[Peace-discuss] Clinton / Taliban

[Michael Shapiro]

http://www.judicialwatch.org/udicial-watch-asks-court-require-national-archives-speed-release-hillary-clinton-documents

*Group Seeks Access to Hillary Clinton White House Schedules and Other
Office Records from Presidential Library* *(Washington, DC)* -- Judicial
Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government
corruption, asked a federal court yesterday to require the National Archives
and Records Administration to release Hillary Clinton's office schedules
from the Clinton Presidential Library early in 2008. Judicial Watch sued the
Archives, which operates and maintains Clinton Presidential Library records,
over its failure to respond to Judicial Watch's April 5, 2006 Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) request for Mrs. Clinton's White House office
records, which include her daily schedules and telephone logs.

In a recent court filing, the National Archives admitted that 10,000 pages
of Hillary Clinton's daily schedule records will be ready by the end of
January 2008 for review by Presidential representatives for review. However,
the Archives, despite the court's request, refused to provide a date certain
by which it will complete the processing of 20,000 pages of telephone log
books. The Archives also requested an indefinite period of time to allow
representatives of Bill (and Hillary) Clinton and President Bush to review
them. (The Archives admitted that, on average, Presidential representatives
have required 237 days to complete their review of Clinton Presidential
records.)

In yesterday's court filing, Judicial Watch lawyers argued that the
Presidential Records Act does not allow Clinton (or President Bush) to delay
the release of records and that the Archivist is only required to give
President Clinton 30 days notice that records are to be released.
Accordingly, Judicial Watch asked the court to order the Archives to release
Hillary Clinton's White House schedules after the library completes its
processing of them (and after President Clinton is given his required 30 day
notice) -- and to provide a date certain as to when the telephone logs would
be processed. Judicial Watch argues in its filing that the Archives'
handling of the Hillary Clinton records request has shown "complete
disregard for the law."

In fact, in a separate lawsuit, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly recently enjoined the Archives from following President
Bush's executive order that allowed former presidents and vice presidents to
review Archives records for an indefinite period of time. Judge
Kollar-Kotelly said it was within the sole discretion of the presidential
Archivist to release presidential records, and the Archivist was not
required to defer to former presidents.

"We're asking the court to ensure that the law is followed and that these
records are released without improper interference from the Clintons,"
stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "There's no reason we should not
see these records in early 2008."

It occurs to me that Bill Clinton was supportive of the Taliban when it
looked like they might help Unocal construct an oil pipeline. Hillary
publicly opposed the Taliban, I think in Feb, 1998, but by that time the
pipeline project was failing. According to the time line
http://www.worldpress.org/specials/pp/pipeline_timeline.htm

February Gazprom pulls out of Unocal consortium, shares re-distributed,
giving Unocal 54 percent.  March Unocal says pipeline on hold as unfeasible
because of Afghan war. Turkmenistan anxious for work to begin soon. Unocal
asks Pakistan to extend deadline to October 1998. Deadline cannot be met,
says Unocal, because of Afghan civil war.

It looks as if this, coupled with international condemnation of how the
Taliban treats women, may have induced Hillary to take a hostile position
toward the Taliban. Until that time, I don't know if she had much to say. I
wonder what information the papers that are not being released have about
Hillary in this regard. Does anyone have any information about this?
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