Sunday, November 16, 2008
Quantum of Clinton: Foreign Policy For Sale to the Highest Bidder?
They have always said that with the Clintons, America gets two for the price of one. Now that President-elect Obama is seriously considering nominating HRC for Secretary of State, we must seriously consider the possibility that one of the undisclosed foreign donors to the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation might obtain superior access to the new Secretary of State as a special bonus for their generosity.
It’s looking more and more like President-elect Obama will nominate Senator Clinton for Secretary of State. Is she qualified? Yes, she is. Is she intelligent? Yes, she is. Do we trust her? Well, that depends . . .
I hate to state the obvious, but Senator Clinton is married to President Clinton. President Clinton is the most sought-after speaker-for-hire on the planet. He runs the most lucrative not-for-profit foundation on the planet. As a result, he trots the globe in carbon-spouting jets and has built a fancy presidential library in Arkansas. Presdient Clinton rakes in vast sums from undisclosed overseas donors. President Clinton and the Foundation have jealously guarded their donor list, despite pressure to disclose.
The little that is known about the identities of the donors to the Clinton library was reported by the New York Sun in 2004, after a reporter discovered the names on a touch-screen computer on the third floor of the library after its opening. Members of the Saudi royal family, Arab businessmen, the governments of Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei and Taiwan, and Hollywood celebrities, were among the 57 individuals or foundations who gave $1 million or more to the library, according to the Sun. (see NY Sun Article on donors)
Further, President Clinton has been linked through his foundation to Alibaba, a giant Chinese internet search engine corporation. (see LA Times on Clinton)
This is just the tip of the iceberg. These are just the things that a country lawyer can find on the World Wide Web. Seeing the tip of this iceberg, candidate Barack H. Obama pressed Senator Clinton on the issue of Clinton Foundation and Clinton Library. Candidate Obama thought it important enough to raise the issue in a presidential debate. Why did Candidate Obama think the issue important? Was it the conflict of interest? Was it the potential for outright corruption of the nation’s foreign policy by big money donors from abroad?
Candidate Obama is no more. Now there is only President Obama, whose party controls the House and Senate by overwhelming margins. President Obama clearly does not have the same concerns about the vast potential for conflicts of interest between the Clinton Foundation and the United States of America.
The Foundation must release its donor list in its entirety. Whether it does or not, there had better well be a Republican in the Senate with the intestinal fortitude to raise the issue when it comes time for confirmation hearings.
