[Peace-discuss] Clinton / Taliban

[Michael Shapiro]

And then there's this tidbit ...

http://www.gregpalast.com/mrs-clintons-forgotten-fling-with-the-killer-of-karachi/

Mrs. Clinton's forgotten fling with the Killer of KarachiHillary and
Musharraf
by Greg Palast


You've seen all those creepy photos of George Bush rubbing up against
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, the two of them grinning and giggling
like they're going to the senior prom. So it's hard to remember that *it was
Hillary and Bill who brought Pervez to the dance* in the first place.

....

*Musharraf's the guy who helped the Taliban take power in Afghanistan in
1996*. And, through his ISI, Pakistan's own KGB, he is still giving the
Taliban secret protection.

....

And it all began with an unpaid electricity bill. In 1998, Pakistan wouldn't
pay up millions, and they owed billions, to British and American electricity
companies. And for good reason: the contracts called for paying insanely
high prices. It smelled of payola - and ultimately, the government of
Pakistan filed charges against power combine executives and canceled the
contracts. That's the rule under international law: companies can't collect
on contracts they obtained by pay-offs.

But these weren't just any companies. One was a Tony Blair favorite,
Britain's National Power. The other was Entergy International, a sudden
big-time player in the international power market based out of, oddly,
Little Rock, Arkansas. Despite the Clinton Administration's claim to fight
foreign corruption, this was an exception. Clinton and Blair voted to cut
off Pakistan's funding from the IMF. Pay-up the power pirates, they told
Pakistan, or starve.

Why was President Clinton so determined to crush Pakistan because of an
unpaid bill to some Little Rock company. This was not just any company. But
that wasn't much. More important, Entergy and its partners, the Riady Family
of Indonesia had just paid about half a million dollars to Hillary's old
Rose Law Firm partner Webster Hubbell. Odd that, hiring Hubbell. Why would
Entergy pay big bucks to Hubbell as a "consultant" when he was on his way to
jail for a felony. Hubbell was doing time because he refused to testify
against Ms. Rodham.

....

Was there a connection between Entergy's kindness to Hillary and her law
partner and the power company's extraordinary sway with the Administration?
>From inside information on energy policies to favor requested of Tony
Blair's office by Hillary's office, Entergy could do no wrong. Certainly,
their consortium's executives wouldn't have to stand trial in Pakistan.

And Entergy got its money. On December 22, 1998, Pakistan's military, at the
direction of General Pervez Musharraf, sent thirty thousand troops into the
nation's power stations. At the time, Entergy's partners told me, "A lot
changed since the army moved in. Now we have a situation where we can be
paid. They've found a way to collect from the man in the street." Yes: at
gunpoint, according to Abdul Latif Nizamani, a labor union leader who spoke
with me after Musharraf's gang had arrested him.

With Pakistan's army in control of the nation's infrastructure, and acting
as guarantor of payment to the US and UK power giants, General Musharraf's
final takeover of the entire government nine months later - a "surprise"
coup to the Western press - was, a forgone conclusion. And the Clintons,
complicit, like Bush today, could say little.

Just months before he left office President Clinton paid a sudden visit to
Musharraf. Congressional Democrats were stunned. Musharraf had quickly shown
himself to be a Taliban-loving, unbalanced dictator who violated US treaty
terms by exploding a nuke and threatening to incinerate our ally India.
Notably, the Ambassador with Clinton made payments to the electric companies
a top item on his agenda.

Favors done; favors repaid. Nothing new under the sun, but it's a dangerous
game, Senator Clinton.

All right, maybe you can say that President Clinton's blessing of the
radioactive dictator can't be blamed on Hillary despite the smelly money
chain going from Arkansas to Karachi. But, be honest, the lady sure as heck
ain't running on her record as a Senator; her whole pitch is, "Re-elect
Clinton."
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