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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill who wrote (408010)	5/21/2003 9:06:57 AM
From: JakeStraw	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Freeh: I Turned to Bush After Clinton Blocked Khobar Terror Probe In a blistering indictment of his old boss's negligence in fighting the war on terrorism, former FBI Director Louis Freeh charged Tuesday that ex-President Clinton was so unhelpful during his agency's investigation into the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing that he had to turn to former President Bush. Writing in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, Freeh described the Clinton White House as "unable or unwilling to help the FBI" gain access to key witnesses in the Khobar case because it feared exposing the role of Hezbollah and its state sponsor, Iran. "The only direction from the Clinton administration regarding Iran was to order the FBI to stop photographing and fingerprinting official Iranian delegations entering the U.S. because it was adversely impacting our 'relationship' with Tehran," Freeh complained. "The FBI recommended a criminal indictment that would identify Iran as the sponsor of the Khobar bombing," the one-time top G-man revealed. "Finding a problem for every solution, the Clinton administration refused to support a prosecution." In yet another stunning admission, the former FBI director said that he was so frustrated by President Clinton's refusal to help that he sought out Clinton's predecessor, who, though out of office for more than three years, promptly took action. "After months of inaction, I finally turned to the former President Bush, who immediately interceded with [Saudi] Crown Prince Abdullah on the FBI's behalf," Freeh revealed. "Mr. Bush personally asked the Saudis to let the FBI do one-on-one interviews of the detained Khobar bombers. The Saudis immediately acceded," he recalled. Thanks to Bush's intercession, Freeh said, his agents were given "direct access to the Saudi detainees." "This was the investigative breakthrough for which we had been waiting for several years," the former FBI director proclaimed. Explaining why news of Bush's role in helping the FBI while Clinton sat idle had remained a secret all these years, Freeh said that the 41st president "typically disclaimed any credit for his critical intervention." The prosecution and criminal indictment for the Khobar Towers bombers "had to wait for a new administration," he noted. Of Bush's son, Freeh observed, "This is a president who is serious about fighting and winning the war on terrorism."

To: Bill who wrote (408010)	5/21/2003 9:09:10 AM
From: sylvester80	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 769670

Two of America's Richest Assail Bush Tax Cut Tue May 20, 5:23 PM ET story.news.yahoo.com NEW YORK (Reuters) - You would think two of the wealthiest Americans would have no problem with a tax cut that would put thousands, if not millions, of dollars in their pockets. But billionaire investors Warren Buffett (news - web sites) and George Soros, Nos. 2 and 24 on Forbes Magazine's list of the 400 richest Americans, both railed on Tuesday against President Bush (news - web sites)'s plan to deepen income tax cuts and eliminate taxes on corporate dividends. Bush, who has campaigned around the country touting the plan as a way of creating jobs and boosting stock prices, is pressing for final agreement this week as Congress wrangles to fit the package into a $350 billion limit set by the Senate. In an opinion article in the Washington Post, Buffett, the chairman of holding company Berkshire Hathaway, said he already pays about the same income tax rate as his receptionist -- about 30 percent. But Buffett said with the planned dividend tax cut, he conceivably could pay a mere 3 percent in income taxes. Recalling President John F. Kennedy's declaration that Americans should "pay any price, bear any burden" for the country, Buffett said a 3 percent income tax rate "seems a bit light." "Supporters of making dividends tax free like to paint critics as promoters of class warfare. The fact is, however, their proposal promotes class welfare. For my class," wrote Buffett, whose wealth is estimated at $36 billion. Soros, renowned for both his swashbuckling speculative bets on currencies as well as his philanthropic work, dismissed the tax cuts. He said they would not revive the U.S. economy in the short-term but were only aimed at helping the rich get richer. "This move is designed not to have much impact now. It's designed to have an impact over an extended period and it's basically using the recession to redistribute income to the wealthy," Soros said in an interview with financial news network CNBC. "I think that is really not a very effective way of using a deficit," said Soros, whose wealth is estimated at $6 billion.