McCain adviser rebuked for work with dictators

[soblessed53]

Clients included notorious rulers Savimbi, Marcos, Sese Seko, Siad Barre

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24769387

For the life of me,I cannot begin to understand how this is even legal!

It sure is scary to think of a Presidential candidate having such a man as this, as his right-hand man!

[Mr.Dude]

better than obama or hillary... but then again, not by much.

Although I'm quite hopeful that God would deliver America! For as long as we possibly can, we should stand in the gap!!

[Gwenyfur]

Black and his partners as they attempted to ensure support for Savimbi, whose UNITA movement was fighting the Marxist Angolan government.

For instance, he said, the United States considered Marcos an ally when Black's firm took on work for the Philippine government, and "when the White House pulled the plug on Marcos, we resigned the account the same day." He said his firm was hired to help show Mobutu how to form political parties and conduct elections, and when Mobutu canceled the results of a parliamentary election, "we quit."

Black has retired from lobbying, having left BKSH & Associates recently. But he says he has no intention of leaving the campaign

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black:

Democratic candidate Barack Obama does not accept donations from lobbyists, but the senator from Illinois has lobbyists informally advising him on strategy and on policy.

[Mr.Dude]

Gwenyfur, I LOVE your avatar!!!

and your signature.

[soblessed53]

But McCain has long been seen as a fighter against just the kind of special interests that paid Black handsomely.And the candidate's decision this month to impose a strict ban on lobbying for foreign governments by members of his staff has only intensified the scrutiny of Black's past.

His lobbying firm received millions from the brutal Angolan guerrilla leader(Jonas Savimbi) and took advantage of Black's contacts in Congress and the White House.


Time magazine wrote in March 1986: "What the firm achieved was quickly dubbed 'Savimbi chic.' Doors swung open all over town for the guerrilla leader, who was dapperly attired in a Nehru suit and ferried about in a stretch limousine." The firm's contract with Savimbi in 1985 was for $600,000.

In late 1989, as the firm prepared for another Savimbi visit to Washington, the foreign-agent records document hundreds of thousands ofdollars it spent on behalf of UNITA, including $76,491 for limousines, $13,675 for photography and $216,186 for lodging at the Grand Hotel and the Waldorf-Astoria.

In addition to introducing Savimbi to powerful politicians, Black's team booked him on "60 Minutes" and "Nightline," as part of a mediacampaign aimed at emphasizing to the public UNITA's desire for freedom from Angola's Marxist government.

[intricatic]

In addition to introducing Savimbi to powerful politicians, Black's team booked him on "60 Minutes" and "Nightline," as part of a mediacampaign aimed at emphasizing to the public UNITA's desire for freedom from Angola's Marxist government.

I don't blame him. Who wants to be forced to live under a communist dictatorship? Or is your assertion that we should have supported the Marxists, instead? International politics are a double-edged sword. The only recourse we'd have other than a choice between two evils would be to totally isolate ourselves from the influences of, and our own influence upon, foreign powers. With all the liberal hyperbole about globalizing economies and globalizing justice, it's pure irony that the implications of such a position would be just as distasteful as it's opposite.

[soblessed53]

I'm just saying Jonas Savimbi had a brutal record himself as has many of the dictators the US has supported in the past.

This article is about McCain's stated stance on lobbying for such dictators when his own right-hand man has such a history,and as the article states,Black is unpologetic for that,but as the saying goes"People have the government they deserve".

[intricatic]

Is it really surprising, though? From what I can see, all of the candidates are engaging in one form of nationalization or another. The article rightly points out that McCain refuses to accept donations from lobyists, but still has them as advisors - the same as Obama, and Clinton. So why only criticize McCain for doing what all of them are doing, if it's an unrelated fact that both sides would propose opposite supporting mechanisms in terms of dictators? It seems like an irrelevant issue constructed to inflame people against McCain more than a criticism of something unique only to him.

[NeverAlone]

:sigh:

I love the smell of DC in the morning...it smells of corruption!

A fundamental truth about mankind is we're stupid. We're stupid because we're sinful. We're sinful because we're human...so...essentially...people are stupid.

The end

[eastcoast_bsc]

I would respond, But I would probally be banned for life. I will say one thing though, John Mccain served his Country and languished in one of the most brutal Prisoner of war Camps in Vietnam "Hanoi Hilton" Unlike Barak Obama who surrounds himself with a Minister who states "God Damn America" But hey call me old fashioned.