http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20041101&s=klein
Jean Jacques-Rousseau's observation that "Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains," came to mind when I read this article in this week's Nation. It's funny how the issue of national debts can weigh on the General Will . Anyway, this Naomi Klein article demonstrates how former Secretary of State's James Baker appointment as envoy on Iraq's debt ("a noble mission", according to George Bush) may have been fatally compromised by the old Texas two-step. It also provides yet another look into the Bush family's delusions of "freedom" and how such delusions, uncomplicated by the slightest cognitive dissonance (much less attention to ethical or legal bounds), could plunge James Baker, federal employee, into a world of hurt. Another cautionary tale indeed.
Ms. Klein notes how, "At the time [of Baker's appointment], there was widespread concern about whether Baker's extensive business dealings would compromise that mission, which is to meet with heads of state and persuade them to forgive the debts owed to them by Iraq. Of particular concern was his relationship with merchant bank and defense contractor the Carlyle Group, where Baker is senior counselor and an equity partner with an estimated $180 million stake." Those who have seen Fahrenheit 9/11 know the Carlyle Group is where Baker, George Bush Sr., the (non-black sheep) bin Ladens (at least until 2001), some of the Saudi royals, Rummy's pal Frank Carlucci, former British PM John Major, etc. get together to buy and sell companies by flipping through their rolodexes. Ms. Klein points out how Kuwait, as Iraq's largest creditor, has become a focus of Baker's desire to secure Carlyle's piece of the pie, while maintaining the facade of "liberating" Iraqis from a crushing foreign debt, as debt payments makes public investment and, thus, Iraqi reconstruction, impossible.
Clearly, James Baker must still be burdened by the fact that he made sure that Saddam Hussein received a $1 billion US taxpayer-backed loan (despite federal investigators tracking down US techologies that were illegally flowing to Iraq to build those darn "weapons of mass destruction") months before Saddam invaded Kuwait (after Baker personally assured Saddam that the Bush administration didn't care about disputes between Arab states.) $1 billion dollars, after all, is the amount the Carlyle Group seeks from the Kuwaiti government in exchange for its services as debt collector for the tens of billions of dollars that Iraq, the most indebted nation on earth, owes Kuwait, a rich oil emirate. James "$1 Billion" Baker, always playing both sides of the fence. And he once again is trying to toe the line, claiming "reparations" are distinguishable from "soverign debt"--a distinction even Paul Bremer did not recognize when he compared Iraq's current plight to that of the debt-ridden Weimar Germany.
The problem for Baker is that everyone in the world--Kuwait, the rest of the Arab world, and Europe--is finally starting to recognize this two-bit con man for what he is: a poodle for the Bushes and their Carlyle pals. Perhaps he should have consulted federal statutes before he chose to perform a public service in the name of "freeing" the Iraqis. James "$1 Billion" Baker, Bush family consigliere.