SwiftVets.com

[NavyChief]

DID FOREIGN CONTRIBUTIONS SWAY POLICY TOWARD VIETNAM?
by Michael Benge

Serious questions have been raised over the influence on U.S. foreign policy decisions toward Vietnam by the Indonesian Riady/Lippo Group's campaign contributions to the Democratic Party and President Clinton.

Equally malodorous is the apparent violation of ethics and conflict of interest over the appointment of Lippo's John Huang as a top Commerce Department official. From Commerce, Huang moved to the Democratic National Committee to solicit funds from the Asian community, both domestic and foreign.

According to newspaper accounts, John Huang began aggressively urging for a new U.S. trade policy toward Vietnam only one day after his July, 1994 appointment as a top Commerce Department official - and pushed the idea for the next 17 months while his former employer, the Lippo Group, sought to expand its investment empire in Vietnam."

To properly analyze when, who and what influenced U.S. foreign policy toward Vietnam, one has to look at the tangled web and cast of characters involved, as well as illegal and "legal" campaign contributions.

First of all, the Riady/Lippo Group's influence on U.S. foreign policy toward Vietnam did not start with Clinton. According to Congressional sources, the Riady/Lippo Group had a man, Kenneth Conboy, in the influential conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation, during the Bush Administration. Conboy married into the Indonesian baking industry and was hired by the Riady/Lippo Group to expand their empire into Vietnam and Cambodia at the same time he was directing South-East Policy for Heritage.

He used his position at Heritage to write op-ed articles and position papers to influence U.S. foreign policy which advocated (a) lifting trade restrictions on and renewing relations with Vietnam, and (b) appeasing the Hanoi-trained Khmer Rouge in Cambodia by allowing them to retain power in the new government even though they were devastated in the elections. Conboy apparently is one of the two Riady/Lippo Group's admitted agents in Vietnam.

However, the history of the Riadys as Indonesian political moles goes way back. According to an Asia analyst, James Riady first appeared on the U.S. political scene with President Jimmy Carter's Budget Director Earl Lance, who later was convicted of malfeasance. After the exit of Lance and Carter from the political scene, Riady moved from Atlanta to Little Rock and burrowed into Clinton's political camp to gain influence there.

Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) has asked the Justice Department for an independent counsel to investigate the Huang/Riady/Lippo Group tie, but one should not forget that without McCain's outspoken support, Clinton would probably never have lifted the trade embargo or renewed diplomatic relations with Vietnam. McCain's request can be viewed as the epitome of political hypocrisy.

One must also remember that Commerce Secretary Ron Brown had been accused of accepting funds from the communist Vietnamese in order to get the trade embargo lifted. Many felt that there was never a thorough investigation of this charge.

And it was reported that Frances Zwenig, Senator John Kerry's chief of staff for the now defunct Senate Select Committee on POW/MIAs, served for a short-time in the Vietnam interests section of Commerce until someone figured this might be viewed as a conflict of interest. As Kerry's aide, Zwenig, according to documents, coached the North Vietnamese to concoct plausible stories on the fate of POW/MIAs in order to show that Hanoi was cooperating to resolve the POW/MIA issue, a hurdle in the diplomatic dance to lift the trade embargo and renew relations with Vietnam.

Senator Kerry was caught on camera making a promise to the North Vietnamese communists that he would ensure that they weren't embarrassed by their concocted stories. Zwenig went on to serve with Madeleine Albright at the UN. Zwenig is now reportedly working with the Washington-based U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council, a group that lobbied heavily for lifting the trade embargo and renewing relations with Vietnam. Now their focus is to win most-favored nation (MFN) for the draconian communist regime in Vietnam, which recently burned a Buddhist Monastery in Hue and jailed the monks and nuns for advocating improved human rights, freedom of religion and democracy.

The question may be raised, who pays Zwenig's salary? Although campaign contributions from the Trade Council and associated companies are legal, one should follow the money trail to see if any was "laundered." Also, Senator Kerry's cousin, Forbes, who manages Kerry's trust, reportedly received multi-million dollar "sweet- heart" deal from the Vietnamese communists in real-estate concessions and port renovations in Vietnam. How much did he donate to the various campaigns?

And then there's the Bill introduced by Senators Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Jesse Helms (R.-N.C.) to lift the trade embargo on Vietnam conditioned on the reimbursement for property of U.S. citizens seized by the North Vietnamese communists when they took over in 1975. Not surprisingly, their "top ten" list was comprised of companies that could make large campaign contributions, such as oil companies which have great interest in taping Vietnam's vast oil fields.

Unfortunately, this list did not include the, property of other Americans or Vietnamese who were naturalized after 1975, who were not so well healed. And, the tobacco industry, which contributes heavily to political campaigns, had its eye on the approximately 80 million potential smokers in Vietnam.

And one must not forget General John Vessey, Clinton's point man in providing cover of alleged "full cooperation" by the Vietnamese communists in help to resolve the POW/MIA issue, necessary for Clinton to normalize relations. Vessey is heavily involved in the airline industry, and companies from which he profits reportedly have received large contracts in Vietnam.

Lastly, one must not forget the role that three Department of Defense employees played in helping Vessey provide this cover for Vessey and Clinton.

According to a former DOD employee who was heavily involved in investigating the POW/MIA issue in Vietnam, these three helped whittle down the most critical list of POW/MIAs (those known to have been alive and in the hands of the North Vietnamese), by merely asking the communists if they had knowledge of the fate of these men. Of course, the communists said no, and their answers were used as the basis to cross the names of these men from the list. It was essential to reduce this "critical list" to a tolerable level in order to justify the U.S. lifting of the trade embargo and renewing diplomatic relations.

To get a clear picture of how campaign contributions influenced U.S. foreign policy decisions on Vietnam, one must follow the money trail of all of the above mentioned cast of characters and companies. Not only money donated to Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee, but that given to the campaigns and associated non-profit entities of Senators Kerry, McCain, Helms and Murkowski from companies, associations and individuals with interests in Vietnam.

Contributions by non-citizens and foreign companies of course are illegal; however, as evidence shows, much of the money was laundered, perhaps through companies associated with groups like the U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council. Money from these companies is also laundered through the bank accounts of private individuals, which is then given away as campaign contributions. Contributions from U.S. citizens and U.S.-based companies of course is not illegal. However, their contributions which were made to influence, U.S. foreign policy to lift the trade embargo and renew relations with communist Vietnam at the cost of the return of POWs and truthfully accounting for MIAs is beyond the pale of human decency and the height of immorality.

http://www.aiipowmia.com/sea/lippo_benge.html

- Chief
_________________
Working with Senator Kerry four years in the POW/MIA Office left me thinking -- when did the man ever do any work?

[redwood]

WWWOOOOOOWWWWW!
WWWOOOOOOWWWWW!
ANOTHER REASON TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS P.O.S. NEVER SEES THE INSIDE OF THE WHITE HOUSE.

[Geano]

Post Number 10 at Kerry Finances Developing
(Developing 16 Oct 2004) 1050 EST 16 Oct last update to Number 10

http://canberra.usembassy.gov/hyper/WF980320/epf502.htm

03/20/98 OPIC
AGREEMENT WITH VIETNAM
Snippets:

[Navy_Navy_Navy]

Is there any way to find Kerry's Senatorial Financial Statements that he has filed over the years?

They're public record and at least one person on the web notes that as late as the mid-90's, there were holdings in SE Asian-tied companies listed on those disclosures.
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother

[ArmyMedicsMom]

There might be something among these web pages.

http://web.archive.org/web/*/kerry.senate.gov/*

http://web.archive.org/web/*hh_/kerry.senate.gov/

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.johnkerry.com

[stylin19]

Senator Kerry was caught on camera making a promise to the North Vietnamese communists that he would ensure that they weren't embarrassed by their concocted stories


I wonder if there's a clip of this floating around....
_________________
U.S.M.C. - 1969-1971
RVN- 1970-1971

[Geano]

Gonna post this bit up cold….haven’t got knots tied yet…but watch out! We MAY have a link or two back as early as 1968 coming outta this! see more here at Kerry finances topic
HELP!
OPIC/UNOCAL

[Geano]

Navy_Navy_Navy

[Geano]

See Post 6 This Topic
AIG and Blackstone Launch Partnership AIG and Blackstone Launch Partnership
( btw---Zwenig associated with us-asean.org)
AIA Capital Corporation, the flagship investment and financial advisory unit for Asia of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), a US-ASEAN Business Council member, and The Blackstone Group , a private New York-based investment bank, announced on June 2, 1999 that they had formed a partnership to pursue restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, and related capital raising advisory assignments in Asia. The two organizations will collaborate on an exclusive basis in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong and on a non-exclusive basis in other Asian markets.

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP Kerry has holdings worth over $1,000,000.

BLACKSTONE CAPITAL PARTNERS III, Kerry's 2004 est income $202,500
BLACKSTONE CAPITAL PARTNERS IV, Kerry's 2004 est income $152,500
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MSM Lead Nov 3 2004 "Kerry Oval Office Hopes killed by 10,000 Mice..."
Candidate had declared mice "only a nuisance".
States they "moved too Swiftly"....