The LA Times this morning gave me a detail that I was wondering about all day yesterday - who exactly did that poll that Mr. Bush cited in his press conference which said that Iraqis were more optimistic about their country than the U.S.?
Here's the answer. Bush was referring to a survey by the International Republican Institute, a nonprofit group aimed at promoting democracy, which showed that more than 51% of Iraqis felt their country was headed "in the right direction." Thirty-one percent said it was headed in the wrong direction.
Now, suspicious as I usually am of our "Liberal" media, something struck me as curious about this. They call it the "International Republican Institute". Is something that's name a Republican institute merely going to be a non-partisan nonprofit group aimed at promoting Democracy, or are they going to be a fairly partisan nonprofit aimed at promoting Democracy? Hmmm, the plot thickened.
So naturally, I did a little Google search for the International Republican Institute, and found their home page. On their FAQ page, they had this statement...
Is IRI affiliated with the Republican Party?
No, IRI is a nonpartisan organization, not affiliated with any political party. IRI is guided by the fundamental American principles of individual liberty, the rule of law and the entrepreneurial spirit.
Ok, so in theory that should have removed all my doubts on the matter. So if I was particularly trusting, I might have just sat there on my hands. But I dug a little further. And I found their
history page.
IRI was founded after President Ronald Reagan's 1982 speech before the British Parliament in Westminster in which he proposed a broad objective of helping countries build the infrastructure of democracy. Quoting the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he stated "we must be staunch in our conviction that freedom is not the sole prerogative of a lucky few but the inalienable and universal right of all human beings."
Hmmm, founded by Reagan, well, I guess that it could still be non-partisan. Just because Reagan created it doesn't mean it's run by Republicans does it?
Well, I guess let's actually find out who does run it.
Here's a sampling of some of the better ones
John McCain Chairman (R)
Michael V. Kostiw Vice-Chairman - also Vice President, International Government Affairs at ChevronTexaco
U.S. Representative David Dreier (R)
Lawrence S. Eagleburger - Short-term Secretary of State under Bush 1
Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr. - Former Chairman of the Republican Party
Alison B. Fortier - Director, Lockheed Martin Missile Defense Programs
Susan Golding - Former Republican Mayor of San Diego
U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel, (R-Neb)
Robert M. Kimmitt - US ambassador to Germany under Bush 1
Dr. Jeane J. Kirkpatrick - Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
U.S. Representative Jim Kolbe, (R-Ariz)
Brent Scowcroft - Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Bush 1.
William J. Hybl - Bush 2's U.S. Rep to U.N. General Assembly
Fred Meyer - Former Chairman, RNC Victory 2000 and the Presidential Inauguration 2001 Executive Committee
Alec L. Poitevint, II - National Committeeman, Georgia Republican National Committee
Marilyn Ware - Board of Trustees, American Enterprise Institute
And that list goes on. Hmmm, now it's starting to make sense - that organization really really means it when they say "Republican." Its almost as if they might have a motive to put forward polling data favorable to Bush. Let's see what else we can learn about them.
Hmmm, it seems they may have had a role in the coup in Haiti. Here's some of their other works.
the early focus of IRI was Central America and the Caribbean --a region that in the 1980s was cutting edge of the Reagan administration's revival of counterinsurgency and counter-revolutionary operations. After the Soviet bloc began to disintegrate in 1989, IRI says it "broadened its reach to support democracy around the globe." (2) IRI has channeled U.S. political aid to partners--which like itself are often creations of U.S. funding--in 75 countries, and it currently has operations 50 countries. Most recently, it has expanded its operations into Central Asia, having opened offices in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. In Latin America, IRI has offices in Guatemala, Peru, and Haiti. In Africa, IRI has offices in Kenya, Nigeria, and Angola. IRI's offices in Asia are found in Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, and Mongolia. In Central and Eastern Europe, IRI has offices in Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Turkey. There is also an IRI office in Moscow. (3)
The principals of IRI span the center right-far right spectrum of the internationalists in the Republican Party. Most of its staff and board have links to right-wing think tanks, foundations, and policy institutes, while many also represent major financial, oil, and defense corporations. George A. Folsom, IRI's president and CEO, was a member of the Bush-Cheney Transition Team, serving on the Treasury Department task force. An international investment banker, Folsom was a leading member of the Scowcroft Group, an international advisory firm headed by Brent Scowcroft. An adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Folsom is a frequent guest at forums and strategy sessions hosted by the Heritage Foundation, National Defense University, American Enterprise Institute, and Washington Institute for Near East Policy. IRI's vice president of strategic planning and Latin America expert is Georges Fauriol, the former director of the Americas program at CSIS, where he cochaired with Ambassador Otto Reich the Americas Forum, a hemispheric network of like-minded policy professionals. Among other affiliations of Fauriol are his work with the right-wing Foreign Policy Research Institute and the U.S. Information Agency (USIA). Since the early 1980s Fauriol has worked closely with right-wing Cuban Americans such as Otto Reich and is a member of the Center for a Free Cuba.
So let's see, they were involved in Reagan's stuff in Central America in the 80's. That sits even worse with me.
After the April 2002 aborted coup against Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez, many observers accused Washington of having been behind the attempted ouster. The Bush administration denied any U.S. involvement in the affair. However, one relatively clear connection has emerged between the U.S. government and the anti-Chávez movement: millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer money channeled through the IRI and other U.S. organizations, including CIPE and ACLIS, that funded groups opposed to Chávez during the years preceding the April coup.
Mike Cesar, an analyst for the IRC's Americas Program, reported that in an April 12 facsimile sent to news media, IRI President George A. Folsom rejoiced over Chávez' removal from power. "The Venezuelan people rose up to defend democracy in their country," he wrote. "Venezuelans were provoked into action as a result of systematic repression by the government of Hugo Chávez."
Ok, I think you get my point.
Thank you Mr. Bush for citing this organization's polling data in your presentation. This organization just jumped very near the top of my list of things that this country needs to do away with, and I appreciate your pointing it out to me. Also thanks to the LA Times for piqueing my interest without saying who exactly they were.
U.S. tax dollars go to fund the thing, and they really mean it when they say "Republican." They've been potentially involved in the coups in Venezuela and Haiti. THey even hosted a talk during the Republican National Convention. And they Presented Condi Rice with their "Freedom Award." This is not a non-partisan organization. It's involving itself in attempts to overthrow governments with U.S. dollars at its backing. Its very existence scares the Hell out of me.
So now that you know who conducted this poll...just out of curiosity, do you think there might be a little bit of a bias somewhere in that organization? And is that now your biggest concern?
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