Nexus - 0204 - New Times Magazine-pages

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Oa TOWARDS <2 BIG BROTHER “ an organization taking place. ...This opera- | Bush Administration intends to use the tion constituted the grossest kind of viola- C.I.A. and its private subcontractors to tion of the tenets of our government.” wage secret warfare as a permanent instru- According to Clifford, the National ment of United States foreign policy. And Security Council was supposed to be an Congress approves. advisory group recommending policy to The time has come to declare that the the President. The C.LA. was originally covert element within our society is an formed to coordinate Government-wide aberration that belongs to the past. A BRIEF HISTORY _ intelligence gathering. Neither organization By LANNY SINKIN and ANDY LANG was authorized to conduct covert opera- | Convergence Magazine, Christic Institute, OF COVERT tions. Winter 1991, p. 12 O P E RAT | O N S By 1954 the Central Intelligence Agency was no longer the central clearinghouse for J intelligence originally conceived by the B US H S The National Security Act of 1947 creat- authors of the National Security Act. “ T E A M 1 0 0 aan) ed the Central Intelligence Agency andthe Without any basis in statutory law, the National Security Council.The act set the C.I.A. was now used to overthrow A N E W E R A oO F stage for a new type of warfare - covert unfriendly governments and assassinate operations. foreign leaders. Covert operations are by FAT- Cc AT This was not the intention of Clark their very nature secret. Secrecy may be a l N F L U E N Cc E l N Clifford, the bill’s author. In August 1987 military necessity in wartime, but after Clifford told columnist Philip Geyelin of nearly 50 years of permanent war against WA S H l N G T oO N the Washington Post that the Iran-contra Com-munism, secrecy has become a per- scandal revealed that covert operations manent instrument of foreign policy. It is More than $25 million, raised in individ- were out of control. “We read of events tak- _ no longer a means but an end in itself. Two —_ ual $100,000 contributions to help the 1988 ing place that surpass any nightmare we generations of politicians and government _Bush election effort, has opened a new era have ever had,”’ he said, “unbelievable acts _ officials have been trained to believe that of fatcat influence in Washington. that bore no resemblance whatsoever to the _ the people have no inherent right to know The $100,000 contributions were raised functions of the NSC and the C.LA... a about the covert policies that protect in a bigmoney fund raising drive called secret government operating ina democracy. ~‘national security’ or their “way of life’? ~*Team 100°’ by Robert Mosbacher, who “\..D don’t think our forefathers had any —_ against unseen enemies. was chief fund raiser for Bush’s 1988 cam- concept of anything like that taking place. I The Iran-contra scandal should have _ paign and is now Commerce Secretary. know I had no thought at any time of such _irreparably damaged the reputation of These contributions are part of what is America’s spy agencies, known as the soft money system which, and the end of the Cold according to critics, “‘is nothing more than War should have per- a laundering operation designed to bring suaded Congress that illegal federal contributions into federal covert agencies no longer __ elections.” serve a useful purpose. According to a special investigation by But in the 1991 intelli- Common Cause Magazine, the Bush gence authorization bill administration “makes no pretense about Congress acted to institu- maintaining an arms length relationship tionalize the President’s with the Team 100 donors. They are wined power to conduct covert and dined at the White House and at events operations. in their honor. They are given special brief- Why has this happened? ings and regularly hobnob with ranking Despite the collapse of Bush appointees.” communism, the archen- Mosbacher’s Team 100 is a veritable emy used to justify an who’s who of American business. Those economy and political contributing $100,000 include 66 in the system geared toconduct investment and banking community covert and overt war, the (including Charles Keating and Donald system now seeks new Trump), 58 in real estate and construction, enemies. These enemies 17 in the oil industry, 15 in food and agri- include the international culture, and others in the entertainment, drug trade, terrorism and cable, insurance, steel and auto industries, —=— s regional conflicts. The making 249 in total. Bush Administration intends to use the C.LA. and its private subcontractors to wage secret warfare as a permanent instru- ment of United States foreign policy. And Congress approves. The time has come to declare that the covert element within our society is an aberration that belongs to the past. By LANNY SINKIN and ANDY LANG Convergence Magazine, Christic Institute, Winter 1991, p. 12 BUSH’S “TEAM ~ 1100”: ERA OF The National Security Act of 1947 creat- ed the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council.The act set the stage for a new type of warfare - covert operations. This was not the intention of Clark Clifford, the bill’s author. In August 1987 Clifford told columnist Philip Geyelin of the Washington Post that the Iran-contra scandal revealed that covert operations were out of control. “We read of events tak- ing place that surpass any nightmare we have ever had,”’ he said, “unbelievable acts that bore no resemblance whatsoever to the functions of the NSC and the CLA... a secret government operating in a democracy. “\... don’t think our forefathers had any concept of anything like that taking place. I know I had no thought at any time of such A NEW FAT-CAT INFLUENCE IN WASHINGTON More than $25 million, raised in individ- ual $100,000 contributions to help the 1988 Bush election effort, has opened a new era of fatcat influence in Washington. The $100,000 contributions were raised in a bigmoney fund raising drive called “Team 100°’ by Robert Mosbacher, who was chief fund raiser for Bush’s 1988 cam- paign and is now Commerce Secretary. These contributions are part of what is known as the soft money system which, according to critics, “is nothing more than a laundering operation designed to bring illegal federal contributions into federal elections.” According to a special investigation by Common Cause Magazine, the Bush administration ““makes no pretense about maintaining an arms length relationship with the Team 100 donors. They are wined and dined at the White House and at events in their honor. They are given special brief- ings and regularly hobnob with ranking Bush appointees.” Mosbacher’s Team 100 is a veritable who’s who of American business. Those contributing $100,000 include 66 in the investment and banking community (including Charles Keating and Donald Trump), 58 in real estate and construction, 17 in the oil industry, 15 in food and agri- culture, and others in the entertainment, cable, insurance, steel and auto industries, making 249 in total. NEXUS - 44 A BRIEF HISTORY OF COVERT OPERATIONS YEAR BOOK - JULY/AUGUST 1991