Liberal Repercussion

A Strange Intersection of Bushes, bin Ladens

By Tom Brazaitis, The Cleveland Plain Dealer
November 12, 2001

Movie producers would reject the script as too implausible even for Hollywood.

Here's the bizarre plot twist: The father of the president of the United States stands to profit from the war his son is waging against terrorists, and so does the family of the leading terrorist.

Until recently, the Texas-based Bush political dynasty that produced two presidents and the Saudi Arabian-based bin Laden family that spawned the FBI's most wanted terrorist reaped dividends from the same source.

Details of the case of strange business bedfellows have dribbled out over the last several months, raising at least the perception of conflicts of interest. But the Bush family and the White House maintain there is no impropriety.

Critics do not contend that President George W. Bush is waging war for his family's financial benefit. But they say the fact that the family stands to gain from any military action puts the family in a compromising position, even if the circumstances are purely
coincidental. Former President Bush is a senior adviser to the Carlyle Group, a private equity company that buys failing defense and telecommunications enterprises and sells them for a profit. Carlyle's investors have collected returns averaging 34 percent over the last decade.

With assets of more than $12 billion, Carlyle is the 11th-largest defense contractor in the United States. It owns companies making tanks, aircraft wings and other military hardware.

Bush reportedly gets $80,000 to $100,000 for each of a half-dozen or more speeches he delivers for the Carlyle Group each year, and takes payment in Carlyle stock. How much the former president's stake is worth can't be determined because Carlyle's business dealings are private. An aide to the former president answered "no comment" to questions about his Carlyle compensation.

Until recently, the family of Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes against the United States, held at least $2 million in Carlyle stock. The family, which has publicly disavowed its black sheep, Osama, agreed to sell its Carlyle holdings last month to quash negative publicity. Details of this and the other relationships had been in reported publications including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

Former President Bush has no such qualms about his relationship with Carlyle.
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http://www.webcom.com/hrin/magazine/bedfellows.html

posted by Rei Toei @ 9:03 p.m.