FTR#347—Axis of Evil (Carlyle’s Way)—(Two 30-minute segments) (Sources are noted in parentheses.)

Continuing discussion of the 9/11/2001 attacks, this program presents new material and reviews information touched on in previous programs. (For more about the attacks see FTR#’s 325-346. Note: FTR#’s 260-315, FTR#325 and succeeding programs are streaming on Real Audio at www.wfmu.org/daveemory. FTR#’s 01-270 are available for download only, also on Real Audio, at http://archive.wfmu.org:5555/archive/DX/.)

Note: Users of this website are emphatically encouraged to create a word document out of the program descriptions and do a “search” on individual subjects in order to more completely reference those items.

Note: Users of this website (as well as the two WFMU web addresses noted below) are emphatically encouraged to use the internet to disseminate as much of the audio and printed material as possible. It is all FREE!

1. Central to the discussion in this broadcast is the Carlyle Group. One of the most successful investment firms in the world, Carlyle is an organization that cements the Bush family, key officials from the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations to the “Petrodollar” milieu of which the Bin Laden family is an integral part. (For more about the Carlyle Group, see FTR#’s 329, 334, 337, 341, 342. For more about the Bush family business connections to Bin Laden’s family, see FTR#’s 182, 186, 248, 256, 277, 292, 308, 310, 315, 319, 322, 325, 345, 346.) The program’s subtitle is a direct, profoundly respectful reference to the title of an important and disturbing article about the Carlyle Group in the respected business publication Red Herring. (“Carlyle’s Way” by Dan Briody; Red Herring; 1/8/2002; accessed at www.redherring.com/vc/2002/0111/947.html.) “Like everyone else in the United States, the group stood transfixed as the events of September 11 unfolded. Present were former secretary of defense Frank Carlucci, former secretary of state James Baker III, and representatives of the Bin Laden family. This was not some underground presidential bunker or Central Intelligence Agency interrogation room. It was the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, C.C., the plush setting for the annual investor conference of one of the most powerful, well-connected, and secretive companies in the world: the Carlyle Group. And since September 11, this little-known company has become unexpectedly important. That the Carlyle Group had its conference on America’s darkest day was mere coincidence, but there is nothing accidental about the cast of characters that this private-equity powerhouse has assembled in the 14 years since its founding. Among those associated with Carlyle are former U.S. President George Bush Sr. [as well as George W. Bush] . . . and Osama bin Laden’s estranged family. . .And as the Carlyle investors watched the World Trade towers go down, the group’s prospects went up.” (Idem.)

2. Before returning to the remarkable article from Red Herring, the program highlights a couple of other points of information. FTR#334 highlights the fact the Bin Laden family were flown out of the United States the day after the attacks, before they could be interviewed by the FBI. This program sets forth more specific information. Twelve members of the family were flown out of the country the day after the attacks, allegedly with the clearance of the CIA. (“America, Afghanistan & the Contrarian” by Christopher Hitchens; San Jose Mercury News; 1/27/2002; p. 5C; Mr. Hitchens’ speech can be heard online at www.commonwealthclub.org.)

3. The program also reviews information presented in FTR#343. Author Richard Labeviere quotes a European military attache stationed in the Persian Gulf for many years. “Contrary to its recurring denials, the Bin Laden family never cut its ties with Osama, the prodigal son. In spite of his loss of Saudi nationality—which was announced in response to international requirements—Osama always relied on the family group to conclude the training and the many relocations of his ‘Afghan’ mercenaries. These successive redeployments were always carried out at the instigation of Turki and in connection with his CIA contacts. Among his many activities, the chief of the Saudi secret service, endowed with a power that cuts across many fields, politically supervises the allocation of State contracts and always gives preference to the Bin Laden Group and ensures it the best terms of payment. This meticulous care partly explains the financial power of the ‘Banker of the Jihad’ . . . Still today [1999], Prince Turki, the constrained friend of the CIA, and his secret service, make abundant use of Osama bin Laden’s networks, whereas the federal court of New York has issued an international warrant for his arrest. . .Taking into account the close ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia, it is inconceivable that Bin Laden remains beyond reach! Bin Laden’s networks, with all their many branches, also enjoy the active support of the Muslim Brothers. The powerful religious fraternity never refused to put its military and financial logistics at the disposal of the Saudi billionaire.” (Dollars for Terror: The United States and Islam; Richard Labeviere; Copyright 2000 [SC]; Algora Publishing; ISBN 1-892941-06-6; pp. 117-118.) (For more about Prince Turki [Saudi chief of intelligence] who was replaced the week before the attacks, see FTR#’s 334, 337. For more about the Muslim Brotherhood, see FTR#343.) Mr. Emory notes that the CIA (not to mention the rest of the U.S. intelligence community) is not monolithic. For Labaviere’s use of the term “CIA,” one might well substitute the term “petroleum-related faction of U.S. intelligence.”

4. The discussion then returns to the vitally important article about the Carlyle Group. Mr. Briody reports that the 9/11 attacks resulted in the resurrection of the Crusader self-propelled howitzer, a Carlyle-owned project and one that enriches the district of Republican J.C. Watts. (Idem.) It is worth noting that, among the major areas of Carlyle’s interest is Korea—an investment undertaking heavily promoted by the Senior George Bush. (Idem.) It should be noted in that context that North Korea was recently cited by George W. as part of the “axis of evil” that his administration would focus on. Mr. Emory speculates that the inclusion of North Korea in his speech may have been an echo of Ronald Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech referring to the Soviet Union. As discussed in RFA#’s 36, 37 Reagan’s military buildup and war-mongering rhetoric were designed to destroy the Soviet Union by forcing it to attempt to match the U.S. military buildup and, in so doing, bankrupt itself. It should be noted that Carlyle is quite explicit about using its government connections to do business. “In running what its own marketing literature spookily calls ‘a vast, interlocking, global network of businesses and investment professionals’ that operates within the so-called iron triangle of industry, government, and the military, the Carlyle Group leaves itself open to any number of conflicts of interest and stunning ironies.” (Idem.)

5. The program then proceeds to a review of the intertwining of the business and terror-promoting interests of the Bin Laden and Bin Mahfouz families. The program features an excerpt of an article that was one of the central elements of FTR#342. (“Im Wunderland des Hasses”; by Johannes von Dohnanyi; Weltwoche; Ausgabe 01/2002 accessed at www.weltwoche.ch/ressort_berichtr.asp?asset_id=7766&category_id=4-37k.) Of particular significance in the analysis of the Al Queda milieu is the presence at its core of members of the Bin Mahfouz family, (like the Bin Ladens) one of the most powerful families of Saudi Arabia. (Idem.) Closely connected to the failed BCCI, Khalid Bin Mahfouz is reportedly married to Osama Bin Laden’s sister! (Idem.) The Bin Mahfouz and Bin Laden families have a number of business operations together, including the Carlyle group. (Idem.) Mr. Emory notes that the significance of the presence of members of the vast Bin Laden and Bin Mahfouz families in business interests involving members of the Bush family lies in the fact that this involvement connotes the “petrodollar” milieu discussed in FTR#345.) The actual dollar amount of the investment of any given individual in these families is relatively unimportant.

6. Next, the program reprises discussion of the connection of James R. Bath to all three families. Like the Bin Laden family, the Bin Mahfouz family was represented in North America by James R. Bath, an original investor in Arbusto Energy, George W. Bush’s first energy company. (The Mafia, CIA & George Bush; by Pete Brewton; SPI Books; Copyright 1992 [HC]; ISBN 1-56171-203-5; p. 219; pp. 221-222.)

7. The interlocking business interests of the Bush, Bin Laden and Bin Mahfouz groups are worth noting in the context of the fact that a number of Bin Mahfouz family bank accounts are under scrutiny in connection with September 11. (“Saudi Arabia Is Monitoring Key Bank Accounts” by James M. Dorsey; Wall Street Journal; 2/6/2002; p. A10.)

8. The family that “preys together” stays together. The program reviews an element of discussion from FTR#346. Bush’s education program may well benefit his brother Neil and his Saudi business associates. FTR#345 presented information about a recent conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at which the Bin Ladens (among others) expressed anxiety about their U.S. business ties. Bush’s younger brother Neil was using that (in part) Bin Laden-sponsored conference to recruit Saudi investors for his new educational software company, which figures to be a beneficiary of his brother’s education program. (“Neil Bush’s Saudi Business Connection” by Michael Isikoff; Newsweek; 2/4/2002; p. 6.) It is worth noting that another of the sponsors of the conference was Prince Alwaleed, a major player in Carlyle Group, as well as an associate of Yousseff Nada. (For more about the Nada, Alwaleed connection, see FTR#343. For more about Nada, see FTR#’s 335, 336, 340, 342.)

9. The cozy relationship between the Bushes and the families of America’s mortal enemies is worth noting, in that another attendee at the Jeddah conference, former President Clinton, pointedly disinvited the Bin Laden family and Prince Alwaleed to his address. (Idem.) Clinton’s speech criticized the Saudi stance with regard to its own Islamic fundamentalists and also criticized the PLO over its unwillingness to arrive at a peace settlement with the Israelis. (“Jeddah Businessmen Frustrated by Tense Relations with U.S.” by Roula Khalaf; Financial Times; 1/21/2002; p. 5.)

10. In that context, it is interesting to contemplate the fact that the PLO is financed by Saudi Arabia, possessing more foreign currency reserves than many Third World countries. (The Kingdom: Arabia and the House of Sa’ud; Robert Lacey; Copyright 1981 [HC]; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; ISBN 0-15-147260-2; p. 446.) It is noteworthy that this wealth does not appear to “trickle down” to the Palestinian people. In addition, the Saudis, like other Arab (and Muslim) nations, divert attention to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in an attempt to scapegoat Israel (and Jews) for their own fiscal problems.

11. It is also worth noting that the standard of living for the average Saudi is declining, amidst growing financial corruption. (“Saudi Deficit Mystery Symbolises Frustration” by Roula Khalaf; Financial Times; 1/28/2002; p. 5.)

12. Next, the program explores in greater depth a topic of discussion touched on in FTR#346. This subject serves to further underscore the inextricable relationship between the foreign, domestic, economic and military implications of the September 11 attacks. The program returns to the subject of the reprisal against the Al Shifa pharmaceutical plant for the attacks on U.S. embassies in August of 1998. Reprising a point presented in FTR#346, Mr. Emory notes that the Al Shifa attack was attributed by the Muslim Brotherhood to Clinton’s desire to distract from his domestic problems stemming from the Lewinsky scandal. (Dollars for Terror.; p. 367.)

13. Mr. Emory then sets forth a cynical, Machiavellian relationship between the Republican establishment, the Israeli right, and the Palestinian negotiating team. It is Mr. Emory’s view that this relationship was instrumental in destabilizing Clinton’s foreign policy and weakening his domestic political consensus. (For more about the Israeli right’s historical relationship with fascism, see Miscellaneous Archive Shows M30, M58, FTR#’s 94, 252. For discussion of the Republicans’ dalliance with the Israeli right, see FTR#’s 94, 139, 252, as well as L#8.)

14. The Republicans tried to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Yitzhak Rabin and Clinton viewed this as inimical to the peace process, and the legislation passed by the Republican dominated Congress was vetoed. (Ibid.; p. 167.) Subsequently, Rabin was assassinated. Mr. Emory notes that Benjamin Netanyahu (who succeeded Rabin) was almost indicted for incitement in the murder. (See FTR#139.) In 1998, as Clinton was dealing with the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Newt Gingrich was catering to the Israeli right, undermining U.S. policy with a speech in the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) which directly countered the administration’s policy. (See L#8.) Also in 1998, a representative of the Likud party (to which Sharon and Netanyahu belong) was present at the congress of the Allianza Nationale, the Italian fascist party and heir to Mussolini’s fascisti. (See FTR#’s 94, 113.) (Netanyahu’s father, one of his closest political advisers, was the personal secretary of the Betar, the fascist element in the Zionist movement. See FTR#94.) There are indications that the Lewinsky scandal was being exploited by a right-wing element of Israeli intelligence. (See FTR#139, as well as L#8.) In the spring of 2000, Ariel Sharon was meeting with former U.S. ambassador to Italy Maxwell Rabb and Silvio Berlusconi, whose government includes the Allianza Nationale. (See FTR#252.) In the summer of 2000, the Camp David negotiations failed, after Yasser Arafat walked out of the talks. (This occurred on the same day that Bush named Cheney as his running mate.)

15. The program concludes with review of “Baker’s Dozen” the so-called “moderate” Palestinians who comprised the PLO negotiating team. (The Secret War Against the Jews: How Western Espionage Betrayed the Jewish People; John Loftus and Mark Aarons; Copyright 1994 [HC]; St. Martin’s Press; ISBN 0-312-11057-X; p. 476.) These “moderates” were political and diplomatic proteges of James Baker, who watched the collapse of the World Trade Center towers with his Carlyle Group partners the Bin Ladens. One should not overlook the possibility that the peace talks were deliberately sabotaged by the Republicans and their fascist and intelligence-connected allies to deny Al Gore the campaign issue of a successful Democratic brokering of the Middle East peace process. (For analysis of the possible manipulation of the 2000 Camp David peace talks by the Republicans, see FTR#’s 334, 337, 340.) (The first broadcast of Mr. Emory’s programs takes place at 9pm [Pacific Time] on Monday evenings. To listen on the web, check the instructions on the KKUP-FM web site at www.kkup.com.) (Recorded on 2/11/2002.)