Moore derives the $1.4 billion figure from journalist
Craig Unger’s book, “House of Bush, House of Saud.”
Nearly 90 percent of that amount, $1.18 billion, comes
from just one source: contracts in the early to
mid-1990’s that the Saudi Arabian government awarded
to a U.S. defense contractor, BDM, for training the
country’s military and National Guard. What’s the
significance of BDM? The firm at the time was owned by
the Carlyle Group, the powerhouse private-equity firm
whose Asian-affiliate advisory board has included the
president’s father, George H.W. Bush.
Leave aside the tenuous six-degrees-of-separation
nature of this “connection.” The main problem with
this figure, according to Carlyle spokesman Chris
Ullman, is that former president Bush didn’t join the
Carlyle advisory board until April, 1998—five months
after Carlyle had already sold BDM to another defense
firm. True enough, the former president was paid for
one speech to Carlyle and then made an overseas trip
on the firm’s behalf the previous fall, right around
the time BDM was sold. But Ullman insists any link
between the former president’s relations with Carlyle
and the Saudi contracts to BDM that were awarded years
earlier is entirely bogus. “The figure is inaccurate
and misleading,” said Ullman. “The movie clearly
implies that the Saudis gave $1.4 billion to the
Bushes and their friends. But most of it went to a
Carlyle Group company before Bush even joined the
firm. Bush had nothing to do with BDM.”
-sm
--- William H Bowen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Actually on this list, MD did
>
> 6/29
> "Why are we not talking about the $1.4 billion in
> personal
> income Bush and his coalition of the cronies receive
> annually from the
> saudis, "
>
> And I've seen it other places and will provide links
> when I have some
> more time...
>
> :-)
>
>
> dana tierney wrote:
>
> > sorry will but I am a little confused. Did someone
> here say 1.4 bilion
> > a year? Btw this is a number other people have not
> been able to
> > substantiate, regardless of the period of time.
> I'd love to be able to
> > verify it but he does not attribute it, even to
> "sources who prefer to
> > remain anonymous."
> >
> >
> >
>
<http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=17>
>
>
> --
>
> will
>
>
> "If my life weren't funny, it would just be true;
> and that would just be unacceptable."
> -- Carrie Fisher
>
>
>
>
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