January 04, 2007

Negroponte Goes Down

Negroponte, supposedly the #1 man in US intelligence, quits to become Condi Rice's #2. Really!

This is a huge story, but we may never know the machinations behind it. As AP points out, Negroponte "has been at the center of the Iraq debate since before the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. He served as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. from 2001 to 2004 and ambassador to Baghdad until March 2005 before becoming intelligence chief." Before that he was up to his neck in Iran-Contra and Honduran death squads. What's really going on here is anybody's business....
Robert Zoellick resigned as Rice's deputy in July to take a position with the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs. She is said to have approached several candidates for what is widely regarded as a plum assignment, going for months without any takers.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Condi has been slightly worse than a total failure as the US's primary diplomat. I say that because she has not only failed in all diplomatic efforts, she has in fact made some enemies. Russia and China seem to have told her we’ll call you, don’t call us if not a direct “fu*k off”.

It stands to reason that Condi must be replaced but it is equally obvious that she simply cannot be replaced or demoted at this point without hurting Bush something fierce. Obvious solution: give her a "deputy" who basically replaces her as the face that talks to neutrals and enemies - which means everybody with the exception of Israel, I guess. Wait a minute. Wasn’t there supposed to be a Karen Hughes somewhere in that equation? I wonder what happened to her…….

Oh, God. I am becoming a conspiracy theorist.

Jaraparilla said...

Good points, Anony-person.

On the flip side, what does it tell us that Neegroponte's likely successor is some guy from Booz Allen Hamilton, "the Washington contractor and consulting agency."

The US Government is now in the hands of privatized business, that's what it tells us.

Once upon a time, that was called Fascism.

Anonymous said...

I guess Dr. Lawrence Britt can be considered somewhat of an expert on the subject of fascism. According to him there are 14 signs of fascism and while any one of these signs can undermine a democracy, the presence of all 14 together confirms Fascism beyond any reasonable doubt. You, if I recall correctly, have touched on this subject in the past but it bears repeating.
Let the reader be the judge. The 14 signs identified by Dr. Britt are: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Fascism/14_Characteristics_Fascism.html The US confirms to all 14. That’s fascism.
The way back requires the replacing of the countless thousands of Bush cronies, rabid Republicans, Jesus freaks and corporate tools that the Republicans have managed to stuff into each and every government department at every level but mostly at the top during the past 10 years. Remember this? http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/2/7/235242/2998 Most of these appointees, as 9/11, FEMA debacle and the invasion and unsuccessful occupation of Iraq have proved, are uniquely unqualified for the job they are supposed to do.
The US is in a deep, deep hole and the way back is all but impossible but without hope, you have nothing. If the Democrats were the people’s Party, I would have more reason for hope, but their pro-war and Israel-is-above-the-law instincts with their ties to the same corporate interests do not give me much reason to expect a reversal in my lifetime.
Gandhi, please edit as necessary and embed these links if you can.

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