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Russian military leaders have expressed concern about US plans for a national missile defense system. Will defense technology be limited by possibilities for a strategic imbalance? Is this just SDI all over again?

rshowalter - 07:43pm Jun 18, 2001 EST (#5392 of 5400)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

MD5385 gisterme 6/18/01 3:55pm . . . . gisterme wrote

rshowalter wrote: "...The history of the Bush family's connection with the NAZIS, especially in light of the fact that George Bush Sr. was appointed and served as a direct of CIA, is also worth considering, it seems to me..."

"Is that due more consideration than the Kennedy family's connection to the nazis in the pre-war period, considering that later on JFK was president, RFK was Attorney General and Senator and that Bobby Kennedy is a Senator?

"My understanding is that Joseph Kennedy, the family patriarch, had to resign his job in the Roosevelt administration because of his pro-nazi views. That resulted from his comment to the effect that democracy was obsolete given the new German model of government.

My understanding is that Prescott Bush was deeply involved in a bank that played a major role in funding the Nazis, and in money laundering -- something far more serious than Kennedy's comments. And did so from a position of considerable political power and invulnerablility.

When I searched the web, there did seem to be far, far more connection between the Bush family and Nazis than you'd ever find between Joseph Kennedy, or any other Kennedy, and the Nazis.

Now, I used the word "worth considering" in the statement you quote. Let me repeat it.

"...The history of the Bush family's connection with the NAZIS, especially in light of the fact that George Bush Sr. was appointed and served as a direct of CIA, is also worth considering, it seems to me..."

It still seems that way to me.

rshowalter - 07:44pm Jun 18, 2001 EST (#5393 of 5400)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

It seems to me that the staffs of organizations with an interest, including NATO allies, Russian staffs, and staffs of the mainstream political parties, both Republican and Democratic ought to spend time to look at this.

Is this one of those things that gets less serious as it is considered, or more serious ?

I haven't seen the extenuating circumstances, or anything like a fully worked up case, but in terms of what I've seen, the potential seriousness of the matter far, far transcends the serious of "Monicagate" and "Whitewater" combined.

The Nazis, including many war criminals, were embraced by the CIA and military after WWII, as aids in military training and intelligence. The connections between CIA and Nazi doings were substantial, and serious. Some of the most distrubing material has only recently been declassified -- because of a serious, long term effort by CIA to conceal some very ugly things in its past.

Now, I can take some time, and do some searching,

But let me say something of how it looks to me, based on a fact that seems eloquent to me. Security checks and clearances are no joke, and the security check for a director of the Central Intelligence Agency ought to as careful a check as one can have. Here, if anywhere in the government, even a whiff of compromising information about a candidate should be cause for concern. The connection of the Bush family with the nazis, which seems to have continued in some substantial ways long after WWII, should have been much more than "just a whiff" of concern. The fact that G. Bush Sr. was nominated and confirmed as Director of CIA bothers me a good deal.

rshowalter - 07:44pm Jun 18, 2001 EST (#5394 of 5400)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

The concerns expressed in President Eisenhower's farewell adress, -- and questions of financial impropriety, and irregular sources of funds for the right wing of the Republican party, concern me a great deal.

Patterns I saw, and others saw, in the politics of the Bush presidency, referred to a TIMES editorial as a "bait and switch" concern me a great deal.

Situations as set out in many NYT stories make me worry about the NAZI connection a good deal. Perhaps this one as much as any:

- In Virginia, Young Conservatives Learn How to Develop and Use Their Political Voices by Blaine Harden http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/11/politics/11CONS.html

I think that particular piece should be read very carefully -- and carefully followed up, both by journalists, and political professionals.

rshowalter - 07:45pm Jun 18, 2001 EST (#5395 of 5400)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

They should recall how very much easier a time NAZI sympathizers had than Communist sympathizers, it seems to me, when they look at the record.

rshowalter - 07:48pm Jun 18, 2001 EST (#5396 of 5400)
Robert Showalter showalte@macc.wisc.edu

Just because a President may have an awkward background in a few spots doesn't mean he can't make peace. Even if he definitely has an awkward background in a few spots. Nobody's perfect.

If President Putin's concerns are anything at all like almarst's , it seems to me that this matter ought to be clearly worked through. If Putin feels like almarst about Russian vulnerabliites, it seems to me that he should see that this issue is competently and thoroughly investigated, and the information ought to be made clear to others with an interest in dealing with the United States under President Bush's leadership. .

Again, just because a President has an awkward background in a few spots doesn't mean he can't make peace.

Getting past MAD is a fine thing.

To do it, you've got to adress concerns that the people you're trying to make peace with actually have.

The Russians have concerns here.

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