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CounterPunch
March 31,
2003
Tragedy as Golden
Goose
Has Richard Perle Committed
Treason?
By ANTHONY GANCARSKI
Article III, Section 3 of the US Constitution
defines treason as giving aid and comfort, or "adhering"
to our enemies. I believe "adhering" sums up Richard
Perle's job description pretty well. The controversy surrounding
Perle which occasioned his resignation from the Chair of the
Defense Policy Board should not be quelled because he took that
preemptive measure. Rather, it should force a deeper, public
inquiry into what has motivated Perle to encourage the US to
make aggressive foreign policy decisions inconsistent with both
our overt national interest and historical precedent.
In a letter Perle wrote to Rumsfeld on
Wednesday announcing his decision to resign the chairmanship,
his language rang with the unctuous tones of a feigned self-flagellation
for public consumption. "With our nation at war and American
troops risking their lives to protect our freedom and liberate
Iraq, I am dismayed that your valuable time, and that of others
in the Department of Defense and the administration might be
burdened by the controversy surrounding my chairmanship of the
Defense Policy Board."
Controversy? What could be controversial
about this scenario, neutrally described by UPI in the following
manner.
"Perle, one of George W. Bush's
foreign policy advisers during the 2000 presidential campaign,
was hired last week by the bankrupt Global Crossing telecommunications
company to help it restructure a deal to sell a majority holding
in the company to Hutchison Telecommunications and government-run
Singapore Technologies Telemedia. The United States government
-- particularly the Defense Department and the FBI -- has national
security concerns about the deal, according to The New York Times.
It would put Global Crossing's fiber optics network -- which
the military uses -- under Chinese ownership."
They are absolutely right to have "national
security concerns" about the deal. How is it possible for
the Pentagon to talk of "full-spectrum dominance" when
moves are afoot to create a situation in which the US leases
its military's fiber optics network from what will be our most
formidable global competitor in the coming decades?
"I deeply resent the accusation
that I am using a public position (the DPB) for private gain.
Whatever help I was to Global had to do with 30 years of experience
in these matters, and nothing to do with the DPB." 30 years
of experience, well-documented by commentators at all points
along the political spectrum. Perle also maintains that it "was
clearly understood that I would not present their case to the
government or lobby for them in any way and I have not done so.
My role was limited to helping them understand the government's
concerns and how to satisfy them. (This is complicated and much
more difficult than one would imagine)."
Certainly it is difficult, Mr. Perle,
to represent the interests of multiple sovereign governments
at one time. Perhaps that difficulty dulled your faculties, and
led to what Jude Wanniski described, in a piece written September
18, 2001.
"There is no single American more
responsible for inciting outrage among Muslims globally than
Richard, whose maniacal prescriptions led inexorably to last
week's cataclysm. It was no surprise to me to see Richard on
CNN on Sunday, calling for all-out war against the Arab world
with a coalition entirely composed of western Europeans. If he
were just an ordinary maniac, we could live with him, Henry,
but he is chairman of the Defense Policy Board, which advises
the Pentagon, and which gives him total access to all military
secrets."
It's ironic and somehow telling that
9/11 was the golden goose for such as Perle. It gave them excuse
to let blackmailable lackeys like Ashcroft institute draconian
measures that target the liberties and the spirits of Americans,
calling it a War on Terror, providing cover for the War on the
Arab World Perle wanted nineteen months ago, and years before
that. Richard Perle represents a threat to our National Security
as tangible as that posed by Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein.
His actions throughout his public life require a thorough Congressional
investigation, centering on answering the question whether or
not Richard Perle has committed treason, whether in the incident
described above or in any of his other dealings for which ample
documentation already exists. I urge you to contact your Congressman
and ask him to pursue this matter, before the full fruit of Perle's
pernicious influence can be borne.
Anthony Gancarski's columns frequently appear in Counterpunch. Comments
welcome at Anthony.Gancarski@attbi.com.
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