All in the family

From Talking Points Memo:

President Bush named James A. Baker III, the former
secretary of state, as his personal envoy to Iraq today to help the
country grapple with its debt problem. "Secretary Baker will report
directly to me," Mr. Bush said in a statement, "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."
New York Times, December 5th 2003
Saudi Arabia will withhold the $1 billion in loans and credits that it
pledged last month for Iraq's reconstruction until the security
situation is stabilized and a sovereign government takes office, U.S.
and Saudi officials said. Los Angeles Times, December 1st 2003
Baker is one of the Saudi government's chief supporters in the US. His
law firm, Baker Botts, is now representing the Saudi government in the
$ 1 trillion law suit filed against Saudi Arabia for its alleged role
in the 9/11 attacks by the victims' families. Baker also serves as
senior counsel and partner in the Carlyle investment group, which is a
financial adviser to the Saudi government.
Jerusalem Post, August 15th 2003
For more than three decades, Saudi Arabia has sought to influence
American politicians, often through investment in American business.
While they have occasionally sought out Democrats, they are far more
comfortable with Republicans -- and in particular, with Bush
Republicans. At the moment, for example, the kingdom's defense attorney
in a lawsuit brought by families of 9/11 victims happens to be James
Baker, that ultimate Bushie whose resume includes stints as Secretary
of State and Treasury. (Mr. Baker's last big court case was Bush v.
Gore.)
New York Observer, August 11th 2003
A fine illustration of this Washington tradition took place at the
capital's Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Sept. 11, 2001. On that day, former
secretary of state James Baker, former secretary of defense Frank
Carlucci and a parade of other former government officials convened at
those swank quarters to attend the annual investor conference of the
Carlyle Group, a private investment company known for putting lucrative
business deals together for the Saudi royal family (and also known for
its roster of all-star advisers, including Baker and the elder George
Bush). Among those gathered to schmooze with Washington's power brokers
was one Shafiq bin Laden, a Saudi captain of industry whose brother
would slaughter thousands of Americans before the conferees broke for
lunch. The meeting, notes Robert Baer, whose Sleeping With the Devil
catalogs many others like it, "was the perfect metaphor for
Washington's strange affair with Saudi Arabia."
Washington Post, July 27th 2003

Posted by flow Frazao on December 6, 2003 at 12:47 PM | Permalink