146 lines
7.5 KiB
Plaintext
146 lines
7.5 KiB
Plaintext
Subject: Secret Loans to Iraq: Article: Kissingers Firm Linked
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"BNL's activities in the US are at the center of a wideranging
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congressional inquiry into how US funds were used to buy
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militarily useful US technology and equipment until as late as
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June 1990, a few weeks before the invasion of Kuwait.
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Mr. Alan Stoga. a _Kissinger Associates_
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executive, met Mr. Saddam Hussein in Baghdad in June 1989.
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[From the Financial Times, Apr. 26,1991]
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=====================================================
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CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRY: KISSINGER'S FIRM LINKED TO BNL
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=====================================================
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(By Alan Friedman and Lionel Barber)
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WASHINGTON.QMr. Henry Kissinger, the former US secretary of state
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who heads the international consulting firm _Kissinger Associates_,
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had business links with Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL), the Italian
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bank whose branch in Atlanta, Georgia made $4bn In unauthorized loans
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to Iraq, according to the chairman of the US House banking committee.
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BNL's activities in the US are at the center of a wideranging
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congressional inquiry into how US funds were used to buy militarily
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useful US technology and equipment until as late as June 1990, a few
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weeks before the invasion of Kuwait.
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Mr. Kissinger last night denied knowledge of the improper Iraqi
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loans. He confirmed, however, that he served until early this year as
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a paid member of BNL's International advisory board.
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He resigned the BNL position on February 22, 1991 because of the
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BNL Atlanta scandal. Mr. Kissinger said last night: "I didn't have any
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idea of what BNL was doing In Iraq. All I know was what I read in the
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papers. I resigned earlier this year because I don't want to be
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connected, I don't want to be asked about this sort of question".
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Congressman Henry Gonzalez, the Texan Democrat who is
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investigating the BNL affair, also claimed that Kissinger Associates
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advised US companies exporting to Iraq, several of which were BNL
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financed.
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_Kissinger Associates_ is an international consultancy with
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blue-chip clients, advising on political and commercial risk. Among
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its early recruits were Mr. Brent Scowcroft, currently President
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George Bush's national security adviser, as well as Mr. Lawrence
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Eagleburger, a veteran diplomat, who currently serves as deputy US
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secretary of state. Both resigned on taking office.
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In a lengthy statement on the floor of the House of
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Representatives, Mr. Henry Gonzalez, chairman of the banking committee
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described how Mr. Alan Stoga. a _Kissinger Associates_ executive, met
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Mr. Saddam Hussein in Baghdad in June 1989.
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At the meeting, Mr. Saddam apparently expressed interest in
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expanding commercial relations with the US. "Many Kissinger Associates
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clients received US export licenses for exports to Iraq. Several were
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also the beneficiaries of BNL loans to Iraq," said Mr. Gonzalez.
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In response, Mr. Kissinger said his firm "derived no Income from
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Iraq". To his knowledge, Mr. Stoga did not advise Iraq on any
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financial matters, but he recalled that Mr. Stoga told him that he was
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identified at the Saddam meeting "as an expert on debt and could
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advise."
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Mr. Kissinger, who has rarely spoken about his clients or his
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business, said his firm would not have interceded with the US
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government to secure export licenses for clients, but that "it is
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possible that somebody may have advised a client on how to get a
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license."
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In his congressional statement Mr. Gonzalez said Mr. Eagleburger,
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who worked for _Kissinger Associates_ until two years ago, served on
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the board of Ljubljanksa Bank (LBS), the Yugoslav bank.
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Mr. Gonzalez said he wished to make clear that he was not accusing
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anyone of any illegalities.
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Stock Holdings of National Security Director Brent Scowcroft
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Stocks Value of stock(3)
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Advanced Display Technology.................................B
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Allegran, Inc. .............................................B
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Allied Signal, Inc. (1).....................................B
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ARMCO, Inc. ................................................C
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AT&T (1) (2)................................................D
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Bank America Corp. (1)......................................C
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CSX Corp. ..................................................A
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DBA Systems, Inc. (1).......................................F
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E.I. Dupont (1).............................................D
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First Security Corp. .......................................D
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General Motors Corp. (1)....................................B
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General Electric Co. (1)....................................G
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Great Atl.& Pac. Tea Co. ...................................B
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Great Amerlcan Communications...............................B
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Halliburton Company.........................................C
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Hanson PLC Sponsored ADR....................................E
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Hewlett Packard Co. (1).....................................D
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IBM (1) (2).................................................D
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Intergraph Corp. (1)........................................E
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International Paper Company.................................B
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ITT Corp. (1) (2)...........................................B
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Kimberly Clark (1)..........................................B
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Lehman Corp.................................................D
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Lockheed Corp...............................................A
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McKesson, Inc...............................................B
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MCN Corp....................................................B
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Merck & Co. (1).............................................D
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Minnesota MNG MFG (1) (2)...................................B
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Mobil Oil Company (1).......................................B
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Monsanto Company............................................C
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PacificCorp.................................................C
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Phillips Petroleum Co.......................................B
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Pfizer, Inc. (1)............................................D
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Primark Corp................................................B
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Questar Corp................................................C
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Reynolds Metals (2).........................................B
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Storage Technology CP (1)...................................C
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Shell TRNS & TR (1) (2).....................................D
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SmithKline Beackman Corp. (2)...............................A
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Weyerhaeuser Co. (1)........................................D
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Westinghouse Electric (1)...................................D
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Wicor, Inc..................................................B
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Xerox Corp. (1).............................................D
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Washington BanCorp..........................................F
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Notes:
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(1) On October 4, 1990, the Office of Government Ethics
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required divestiture of these stocks.
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(2) Held by Spouse
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(3) Value of Holding:
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A= under $1,001,
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B=$1,001-5,000,
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C=$5,001-15,000
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D=$15,001-50,000,
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E=$50,001-100,000,
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F=$100,001-250,000,
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G=over $250,000.
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Source: Brent Scowcroft Financial Disclose Report Office of
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Government Ethics (202) 523-5757.
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[Congressional Record May 2, 1991 H2762-2765]
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[Scanned in by Robert Gonsalves, pinknoise@igc.org]
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