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To: Alan Smithee who wrote (89174)	12/3/2004 2:21:29 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 793983

Bush seeks 'full disclosure' at U.N. By Bill Sammon THE WASHINGTON TIMES President Bush yesterday called for "full disclosure" of the United Nations oil-for-food scandal, although he declined to join Republican demands for the ouster of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "It's important for the integrity of the organization to have a full and open disclosure of all that took place with the oil-for-food program," Mr. Bush said during an Oval Office appearance with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. Mr. Bush also vowed not to postpone Iraq's elections, scheduled for Jan. 30 and promised to oblige U.S. commanders who requested additional troops to provide security during the contest. The president did not directly answer a reporter who twice asked whether Mr. Annan should resign. Such a move was demanded Wednesday by Sen. Norm Coleman, Minnesota Republican, who is investigating the oil-for-food scandal. "We share the concerns that members of Congress have," said White House press secretary Scott McClellan. "The American people want to have assurances, from their standpoint, with the taxpayer dollars that go to support multilateral organizations like the United Nations." The Senate Governmental Affairs permanent subcommittee on investigations, which is chaired by Mr. Coleman, has disclosed that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime skimmed billions from the oil-for-food program, which was administered by the United Nations. The program was ostensibly designed to let Saddam sell a small amount of oil to pay for food and humanitarian assistance for Iraqi civilians. But there is growing evidence that Saddam used his illegal revenues to bribe officials in France, Russia and other nations that later opposed the U.S.-led liberation of Iraq. It has been revealed that Mr. Annan's son, Kojo, accepted money from a Swiss company that had a contract with the oil-for-food program. On Oct. 21, Mr. Annan said of the scandal: "We want to get to the bottom of it and clear it as quickly as possible." But since then, investigators have said, the United Nations has been less than fully cooperative. "When an organization says there's going to be serious consequences if something doesn't happen, it better mean what it says," Mr. Bush said yesterday. "The United States participates in multilateral organizations, and we expect those organizations to be effective." The president was reprising rhetoric he used in 2003, when the United Nations balked at enforcing its own resolution promising "serious consequences" against Saddam. Mr. Bush views the burgeoning oil-for-food scandal as a similar test of the United Nations' credibility. "I look forward to the full disclosure of the facts [and an] honest appraisal of that which went on," he said. The president's comments were echoed by State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. "It's not our job to prejudge the facts," he said. "We have urged the United Nations to make available documents that Congress has requested so that those investigations will have access to all of the facts that they need." But Mr. Coleman said his probe already has gathered enough facts to demonstrate that Mr. Annan must step aside. "The most extensive fraud in the history of the U.N. occurred on his watch," Mr. Coleman wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. "As long as Mr. Annan remains in charge, the world will never be able to learn the full extent of the bribes, kickbacks and under-the-table payments that took place under the U.N.'s collective nose." Mr. Coleman is conducting one of two major investigations into the oil-for-food scandal. The other was commissioned by the United Nations and is being conducted by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. But Mr. Volcker has no subpoena power, and his report eventually must be turned over to Mr. Annan, who can decide how much of it, if any, to make public. Also at yesterday's Oval Office appearance, Mr. Bush dismissed a reporter's suggestion that Iraq's elections, scheduled for next month, should be delayed until security is improved. "The elections should not be postponed," he said. "It's time for the Iraqi citizens to go to the polls, and that's why we are very firm on the January 30th date." Mr. Bush defended his decision to send additional U.S. troops to Iraq and extend the stays of others in order to beef up security. He said he was merely granting the request of U.S. commanders in Iraq. "We want to help them have their presidential elections," he said of the Iraqis. "And at some point in time, when Iraq is able to defend itself against the terrorists who are trying to destroy democracy, as I've said many times, our troops will come home with the honor they have earned." Meanwhile, the president said the United States is watching the election crisis in the Ukraine "very carefully." He also said Russia should not try to influence any new election that the Ukrainians might hold to resolve the dispute sparked after a recent contest marred by widespread fraud. "The will of the people must be known and heard," he said. "And therefore, we will continue to monitor and be involved in a process that encourages there to be a peaceful resolution of this issue." washingtontimes.com

To: Alan Smithee who wrote (89174)	12/3/2004 7:04:19 PM
From: Neeka	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793983

You can buy allot with $1,000,000. M Friday, December 03, 2004, 03:01 P.M. Pacific Democrats will finance a statewide hand recount By David Ammons The Associated Press OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington Democrats, hoping the third time's the charm, will pay for yet another recount in the state's ultra-close governor's race that remains unsettled after more than a month. The party also is heading to the state Supreme Court to seek a ruling that all ballots be treated the same from county to county. Democratic officials told a news conference in Seattle that the party has raised the necessary $700,000-plus to recount all 2.9 million votes cast for governor on Nov. 2 — not just votes in selected counties. A flood of online contributions this week put the party over the top. The party's nominee, three-term Attorney General Christine Gregoire, had told party leaders she was prepared to give up her quest for the governor's mansion if only a partial recount were ordered. "No games," she said. Dino Rossi The hand count is expected to cost the party over $1 million, including legal costs, and leaders said it was a backbreaking job to raise that kind of money in just a week. Secretary of State Sam Reed is expected to order the new count on Monday and most counties are expected to begin the laborious job Wednesday. Reed said the count should be completed by Dec. 23 unless there are legal challenges. Gregoire, 57, best known for her successful battle with the tobacco industry, trailed Republican Dino Rossi, 45, a former state Senate budget chairman, by just 42 votes after a machine recount was certified earlier this week. Rossi won the initial vote count by 261 ballots, a margin so close it triggered the mandatory machine recount. seattletimes.nwsource.com

To: Alan Smithee who wrote (89174)	12/3/2004 10:27:12 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793983

The Dems nationally will get a BIG BLACK EYE for this WA mess! Rossi-Gregoire battle still rages Friday, December 3, 2004 · Last updated 6:21 p.m. PT By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS seattlepi.nwsource.com IT'S NOW A TWO-FRONT WAR: Democrats announce a second recount of the 2.9 million ballots cast for governor, and head to state Supreme Court to seek a broader ballot count. THIRD WATCH: A manual recount by three-member teams will be ordered by the secretary of state on Monday. Most counties will begin on Wednesday. The largest, King, will start Thursday and take about two weeks. At two-bits a vote, the recount is costing Democrats more than $700,000. SUPREME QUESTIONS: Democratic Party asks the state high court to make it more than just a new count of votes tabulated in the recent machine recount. Democrats want a fresh look at disqualified ballots, including provisional and absentee ballots that were rejected. A hearing could be Wednesday or Thursday. SO WHAT'S THE FUSS? Republican Dino Rossi edged Democrat Christine Gregoire by just 42 votes out of more than 2.9 million cast for governor. A recount certified Tuesday showed that both wound up with 48.87 percent of the vote. Both got 1.3724 million votes. 8888888888888888888 Third time's a charm: How the recount will work seattlepi.nwsource.com By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Friday, December 3, 2004 · Last updated 4:58 p.m. PT On Monday, Secretary of State Sam Reed will officially order a statewide hand recount of votes cast in the Washington governor's race. Here is how it will work: THE WARMUP: Counties will need to hire and train temporary workers to recount the ballots by hand. Of course, they'll be competing against malls and other stores for seasonal workers. THE COUNTERS: Three-person teams will do the work, with two people counting the ballots and one recording the votes. King County elections officials plan to hire 160 temporary workers, 80 recommended by the Republican Party and 80 recommended by the Democratic party. Each three-person team will consist of one Democrat, one Republican, and one county elections worker. Other counties plan to do the same. THE PUBLIC: The hand recount is open to observers and members of the public, just as the original vote-counting and the first recount were. THE TIMELINE: The hand recount should finish by Dec. 23. That's the estimate from King County, which has the most ballots to count and plans to have workers recounting votes seven days a week. THE CONTROVERSY: The big question is whether the recount will include "new" votes - ballots that were not counted the first two times, for various reasons. The state Democratic Party announced plans Friday to go to court over that issue. WILL IT EVER END? This is the final recount allowed by state law. The winner of this recount will be the governor. But court action could complicate the ending. The inauguration is scheduled for Jan. 12. 888888888888888888 Washington Democrats Get New Count of Governor's Race (Update1) bloomberg.com Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Washington's Democratic Party forced a third count of ballots cast in the governor's race, seeking to reverse a 42-vote victory that would make Dino Rossi the first Republican governor of Washington in two decades. Rossi, 45, was declared the winner this week after two machine counts showed that he defeated state Attorney General Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, by the slimmest margin in Washington history. Saying thousands of votes were missed, Democrats raised enough money to force a hand count. ``Even though the race is too close to call at this point, I believe that Chris Gregoire won the election,'' Paul Berendt, chairman of the Washington State Democrats, said in a statement. Democrats are seeking to keep the 20 years of control they have had over the governor's office in Washington, the home of Microsoft Corp. and the site of airplane factories for Boeing Co. A victory for Rossi there would extend Republicans' dominance over U.S. state governments by giving them a 29-to-21 edge over Democrats in governorships. Kerry Donation Under state law, a political party can demand a recount, provided they pay for it. After a week of raising money from donors, including U.S. Senator John Kerry, Democrats handed Secretary of State Sam Reed a $730,000 check for the count. The state will charge 25 cents per ballot to cover the cost of counting the approximately 2.8 million votes cast. The third tally will prolong the Washington governor's race until at least late December. The state's 39 counties will begin reviewing their ballots on Dec. 8 or Dec. 9, Reed said. ``We have never conducted a mandatory or requested hand recount in a statewide race,'' Reed said in a statement e-mailed to reporters. ``This is new territory for Washington and an enormous undertaking.'' Rossi or Gregoire in January will replace Governor Gary Locke, a Democrat who decided not to seek another term. Gregoire, 57, helped negotiate the record legal settlement between U.S. states and tobacco makers. Rossi is a commercial real-estate developer and former state senator. To contact the reporter on this story: William Selway in San Francisco at at wselway@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Pittman at at mpittman@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: December 3, 2004 18:48 EST