FTR#431—Desert Flowers, Part II: More About the Bushes of Arabia—(One
30-minute segment) (Sources are noted in parentheses.) (Recorded on
10/27/2003.)
Note: FTR#’s 260-316, 317, 324,
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Summary of FTR#431—(Note: The massive
volume of “For The Record” programs about 9/11 and related topics is summarized
and analyzed in the periodically-updated description for FTR#391. It is recommended that listeners use this
description and e-mail it to others. Also: The “meat” of the book “Martin
Bormann: Nazi in Exile” has been digested into an extended description for FTR#305. Listeners can now e-mail this
quintessentially important book to people around the world. In addition, the
professional history of the late Paul Manning, the book’s author, is presented
in the description “About Paul Manning.” This
enables listeners to acquaint others with Mr. Manning’s journalistic
credentials. Understanding the Bormann organization is essential to
comprehending the concept of “the Underground Reich.”) This program is a follow-up to FTR#392,
which deals with some of the Middle Eastern business connections of Marvin
Bush—the President’s younger brother. Introducing the major focal point of the
program, the broadcast highlights Marvin Bush’s position on the boards of
Stratesec and HCC. The former held electronic security contracts for the World
Trade Center, Dulles International Airport and United Airlines. The latter was
a major insurance underwriter for the World Trade Center. (Dulles International
Airport was the departure point for the plane that attacked the Pentagon and
one of the aircraft that crashed into the World Trade Center was a United
Airlines flight.) The parent corporation of Stratesec was the Kuwaiti-American
Corporation, a firm that linked the Bush family with members of the Kuwaiti
family. One of the central questions
arisng in connection with the Bush family relationship with this nexus concerns the possible use of these connections for
intelligence gathering or operational manipulation in connection with the
attacks. Could this relationship have had any bearing on the hiring of former
FBI agent John O’Neill—who was killed at Ground Zero on his first day as
director of the WTC? O’Neill’s investigation had been actively frustrated by
corporate interests linked to Saudi Arabia; his team barred from continuing
their work in Yemen by Bush’s State Department. He (O’Neill) allegedly had a
briefcase stolen from his possession in the summer of 2001 containing funding
and personnel assignments for all counterintelligence and counter-terror
operations in the New York area. As will be
seen below, Wirt D. Walker III was the managing director of the
Kuwaiti-American Corporation and deeply involved with Stratesec. Walker is also
a member of the Bush family. Interestingly (and perhaps
significantly), Walker is also chairman and CEO of Aviation General, a Tulsa
(Oklahoma) aviation firm. Among Aviation General’s links are business
connections in the Middle East (Egypt in particular) and flight schools in
Florida. Again, the question arises as to possible connections with the events
of 9/11.
Program Highlights Include: Marvin Bush’s
failure to properly list his directorships of HCC and Stratesec on SEC proxy
filings; presidential uncle Jonathan Bush’s links to Saudi bank accounts
tangential to the milieu of 9/11; Jonathan Bush crony William Donaldson’s
accession to being head of the SEC.
1.
Introducing the major focal point of the program, the broadcast
highlights Marvin Bush’s position on the boards of Stratesec and HCC. The
former held electronic security contracts for the World Trade Center, Dulles
International Airport and United Airlines. The latter was a major insurance
underwriter for the World Trade Center. (Dulles International Airport was the
departure point for the plane that attacked the Pentagon and one of the
aircraft that crashed into the World Trade Center was a United Airlines
flight.) The parent corporation of Stratesec was the Kuwaiti-American
Corporation, a firm that linked the Bush family with members of the Kuwaiti
family. . One of the central questions arisng in connection with the Bush family relationship
with this nexus concerns the possible
use of these connections for intelligence gathering or operational manipulation
in connection with the attacks. Could this relationship have had any bearing on
the hiring of former FBI agent John O’Neill—who was killed at Ground Zero on
his first day as director of the WTC? O’Neill’s investigation had been actively
frustrated by corporate interests linked to Saudi Arabia; his team barred from
continuing their work in Yemen by Bush’s State Department. He (O’Neill)
allegedly had a briefcase stolen from his possession in the summer of 2001
containing funding and personnel assignments for all counterintelligence and
counter-terror operations in the New York area. (For more about O’Neill, see—among other programs—FTR#’s 310, 322, 325, 326, 336, 337, 349.
For more about the securities’ manipulations, see FTR#’s 327, 357.) Might the Marvin Bush connection to
Stratesec and HCC have had any bearing on the apparent short-selling of airline
and insurance stocks in the run-up to the investigation? Obviously,
this is what Mr. Emory calls “Food For Thought and Grounds for Further
Research”—it is indeterminate, at this point in time. In light of the fact that
both Jeb Bush and his brother Neill helped their father’s efforts in connection
with covert support for the Contras (see FTR#’s
248, 249) this would not re altogether surprising. “George W. Bush’s brother was on the board of directors
of a company providing electronic security for the World Trade Center, Dulles
International Airport and United Airlines, according to public records. The
company was backed by an investment firm, the Kuwait-American Corp., also
linked for years to the Bush family. The security firm, formerly named
Securacom and now named Stratesec, is in Sterling, VA. Its CEO, Barry McDaniel,
said the company had a ‘completion contract’ to handle some of the security at
the World Trade Center ‘up to the day the buildings fell down.’ It also had a
three-year contract to maintain electronic security systems at Dulles Airport,
according to a Dulles contracting official. Securacom/Stratesec also handled
some security for United Airlines in the 1990’s, according to McDaniel, but it
had been completed before his arriving on the board in 1998.” (“Bush-linked
Company Handled Security for the WTC, Dulles and United” by Margie Burns; Prince George’s Journal [Maryland];
2/4/2003; p. 1; accessed at Common Dreams News Center’s web site: www.commondreams.org/views03/0204-06.htm .)
2.
Noting Stratesec’s contracts for security at the Los Alamos laboratory,
it is also interesting to speculate on the Wen Ho Lee case and a major security
scandal at the lab that helped to destabilize the Clinton administration and
discredit the Energy Department under Bill Richardson. (For more about this
subject, see FTR#236.) “McDaniel
confirmed that the company has security contracts with the Department of
Defense, including the U.S. Army, but did not detail the nature of the work,
citing security concerns. It has an ongoing line with the General Services
Administration—meaning that its bids for contracts are noncompetitive—and also
did security work for the Los Alamos laboratory before 1998.” (Idem.)
3.
“Marvin P. Bush,
the president’s youngest brother, was a director at Stratesec from 1993 to
fiscal year 2000. But the White House has not publicly disclosed Bush
connections in any of its responses to 9/11, nor has it mentioned that another
Bush-linked business had done security work for the facilities attacked. Marvin
Bush has not responded to telephone calls and e-mails for comment. KuwAm has
been linked to the Bush family financially since the Gulf War. One of its
principals and a member of the Kuwaiti royal family, Mishal Yousef Saud al
Sabah, served on the board of Stratesec.” (Idem.)
4.
As will be seen below, Wirt D. Walker III was the managing director of
the Kuwaiti-American Corporation and deeply involved with Stratesec. Walker is
also a member of the Bush family. “The managing director at KuwAm, Wirt D. Walker III, was
also a principal at Stratesec and Walker, Marvin Bush and al Sabah are listed
in SEC filings as significant shareholders in both companies during that
period. Marvin Bush’s last year on the board at Stratesec coincided with his
first year on the board of HCC Insurance, formerly Houston Casualty Co., one of
the insurance carriers for the WTC. He left the HCC board in November 2002.” (Ibid.;
pp. 1-2.)
5.
Interestingly (and perhaps significantly), Walker is also chairman and
CEO of Aviation General, a Tulsa (Oklahoma) aviation firm. Among Aviation
General’s links are business connections in the Middle East (Egypt in
particular) and flight schools in Florida. Again, the question arises as to possible connections with the events of
9/11.“But none
of these connections has been looked at during the extensive investigations
since 9/11. McDaniel says principals and other personnel at Stratesec have not
been questioned or debriefed by the FBI or other investigators. Walker declined
to answer the same question regarding KuwAm, referring to the public record.
Walker [a Bush family relative] is also chairman and CEO of Aviation General, a
Tulsa, Okla.-based aviation company with two subsidiaries. SEC filings also
show al Sabah as a principal and shareholder in Aviation General, which was
recently delisted by the Nasdaq. Stratesec was delisted by the American Stock
Exchange in October 2002.” (Ibid.; p. 2.)
6.
Other interesting evidentiary tributaries connecting the Bush family to
the HCC, KuwAm milieu involve the leasing of the suite used for board elections
to the Saudi Government and the Riggs Bank. The latter has the President’s
Uncle Jonathan Bush as an executive. Riggs handles the vast bulk of accounts
for D.C. Embassies and was the repository for Saudi Princess al-Faisal’s
account used on behalf of some of the hijackers. “The suite in which Marvin Bush was annually
re-elected, according to public records, is located in the Watergate in space
leased to the Saudi Government.
[Italics are Mr. Emory’s.] The company now holds shareholder meetings in space
leased by the Kuwaiti government there. The White House has not responded to
various requests for comment. Speaking of the Watergate, Riggs National Bank,
where Saudi Princess al-Faisal had her ‘Saudi money trail’ bank account, has as
one of its executives Jonathan Bush, an uncle of the president. The public has
not learned whether Riggs—which, services 95 percent of Washington’s foreign
embassies—will be turning over records relating to Saudi finance.” (Idem.)
7.
One of Jonathan Bush’s Yale classmates—William Donaldson—was appointed
head of the SEC. Don’t expect any inquiries into the securities manipulations
prior to and after 9/11. (For more about those manipulations, see FTR#327.) “Meanwhile, Bush has nominated William H.
Donaldson to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. Donaldson, a longtime
Bush family friend, was a Yale classmate of Jonathan Bush. On the very day of
the tragic space shuttle crash, the government appointed an independent
investigative panel, and rightly so. Why didn’t it do the same on Sept. 12,
2001?”(Idem.)
8.
Bush, however, did not list his directorship at Stratesec on the proxy statement
for HCC, and did not list his connections with HCC on the proxy statement for
Stratesec. Why not? It is illegal to fail to report such relationships under
the circumstances. “In the spring of 1999, Marvin Pierce Bush, youngest
brother of George W. Bush, was a nominee for the boards of directors of two
companies, both with a significant interest in security at the World Trade
Center. One was HCC Insurance, formerly Houston Casualty Company, a giant
holding company and major insurance carrier for the center. The other was a
security company named Stratesec, one of the center’s numerous security
contractors. Bush, however, did not list
his directorship at Stratesec on the proxy statement for HCC, and did not list
his connections with HCC on the proxy statement for Stratesec. [Italics are
Mr. Emory’s]. According to officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission
and other experts, listing other directorships is required, in proxy
statements, for directors and officers of public companies.” (“The
Best Unregulated Families” by Margie Burns; The Online Journal of
3/24/2003. the URL is:
http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/032403Burns/032403burns.html. )
9.
“Stratesec was
eventually excused from the World Trade Center project. HCC sustained
significant losses when withdrawing from workers compensation as a result.
Stratesec, formerly called Securacom but forced to change its name after some
bad-blood litigation with another security company, filed its SEC proxy
statement on April 23, 1999. The shareholders met on May 25, 1999, in a
Watergate office suite, leased by the Saudi Arabian government, to elect seven
members including Bush, who had been on the board since 1993. Bush was also on
the company’s audit and compensation committees. A principal in the company,
Wirt D. Walker III, is also a Bush relative.” (Ibid.; pp. 1-2.)
10.
“HCC Insurance
filed its proxy statement on April 28, 1999, for the shareholders meeting in
Houston on May 20, 1999. It was Bush’s entrance on HCC’s 13-member board. He
had been on the board of directors at Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. since 1998,
appointed by HCC’s CEO and chairman of the board, Stephen Way, a longtime
friend. The Stratesec proxy also omitted the Fresh Del Monte Produce (FDP)
connections. By law, proxy statements filed with the SEC for publicly traded
companies list, along with other required information, the age, credentials and
business connections of directors and nominees.” (Ibid.; p. 2.)
11.
“Bush’s
information disclosed to Stratesec’s shareholders listed his ongoing
directorship at Stratesec, his previous experience at investment firms, his
partnership at his own company—Winston Partners, a private investment firm in
Northern Virginia—and his directorship at Kerrco, an oil and gas company. Only
his directorships at HCC and Fresh Del Monte, where he was also on the Audit
and Compensation committees, were omitted. (See www.secgov/Archives/edgar/data/1037453/0000928385-99-001383.txt
.)
(Idem.)
12.
“The
information disclosed to HCC’s shareholders listed Bush’s positions at Winston
Partners and Fresh Del Monte, his membership on the Board of Trustees of the
George Bush Presidential Library and on the Board of Managers at the University
of Virginia. Only Stratesec and Kerrco were omitted. ( www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/888919/0001047469-88-016818.txt
.) Bush left
Stratesec’s board within the year. He was reelected to the HCC board for the
next two years, again omitting the Stratesec connection.” (Idem.)
13.
“According to
expert opinion, these omissions violate SEC regulations. Attorney Robert
Plesnarski, special counsel in the Office of Chief Counsel at the Securities
and Exchange Commission, said by telephone that a person running for the board
of directors of a public company is required to list all other directorships.
When asked about the proxy statements involving Marvin Bush, Plesnarski answers
that [if] the companies [had] been private, probably the information would not
have been included. However, citing ‘Item 401 of Regulation SK,’ Plesnarski
states that since Stratesec and HCC were public traded, ‘the information would
have been required.’ This conclusion is also supported by the SEC’s public
reference branch. . . .” (Idem.)
14.
Concluding with more thought-provoking information about KuwAm
subsidiary Aviation General, headed by Bush relative Wirt D. Walker III. In
addition to interfacing with the Egyptian organization that trains civilian
pilots (NATCO) which, in turn, has a working relationship with flight schools
at Embry-Riddle University in Florida. (Recall that Mohammed Atta was Egyptian,
that most of the hijackers were based in Florida—Jeb Bush’s state. It is also
interesting—and possibly significant—that an Egyptian Airliner went down
several years ago, with the pilot heard invoking the Prophet Mohammed. There
has been speculation in the media about whether it was an act of terrorism or
suicide.) “ . .
. An even bigger question than finance is public safety. Aviation General,
formerly Commander Aircraft, has an international clientele. A 1996 press
release announced its sale of airplanes to the National Civil Aviation Training
Organization (NCATO) of Giza, Egypt, ‘the sole civilian pilot training
organization in Egypt.’ ‘This delivery was announced by Sheik Mishal Youssef
Saud Al Sabah, Chairman of KuwAm Corporation and board member of Commander
Aircraft Company.’ NCATO’s contractual partnerships with flight schools
included Embry-Riddle University, in Florida. Embry-Riddle has not responded to
questions about the partnership. There is no indication that investigators have
looked into any of these connections. . . .” (Ibid.; p. 5.)