by seemslikeadream » Mon Nov 07, 2005 8:08 pm
<!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.newsforreal.com/">www.newsforreal.com/</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br>Who's Spooking Who?<br>or<br>How Those Niger Forgeries Started a War<br><br>A Special Report<br><br><br><br>Rocco Martino in one of the reasons I am so thankful that I no longer have to cover intelligence stories. Rocco, in case haven't heard. was the source of those forged documents that allegedly proved "Saddam was acquiring uranium from Africa." <br><br>But, if his name is new to you, it's not new to me. Rocco and I crossed paths twice during the 1980s, and he was peddling documents back then too. At the time I was trying to untangle another Bush-mess, this one by the George Bush The First. An Italian bank, BNL (Banca Nazionale del Lavoro), that had a branch in Atlanta, Georgia, had apparently lent Saddam Hussein $5 billion secured by American taxpayers. It's quite a tale and one of the most audacious and successful cover-ups in American history. But it's too long a tale to tell here. So, here, read about it, and then come back. We'll wait for you.<br>http://www.newsforreal.com/sandbox.html<br>....<br><br>As I promised in the introduction there is more to tell. During the 1992 Presidential campaign I spoke to the folks in the Clinton/Gore campaign in Little Rock. They were fully aware of the BNL scandal having better contacts within the Gonzalez investigation than I had. I asked them why they were not using it in the campaign. Rank and file workers for the campaign, particularly those working in opposition research, were equally baffled, and frustrated. They had presented the materials to the campaign leadership and had received an icy reception. <br><br> <br>The campaign ended with a Clinton/Gore victory and, it was only months later that Republicans were dragging out dirt on Clinton's dealings with Madison Guarantee Savings and loan in Little Rock. Sources I had among savings and loan regulators in Washington assured me that the Bush administration had been fully briefed on Madison Savings and the Clinton loans during the campaign. Why didn't they use them then? <br><br> <br>We move now from what I know to what I believe. I believe that the Bush people got a message to the Clinton/Gore people; "We know about the Madison Savings deals. Use BNL against us and we will use Madison Savings against you. Mutually assured destruction.. political style.<br><br> <br>It's the only explanation that makes any sense to me. The BNL caper was pure dynamite. Clinton could have made plenty of political hay with it had he chosen to. He didn't, I believe, because he blackmailed not to. <br><br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>