For the best in "pussyfooting around with Arabs," look no further than the Bush clan.
On Dec 20, 10:13 pm, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > From: Travis > Subject: BUBBA SHEIK-ING THE MONEY TREE - NY Post > Date: Friday, December 19, 2008, > > [image:http://www.nypost.com/] <http://www.nypost.com/> > > *BUBBA SHEIK-ING THE MONEY TREE* By GEOFF EARLE in Washington and CHUCK > BENNETT in New York > *December 19, 2008* -- > It's time to get Bubba fitted for a burnoose. > > Arkansas good ol' boy Bill Clinton turned the ancient lands of Arabia into > his personal ATM over the past decade, raking in tens of millions of dollars > worth of donations to his private foundation, records disclosed by the > former president yesterday show. > Desert-dwelling donors, including Gulf states, billionaire Saudis and > Arab-focused charities, gave big to his William J. Clinton Foundation in > what could be called the world's biggest sheik shakedown. > **<http://www.nypost.com/seven/12192008/postopinion/editorials/bills_pal...> > The oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia alone gave between $15 million and $35 > million to the nonprofit. > In all, more than 200,000 individuals and entities gave to Clinton - for a > total of nearly $500 million. And that means 200,000 possible > conflict-of-interest headaches for wife Hillary, President-elect Barack > Obama's pick for secretary of state. > For years, Clinton steadfastly kept his donors' identities more hidden than > Ali Baba's cave, even as Hillary campaigned for president and watchdogs > called for transparency. > But, to help ease her upcoming Senate confirmation hearing, Clinton finally > said "open sesame" to his foundation's books and provided the names of every > donor plus broad range amounts of the gifts. > The largest gifts, either to fund his presidential library or global > poverty-fighting charity initiatives, came from the Saudis. > Friends of Saudi Arabia, a government-sponsored agency that fosters ties > between the kingdom and the United States, gave an additional $1 million to > $5 million on top of the direct $10 million to $25 million from the kingdom > itself. > And Saudi billionaires Sheik Mohammed H. al-Amoudi and Nasser al-Rashid > donated in the $5 million-to-$10 million range. Hamza B. al Kholi, a Saudi > construction titan, gave between $100,000 and $250,000. > The Persian Gulf governments of Kuwait, Qatar and Oman and the Far Eastern > sultanate of Brunei each gave between $1 million and $5 million, and another > $250,000 to $500,000 came from the US Islamic World Conference. > The United Arab Emirates-based Dubai Foundation, which aims to promote > education in the Middle East, gave between $1 million to $5 million, as did > the Zayed family, that country's ruling family. > "It's not conducted the way they do it in Chicago, a situation where you > give me millions and I give you that. It's for a cultivation of good will," > said Harvey Sicherman, president of the Foreign Policy Research Institute > and a State Department adviser during the Reagan administration. > "Often, people who do this have some business with a government and they are > cultivating friends, that's the extent of it," he said. > But it can lead to at least the appearance of friends with benefits. For > instance, mining financier Frank Giustra gave Clinton between $10 million > and $25 million along with a donation of $1 million to $5 million from his > private foundation. > In 2005, Giustra flew Clinton to Kazakhstan on his private jet, where the > ex-prez sang the praises of the Central Asian nation's autocratic leader. > Giustra then won a lucrative uranium mining contract. > A similar appearance of a conflict could weigh on Hillary when Bill's donors > have an agenda before the State Department. > "People may say, well, even if they are not sharing the same bed at night, > they still may talk to each other and it doesn't look right," Sicherman > said. > Homegrown billionaires weren't shy to open their wallets either. Stephen > Bing, an old "Friend of Bill" and real-estate heir, handed over between $10 > million and $25 million, as did New York's independent political power > broker Thomas Golisano and Chicago media mogul Fred Eychaner. > Barbra Streisand, Steven Spielberg and Cameron Diaz donated as well. > Songwriter Denise Rich gave between $250,000 and $500,000 and saw her > tax-cheating husband, Marc, pardoned in 2001. > More modestly, US sugar baron Alfonso Fanjul Jr., the man who famously > called Clinton in the Oval Office when Monica Lewinsky was hanging out, gave > between $50,000 and $100,000. > Notably absent, however, is Clinton's BFF and former business partner, Ron > Burkle, a billionaire playboy and California supermarket king. > Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) promised that Bill Clinton's prolific fund-raising > would be thoroughly discussed at Hillary's confirmation hearing. > "I don't know how, given all of our ethics standards now, anyone quite > measures up to this - who has such cosmic ties," he said. > In a statement, Bill Clinton thanked the donors for their support. > Adding to the list of conflicts were substantial donations from individuals > connected to India and Israel. > Indian politician Amar Singh, who discussed an Indian-US agreement to share > civilian nuclear technology this past September, donated between $1 million > and $5 million. > Any appearance that a Secretary of State Clinton has a close relationship > with India could add drama to tense negotiations with the Asian > subcontinent's nuclear-armed rival Pakistan. > Among other big donors are TV producer Haim Saban, who splits his time > between California and Israel and gave between $5 million and $10 million. > And American Israel Public Affairs Committee board member and Slim-Fast > founder S. Daniel Abraham gave in the $1 million-to-$5 million range. > *[email protected]* > > Home <http://www.nypost.com/> > ------------------------------ > NEW YORK POST is a registered trademark of NYP Holdings, Inc. > NYPOST.COM<http://nypost.com/>, > NYPOSTONLINE.COM <http://nypostonline.com/>, and > NEWYORKPOST.COM<http://newyorkpost.com/> > are trademarks of NYP Holdings, Inc. > Copyright 2008 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved. > > -- > *~@):~{> --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
