RICHARD ARMITAGE QUIETLY CONFIRMED AS DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE
http://disc.server.com/Indices/149495.html
FTW - On March 23, after being recommended in a unanimous 18-0 vote by the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, former Vietnam-era covert operative and
Contra-era figure Richard Armitage was confirmed as Deputy Secretary of
State in a voice vote on the Senate Floor. The unchallenged confirmation of
a figure who had previously been investigated by President Reagan's
Commission on Organized Crime (1984) for alleged links to gambling and
prostitution was totally ignored by the major American media. Armitage has
already begun work at the State Department and is deeply involved in
negotiations over a US spy plane recently captured by the Chinese
government.
The total lack of opposition to Armitage's appointment indicates an apparent
inability of the US Congress to muster any critical examination of
appointments or policy at a time when an imperiled US economy and an almost
combative Bush Administration is dealing with mounting economic and
political challenges around the globe.
Armitage, who was denied a 1989 appointment as Assistant Secretary of State
because of links to Iran-Contra and other scandals, served as Assistant
Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Reagan years.
U.S. Government stipulations in the Oliver North trial specifically named
Armitage as one of the DoD officials responsible for illegal transfers of
weapons to Iran and the Contras. But Armitage's dirty past goes much deeper.
A Vietnam veteran and graduate of Annapolis, Armitage's roots have been
thoroughly intertwined with the likes of CIA veteran Ted Shackley, Richard
Secord, Heine Aderholt, Elliot Abrams, Dewey Clarridge, Edwin Wilson and Tom
Clines. All of these men have been directly linked to CIA covert operations,
the drug trade, the abandonment of U.S. prisoners of War after Vietnam
and/or Iran-Contra. Armitage has also been routinely discussed in FTW as a
Bush-era covert functionary who has been linked to covert operations, drug
smuggling and the expansion of organized crime operations in Russia, Central
Asia and the Far East.
In 1986 a private dispute between POW activist Ross Perot and Armitage went
public as photos of Armitage with a topless Vietnamese nightclub owner
Nguyen O'Rourke brought allegations of gambling and prostitution close to
Armitage's doorstep. The stories went public when TIME and "The Boston
Globe" wrote lengthy stories on the feud in 1986 and 1987. That scandal
arose as a result of 1984 investigations by President Reagan's Commission on
Organized Crime in which the photo and documentation of gambling charges and
prostitution led to direct Armitage's close association with O'Rourke. Then
LAPD Assistant Chief Jesse Brewer, a former Commanding Officer of this
writer, served on the Reagan Commission.
The 1992 best-seller "Kiss The Boys Goodbye" by former "60 MINUTES" producer
Monika Jensen-Stevenson details Armitage's role as Reagan point man on
Vietnam POW-MIA issues and describes why Armitage has earned the enmity of
many POW activists. However, in a 1995 interview with "The Washington Post",
Colin Powell referred to Armitage as his "white son." This, notwithstanding
the fact that the 6 foot, balding, power-lifter, now 56, can still bench
press 300 or more pounds and reportedly "enjoys killing."
William Tyree, Special Forces Veteran who has provided much reliable
information and documentation to FTW in the past said, "Armitage used to
'sit ambush' on the trails in Laos and Cambodia. He liked it. Now when
Powell, 'the dove,' sits down at a table with Armitage 'the killer' beside
him the message will be that Armitage can reach across the table and deal
with the other party on the spot." That message will not go unheard.
See:
Bo Gritz letter to George Bush, which details involvement of Richard
Armitage in Heroin trafficking.
http://www.dcia.com/bush.html
Transcript of message to George Bush, by Burma Druglord, General Khun Sa,
regarding opium production eradication, also mentions Richard Armitage.
http://www.dcia.com/khun-sa.html
From Burma to Bush, a Heroin Trail also details the involvement of Richard
Armitage in Heroin trafficking.
http://www.dcia.com/fitz.html
