L
lemnitzer
Moon revolves around Bush family
By Bill Berkowitz
OAKLAND (United States): When former President George H.W. Bush takes
the stage to deliver the keynote address in honour of the 25th
anniversary of the ultra-conservative Washington Times newspaper in
mid-May, it will not be the first time he has spoken in support of one
of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's enterprises.
And whatever fee Bush will realise from his appearance is only one
aspect of what author Kevin Philips has termed Moon's "close"
relationship with the Bush family.
While the elder Bush - and other family members - have benefited both
financially and politically from this relationship with Moon, the head
of the Unification Church has a more varied agenda in mind, one that
includes a pardon from current President George W. Bush.
(In the 1980s, Moon served a 13-month sentence in jail for tax
evasion. He doesn't want to be a considered a convicted felon and is
hoping for a pardon before Bush leaves office.)
The Bush family/Moon relationship dates back "to the overlap between
Bush's one-year tenure as CIA director (1976) and the arrival of in
Washington of Moon, whose Unification Church was widely reported to be
a front group for the South Korean Central Intelligence Agency
(KCIA)," Phillips wrote in his bestselling book "American Dynasty -
Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of
Bush."
During a time when the activities of the KCIA were the subject of a US
congressional investigation - dubbed Koreagate - Phillips pointed out
that "within Washington councils, Bush was a powerful voice against
any unnecessary crackdown on the US activities of allied intelligence
services."
"One of George H.W. Bush's first tasks as director of the CIA was
managing the 'Koreagate' scandal, in which the government of South
Korea and its intelligence agents had waged espionage against the US,
government," Fred Clarkson, the author of "Eternal Hostility: The
Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy" -- which includes a chapter
on the Moon organisation - told in an interview.
"Some of those agents were leading members of Moon's Unification
church. Some members managed to infiltrate Congressional staffs -
primarily Democrats," he said.
During the 1980s, Moon's Washington Times consistently supported the
Ronald Reagan-Bush team in its version of the events surrounding the
Iran-Contra scandal. According to Clarkson, "the Moon organisation was
part of the private supply lines to the Nicaraguan contras, The
Washington Times was given special access and provided consistently
flattering coverage and the newspaper also set up a special fund for
private funding of the contras."
In 1996, the relationship became decidedly financial when the former
president travelled to Latin America to help Moon launch "Tiempos del
Mundo" (Times of the World). At the time Bush called Moon's flagship
US publication, the Washington Times, "an independent voice" and
assured the crowd that "Tiempos del Mundo... (will be) the same
thing." According to published reports Bush received at least 100,000
dollars for his participation in that event.
More recently, Moon's Washington Times Foundation funnelled a million
dollars to Bush's presidential library through the Houston, Texas-
based Greater Houston Community Foundation.
Moon has also contributed to the financial wellbeing of other Bush
family members. In 2005, Neil Bush, the former president's son and
current president's brother, accompanied Moon on a few legs of the
reverend's "World Peace King Bridge-Tunnel" tour, showing up at his
side in the Philippines and Taiwan.
Late last year, Business Week reported Neil Bush's Ignite! Inc. - an
educational software company featuring what it calls "curriculum on
wheels," or COWs - received a million dollars from "a foundation
linked to the controversial Reverend Sun Myung Moon... for a COWs
research project in Washington-area schools."
But perhaps the most tangible aspect of the close relationship between
the Bush family and Rev. Moon is the unbending support the Washington
Times has given to George W. Bush since he announced he was running
for the presidency. In recent years, the newspaper's editorial and
opinion pages have consistently supported the president's "war on
terror" and war in Iraq.
"The Rev. Moon is a monster in the laboratory of conservative
politics; no one wants to think about him, yet in order to ensure his
continued support they must periodically feed his appetite for
tribute," John Gorenfeld, an investigative reporter and a long-time
chronicler of Moon's activities, told reporters. "One of Moon's
paybacks at Times-sponsored events is to have his picture taken and
rub shoulders with the politically powerful and well-connected."
"Besides the gift of the support of the Washington Times, Bush and his
son have accepted large amounts of money from Moon's church," said
Gorenfeld, the author of a forthcoming book about the Rev. Moon and
U.S. politics.
"In the Clinton years, George and Barbara Bush toured Japan with Moon,
as well as Argentina. He is believed to have taken over a million
dollars. More recently, a Moon company funnelled 250,000 dollars to
the fund for George W. Bush's inauguration."
Moon's enterprises extend far beyond the Unification Church, says
Steve Hassan, an expert on cults and a licensed mental health
counsellor who was once a leader in the Moon organisation.
"There are a number of business and political fronts; it's a multi-
billion-dollar international conglomerate headed by a demagogue who
claims that he's the greatest guy in history, who wants to abolish
democracy, end or destroy the United Nations and set up a theocracy
for his heirs to rule," Hassan said.
When the elder Bush takes to the podium next month, it would be
surprising if the close relationship between the Bush family and Moon
is scrutinised by the mainstream media, since it has been basically
ignored or glossed over for decades, Hassan insists. --- The IPS News
Service
By Bill Berkowitz
OAKLAND (United States): When former President George H.W. Bush takes
the stage to deliver the keynote address in honour of the 25th
anniversary of the ultra-conservative Washington Times newspaper in
mid-May, it will not be the first time he has spoken in support of one
of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's enterprises.
And whatever fee Bush will realise from his appearance is only one
aspect of what author Kevin Philips has termed Moon's "close"
relationship with the Bush family.
While the elder Bush - and other family members - have benefited both
financially and politically from this relationship with Moon, the head
of the Unification Church has a more varied agenda in mind, one that
includes a pardon from current President George W. Bush.
(In the 1980s, Moon served a 13-month sentence in jail for tax
evasion. He doesn't want to be a considered a convicted felon and is
hoping for a pardon before Bush leaves office.)
The Bush family/Moon relationship dates back "to the overlap between
Bush's one-year tenure as CIA director (1976) and the arrival of in
Washington of Moon, whose Unification Church was widely reported to be
a front group for the South Korean Central Intelligence Agency
(KCIA)," Phillips wrote in his bestselling book "American Dynasty -
Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of
Bush."
During a time when the activities of the KCIA were the subject of a US
congressional investigation - dubbed Koreagate - Phillips pointed out
that "within Washington councils, Bush was a powerful voice against
any unnecessary crackdown on the US activities of allied intelligence
services."
"One of George H.W. Bush's first tasks as director of the CIA was
managing the 'Koreagate' scandal, in which the government of South
Korea and its intelligence agents had waged espionage against the US,
government," Fred Clarkson, the author of "Eternal Hostility: The
Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy" -- which includes a chapter
on the Moon organisation - told in an interview.
"Some of those agents were leading members of Moon's Unification
church. Some members managed to infiltrate Congressional staffs -
primarily Democrats," he said.
During the 1980s, Moon's Washington Times consistently supported the
Ronald Reagan-Bush team in its version of the events surrounding the
Iran-Contra scandal. According to Clarkson, "the Moon organisation was
part of the private supply lines to the Nicaraguan contras, The
Washington Times was given special access and provided consistently
flattering coverage and the newspaper also set up a special fund for
private funding of the contras."
In 1996, the relationship became decidedly financial when the former
president travelled to Latin America to help Moon launch "Tiempos del
Mundo" (Times of the World). At the time Bush called Moon's flagship
US publication, the Washington Times, "an independent voice" and
assured the crowd that "Tiempos del Mundo... (will be) the same
thing." According to published reports Bush received at least 100,000
dollars for his participation in that event.
More recently, Moon's Washington Times Foundation funnelled a million
dollars to Bush's presidential library through the Houston, Texas-
based Greater Houston Community Foundation.
Moon has also contributed to the financial wellbeing of other Bush
family members. In 2005, Neil Bush, the former president's son and
current president's brother, accompanied Moon on a few legs of the
reverend's "World Peace King Bridge-Tunnel" tour, showing up at his
side in the Philippines and Taiwan.
Late last year, Business Week reported Neil Bush's Ignite! Inc. - an
educational software company featuring what it calls "curriculum on
wheels," or COWs - received a million dollars from "a foundation
linked to the controversial Reverend Sun Myung Moon... for a COWs
research project in Washington-area schools."
But perhaps the most tangible aspect of the close relationship between
the Bush family and Rev. Moon is the unbending support the Washington
Times has given to George W. Bush since he announced he was running
for the presidency. In recent years, the newspaper's editorial and
opinion pages have consistently supported the president's "war on
terror" and war in Iraq.
"The Rev. Moon is a monster in the laboratory of conservative
politics; no one wants to think about him, yet in order to ensure his
continued support they must periodically feed his appetite for
tribute," John Gorenfeld, an investigative reporter and a long-time
chronicler of Moon's activities, told reporters. "One of Moon's
paybacks at Times-sponsored events is to have his picture taken and
rub shoulders with the politically powerful and well-connected."
"Besides the gift of the support of the Washington Times, Bush and his
son have accepted large amounts of money from Moon's church," said
Gorenfeld, the author of a forthcoming book about the Rev. Moon and
U.S. politics.
"In the Clinton years, George and Barbara Bush toured Japan with Moon,
as well as Argentina. He is believed to have taken over a million
dollars. More recently, a Moon company funnelled 250,000 dollars to
the fund for George W. Bush's inauguration."
Moon's enterprises extend far beyond the Unification Church, says
Steve Hassan, an expert on cults and a licensed mental health
counsellor who was once a leader in the Moon organisation.
"There are a number of business and political fronts; it's a multi-
billion-dollar international conglomerate headed by a demagogue who
claims that he's the greatest guy in history, who wants to abolish
democracy, end or destroy the United Nations and set up a theocracy
for his heirs to rule," Hassan said.
When the elder Bush takes to the podium next month, it would be
surprising if the close relationship between the Bush family and Moon
is scrutinised by the mainstream media, since it has been basically
ignored or glossed over for decades, Hassan insists. --- The IPS News
Service