Richard Bartholomew Wrote:I know many of you saw this AP story on McCain's "Iran-Contra" connections. Any further deep political info, or thoughts?
http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-caucus1008.artoct08,0,6712465.story

Quote:Five Americans were killed simply because they were fliers, and three others were beheaded after they were marched through Japanese streets bearing signs "These are the American devils who bombed us." Maj. John A. Singlaub of Sherman Oaks, Calif., related at Hong Kong today in one of a series of fresh atrocity stories. An Australian army intelligence report issued at Melbourne said that of 3,550 British and Australian prisoners taken to Borneo, only six are known to be alive.

• Singlaub had led a rescue paratroopers' landing on Hainan Island August 27 in which "he and his men gained command of the prison camp after they had been threatened by bayonet-pointing Japanese."
  

• Singlaub said Captain Merritt Lawlis, Indianapolis, and Staff Sergeant Benjamin Muller, El Paso, Texas, Yanks rescued by the parachutists, were jammed into cells only two by three feet in size after they had been handcuffed and paraded on the streets. "The handcuffs were only removed
  the first five days for beatings," said Singlaub. "The officer was ordered beaten daily, but the guard tired after the first five. He was given a dozen beatings afterwards."
  

• "As the Japanese started "taking us prisoners," Singlaub ordered them "to guard our parachute medical and food supplies." This so shocked them that they did stop, and their colonel sent his chief of staff to investigate. But, as the latter was only a captain, Singlaub "ordered him around too."
  

Quote:Mrs. John L. Osborne arrives by the Chief Friday from Elizabeth, N. J., to visit her daughter, Mrs. John K. Singlaub at the John Singlaub Sr. home, 14636 Sutton St., Sherman Oaks. The younger Mrs. Singlaub returned here a month ago from Mukden, Manchuria, where her husband, Major Singlaub, was stationed with the Army. Since he has transferred to Shanghai. They are expecting a blessed event during the holidays.

Quote:When relatives from as far away as Mississippi converged this week in Northridge to celebrate the golden wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Singlaub, they heard good news concerning another member of the family.
The Singlaubs' son John K. had just been promoted to brigadier general in the
U.S. Army. The senior Singlaubs, longtime Sherman Oaks residents and now at Leisure World Laguna Hills, were honored by their daughter Anita (Mrs. Willie Parks Butler Jr.) who assembled scattered kin for the important occasion.
Mrs. Singlaub's health precluded any idea of making a trip to Germany which
they had hoped to do. During their residence in the Valley Mrs. Singlaub
was active in tlie Sherman Oaks Woman's Club and for years wrote a column for this newspaper. Gen. Singlaub. a Van Nuys High School and UCLA graduate, received his promotion during special ceremonies in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, where he will serve as assistant commander of the Eighth Infantry Division. Jack's wife Mary pinned on the new star. Their three children are
also in Europe, their oldest daughter Elizabeth attending University of Munich
and son John 0., Schiller University near Stuttgart. Daughter Mary Ann is a
junior at the high school on the post.
The much-decorated Gen. Singlaub served with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in Europe and the Far East during World War II.
He led a rescue mission that parachuted into a Japanese prisoner of war camp, to liberate 600 allies before World War II ended.

Quote:BANGKOK, Thailand (UPI) — U.S. Maj. Gen. John K. Singlaub, fired from his post in South Korea after disagreeing with American policy in the area, is visiting friends in Thailand on his way to his new assignment, diplomatic sources said today. The sources said Singlaub, who will be moving to a Georgia-based Army command, was visiting a retired U.S. Air Force general living in Bangkok. They termed it "a private visit."

Quote:How Americans help finance foreign wars. Kelly, Orr.
When the U.S. cut off military aid to anti-Sandinista rebels in Nicaragua last year, battlefield fortunes of the insurgent guerrillas dipped sharply.

Today, however, contra forces boast of newfound strength, thanks in large part to a worldwide network, spearheaded by Americans, that collects money and goods from private citizens in the U.S. and other countries.

Chief fund-raiser for the network is John Singlaub, a retired U.S. Army major general and chairman of the World Anti-Communist League, a coalition of conservative groups from about 100 nations. The league held its 18th annual convention here in mid-September.

Singlaub, who also heads the Phoenix-based United States Council for World Freedom, says his group alone has sent "several million dollars'" worth of goods to the Nicaraguan insurgents.

Nonlethal aid. U.S. government sources have estimated that the Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN), the largest rebel group, has received from 20 million to 25 million dollars in American and foreign donations over the last year. But FDN leader Adolfo Calero claims here in Dallas that the true figure is closer to 15 million.

Americans are prohibited by law from contributing money to purchase weapons for foreign combatants. So the U.S. donations are used to provide nonlethal assistance such as medicine, clothing and transport--including trucks and ambulances. But this enables the FDN to use funds donated by foreign sources to buy weapons.

American aid to the contras varies widely. Bill Murray and members of his Dallas-based faith ministries canvass local hospitals to collect 15,000 pounds of medical supplies each month.

A New England woman who asks anonymity heads a team of "expert scroungers" who send a steady stream of fishing equipment and other gear to help the contras survive in the rugged terrain of northern Nicaragua.

One of the biggest donors is Ellen Garwood of Austin, Tex., who put up $65,000 to refurbish a secondhand helicopter that she was told would be used as a medical-evacuation craft for the rebels.

Garwood says Singlaub came to her after failing to get money elsewhere. "He told me how soldiers were dying because they couldn't get medical treatment. He game me the most awful sob story I ever heard. So I said, 'All right, I'll give you the money myself.'"

In her honor, the contras named the helicopter "Lady Ellen."

These people are part of a U.S. network that funnels to Nicaragua four planeloads a month of supplies ranging from canteens to field hospitals.

Most of the goods are trucked to New Orleans, where Calero's younger brother, Mario, supervises weekly shipments to Honduras aboard a propeller-driven DC-6 chartered for $17,000 a flight. In honduras, much of the equipment is loaded into smaller planes and airdropped to units inside Nicaragua.

Fund raising in America for foreign forces is not new. For years, the Irish Northern Aid Committee has passed the hat in New York and Boston bars to aid families of Irish prisoners held by the British in Northern Ireland. Spokesman Martin Galvin says the group sent $200,000 to Ireland last year.

Although Noraid claims the money is used only for humanitarian purposes, U.S., Irish and British officials contend that some goes to buy weapons for the outlawed Irish Republican Army.

Similar fund raising is done in the Dearborn, Mich., area among Lebanese, who also deny that money goes to buy guns for militias in Lebanon. "Every time an Arab-American sends back $10, the government says it's for bullets," says Don Unis, a community leader. "Most of the time it's for food and clothing, blankets and medicine."

Others left out? If aid to the contras suggests a lavish flow of American help to other "freedom fighters" around the world, representatives of such groups say they have seen little of it. Resistance leaders from Afghanistan, Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Laos, Kampuchea, Vietnam and South Yemen who attended the World Anti-Communist League convention here say they have not shared in the bounty.

In addition to donations in the U.S., Adolfo Calero says, he receives money channeled through banks in other countries, the sources of which are unknown even to him. "We meet a middleman and he asks our account number," Calero says. "Some people are shy."

There is suspicion that some Americans use this same channel to avoid U.S. neutrality laws and provide money for arms. But military analysts believe that most weapons reaching the contras come directly from military stocks in neighboring El Salvador and Honduras.

Still, many Americans are willing to put up their cash to help bring down the Marxist Sandinistas in Nicaragua.

Quote:
Interview With Maj. Gen. John Singlaub, USA (Ret.) President, U.S. Council for World Freedom

Q General Singlaub, why are you urging private financial support for rebels in various parts of the world?

A The principal reason is that those who are fighting for freedom have asked for our help. Congress has not appropriated funds to help these organizations. In the case of Nicaragua, we're helping them sustain their resistance until Congress can be re-educated.

Q You've been quoted as saying you have received advice from the White House. Are you being encouraged to do things that Congress has ordered the administration not to do?

A When I was providing help to the government of El Salvador, I coordinated this with the Pentagon and with people at the National Security Council. I have not been coordinating nor have I received guidance or advice from the White House or the Pentagon or the State Department or CIA with respect to aid to the Nicaraguan freedom fighters. The American people are doing it on their own.

Q You're also providing some aid elsewhere in the world, such as Afghanistan and Angola. Are you getting any support from the administration for those activities?

A No direct encouragement. I talk to old friends and suggest they tell their boss what we're doing. They haven't discouraged me, so somebody up there must like us.

Q How does what you are doing differ morally from what the Soviet Union does in supporting its so-called wars of national liberation?

A There is no moral equivalence here. Communism is evil and immoral. Freedom and democracy are good and moral. It's that simple.

Q Some people in this country are concerned that the groups you support might get in trouble and need U.S. troops to help them--

A I think it's exactly the reverse. There is no way the U.S. can tolerate the bases being built now in Nicaragua for the use of the Soviet Union. Everyday we delay in providing help, we increase the chance we're going to have to commit U.S. forces in our own defense.

Q Does what you're doing violate the law barring U.S. citizens from taking foreign relations into their own hands?

A No. The aid we provide is largely humanitarian, and it is all nonlethal. If we were involved in buying bullets or suggesting that people turn in their weapons and we'd ship them there, that would be different.

Q Your group is tax exempt. Does this mean, in effect, that some U.S. taxpayers are helping to pay for activities they may not approve of?

A That would be pretty convoluted reasoning. Tax-exempt status is given to organizations that do good. Giving medicine and food and clothing to people victimized by Communist aggression fits in that category. We support the group that the President of the United States believes should receive U.S. support.

Interview With Representative Thomas Luken Democrat of Ohio

Q Representative Luken, why do you oppose private financing for rebel groups in other countries?

A I seriously question the legality, under the Neutrality Act, of sending aid to the contras fighting against the legitimate Nicaraguan government. But even more, they are collecting funds in this country on the basis of tax exemptions, which in effect makes the United States a partner in the operation.

Q Do you also oppose the giving of aid to resistance groups in, for example, Afghanistan, Angola, Mozanbique and so on?

A Well, I think we have to take this on a case-by-case basis. We don't look on the Russian-imposed government in Afghanistan as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

Q Some people argue that Americans, who gained their own freedom by fighting for it, have an obligation to help those fighting for freedom in other countries--

A There is no objection on my part to individuals doing what they want with themselves or with their resources. But tax-exempt status is for charitable and educational purposes. That's the language, and that's the general interpretation. I don't think that applies to operations run by what I would call warmongers.

Q Are you saying that as long as Americans who support guerrilla groups in other countries don't break U.S. laws and don't claim tax exemptions, they're entitled to do as they please?

A That isn't the situation here. This isn't a case where there are just a few individuals going out and doing their own thing. These are highly organized operations, even identifying themselves with the President of the United States. It becomes a pretty messy thing.

Q How is this a problem when the material supplied by individuals in this country is described as humanitarian aid rather than guns and bullets?

A Where people are involved in supporting an insurgency, it raises a question as to whether they are not going over the line into actually making war. Also, there are suspicions that some of the funds these groups collect are being funneled into secret missions.

Q And how is this a worry?

A My fear is that these private groups will get the United States government entangled in something we want to stay out of. It is the purpose of the Neutrality Act to prevent that from happening.

Q The Soviets back rebel groups to their liking. Why shouldn't Americans do the same?

A Well, if the government does it, that's fine. But our government hasn't decided to do it.

Q It's a government function alone?

A The making of war is the business of government.

Quote:Rep. Clement J. Zablocki (Dem. - Milwaukee) last year surprised and pleased many liberals with his leadership of the successful fight to pass war powers limitation legislation over President Nixon's objections. Zablocki, long a foreign affairs power in the House, has consistently sided with Cold Warriors up to that time, resisting opponents of U.S. foreign policy, particularly regarding Southeast Asia during the 1960s.
Zablocki was hailed by the Wisconsin Democratic delegation, entirely comprised of lawmakers far more liberal than he in foreign policy matters, following his turn-around victory over Nixon on the war powers issue.
Zablocki, however, now is serving as honorary co-chairman of the 7th Conference of the World Anti-Communist League to be held here April 8-11. The other co-chairman is Rep. Phillip Crane, a right-wing Republican from Illinois. Host of the conference is retired Army Major General Thomas A. Lane, president of the American Council on World Freedom. The conference will include speeches by former prisoners in Russian slave labor camps, Cuban refugees, and representatives of the (Taiwan) Republic of China.