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Attorney, Private Practice 2000-present Former Senate Legal Counsel 1994-2000, Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature Chief Consultant, 1985 Northern Marianas Constitutional Convention

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Sobering clues to a McCain foreign policy ....

This week two senior members of Senator John McCain's presidential campaign staff were forced to resign amid revelations that their lobbying firm took in hundreds of thousands of dollars representing Myanmar's brutal military regime.

Nevertheless, McCain's campaign is still headed by Charlie Black, who ran a lobbying firm that represented war profiteer, private security force Blackwater Worldwide, Iraqi "leader" Ahmed Chalabi, suspected of widespread fraud, Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Zaire's Mobutu Sese Seko, and Angola terrorist rebel Jonas Savimbi.

Campaign co-chair Tom Loeffler used to represent Saudi Arabia.

These are documented facts and provide a sobering glimpse into what a McCain foreign policy would look like: coddling dictators, insensitive to untold human suffering, nasty and brutish, accepting of corruption, embarrassingly short of America's greatness.

Here are the sources:

"A Lobbying Firm and Its McCain Ties," MSNBC, May 12, 2008

John McCain's Lobbyist Connections," Public Campaign Action Fund

"McCain's Lobbyists in Trouble for Foreign Lobbying," Progressive Media USA, May 11, 2008

"McCain Aides Are Tied," New York Sun, May 12, 2008

"Obama Calls on Rice to Address Human Rights Violations in Saudi Arabia," November 19, 2007

"Saudi Arabia," Human Rights Watch World Report, 2007

MoveOn.org
has a somewhat tongue-in-cheek poll on what McCain ought to do about this situation. Join the fun and express your opinion here.

And, of course, we can all Vote for Change and participate in the revitalization of democracy in America.

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