Bilderberg Puts Heat on ‘Loose Cannon’ Bush Over Mideast Policy

 

Never has a president of the United States been under such Bilderberg pressure as the current George Bush. All U.S. presidents since Richard Nixon have had membership in, or close ties to, the world shadow government.

 

Exclusive to American Free Press

By James P. Tucker Jr.

 

VERSAILLES, France—President Bush is under heavy Bilderberg pressure to monetarily punish Israel unless the peace process progresses and to share the spoils of war on Iraq with Europe.

Bilderberg also hotly debated establishing a European Union army independent of NATO, whether to accept Turkey into the EU and punishing Belgium because of the rise of a “right wing” party (see related story on page 15).

Bilderberg had similarly punished Austria economically for holding a free election in which Jorge Haider’s nationalist party did well.

It is unprecedented for a U.S. president to come under such hostile Bilderberg fire. Not only have such secret meetings been traditionally congenial with participants celebrating their progress toward world government, but Bilderberg has had strong, direct influence over every president since Richard Nixon.

With Bush scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon May 20, immediately after the Bilderberg session, the messages from Versailles came frequently and urgently: tell Sharon he must accept the modest steps required in the “road map to peace” or the billions of dollars in U.S. aid will be turned off.

“That is language Israel will understand but Sharon doesn’t believe you will do it,” a European told the Americans. “You have opposed Israeli expansion and occupation of Palestinian lands with your mouth but not your money. Why are you so afraid of the Israeli lobby?”

The answer is obvious to people who follow U.S. politics. The late Sen. J. William Fulbright and congressmen Paul Findley of Illinois and Robert McCloskey of California, among others, all said they lost their seats because of questioning the amount of aid given Israel each year.

The May 20 trip was later postponed because of a suicide bombing incident.

The Europeans are cynical about the United States urging the United Nations to approve the “coalition of the willing” controlling Iraqi oil for the “benefit of the Iraqis” and using the revenues to rebuild what was destroyed. Effectively, this gives control of Iraq to the United States and Britain, with a tip of the hat to Poland and Spain.

Several Europeans suggested the “coalition” would generate huge profits by rebuilding Iraq with its oil money and asked: what European companies would get fat contracts? They noted that the new civilian boss of occupied Iraq is L. Paul Bremer of Kissinger Associates.

Henry Kissinger was there, but was protected by an armada of security who kept him from having to respond to a subpoena from a French court investigating war crimes.

The U.S. government has already awarded a $680 million contract to construction giant Bechtel, based in San Francisco. George Schultz was head of Bechtel when named secretary of state by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and regularly attended Bilderberg/Trilateral meetings. Schultz is still on the Bechtel board.

Another contract that captured Bilderberg attention went to Kellogg Brown & Root to fight oil fires and operate the oil infrastructure in Iraq. KBR is a subsidiary of Halliburton, headed by Dick Cheney before he became vice president. Cheney belongs to the Trilateral Com mission.

Even as Bilderberg was meeting, Secretary of State Colin Powell was visiting Russia and Germany for make up meetings seeking support for a UN Security Council resolution endorsing U.S.-British control of Iraq and its assets. While both nations displayed a desire to have friendly relations, both suggested the U.S. plan needs adjustments.

While honeymooning with Russia and Germany, the United States continued to “punish” France with insults. As Bilderberg met here on May 15, Richard Haass, a senior Bush policymaker, was a short distance away in Paris saying France could redeem itself by supporting the resolution.

“I think France has paid some price already, and by that I mean that it’s reputation in the United States has taken a hit,” Haass said. Pointedly, Powell paid no official visit to the French.

But bashing America was somewhat chilled for the Europeans by a report from the respected French Institute of International Relations predicting an economic doomsday for the continent. By 2050, said the report, World Trade in the 21st Century, Europe’s share of the world economy will be only 12 percent, compared with 20 percent today.

“The enlargement of the European Union won’t suffice to guarantee parity with the United States,” the report said. “The EU will weigh less heavily on the process of globalization and a slow but inexorable movement onto ‘history’s exit ramp’ is foreseeable.”

North America will retain its “technological hegemony,” the report said. Greater China, which includes Taiwan, will grow to account for almost one-quarter of the world’s economy and the Japan-Korea region’s share of trade, along with the yen, will sharply decline in importance.

“Very depressing,” said one European. “Very depressing.”

“Lord” George Robertson, secretary-general of NATO, led the opposition, which is shared by many Europeans, to an independent EU army.

Robertson argued that it would be incoherent for an EU army to operate outside NATO. He cited “the agreement that NATO should be prepared to operate beyond its traditional area of responsibility in Europe.” NATO can now operate anywhere in the world as directed by the UN Security Council, Robertson said. NATO has evolved into a standing UN army, Robertson said.

“NATO must remain the sole global force able to impose the will of the UN anywhere on Earth,’ said another European.

Europeans urged the British to press for a favorable decision on embracing the euro on June 9, but this seems unlikely. Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has attended Bilderberg meetings, is strongly pro-euro. But the British people are opposed and it would be politically dangerous for Blair to embrace the euro without a popular referendum. Many French and Germans were outraged when their governments surrendered the franc and mark without a vote.

The last time Bilderberg punished a country because it disliked the results of a fair election was in Austria when Haider’s nationalist party was on the rise. So Bilderberg moved its meeting from a resort near Innsbruck where it had congregated years earlier. The facility was tailor-made: a posh resort atop a tall mountain easily sealed off.

But since such elaborate arrangements have to be made years in advance, Bilderberg was unable to find its customary luxury resort. Bilderberg ended up, uncomfortably, at the Chateau du Lok near Brussels—with some luminaries staying in little cottages surrounding a central building.