Perle has no place on defense panel
" Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., said that Perle's decision
to resign his chairmanship "doesn't eliminate the problem."
That, Conyers correctly said, can only come with Perle's
resignation from the board itself"
Monday, March 31, 2003
seattlepi.nwsource.com
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Richard Perle's decision to resign as chairman of the
Defense Policy Board is correct but it's not enough. He
should step down altogether.
A close confidant of President Bush, Vice President Cheney
and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Perle is one of
the architects of the Bush administration's "National
Security Strategy" released last September.
Perle resigned the board chairmanship Thursday, in the
wake of disclosures that he engaged in business dealings
with a Saudi arms dealer and contracted with owners of
Global Crossing to advise them in seeking permission from
the Defense Department to sell the communications
company to Chinese investors. He has reportedly severed
his relationship with Global Crossing.
Perle was caught in an unethical exploitation of his
Defense Department connections to benefit a business
client -- and himself. If the Pentagon and other federal
agencies approved the sale -- which the FBI has questioned
on national security grounds -- Perle was to receive a
$600,000 bonus from Global Crossing, in addition to his
$125,000 retainer.
Also, Seymour M. Hersh disclosed in The New Yorker that
Perle had dined earlier this year with the Saudi arms
dealer Adnan Khashoggi. Perle threatened to sue and
called Hersh a terrorist.
As a member of the influential board, Perle had access to
classified national defense material and as such, his
blatant influence peddling is clearly unethical and
unacceptable even if not illegal.
Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., said that Perle's decision
to resign his chairmanship "doesn't eliminate the problem."
That, Conyers correctly said, can only come with Perle's
resignation from the board itself. |
