Richard Pearle just resigned!!!

Frank
Is this wishful thinking or for real?

Who's next? Is there anybody in office with no ties at all with a compagny?

au, it's real:

http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=us&cat=bush_administration

That's quite a scoop, Frank. I don't see it on the NY Times web site, not that that proves anything. But what did Perle resign from? He wears so many hats. Something tells me he won't be missing many meals.

It looks like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Naw, not a Bush man!

frolic says:



Actually - Bush isn't connected - then again, he has a connection to all his donors, and repays them often!

I think the "cookie jar" theory is the best one.

Well keep an eye on things.

As the saying goes: What goes around....

I heard on NPR tonight that he didn't resign, just gave up the Charimanship!

Oh dear, the bureaucratic shuffle goes on and on. Same old story job title changes job remains the same.

<sigh> this administration has redefined the meaning of "scum"!

Teflon Resignation
I'm just a student, so you'll have to salt these ideas yourself. IMO, Perle leaving is no big thing.

It doesn't seem there is much scandal at the moment to force his resignation. My guess, it may be a pre-emptive(!) resignation, to keep Bush/Cheney public images intact as things unravel.

If the war goes sour, or if PR issues come up, the current officials can blame the architect of the Whole Nasty Plan, and say he's already left. Teflon for war protestors.

The bulk of his work is done. The plans are written, approval is won, so no reason to stick around to see what happens now. Slip out the back, Jack.

No facts here, that's just my gut feeling -- after being thumped!




---------- Sound-Bites ---------

"Mr Perle has been a Washington insider since the early 1970s, is a personal friend of the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a fellow of the influential right-wing think tank the American Enterprise Institute, and chief proponent, along with the Deputy Defence Secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, of a pre-emptive foreign policy aimed at rogue states."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5944-626561,00.html

Perle wrote in his resignation letter that he could not ''quickly or easily quell criticism'' in the Global Crossing controversy, adding that it was ''based on errors of fact.'' Nonetheless, he wrote, ''I would not wish to cause even a moment's distraction from'' the war effort.
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/086/wash/Former_Pentagon_official_Richa%3A.shtml

"It's not sufficient. It's cosmetic," said Larry Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, of Mr Perle's move this week. "The fact that he's still on the board means there's still a conflict."
http://search.ft.com/search/article.html?id=030329000179

... he earned a nickname he appears rather to enjoy - "Prince of Darkness" - by opposing detente and arms control and promoting President Reagan's proxy wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador. In this administration, he is the ringleader and, with Paul Wolfowitz, Mr Rumsfeld's deputy, intellectual backbone of the the neo-conservatives who believe invading Iraq is the lever to remake the entire Middle East in America's image and interest. This grand design of almost Napoleonic sweep can be disavowed by the Bush people on the grounds that Mr Perle is (or was) a mere adviser.
http://search.ft.com/search/article.html?id=030329000117

Michael Ledeen, an A.E.I. scholar on the same panel, called Iraq "just one battle in a broader war. Iran is . . . the mother of modern terrorism."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/opinion/23DOWD.html

... [Perle] suggested it was the work of a leftwing conspiracy. "I'm beginning to think that people who've been saying on the internet that I am part of a small neo-conservative cabal that runs the world actually believe what they are saying," he told the Financial Times.
http://search.ft.com/search/article.html?id=030329000180

Maybe we should remember that Perle holds no elective office and has no power to implement his theories. The people who have, still remain in office Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney and the gaggle of geese behind them. Nothing will change with or without Perle.

Perle's of Wisdom
The responsibility ultimately lies with the President (no pun intended!), but Perle's type of power is in simply giving advice and persuading, ... so much so, that an entire policy institution was given to and chaired by him.

As a civilian advisor, he's not accountable for all the effects he produces.

Separately, note his strong connections to Israel, feeding their intelligence to OUR policy makers. Sharon's no dummy, and seems likely to encourage a U.S. war with Iraq through Perle.

I'm not opinionated yet, just interested in learning more.



-------- More Snibblets ----------

"Feith was directly involved in the strategic planning and conduct of the military operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan; he now runs various aspects of the planning of the Iraqi war and its aftermath. He and Perle share the same views on many foreign-policy issues. Both have been calling for Saddam Hussein's removal for years, long before September 11th."
[...]
"There is a split personality to Perle," Bandar said. "Here he is, on the one hand, trying to make a hundred-million-dollar deal, and, on the other hand, there were elements of the appearance of blackmail - 'If we get in business, he'll back off on Saudi Arabia' - as I have been informed by participants in the meeting."

Fascinating back-room meeetings chronicled at:
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?030317fa_fact

I also believe Perle and this entire administrations ultimate desires lie in the positive directing (for their own sake) of the almighty US $.

money, its a hit!