No subject

now we learn about the owners of the pilot school. Peoplewere calling
in to the CIA and the FBI and they  were giving informationthat was
critical. Even prior to these warnings we had the trial itselffrom the
1993 World Trade Center bombing.
And we had the trial from the American embassy bombing.So we knew that
the World Trade Center bombing trial gives us a lead onthe fact that
embassies were being targeted. And now the US  governmentis being sued
by survivors of the embassy bombings, because it is clearthat America
had warnings and did nothing. Did nothing to protect the livesof the
people who serve in our foreign  service and who serve us inother ways
in our embassies around the world. Now the US government isbeing sued,
and we're gonna have to pay for that, as those families arenow paying
every day with the  loss of their loved ones. There wasadequate
warning. There were people who failed to act on the warning. Andthat's
what ought to be investigated.
But instead of requesting that Congress investigate whatwent wrong and
why, we had president Bush (painful for me to say that,but) we had
president Bush placing a call to Majority Leader  SenatorTom Daschle
asking him NOT to investigate the events of September 11, Andthen, hot
on the heels of the president's phone call was another phonecall from
the vice president asking that Tom  Daschle also not investigatethe
events that lead to September 11. My question is, What do they haveto
hide? And why is it that the American people are being asked to
maketremendous sacrifices now in our civil liberties?
And the fact that we got this request for an unprecedentedhike in --
the hike alone of 48.1 billion dollars is more than any oneof our
allies spend total on their defense. And then the other  issuethat
saddens me is the fact that the former President, president
Bush'sdaddy, sits on the board of the Carlyle Group. And so we get
this presidency,of questionable legitimacy, requesting a nearly
unprecedented amountof money to go into a defense budget for defense
spending that will directlybenefit his father. Where is the =85 where
are the brakes on transparencyand corruption that I see happening as a
result of the fact that the president'sfather stands to make money off
of the very requests that the presidenthas made, on what I would call
a specious argument saying that we needto  increase defense spending
because of Sept 11, when we now knowthat there were enough warnings
that we didn't have to even experienceSeptember 11 at all; at least
that's the way it is now beginning to appear.
BERNSTEIN: How would Poppy Bush make money on this budget?How would
the father make money on this budget?
MCKINNEY: The father sits on the board of an organizationcalled the
Carlyle Group. Now when we had Frank Carlucci come to testifyat the
House International Relations Committee shortly after  GeorgeW was
sworn in=85
BERNSTEIN: former Defense Secretary
MCKINNEY: former Defense Secretary -- and we have a requirementthat
organizations that come before our committee, the House
InternationalRelations Committee, have to disclose Federal  contracts.
And so Irequested of our chairman, Chairman Hyde, whether or not the
Carlyle Groupwould be subjected to that requirement, since everyone
else has to do it.And of course the Carlyle Group  was not required to
make any disclosureas to the Federal contracts that it had. That in
itself means that they are skirting the rules of the House.
Notwithstanding that, the fact thatthe father sits on  the board of
the Carlyle Group, which is one ofthe highest level defense
contractors in the country. I think they're number11 or 12 in defense
contracts. And they have at least one program, the Crusader, which
hasn't=85 it doesn't work, it's a weapons system that doesn'twork, has
experienced tremendous cost overruns, and yet it continues tobe
funded, and we can only think that it's the heavy  hand of
verywell-placed lobbyists that make sure that weapons systems that are
goingto=85 that have a connection with the Carlyle Group get funded.
And even building contracts: bases abroad, all of thebases that we are
now looking at, new bases going into Uzbekistan. Thepositioning of
troops in former Soviet Georgia -- those troops are going to have to
be housed, fed, and the weapons systems are going to haveto be
contained, and all of that is money. And sadly the Carlyle Groupwill
benefit from this increase in funding that has been  requestedby the
president. Interestingly also, and probably the scariest of all,was
the new mission, as identified by the Secretary, for our Armed
Services.And that is that a major role now for the US military will be
to occupyan opponent's capitol and displace its regime. Now, if that's
the mission-- and we've been told that there are as many as 60
countries around theworld that host terror cells  that we need to go
in and flush out-- then basically what we're talking about is
expanding US military presenceall over the planet. And that is a
frightening experience and a frighteningthought for me  because I know
that if we provide weapons they getused. And if our troops are there,
they are going to use those weaponsand those weapons that we provide
might even be used against our own troops;we  have to be very careful
about that. But interestingly the Secretarysaid that they intend to
"drain the swamp", and it's interesting to methat it appears to me
that this new mission of our  military to gointo a capitol and take it
over was started in Washington DC.
BERNSTEIN: Final question, Congresswoman McKinney. Theseare mighty
powerful thoughts you're expressing here. I'm wondering howmuch
support you have in Congress, and perhaps you have heard  frompeople
who are quite unhappy with your voicing these kinds of very
strong,controversial thoughts
MCKINNEY: It's always good to hear from people who thinklike you. I
definitely hear from people who don't think like you. And
that'shealthy. It's a part of the American process. But just as  it's
healthyfor me to hear from people who don't think like me, it's also
very healthyfor people like me to have a voice and to be willing to
speak. And it'stotally inappropriate, I believe, for my  patriotism to
be questioned,my feelings of attachment and loyalty for America to be
questioned.
BERNSTEIN: Has it been questioned?
MCKINNEY: You would be surprised at the hate mail thatI get in the
Congressional office.
BERNSTEIN: What do people say to you?
McKinney: I wish I had a piece right here and I'd readit to you. We
got one piece that told me that I needed to go back to Africaand take
Jesse with me. It seems that the people who write in  findit
impossible to omit the fact that I'm black. And so the racial aspectof
the hatred also comes out. I can accept people who disagree. But I
don'tknow that we need thought police in our  universities, because
ouruniversities are supposed to teach freedom of thought. And I don't
knowthat we need thought police and speech police inside the US
Congress, becausethe Congress is supposed to  represent Americans of
all stripes andall ideologies. And I know that there is a very
powerful peace movementin this country. I hear from them, I know
they're out there. I'd love tohear a little bit  more from them.
BERNSTEIN: Well, we have very much appreciated hearingfrom you today.
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, reading her essay "Thoughtson our war
against terrorism", and then speaking  with us on Flashpointshere on
Pacifica radio. We thank you so much for your time and your
goodinformation and commentary. MCKINNEY: Thank you verymuch and I
look forward to talking with you again.


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more on McKinney and 911 at http://www.911truth.org/osamas/mckinney.html