In this issue:

Straussians Exposed as Empire Builders, Liars

Wolfowitz Cabal Has Neo-Con Privateers Push Iran War

South Dakota Hails Amelia Boynton Robinson

General Wesley Clark Questions 9/11 White House Policy

Senators' Bipartisan Call for Bonds To Build Infrastructure

Desalination Plant for Texas To Be Functioning by Fall

Senate Panel Passes DOD Civil Service Reform

Senate Begins Debate on Medicare Drug Bill

From Volume 2, Issue Number 25 of Electronic Intelligence Weekly, Published June 24, 2003

United States News Digest

Straussians Exposed as Empire Builders, Liars

An op-ed in the June 8 Sunday St. Louis Post-Dispatch shows a helmeted Roman centurion with a shield in the form of a book entitled The Cabal by Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney, and Others, and a huge pen in place of a spear. Columnist Kevin Horrigan never credits EIR, nor Lyndon LaRouche, whose campaign has distributed over 600,000 copies of a pamphlet exposing the Straussians, called "The Children of Satan: The 'Ignoble Liars' Behind Bush's No-Exit War," but does refer to Seymour Hersh's New Yorker series and the article by Jeffrey Atlas in the New York Times, characterizing Strauss as "the philosopher-king of the Bush Administration." Horrigan lists Pentagon officials Richard Perle, William Luti, Steve Cambone, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Weekly Standard editor William Kristol, and ex-Congressman Newt Gingrich, as well as Cheney and Rumsfeld, as "Straussians" or admirers of Strauss.

The article refers to Strauss's citation of Plato in the cave and the notion of the "noble lie" to "deceive the masses for their own good." Thus, for the Straussians, the war on Iraq made perfect sense," Horrigan writes. "The philosopher-elite who guard Western civilization must, having obtained the ear of the king, extend democracy through military force, making the world safe by whatever means necessary, even if it means deceiving the masses about their real purposes, even if it means deceiving the king himself."

Horrigan then refers to an article in the New York Times which quotes Dinesh D'Souza: "Straussians have an intellectual rigor that is very attractive. They have extolled the idea of the statesman and the notion of advising the great, the prince, like Machiavelli or Aristotle. This is necessary because the prince is not always the smartest guy in the world."

Wolfowitz Cabal Has Neo-Con Privateers Push Iran War

While the names of the neo-conservative Chickenhawks around Vice President Dick Cheney, who carried out a policy coup d'etat in the Bush Administration, are by now well-known, largely due to the education provided by the distribution of writings through Lyndon LaRouche's 2004 Presidential campaign, it is time to shine the light on one of those outside the Administration, American Enterprise Institute's "universal fascist," Michael Ledeen. He is pointman for the latest of the neo-con schemes for perpetual war—an attack on Iran.

EIW has learned of an operation being run through U.S. private foundations and think tanks to overthrow the government in Iran, and run a destabilization, and/or targetted military strike against Iran's nuclear energy production facilities. The pointman in the operation is Michael Ledeen, the second-tier neo-con crony of Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle, who divides his time among National Review Online, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Ledeen has been a lifelong neo-con agitator and colleague of the current #2 and #3 in the Defense Department—Wolfowitz and Doug Feith, respectively—and as such, should be understood as reflecting the immediate intentions of the Administration neo-cons.

And with two of the Pentagon's neo-con notables in disgrace—Richard Perle having resigned as chairman of the Defense Policy Board, and retired Gen. Jay Garner having been kicked out of the position of Occupation Viceroy of Iraq—Ledeen is stirring up the networks in Congress, the press, and lining up tainted intelligence to justify new war against Iran. A pornographically phrased, raving article in the June 16 National Review Online called "The Iranian Revolution, 2003," by Ledeen proclaims that he can "sniff out" Iranian revolution from "the tell-tale odors coming from the undergarments of its doomed leaders."

The article cites six reasons why the Iranian "revolution" is unstoppable now—and why President Bush must embrace it. It is considered a signal that the neo-con cabal inside the Administration is going into high gear behind the scenes to get an Iran war. Among other objectives, this would help derail the Middle East Road Map negotiations for peace, and for creating a Palestinian state, which is a policy the Administration neo-cons despise.

Ledeen and the neo-con networks have been putting this in place for some time. In 2001, Venetian-trained "universal fascist" Ledeen founded the post-office-box Coalition for Democracy in Iran (CDI) to call for regime change in that country. (www.c-d-i.org).

One of his partners in founding CDI was Dr. Rob Sobhani, who is a Professor at Georgetown University and president of Caspian Energy Consulting. Other individual support for CDI includes the Center for Security Policy's Frank Gaffney, former Congressman Jack Kemp, leading neocon AEI Joshua Muravchik, and former Director of Central Intelligence James Woolsey, who sits on the Defense Policy Board. Woolsey has also worked for the Doug Feith/Abram Shulsky "Office of Special Plans," which is now under investigation for cooking the intelligence that pushed through the Iraq war.

One of CDI's policies, as spelled out in the June 15 Washington Post, is to support Sen. Sam Brownback's (R-Kans.) call for an Iran Liberation Act similar to that for Iraq. Senator Brownback—a main sponsor of the Iraqi Liberation Act of 1998 that codified the unilateral war of aggression against Iraq—is already peddling an amendment for $50 million to go for "regime change" propaganda by Iranian exile TV.

On May 17, the national Jewish newspaper, The Forward reported that the "Young Shah," Reza Pahlavi, is being lobbied by the CDI gang to play the role of the Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmed Chalabi, who, ironically, is now becoming totally discredited. Nonetheless, Pahlavi has met recently in private with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who both want the U.S. to go to war against Iran, and with Israel's Iranian-born President, Moshe Katsev. Also, as with the Iraq debate, The Forward and other sources report that a leading role is being played by Straussian William Kristol of the Rupert Murdoch-funded The Weekly Standard.

Ledeen, as board member of JINSA (see above), gave a speech at one of its policy forums on April 30 entitled, "Time To Focus on Iran—The Mother of Modern Terrorism," according to Pacific News Service of May 19. A week later Ledeen spoke at the AEI's Future of Iran conference, where he called for regime change.

South Dakota Hails Amelia Boynton Robinson

Schiller Institute vice chairwoman Amelia Boynton Robinson toured South Dakota during early June, where the civil rights heroine was welcomed with the greetings from leading political figures.

Former Democratic Presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. George McGovern wrote on June 4:

"I am glad Amelia Boynton Robinson will be visiting South Dakota. She has been a force for good all of her life. I admire her as a great voice for reason and decency. I wish I was able to be there with her. I welcome her to my state and wish her the very best."

Republican Governor M. Michael Rounds wrote on June 8:

"Dear Mrs. Robinson,

"It is my pleasure to welcome you to South Dakota. Your work for civil rights in this country is commendable. The civil rights movement was one of the great events of the 20th century, and your work and that of your colleagues has improved the lives of many in South Dakota and across this nation. I have always admired those brave citizens who faced daunting tasks to fight for a cause that they believed in. These leaders were denounced, mistreated, and persecuted, but they endured. Today, their work is something of which every person can be proud.

"Again, on behalf of all the people of this great state, welcome to South Dakota. I hope you enjoy your time here and that you will visit often."

General Wesley Clark Questions 9/11 White House Policy

Retired General Wesley Clark, former U.S. Supreme Commander in Europe, told NBC's "Meet the Press" on June 15 that "there was a concerted effort during the fall of 2001, starting immediately after 9/11, to pin 9/11 and the terrorism problem on Saddam Hussein."

"It came from people around the White House," Clark charged. "I got a call on 9/11—I was on CNN, and I got a call at my home saying, 'You've got to say this is connected—this is state-sponsored terrorism. This has to be connected to Saddam Hussein.' And I said, 'I'm willing to say it, but what's evidence?' And I never got any evidence. And these were people who were Middle East think tanks and people like this. I mean, there was a lot of pressure to connect this, and there were a lot of assumptions made. But I never personally saw the evidence, and didn't talk to anybody who had the evidence to make that connection."

Clark said that in the period leading up to the Iraq war, he had kept asking: "Where is the imminence of the threat?" He reported getting calls from people, who would say, " 'Well, look, don't you think the President might know something you don't know?' I certainly hoped he did. But it was never revealed what the imminence of the threat was," he said.

Clark indicated that "I am going to have to consider" entering the Presidential race, and that he would likely run as a Democrat.

Senators' Bipartisan Call for Bonds To Build Infrastructure

Senators James Talent (R-Mo.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) have introduced a $50-billion "Build America Bonds" measure to fund transit, bridges, harbors, airports and highways projects. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on June 14, in an editorial entitled "Mr. Talent's New Deal," applauded the "conservative Republican" for the program, which the author described as "a public works program that looks like something cooked up in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first 100 days in office." The editorial said, "State governments are strapped, and money for transportation needs is vital for economic development."

Ed Mortimer, a spokesman for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, recommended that the proposal be "strongly considered" by Congress.

The discussion of the FDR precedent in economic policy reflects the growing influence of Lyndon LaRouche's Presidential campaign, notably his call for a "Super-TVA."

Desalination Plant for Texas To Be Functioning by Fall

Brownsville and surrounding Texas communities are constructing a desalination processor for the brackish water from an aquifer. The plant, to be up and running by this fall, is a response to drought which has reduced the Rio Grande to a trickle. A spokesman for the Brownsville Public Utility Board told EIRNS on June 16 that the cost is about $1.40 per 1,000 gallons, less than half the cost of desalting ocean water.

But Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) is also proposing construction of a large-scale ocean desalination plant, to be located near Brownsville. Perry said such desalination is inevitable as a solution to the state's water shortages. He declared that a billion dollars, out of the projected $2.2 billion in the Private Activity Bond program already enacted for the next five years, would fund a desalination plant and other needed water projects.

Senate Panel Passes DOD Civil Service Reform

The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee passed on June 17, by a vote of 10 to 1, the Senate response to the Pentagon civil service reform being demanded by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. At the outset of the debate on the bill, Committee chairman Susan Collins (R-Me.) underscored that undertaking reform of the Federal civil service system is "extremely important" and "likely to be a template for the future." She added that it is also "important that this committee," which has jurisdiction over civil service matters, "not cede its authority to the Armed Services Committee."

The main purpose of the exercise appears to have been to give the Senate negotiators on the Defense Authorization bill some leverage with the House in the conference committee. The House bill includes a slightly watered-down version of the language that Rumsfeld demanded, but the Senate bill is silent on the matter, and the Senate has not otherwise expressed its will on the matter. Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.), a co-author, with Collins, of the reform bill, expressed the hope that the approach in that bill can be taken up in the conference. "This is value added to the conference," he said.

With the exception of Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), all the Democratic Senators were on board with the bill, because, as the Committee's ranking Democrat, Joe Lieberman (Conn.), put it, "This bill is a balanced, bipartisan plan that would give the Department the flexibility it needs without compromising worker rights and protections."

The Senate bill gives the Secretary of Defense far less authority to waive the civil service law than does the House version, and makes some parts, particularly those dealing with labor-management relations, nonwaivable. It also requires the Department to consult with the Office of Personnel Management, the Merit Systems Protection Board, Federal employee unions, and the Congress, as it constructs its new personnel system.

Senate Begins Debate on Medicare Drug Bill

A confident Senate Finance Committee chairman Charles Grassley (R-Ia.) on June 16 brought to the floor of the Senate a bill, co-sponsored by Max Baucus (D-Mont.), to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare. The bill, which passed the Committee on June 12 by a 16:5 vote, would set up a drug benefit that would be available whether a Medicare beneficiary joins an approved health maintenance organization, or stays with the traditional fee for service plan. For a premium of $35 per month, drug coverage would start with a $275 deductible, then would provide coverage for 50% of costs up to $3,450, and then no coverage until beneficiary out-of-pocket costs reached $3,700, and then 90% thereafter.

While Grassley expressed confidence that the bill will be passed, and President Bush has already endorsed it, the Senator also admits that he will have a difficult row to hoe. "I wouldn't want to call it a tough sell," Grassley said on June 13, "but I do have a lot of work to do in my own caucus." He also said he expected the bill to be on the Senate floor for about two weeks, indicating that there might be a large number of amendments offered. "I think Max [Baucus] and I are going to have to take a lot of time and be very patient," he said, "both on the floor and within our respective caucuses, to just answer a lot of questions."

All rights reserved © 2003 EIRNS