Armitage Thinks Days Numbered as No. 2 U.S. Diplomat

[kskiska]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said on Friday he could soon leave office, a remark sure to fuel speculation the No. 2 U.S. diplomat and his boss, Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites), will not serve another term.

"I suspect my days of public service, given my age, are just about over," the 59-year-old diplomat said in an interview.

Many political analysts believe Powell and Armitage do not want to stay on if President Bush (news - web sites) wins re-election. Media reports periodically suggest the two, who resisted the administration's push to invade Iraq (news - web sites) more than other senior officials, will leave their posts together next year.

It is likely Armitage, who ran an international consulting company before joining Powell in the Bush administration in 2001, would exit only when his close friend does, analysts say.

more…
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040604/pl_nm/politics_armitage_dc_1

[shraby]

1. On Keith Olbermann tonight

he said that Rice, Rummy and Powell are leaving when Bush's term is up...even if he wins. Now Armitage is leaving and Tenet is already gone. WOW

[struggle4progress]

11. Maybe even these goons are getting sick of the bullsh*t.

[saigon68]

2. YIKES

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. Toofus.

[Eye and Monkey]

7. He looks like Blaster from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

on edit - with the eye glasses added, that is.

[Kinkistyle]

15. Always thought he looked like Rod Steiger.

General Decker from "Mars Attacks"



"Intellectuals! Liberals! Peacemongers! IDIOTS"

"We have to strike now, sir! Annihilate! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"We should nuke these assholes with everything we got, sir."

[RoyGBiv]

4. Given his age?

He's 59. That's not exactly old for a diplomat.

There's something up here, something beyond the obvious I think. I can't put my finger on it, but it just feels weird.

[gratuitous]

6. That was my thinking . . .

And then, of course, I thought how much nicer the world would be if folks like Rumsfeld had called it quits at 59. Or 49.

[FlemingsGhost]

14. They're fleeing the scene of the crime, that's all.

And taking a whole boatload of our money ...

[Just Me]

19. It may have something to do with the State Dept.'s role,...

,...in revealing Chalabi as a malignant partner of the neocons.

:bounce:

[Eye and Monkey]

5. He'll be replaced by yet another Iran-Contra alumnus.

Perhaps he'll run the next "privatized" version of Son of Iran-Contra, The Return of Iran-Contra, Iran-Contra With A Vengence, or Iran-Contra vs. Alien.

[TahitiNut]

8. Aspiring to be CIA Director?

There's buzz to that effect.

[seemslikeadream]

9. international consulting company? What's the name?

Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who recently brokered a reduction in the tensions between India and Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir, was a member of CACI’s Board of Directors from December 1999 to March 2001. He served the company with distinction, providing valuable guidance on CACI’s strategic growth plans and the federal government and Defense Department markets.

In little over a year with the State Department, Armitage has become point man for Secretary of State Colin Powell on a number of critical missions. On June 6 he flew to Islamabad to negotiate with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf as both Indian and Pakistani forces amassed along their borders. Remarkably, Armitage convinced Musharraf to agree to a permanent end to Pakistani-sponsored incursions in Kashmir. When he delivered this message to Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayjee, according to a Washington Post story on June 24, there was some disbelief that Musharraf would offer such a sweeping concession — but Armitage made it clear the U.S. was vouching for the Pakistani president. The Indians accepted Armitage’s assurances and began taking steps to normalize diplomatic relations. The U.S. has agreed to stay involved with both sides to bring a lasting and equitable peace to the region.

Armitage’s role was unquestionably pivotal and his ability to win compromises from both sides was a critical factor in avoiding a nuclear showdown. Prime Minister Vajpayjee, quoted in The Washington Post, said, "If Pakistan had not agreed to end infiltration, and America had not conveyed that guarantee to India, then war would not have been averted."

In April 2001, soon after Armitage left CACI’s Board of Directors to become Deputy Secretary of State, he was thrust onto the global stage as a key U.S. negotiator in a diplomatic confrontation with the Chinese. When a Navy EP-3E Aries II surveillance plane collided with a Chinese F-8 interceptor over the South China Sea, the Chinese detained the downed U.S. plane and aircrew. Armitage and Powell held high-level meetings with Chinese officials, including Chinese Ambassador Yang Jiechi, who met with Armitage on several occasions, to negotiate the successful release of the U.S. aircrew.

more
http://www.caci.com/homeland_security/armitage.shtml

[Eye and Monkey]

10. CACI. Creative Alumni of Contra-Iran.

They had to reverse Iran-Contra, it was symbolic.

[seemslikeadream]

12. Richard Armitage, the current deputy US secretary of state, sat on CACI’s

The same company that brought you this? I wonder why he'd be leaving?

Telltale Signs of Torture Lead Family to Demand Answers


Wife, Daughters Tell of Iraqi Man Discharged from U.S. Custody in Coma
by Dahr Jamail (bio)
Brian Dominick (bio) contributed to this item.

Editor's Note: Part of the following feature story was first reported by Baghdad correspondent Dahr Jamail back in January, when almost no one was paying attention to stories of the horrifying treatment dealt to Iraqi prisoners by their Western captors. Now that the world has deemed the topic newsworthy, Jamail has returned to the story for more thorough coverage. As part of our mission to The NewStandard will continue to pursue this and other stories like it in the near future. As any Iraq correspondent who speaks with Iraqis can attest, there is no shortage of them.


Baghdad , May 4 - Not all evidence of military personnel mistreating Iraqis held in US custody come from leaks within the American- and British-run detention facilities. In many cases, such as that of Sadiq Zoman, 57, who last year entered US custody healthy but left in a vegetative state, the story originates with family members desperate to share their loved one’s story with anyone willing to listen.

American soldiers detained Zoman at his residence in Kirkuk on July 21, 2003 when they raided the Zoman family home in search of weapons and, apparently, to arrest Zoman himself.

More than a month later, on August 23, US soldiers dropped Zoman off, already comatose, at a hospital in Tikrit. Although he was unable to recount his story, his body bore telltale signs of torture: what appear to be point burns on his skin, bludgeon marks on the back of his head, a badly broken thumb, electrical burns on the soles of his feet. Additionally, family members say they found whip marks across his back and more electrical burns on his genitalia.




Daughter Rheem stated, "My father is a good man who helped so many people in our community. Why have they done this to him? Can you tell me? Everyone who knows him can say that he did so many good things to help people."

With tears in her eyes, Hashima Zoman added, "Is it fair for any man's family to be made to suffer like this? Is it right that his daughters must see him like this? Our lives will never be the same again, no matter what happens."


http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=275.



But these soldiers aren’t simply mavericks. Some accused claim they acted on the orders of military intelligence and the CIA, and that some of the torture sessions were under the control of mercenaries hired by the US to conduct interrogations. Two “civilian contract” organisations taking part in interrogations at Abu Ghraib are linked to the Bush administration.
California-based Titan Corporation says it is “a leading provider of solutions and services for national security”. Between 2003-04, it gave nearly $40,000 to George W Bush’s Republican Party. Titan supplied translators to the military.
CACI International Inc. describes its aim as helping “America’s intelligence community in the war on terrorism”. Richard Armitage, the current deputy US secretary of state, sat on CACI’s board.
No civilians, however, are facing charges as military law does not apply to them. Colonel Jill Morgenthaler, from CentCom, said that one civilian contractor was accused along with six soldiers of mistreating prisoners. However, it was left to the contractor to “deal with him”. One civilian interrogator told army investigators that he had “unintentionally” broken several tables during interrogations as he was trying to “fear-up” detainees.
Lawyers for some accused say their clients are scapegoats for a rogue prison system, which allowed mercenaries to give orders to serving soldiers. A military report said private contractors were at times supervising the interrogations.
Kimmitt said: “I hope the investigation is including not only the people who committed the crimes, but some of the people who might have encouraged the crimes as well because they certainly share some responsibility.”
Last night, CACI vice-president Jody Brown said: “The company supports the Army’s investigation and acknowledges that CACI personnel in Iraq volunteered to be interviewed by army officials in connection with the investigation. The company has received no indication that any CACI employee was involved in any alleged improper conduct with Iraqi prisoners. Nonetheless, CACI has initiated an independent investigation.”
However, military investigators said: “A CACI investigator’s contract was terminated because he allowed and/or instructed military police officers who were not trained in interrogation techniques to facilitate interrogations which were neither authorised nor in accordance with regulations.”

http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:LGgQIc6IKxoJ:southafrica.indymedi ...

[Eye and Monkey]

13. Yes, and he also helped bring you Iran-Contra.

www.fromthewilderness.com/free/politics/armitage_SS.html
www.afn.org/~dks/i-c/pVIII-weinberger-dod.html
www.webcom.com/pinknoiz/covert/icsummary.html
http://lists.indymedia.org/pipermail/imc-dc/2001-February/000554.htmlwww.usvetdsp.com/story13.htm
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3342.htm

just the first half-dozen of 6,060 hits on +"armitage" +"iran-contra"

[teryang]

16. Interesting article

However, Armitage is painted in a loving light. The EP3 incident showed him and Powell in a very poor light. Powell had to get on his knees after all his ignorant blustering threats. It was a huge humiliation worsened by State's provocative threats and sabre rattling.

We paid Musharref billions in military aid and dropped our embargo on the world's greatest nuclear proliferator, Pakistan. It was our newly arrived military presence in Pakistan which destabilized south Asia and enabled Pakistan to initiate new provocations in Kashmir and elsewhere. The truth is we almost caused a nuclear WWIII.

Powell and Armitage are both creatures of the Pentagon, pure and simple. Of the two, I admit that Armitage is more sophisticated. The Pentagon has basically taken control of American foreign policy to the detriment of the world. Rumsfeld never hesitates to make American foreign policy and no one questions it because it is a fact.
In this respect, Armitage is a flunky.

[PhuLoi]

17. Uncle Fester?

eom

[otohara]

18. Time To Go Work For Halliburton

and make some real dough.

[Cocoa]

20. he can finally settle down

his new bride Katherine Harris-Armitage.

[Eurobabe]

21. No he can't go!! We won't be able to do Uncle Fester jokes!!