FLASHBACK: Rumsfeld Sat On Board Of Company That Sold Nuclear Reactors To North Korea
FLASHBACK: Rumsfeld Sat On Board Of Company That Sold Nuclear Reactors To North Korea
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell lauded what is known as the Agreed Framework that the Clinton Administration signed with North Korea. “Lots of nuclear weapons were not made because of the Agreed Framework and the work of President Clinton and his team,” Powell said. Now, conservatives are faulting President Clinton for selling light water reactors to North Korea under the agreement, but in doing so, they overlook Donald Rumsfeld’s role in the deal.
Rumsfeld was the only American to sit on the board of a company which six years ago sold two light water reactors to North Korea. The Guardian reported in May 2003:
Rumsfeld was a non-executive director of ABB, a European engineering giant based in Zurich, when it won a $200m contract to provide the design and key components for the reactors. The current defense secretary sat on the board from 1990 to 2001, earning $190,000 a year.
Rumsfeld has never acknowledged that he knew the company was competing for the nuclear contract. In response to questions about his role in the reactor deal, former Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke told Newsweek in February 2003 that “there was no vote on this” and that her boss “does not recall it being brought before the board at any time.” But an investigation by Fortune magazine revealed that Rumsfeld probably did know:
ABB spokesman Bjoern Edlund told Fortune magazine at the time that “board members were informed about this project.” … “This was a major thing for ABB,” the former director [who sat on the board with Rumsfeld] said, “and extensive political lobbying was done.” The director recalls being told that Rumsfeld was asked “to lobby in Washington” on ABB’s behalf. … Although he couldn’t provide details, Goran Lundberg, who ran ABB’s power-generation business until 1995, says he’s “pretty sure that at some point Don was involved,” since it was not unusual to seek help from board members “when we needed contacts with the U.S. government.”
Rumsfeld has since refused media requests to talk about his role in the light water reactor deal and has instead criticized it.
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Down with Rummy!
October 10th, 2006 at 12:48 pmThis and the fact that Haliburton has been selling nuclear technology to Iran almost makes you think these neocons want a world filled with nuclear weapons, doesn’t it. Nah, that would be crazy.
October 10th, 2006 at 12:50 pmSurprise, surprise.
October 10th, 2006 at 12:56 pmIt is all part of the plan for permanent war.
October 10th, 2006 at 12:57 pmRumsfeld must resign before Americans tar and feather him > deport him to Iraq and turn him over to the insurgents > they will take care of him!
October 10th, 2006 at 12:59 pmReichWingNuts want it both ways. First they want to sell you something. Then they find a “need” to blow it up.
Maybe this is how they get the opportunity to sell the new despot a whole bunch of new things. Nothing like starting the cycle all over again.
It doesn’t matter to WingNuts that they put the world at risk as a result of their “business” transactions. No, money is more important than safety.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:03 pmWAR IS A RACKET , RUMSFELD from any side will take money . A profit is a profit . The bottom line is GOD even if it spills american blood , ruins the american enonomy . 19th. century economic has no principles and Rummy is its champion .
October 10th, 2006 at 1:03 pmDonny was for nukes in NK, before he was against it.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:08 pmWost administration EVER!!!
October 10th, 2006 at 1:08 pmAmerica’s Least Wanted
Well it’s not like Rumseld ever did business with Saddam Hussein or anything like that…
:-)
October 10th, 2006 at 1:09 pmHow you like that Hans Brix?
October 10th, 2006 at 1:10 pmRummy knows all the knowns that are unkown to the rest of us. Rummy’ right hand still smells like Saddam’s cheap aftershave.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:12 pmRummy still has that book of matches he got when visiting Saddam’s palace.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:14 pmKim Jong Il: “No no no, mista Brix, you no need look ova dare, looky ova heea, nice asian massage for you.”
October 10th, 2006 at 1:16 pmHey MA surprise!!!
Bwahahahhahaaaaaa!!!
October 10th, 2006 at 1:16 pmUm, this is another one of those cases where TP doesn’t bother to look at all the facts before publishing… These light water reactors were non-weaponized reactors given to the North Koreans so the would not build weaponized ones. You can still blame Bush, but you have to blame him for stopping an exchange that kept the peninsula peaceful, not his Defense Secretary for facillitating a peacekeeping measure that can’t be turned against us….
Guys, think before you post please, theres plenty of issues to attack the administration on without inventing new ones.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:17 pmEvery time one of these assclowns gets caught in something like this, they play stupid. I don’t recall, I don’t remember that conversation, etc, etc. I mean they really are stupid, but we’re suppose to swallow the fact that there selective memories are enough to save them from any responsibility. Hang all these mutherf*ckers for treason. Memory lapse is not an excuse!
October 10th, 2006 at 1:17 pmNo one could have predicted Rummy was a warmongering bastard profiting from the sale of WMD to our enemies.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:19 pmHe’ll probably get the Medal of Freedom for it.
“The Crazies” –Colon Powell describing the neo-cons
October 10th, 2006 at 1:19 pmThis guy has an unkanny knack of showing up where the woist sleaze is. Really he does.
Except this time, it doesn’t matta what sleaze he was involved in, it matters that the Dim Sun is a doofus and he is not our doofus, he is the China doofus and the Orients can now show their mettle by showing us what they can do.
They can go ahead and show us Regime Change and Removal of a Doofus the way it otter be done.
Go ahead and impress our butt.
As long as those 2 Dem enablers, Wendy Long and Nancy Sonenberg, who are both sweeties, but nuts as heck, dont start blabbing about the guy giving a cry for help, lets help him out to a retirement village in the alps, for instance.
He is China dud, let the Chinese bounce his lousy butt, the heck out.
Yall take care now.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:21 pmActually Zach this debunks the Clinton talking point the neo-cons are using doesn’t it?
Thats the point. Bwhahahaaaaa!
Now the ball is back in the neo-kook court!!
October 10th, 2006 at 1:22 pm#21
I understand that, but 90% of the post and correspondingly 90% of the comments are decrying him for “selling WMDs to our enemies” or something along those lines. This is just false, the article is misleading and we should be above that.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:26 pm[...] North Korea exploded that big bomb this past weekend that threw a 4.2 earthquake on the Richter scale to the region. Something big blew up but to today the facts are not known as to whether it was a true “nucular” (haha) bomb. One thing is for sure, North Korea didn’t get there on their own. So who on earth could have helped North Korea get nuclear technology??? [...]
October 10th, 2006 at 1:27 pm…
October 10th, 2006 at 1:27 pm…
Bwa-Hahahahahahahaha!!!
(gasp)
That’s perfect! Put that right next to his photo of Him shaking Sadaams Hand!
First he meets with Sadaam and now this. Quick, look for a Rummy connection with Iran!!
October 10th, 2006 at 1:28 pmIt’s a LONG tail that wags the dog the HARDEST.
The U.S.A.’s new world order motto: “Anything for a buck”.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:28 pmJWJW – Try our good friends in the WOT, the Pakistanis
October 10th, 2006 at 1:30 pmZach, the post never argues the reactors were for weapons. It is making the point that commenter #21 alludes to.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:30 pmAs far as I know a LWR can be used to enrich uranium
October 10th, 2006 at 1:31 pmBig shock…NOT!
Rumsfeld is, after all, the same man who was photgraphed shaking hands with Saddam Hussein back in the 80’s when we were selling him arms. If the reports are true, these may have included biological agents such as the germs for anthrax and botulism — from what I’ve read, the UN reports following the first Gulf War indicated that the biological strains which Hussein had in his possession were identical to those produced in the US.
So let’s make certain we have this right…the United States sells arms to other countries when it’s expedient for them to do so, and then turns around and criticizes those same countries for actually keeping them. Anyone else see something pathological about this?
October 10th, 2006 at 1:32 pm#16, Zach – Read before you post.
If you are going to troll, you can at least read the summary.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:33 pmFrickin’ scumbag.
All of these NeoCons have sold their souls and will rot in hell.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:34 pmRumsfeld was for giving North Korea nukes before he was against giving them nukes.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:35 pmHere is a direct link to the Forture article, one that doesn’t go through PrisonPlanet:
October 10th, 2006 at 1:36 pmhttp://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2003/05/12/342316/index.htm
And give it a digg
http://www.digg.com/politics/Rumsfeld_helped_sell_reactors_to_N_Korea
Why does Donald Rumsfeld hate our freedom?
October 10th, 2006 at 1:37 pmZach said…
Commenters are not allowed to express their opinion? I happen to disagree with them that this was a bad idea (despite Rummy profiting), but I don’t blame TP for that. TP doesn’t spin the situation either way as far as being a “good” or “bad” idea like conservatives are. They are simply pointing out conservative hypocracy.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:37 pmpeople: Zach has a point – that the Right Wingers are bitching about something that Clinton did right.
TP should be debunking the dispariging remarks against Clinton by focusing on the relative difficulty of using the LWR to produce weapons-grade material. (Then, if the nutz still refuse to join reality, drop the R-bomb.)
wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_water_reactors
October 10th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
Thanks for the CNN Money link Dr Benway, it helps when I am send these things out to my right wing converts, when they don’t come from places like Prison Planet. Don’t get me wrong, I like PPs work, but if it is being sent to a right winger, you have to be able to should that it is coming from a source owned by right wingers.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:40 pmSome might say that Donald Rumsfeld is a traitor.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:41 pmCalm people. Hold on!
1) Weren’t the light water reactors not supposed to be unusable to breed plutonium? That was the deal with the North wasn’t it? LWR + petrol against the promise to not go nuclear.
2) Didn’t the deal fall through after Clinton anyway? I.e. the foundations for the LWRs may exist, but that’s all?
If so:
0) What’s the problem with Clinton agreeing to this deal? None.
1) What’s the problem with Rummy agreeing to this deal? None.
If I understand well, they pull their plutonium-laced rods out of their 5 eMW research reactor then refine these in their reprocessing plant. ABB doesn’t enter the picture.
References:
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/dprk/nuke/nk1.pdf
October 10th, 2006 at 1:42 pmhttp://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/dprk/nuke/index.html
So uh, Light water reactors can’t be used for weapon production. This sale was part of Clinton’s plan to STOP them from making weapons. Any of you want to weigh in on that?
October 10th, 2006 at 1:44 pmThey want to scare the people to death because Iran has LWR’s and not when NK has them?
Talk about Hypocrisy and crisis management propaganda.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:48 pmEl Tonno,
You completely get it.
The point is the republican, are saying that the North Koreans being nuclear is Clinton fault for giving North Korea Light Water Reactors.
Rumfeld did the same thing.
It is called hypocracy.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:48 pmJust follow the money trail. You know you’ll see it lined with republicans greasing each others palms for their real prize, money in any form, and the power to puff their wings for all to see.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:49 pmReagan wanted the Soviets to supply them with reactors.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:50 pmTom Burns,
This isn’t about North Korea lying and going thorugh with making bombs. It is about the republican hypocracy of trying to blame this on Clinton, when Rumsfeld did the same thing. Neither Clinton nor Rumsfeld LWRs can be used to make nukes.
This is about the fact that the republicans say Clinton is to blame, when he is not, nor is Rumsfeld.
It is about the hypocracy.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:51 pmTimeline for Fortune Magazine May 12 2003 Rumsfeld/N Korea article
BACKGROUND:
1990-2001 — Rumsfeld is the only American on ABB’s board of directors.
ABB & Westinghouse were both acquired by Britain’s BNFL by time of article. Frank Murray was project manager for the light-water nuclear reactor project at both ABB and Westinghouse.
“The North Korean reactors are being primarily funded by South Korean and Japanese export-import banks and supervised by KEDO, a consortium based in New York.”
IMPORTANT DATES:
1998 — Rumsfeld’s ABB wins an “invitation to bid” on developing reactors while Rumsfeld chairs the ‘Rumsfeld Commission, which concludes that North Korea is a threat to US security.
2000 — Rumsfeld’s ABB wins a $200 million contract to provide “the design and key components” for the light-water nuclear reactors.
2003 — Bush Administration authorized $3.5 million “to keep the project going.”
TIMELINE:
1994 — [Clinton-era 'Agreed Framework with North Korea'] “deal in which the U.S. agreed to provide North Korea with two light-water nuclear reactors in exchange for Pyongyang ending its nuclear weapons program.” Under this Clinton initiative, North Korea would receive “aid and normalized relations.”
mid-1990’s — Rumsfeld likely to have lobbied for ABB to get the contract
1995 — Rumsfeld’s ABB writes a letter requesting that DOE grant them “authorization to release technology” to North Korea, and asks that the “letter be withhed from public disclosure.”
1998 — With debate raging in Washington (Republicans against the 1994 Clinton agreement, arguing that the light-water reactors could produce fissile material) Rumsfeld’s ABB received formal “invitation to bid” on contract to provide light-water nuclear reactor design & key components.
1998 — While still on ABB’s board of directors, Rumsfeld chaired the ‘Rumsfeld Commission’ — a blue-ribbon panel comissioned by Congress to “examine classified data on ballistic missile threats.” the Commission’s conclusions include (1) “North Korea could strike the U.S. within five years.”; (2) ” . . . North Korea was maintaining a nuclear weapons program . . .. Rumsfeld’s resume in the report did not mention that he was an ABB director.”
1998 — March — In a speech at the Heritage Foundation, “Rumsfeld said the [Clinton] 1994 Agreed Framework with North Korea “does not end its nuclear menace; it merely postpones the reckoning, with no assurance that we will know how much bomb-capable material North Korea has.” ”
2000 [early in year] — Rumsfeld’s Zurich-based ABB wins a $200 million contract to provide “the design and key components” for the light-water nuclear reactors.
2001 – March — Bush calls for policy review. DOE consults with Rumsfeld’s Pentagon.
2001 – May — DOE “renewedthe authorization to send nuclear thecnology to North Korea.”
2001 — Sept 14 (note date) — Officials of Westinghouse and North Korea hold groundbreaking ceremonies.
2002 – January — Bush’s ‘Axis of Evil’ State of the Union speech
2002 – August — Concrete-pouring ceremony; and “Westinghouse sponsored a training course for the North Koreans that concluded in October [2002] — shortly before Pyongyang confessed to having a secret uranium program, kicked inspectors out, and said it would start making plutonium.”
2003 – January — Bush Administration authorized $3.5 million “to keep the project going.”
2003 – May (when Fortune article was written) — Bush Administration has “suspended further transfers of nuclear technology” but is still engaged in the project although Rep Edward Markey (and others in Congress) have written Bush and Rumsfeld, calling the light-water nuclear reactors “nuclear bomb factories.”
October 10th, 2006 at 1:58 pmWell, whether it was Clinton’s or Rumsfeld’s fault (probably neither) we now have a situation where a rogue nation has nuclear weapons. The only relevant question is: “what do we do now?”
Maybe the UN can figure out how to handle this. Wait, I’ve got it! North Korea is suffering from a famine. Let’s trade them food-for-nukes! Maybe Kofi’s son can handle the finances…
October 10th, 2006 at 1:59 pmI’m confused.
Many believe Rummy is a hypocrite. How do you equate a LWR (inability to be used for weapons-production) with a desire to see a nation develop nuclear weapons? I cannot find anywhere a comment by Rummy where he expressed a desire for any nation to develop nuclear weapronry. Help me on this fellas.
Many fault the neocons for this mess. How do you equate the previous administration’s politics of appeasement with the current administration’s desire to rid a rogue state’s WMD? Again, help me on this fellas.
October 10th, 2006 at 1:59 pm‘pretty sure that at some point Don was involved’. can’t TP do better than this? also I read rumsfeld’s remarks and couldn’t find where he critisizes the reactor deal. anybody have the quote?
October 10th, 2006 at 2:00 pmThis post feeds on Americans ignorance on nuclear power and the technologies behind it. The LWR’s to be built in North Korea were to replace graphite modearted designs to preclude using spent fuel rods for weapons. I know TP is trying to point out that the meme of “Clinton sold him weapons!” is hypocrtical, but that can be done without further confusing the issue. Regardless of who was going to build LWR’s for North Korea, they were not going to produce weapons as an end result.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:15 pmAs long as “Joe Sixpack” is ignorant to the insidious workings of the Military Industrial Complex nothing will change. The MIC is the root of most of our problems…Yet it is NEVER discussed as a matter of public discourse. It is never mentioned as a campaign issue. You can predict the next 5 wars simply by looking at who we’ve sold weapons etc to.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:15 pmOK, I take it back that Rummy was implicated in the sale of WMD.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:16 pmAll he did was sit on the board of a company that sold clean reactor technology to NK.
I’m sorry, Rummy, if I cast asparagus on you.
You’re only guilty of war crimes you committed, not the war crimes you wish you had made more of a profit on.
Here ya go JT;
October 10th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
JT, you state that the previous administrations tactics were appeasement, while this one is a “desire to rid a rogue state’s WMD”. The timeline 2 posts above yours indicate that the plans to build LWR’s for North Korea were going on long after the current administration took office, so I’m not sure where the big difference you’re claiming is. Clinton is an enabler for making the deal and Bush is a hero for trying to keep it going? Help me on this one.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:20 pmWhile he was an Undersecretary in 1970s (Defense or State, I don’t remember which) Rummy also green-lighted sale of Nuclear Reactors to Iran for peaceful purpose of generating electricity.
At that time Uranium mines had been discovered in Iran and US needed steady supply of high grade Uranium for enreachment into Plutonium to be used in US nuclear warheads aimed at the Soviet Union. The Shah, a US puppet was happy with the trade off.
Want to guess the company that won the contract to build the nuclear reactor in Bushehr, Iran?
Yeap, HALIBURTON.
Ain’t that a cozy arrangement?
October 10th, 2006 at 2:20 pmI agree. The MIC is the root of many problems.
Like Rummy paving the way for Saddam to get weapons in 1983, same game different rogue nation.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:23 pmof course grummy grumsfeld did ,,the lying disgusting troll , he deserves a one way ticket to the hague along with many others
October 10th, 2006 at 2:34 pmof course grummy grumsfeld did ,,the lying disgusting troll , he deserves a one way ticket to the hague along with many others
October 10th, 2006 at 2:34 pmFrom PBS interview with Madeleine Albright:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kim/interviews/albright.html
‘They did cheat. There’s no question. But I think that there would have been a way, in an agreement, to get them to explain what they were doing and hope that that would be a way to mitigate the issue, but it’s not a reason not to have agreements with them.’
It’s not a debate that N. Korea was not honoring the negotiations, the disagreement was how to react to it.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:40 pm57, Lets not forget that Hallibrton was STILL selling Nuclear Technologies to Iran as recently as January 2005. But I’m sure Cheney had no hand in any of it.
“Halliburton Secretly Doing Business With Key Member of Iran’s Nuclear Teamâ€
Author: Jason Leopold
According to journalist Jason Leopold, sources at former Cheney company Halliburton allege that, as recently as January of 2005, Halliburton sold key components for a nuclear reactor to an Iranian oil development company. Leopold says his Halliburton sources have intimate knowledge of the business dealings of both Halliburton and Oriental Oil Kish, one of Iran’s largest private oil companies.
Additionally, throughout 2004 and 2005, Halliburton worked closely with Cyrus Nasseri, the vice chairman of the board of directors of Iran-based Oriental Oil Kish, to develop oil projects in Iran. Nasseri is also a key member of Iran’s nuclear development team. Nasseri was interrogated by Iranian authorities in late July 2005 for allegedly providing Halliburton with Iran’s nuclear secrets. Iranian government officials charged Nasseri with accepting as much as $1 million in bribes from Halliburton for this information.
I bet Haliburton will get the contracts to rebuild Iran after we nuke it.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:46 pmPaul: “It’s not a debate that N. Korea was not honoring the negotiations, the disagreement was how to react to it.”
And, how’s that Bush methodology working out for you, Paul? Have the past 6 years of not talking accomplished anything at all?
October 10th, 2006 at 2:48 pm#63. Bluedog. I will admit that it has been difficult to pick up the pieces after 8 years of complacent appeasement.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:54 pmThis will blow your mind. From Project Censored 2007….
During a trip to the Middle East in March 1996, Dick Cheney told a group of mostly U.S. businessmen that Congress should ease sanctions in Iran and Libya to foster better relationships, a statement that, in hindsight, is completely hypocritical considering the Bush administration’s foreign policy.
“Let me make a generalized statement about a trend I see in the U.S. Congress that I find disturbing, that applies not only with respect to the Iranian situation but a number of others as well,†Cheney said. “I think we Americans sometimes make mistakes . . . There seems to be an assumption that somehow we know what’s best for everybody else and that we are going to use our economic clout to get everybody else to live the way we would like.â€
Cheney was the chief executive of Halliburton Corporation at the time he uttered those words. It was Cheney who directed Halliburton toward aggressive business dealings with Iran—in violation of U.S. law—in the mid-1990s, which continued through 2005 and is the reason Iran has the capability to enrich weapons-grade uranium.
It was Halliburton’s secret sale of centrifuges to Iran that helped get the uranium enrichment program off the ground, according to a three-year investigation that includes interviews conducted with more than a dozen current and former Halliburton employees.
If the U.S. ends up engaged in a war with Iran in the future, Cheney and Halliburton will bear the brunt of the blame.
October 10th, 2006 at 2:54 pmBut this shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who has been following Halliburton’s business activities over the past decade. The company has a long, documented history of violating U.S. sanctions and conducting business with so-called rogue nations.
No, what’s disturbing about these facts is how little attention it has received from the mainstream media. But the public record speaks for itself, as do the thousands of pages of documents obtained by various federal agencies that show how Halliburton’s business dealings in Iran helped fund terrorist activities there—including the country’s nuclear enrichment program.
What freakin company pays a non-executive board member $190,000 a year?
October 10th, 2006 at 3:00 pmWhat value was he providing them, besides an inside track to the DC swamp?
Let’s not forget, Larry, that Cheney was brought into the Reagan admin to help cover up the sale of 3,000 TOW missiles to Iran, in exchange for a single hostage (who was quickly replaced by three more kidnappings).
Helping arm Iranians has been a Dick Cheney priority for a long time indeed.
He has helped rearm the Taliban (and Al Qaeda), with more opium than they can sell.
Arming our enemies is his lifelong work.
October 10th, 2006 at 3:04 pm#37 (lutton) thank you for getting the point I was trying to express. Guys, I didn’t mean to imply that the article said anything about the LWRs being used for WMDs, just that most of it was ambiguous on whether the program was a good thing or something that could be used by our enemies.
#42, I agree with you, but I do think there was some talk that Russia might actually be builing Heavy Water facilities for them…. Might be wrong on that, just throwing it out there.
October 10th, 2006 at 3:04 pmOops, by Them, I meant Iran, sorry.
October 10th, 2006 at 3:11 pmThe light water reactors were never completed. As of 2002 they were no more than concrete foundations and work has ceased.
October 10th, 2006 at 3:51 pmOh my goodness.
October 10th, 2006 at 4:04 pmZach,
The light water reactors were an inducement for NK to shut down the graphite heavy water reactors they built in the 1980’s and from which they were harvesting plutonium. The graphite reactors were shut down and sealed by IAEA inspectors from 1994 through 2002.
October 10th, 2006 at 4:12 pmOnoclea: I know that, I was talking about Iran with the heavy water comment.
October 10th, 2006 at 5:18 pmZach: Sorry, somehow I missed the followup post.
October 10th, 2006 at 5:39 pm[...] Think Progress [...]
October 10th, 2006 at 5:56 pmbush 2006: now who would think that iran would need nuclear power with all that oil ??
ford 1976: (w/cheney and rumsfeld in charge) signed the agreement for iran to purchase nuclear technology so that there would be more oil for export
October 10th, 2006 at 8:36 pmYou righties don’t get it, do you? You have been raising the blame Clinton card but it doesn’t hold water (light or heavy) because Clinton’s diplomacy did nothing to advance DPRK capabilities while Bush has given them every incentive to arm themselves.
October 10th, 2006 at 9:25 pmYet another example of the corruption and double dealing that goes on at a higher level than we ordinary folk get to hear about. Personally i wouldn’t trust any of them to run a sweet shop never mind countries and big corporations their so two faced. If it’s happening in the US it’s almost certainly also happening here in the UK. Watch out for Tony making these sorts of deals when he retires in the next few months. Once he finishes making millions on the lecture circuit and becomes a CEO of five or six “companies” (This seems to be how you do it!) All that these type of people are bothered about is making money and screw everyone eles. It’s all bollocks, do they not realise that to, paraphrase ‘Bomber’ Harris, “if you sow the wind you reap the whirlwind”
October 11th, 2006 at 6:48 amFreedom isn’t free.
Reactors, WMD – that’s another story. At CRAZY RUMMY’s we are practically giving them away! Warheads, smartbombs, incompetence, loose morals – WE’VE GOT ‘EM All!! (Just don’t ask for tank armor.)
October 11th, 2006 at 8:27 amyou are all losers
October 11th, 2006 at 10:31 amLet’s not get too caught up in the past… Rummy might be behind this nuclear reactor sale or not (ha!).
The important point is what will he do next?
A REAL WMD is certainly excellent justification to invade NK afteralll, fake WMD’s were good enough for the Iraqi invasion.
Or, is it only just enough to scare voters to vote republican?
Frankly, I don’t think the test was real. It could have been an earthquake that the NK PR boys were prepared for — quakes are not uncommon there…. and the recent tremor was an aftershock — or it could have been a few kilotons of TNT, no problem (why else were the NK’s add “and no radiation leaked” in their press realease?).
Either way, Rummy has managed to fake WMD’s before. If he can get upright/honest/integrity-boy Colin to bolster the case in front of othe UN for the existence of WMDs in Iraq, I’m sure he can arrange to have a few crooked NK gov’t numbskulls to do the same in their own country.
So let’s stop bickering about what Rummy did before and start thinking about his next move… A conflict involving the Chinese/Russians/Japanese over NK? With all those US Troops on the South Korean boarder, it’s only a matter of time before Haliburton will be called to bid on some new contracts.
October 11th, 2006 at 11:23 amWell, it’s hard to be a war-monger without future-enemies. Oceania has always been at-war with EastAsia.
October 11th, 2006 at 11:38 amOoohhhh, big deal! I’ll bet if we look at big buisness we find Repulicans all over!
Let’s not talk about the fact that is was Clinton making it all happen. Oh No, the Dummycrats will pin everything on a Republican somewhere.
October 11th, 2006 at 12:59 pmThis is so ridiculous it’s not even funny.
Oh no, Donald Rumsfeld sat on the board of a company that did what companies do – you know, try to make money – by competing for a contract to give North Korea reactors as part of Bill Clinton’s masterful 1994 Agreed Framework!
FLASHBACK: Think Progress is still run by morons.
October 11th, 2006 at 1:29 pmWho knows what evil lurks in the mind of Donald????
October 11th, 2006 at 2:36 pmit isnt a wonder he doesnt want to talk about this issue!!!
chaos… seems like they had an unfair advantage in the contract bidding there. How many times do we have to hear about the billions made for coporate america from lobbyists in bed with the government??
October 11th, 2006 at 2:53 pmand yet… millions of ANERICANS live below the poverty level and struggle to pay their frickin income taxes or buy food for the kids!! GO WALMART!!!! IDIOT!!!!
He’s as crooked as a dog’s hind leg.
October 11th, 2006 at 3:34 pmPrior to him being deposed, the Shah of Persia cut a deal with America and received 2lbs of Plutonium in return for being Americas Deputy Sherriff in that region. THAT is the plutonium that they are developing a nuclear device with. WE GAVE THEM IT! So when Khomeini took over .he copped for it ….I swear to God you couldn`t make this up..
October 11th, 2006 at 7:24 pmIt must be time for a documentary on Haliburton.
Or one on how American companies sell weapons to other countries then attacks them, or sells weapons to both sides of a war.
I’d love an unbiased straight reporting of the facts.
October 11th, 2006 at 11:17 pm[...] But it happened and hopefully, Rumsfeld can give the Administration some inside info. Rumsfeld Sat On Board Of Company That Sold Nuclear Reactors To North Korea [...]
October 12th, 2006 at 10:18 amnice to see people blaming someone else for jimmy carter and bill clintons shortsightedness
October 13th, 2006 at 7:38 amGW, Cheney and Rumsfeld are awesome. God Bless America, the RNC and our strategy to keep pussies like you out of power.
October 13th, 2006 at 10:51 amit is amazing that the republican “know it all’s” suddenly develop amnesia when they are asked a question about their past transactions.
October 13th, 2006 at 1:35 pmselective recall must be a trait for all of these liars.
#93. my condolences on your complete mental breakdown.
October 13th, 2006 at 1:58 pmby the way, why would god bless america?
Whether or not Rummy *knew* of the sale to North Korea, or he *voted* on it, is irrelevant. He sat on the board of the company that made the sale, therefore, he profitted directly from the sale, and thus his hands are just as dirty as the person who actually inked the deal.
October 13th, 2006 at 6:47 pmRumsfeld y la crisis nuclear con Corea del Norte…
Navegando por la página de Michael Moore no se cómo llegué a este enlace. Vuelve el pasado oscuro de Rumsfeld. En inglés….
October 14th, 2006 at 4:05 amUh, reality check time here. It was Billy Clinton and Carter who gave them the nukes, not Runsfeld. Do you quit your job when your company sells a product that you do not 100% agree with? Yeah, I’m so sure you do.
No wonder Hitler existed – you guys are nuts. You twist simple facts to bend reality to make Rumsfeld and Republicans into the monsters. Carter made (yet another) dumb agreement – allowed our great country to be blackmailed by that crazy maniac, and did not verify that the Koreans met their end of the deal.
Bush has been very generous to Clinton about this matter, going out of his way to not criticize Clinton. Too bad Clinton does nto return the favor – he has no class.
October 17th, 2006 at 4:38 pmDumbsfailed is and has always been a hypocrite, an arrogant, inept blowhard bully and cowardly little man without any wherewithal or common sense, not to mention brains–in that respect he was a perfect match for Chimpya and Torticola Cheney for a three-handed game of “Bridge in Iraq”–TOO BAD their little game BLEW UP IN THEIR LOATHESOME faces, and GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH!!!!! For Chimpya and Cheney the American Public must wait a little longer for DOUBLE IMPEACHMENT or will Chimpya and Cheney do the Tricky Dicky and Spiro Shuffle and BOTH RESIGN? One can only HOPE for the BEST!
January 6th, 2007 at 7:05 pm