly likely), An alternative scenario I can see happening is putting out disinformation about a pet project of the WH, say alternative fuels.

[blm]

53. Exactly right - we need to keep exposing BFEE while general public is in frame of mind to UNDERSTAND

what Bushes and their cronies have brought down upon this nation and world.

Shamefully, some Dems even want to keep the books closed on their decades of criminal operations.

[treestar]

48. Obama has the people behind him

*/Cheney only had that temporarily and by a hair and due to 911 and the fear it engendered.

[OnyxCollie]

50. Kudos to you, Octafish

for plumbing the depths of the BFEE cesspool.

Bookmarking, as usual.

[infidel dog]

51. Thanks for the wise words, Octafish. Neon meat dreams to thee and thine...

[Time for change]

52. "Family of Secrets" sounds like it would be well worth reading

Thank you Octafish.

[Fire Walk With Me]

59. I can't vouch for the factuality of most of that article

but suffice to say, find it totally believable. The worst possible reason the right wing didn't invade Iran, declare martial law under a new attack (or the existing and horrific "Patriot Act", which is being treated as a Constitutional amendment), is that they might simply be =confident=.

The negative trends are all there. International intelligence and resource ties, manipulation of foreign powers since after WW2, CIA everywhere (including psyops against the USA proper), no sign of whomever is responsible for 9/11 (and no one cares anymore, which means they're winning; it served its purpose).

The vast sadistic, Machiavellian negativity is there, tied through the MIC, intelligence, and foreign money/resource powers. They looted what, some two trillion dollars of our tax money, further destroying the pesky middle class, unions, and other obstacles to the Republicans' planned lifestyle as Imelda Marcos.

I will be watching very closely to see what Obama does regarding the "Patriot Act" and other Bush legacies, which keep open the door for them to simply step back in whenever they want. See: "Enron planned schemes in advance", regarding pre-planned energy "shortages" in California, making people so angry they booted the Governor (and installed a Republican!!!).

Watch this pattern. I'll be happy if it's gone away, but since the perpetrators are still walking around with most of our money, we'll see. I have hope, but there is actual work to be done, if we wish to give hope the room to prosper. Hoping a garden will grow is nice, but you have to put up fencing against the wild animals which are waiting to feed upon it.

Gas prices fell before the 2006 election, then rose again. They fell significantly before and during the 2008 election, and lo, they are again rising. If it goes back up to or beyond the previous usurious levels, then we'll know who's behind it, and who stands to gain from tightening the financial noose around America's neck (as the article mentioned Bush's OPEC friends having done to Carter, in addition to the other dirty CIA tricks against him).

People in pain demand change, even if they're on the right track, even if they simply need to put up with it until the actual source of pain is removed. And the actual source hasn't. OPEC can do whatever they want, any time they want. The very bad guys are still there; I eagerly await news of how they will be dealt with. Through significant, extremely obvious change.

Edit: Spelling; added paragraph break.