When George Bush took power last November—or should we say December—he had three options when it came to deciding upon a team that would handle Russia policy for his administration. The first was to leave the Clinton crew, mostly Harvard-educated, in place. This was an unacceptable option for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being that some of them were facing indictment for misuse of government funds.

The second option was to choose an entirely new team, one composed of young colleagues of his from his days as Texas governor. This option, too, was unacceptable. Bush himself had campaigned on a platform of his total inability to make decisions on his own. The key issues, he said, would be decided by his “team”—and when he used the word “team” he was generally referring to the leftovers from his father’s previous administration.

The decision he ultimately made was to stick with the “team.” This was primarily a group of very hard right-wingers and very dedicated cold warriors. For an Attorney General he chose one John Ashcroft, an extremely religious Christian who has already instituted a practice of mandatory prayer meetings in the Justice department. His Vice President, of course, is Dick Cheney, a man with a long history of commercial relationships with Russia, culminated most recently in a Clinton-approved Exim Bank loan to Tyumen Oil that earmaked over $300 million for equipment purchases from Cheney’s company, Halliburton.

For his Secretary of Defense, Bush, chose one Donald Rumsfeld, an experienced Cold Warrior who had served in the White House under President Nixon. Like Ashcroft, Rumsfled is a devout conservative Christian, and his policies seem to reflect a general intention to restore Christian rhetoric in the military.

Last but not least, Bush chose two black Americans, retired General Colin Powell and Stanford University provost Condoleeza Rice, to be at the forefront of his foreign policy decisions. Rice, for some years a well-known academic with a reputation for being something of a hardliner, was named National Security adviser, a position many consider to be even more powerful than the director of the CIA. Powell, who became a national hero during the Gulf War, was by far Bush’s most popular appointment, a black man who had dared to criticize his fellow republicans at the Republican convention for not doing enough for the nation’s poor.

The nomination of the two black politicians served an enormous political purpose for President Bush. As a candidate he had received a smaller percentage of the black vote than any Presidential candidate in history-blacks voted against him 9 to 1. In the key swing vote in Florida, there were widespread reports that police blockades had prevented legal black voters from reaching the polls on time, a practice which almost certainly lost Al Gore the election and which led to a lawsuit by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples (NAACP). Florida’s position with regard to black voters had never been a good one. It is one of many states which does not allow convicted but freed prisoners to vote. In the case of the recent Florida electoral vote, the state often denied the vote even to free prisoners from other states, a clearly illegal act which again resulted in a fewer number of black voters.

The nomination of two highly visible black officials helped Bush avoid what should have been a wave of protests from American blacks. For many years now, Bush himself, as the governor of the state which led the country in the execution of black citizens, and John Ashcroft, who as a Missouri Senator repeatedly interceded to block the nomination of black judges, had been targets for black anger all across America. Both men had long demonstrated a reluctance to repudiate the nation’s history of slavery. Bush, during the campaign, had refused to take comment on a controversy in South Carolina, a state which wanted to use the Confederate War flag as its state flag. As the Yiddish saying goes, “No answer is a kind of answer.” Ashcroft’s record was even worse. In giving an interview to the extreme right-wing Southern Partisan magazine, Ashcroft said:

“”Traditionalists must do more. I’ve got to do more. We’ve all got to stand up and speak in this respect, or else we’ll be taught that these people were giving their lives, subscribing their sacred fortunes and their honor to some perverted agenda.”

In other words, Ashcroft did not believe that slavery was a “perverted agenda.” Even after confronted with these statements following his nomination as the nation’s top justice official, Ashcroft refused to back away from them.

Then there is the new Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neill. Russians who grew used to the slithery pro-liberal rhetoric of Lawrence Summers over the past eight years had better prepare themselves for a new breed of politician. O’Neill, like many of the Bush appointees, is a zealot. In a recent interview with The Financial Times—an interview that was greeted with much enthusiasm in the business community—O’Neill announced his intention to work toward the elimination of over 100 years of progressive and social legislation. Claiming that he “absolutely” favored an elimination of all corporate taxes, saying:

“The current U.S. tax system is an abomination… in its very structure… The government would work better if it collected taxes in a more direct way from people.”

The new Bush team also features such cold warriors as Richard Perle and Stephen Hadley. Here, then, are a few capsule biographies of the new Bush squad—and what these folks’ disturbing political and business backgrounds might mean for Russia.

Condoleeza Rice National Security Adviser Born the only daughter of an Alabama preacher at the height of the civil rights movement… Has long been involved in arms control issues... Came to Stanford University in 1981 as a fellow in the arms control department… Became a tenured professor in the University’s foreign relations department until, in 1986, she went to work in the Pentagon, for the joint chiefs of staff, on a council of foreign relations fellowship… Wrote her doctoral thesis on Czech armed forces in the Warsaw pact, a paper which led her to be hired by then-National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, who became her mentor… Has lengthy experience with Russia… Under President George Bush (Sr.), she worked in the National Security Council as adviser on East European and Soviet affairs… Maintains corporate relationships which will serve her well in her dealings with Russia: she is a corporate board member for Chevron, the Hewlett Foundation, and Charles Schwab… In addition, Rice is a member of J.P. Morgan’s international advisory council... Believes we should have arrested Milosevic at Dayton... Believes that the United Nations has “little use” as a peacekeeping force and that in violent situations, there’s “only one army that fits the bill”, and that’s the United States… Widely believed to have been behind the gaffe made by candidate Bush in the debates when he accused Viktor Chernomyrdin of stealing IMF money… Asked about Bush’s attitude toward the armed forces, she said, “I think he’ll over involve us,” without elaborating… Deeply hostile, perhaps rightly so, toward the privatization efforts of the 1990s: “They [the Russians] took the money and didn’t reform anything. Russia has a lot of work to do before you want even to think about IMF assistance.”... Told the Sunday Times: “The days of assistance are largely over.”… Once allegedly said: “I believe that Russia is a threat to the West in general and to our European allies in particular.”… Vehemently denied the comment afterward, savagely attacking the source, PRAVDA.RU… Aspires to be head of the American National Football League after retirement... Plays the piano.

Richard Perle Unofficial adviser to the Bush administration Lengthy political background, beginning in 1969 when he was a member of the Senate staff, working for Senator Henry Jackson (D.-Wash.), under whose tutelage he drafted the Jackson-Vannik Amendment, which linked Soviet trade concessions to liberalized emigration... During the Reagan administration, Perle was undersecretary of defense for international security policy... Currently with the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank providing the Republicans with economic and sociopolitical ideas... His corporate history places him as Chairman and CEO of Hollinger Digital, Inc. (the media management and investment arm of Hollinger International, a newspaper publishing company), Director of The Jerusalem Post (a subsidiary of Hollinger Digital), and after Hollinger Digital placed a capital investment in Onset Technology (a provider of message-conversion technology), he was placed on their Board of Directors; other Hollinger-owned newspapers include The Chicago Sun-Times and The Daily Telegraph (UK). A longtime hawk, Perle is a strong advocate of an anti-missile system as effective defense policy, stating in a lecture in June 2000 that the United States “must have a highly flexible military capability that can be deployed quickly at great distances.”… In the same lecture, he often derided U.S. allies’ participation in NATO battles and other military conflicts… Although he seems to hold non-U.S. militaries in contempt, with regard to U.S. military withdrawl from Bosnia, he claims that, “...the scale of the problem is now such that it can be entirely managed by the Europeans.”… He believes that the U.S. military should become self-reliant, but strangely claims that this is not a position of isolationism, but rather “an essential foundation for American leadership”... Has also lobbied for Turkish and Israeli interests, even going so far as to send a message to Ehud Barak’s emissaries before last summer’s Middle East Peace Talks at Camp David, asking them to “send a clear message” to Barak that it would be a “catastrophe” if the Jerusalem question was not dealt with, and urged Barak to “walk away” from the talks if faced with that outcome. Regarding Russia, Perle has said, “We are more likely to send Mr. Putin a check than a barrage of missiles with nuclear warheads”... Although it was recently leaked that the U.S. would consider buying Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missile defense systems in exchange for a compromise on the ABM defense system, Perle seems to be looking towards a different form of compromise: “The United States would insist that all debts of the Soviet Union be written off, regardless of Germany’s protests.”

Stephen Hadley Deputy National Security Adviser Served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense under Bush Sr. from 1989-1993. In that capacity, he had responsibility for defense policy on NATO and Western Europe, on nuclear weapons and ballistic missile defense, and on arms control. Even then he believed in a limited missile defense program and in ‘91 submitted a $32 billion plan called Global Protection Against Limited Strikes... Rice brought Hadley into the current administration as a staunch proponent of national missile defense… He is also an active member of the US Committee to Expand NATO... Hadley participated in the negotiations that resulted in the START I and START II treaties. He advocates moving US-Russia relations “beyond the Cold War logic” and reducing nuclear warheads to below the 2000-2500 ceiling proposed in START III, even if it means unilateral cuts. “We can arrive at a lower nuclear posture...”… Russia and the US face many of the same threats according to Hadley, including Islamic fundamentalism and weapons of mass destruction. However, he is for unilateral expansion of NATO and the creation of a missile defense system even if Russia doesn’t yield its position... Worked on the Bush-Cheney campaign as a foreign policy adviser, specializing in European and Russian affairs. Currently a partner in the DC law firm Shea & Gardner and a Principal in the international consulting group The Scowcroft Group, Inc. Hadley is a member of the Department of Defense Policy Board, and the National Security Advisory Panel to the Director of Central Intelligence. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace.

Donald H. Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense Four terms in the US House of Representatives in ‘60’s… Recruited into Nixon’s cabinet, until being appointed the US Ambassador to NATO in ‘73… Returned to the US for a 14-month stint as Secretary of Defense in the Ford Administration… He was the youngest Secretary of Defense in history of the US... CEO of various corporations throughout the 80’s and 90’s while maintaining a public role, before returning to politics fulltime as the Chair of the Rumsfeld commission. This commission found in ‘98 that the US was at risk of a nuclear strike by a rouge state with “little or no warning.” A ‘99 CIA report contradicted the conservative commission’s findings... In February he pronounced Russia an “active proliferator” that sold technology to rouge states and then denies the US the right to protect itself... Believes China, not Russia, is the main threat to US security. He is considered the leader of the conservative forces in Bush’s cabinet, as opposed to Powell’s more moderate non-interventionism... Suggested a missile defense “need not be perfect” in order to discourage attacks against the US and wants a system up by 2004, no matter how flawed. Isn’t sure which tests might violate ABM treaty, saying, “Come on, we’ve got to test, and we don’t want to have someone accuse us of breaking the treaty. Let’s not get into a legal, lawyer’s argument over the thing...” Believes Russia (the active proliferator) is “going to be reducing their nuclear weapons regardless of what we do” with regards to the ABM treaty. Doesn’t see a need for Europe’s approval for missile defense yet insists on a shield will protect US allies. Scared those allies with a statement about withdrawing US troops from Kosovo... Supports a multifaceted missile defense, saying “eventually one would anticipate that you’d have something that would be not a single system, but a layered system with flexibility and some redundancy.” Ready to discard ABM, which he described as “ancient history.” Poses missile defense “as a matter of the president’s constitutional responsibility” and that it was “in many respects...a moral issue.” ... Proposed increasing the Pentagon’s budget for 2002 to $309 billion, the largest annual percent increase since Reagan’s buildup in the 1980’s.

John Ashcroft Attorney General Perhaps the most astonishing cabinet nominee in recent history... His record reads like a litany of extreme right-wing horrors. He praised former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, currently a popular voice in Russia: as “a candidate concerned about ‘affirmative’ discrimination, welfare profligacy, the taxation holocaust ... a Populist spokesperson for a recapturing of the American ideal.” Recalled Vladimir Zhirinovsky when he said that feminism was a “revolt against God.” On homosexuality: “The acts of sodomy are probably the most repulsive desecrations in the sexual order.... The terrible swift sword of the dread AIDS disease is surely what in other ages would be acknowledged as a sign of God’s wrath. It is only the least subtle notice of divine displeasure with the swinishness of our age.” On immigrant issues: “Newly arrived in New York City, I puzzled, ‘Where are the Americans?’ for I met only Italians, Jews, Puerto Ricans.” In another speech, he said: “Negroes, Asians and Orientals (is Japan the exception?); Hispanics, Latins and Eastern Europeans; have no temperament for democracy, never had, and probably never will...”… Believes the South should secede from the Union: “The best hope, perhaps the only hope, for the South lies in an independent Southern nation, where we can at last be free to pursue the life we desire.”… Widely considered to be mainly a domestic policy analyst for Bush, Ashcroft vehemently opposes the expansion of NATO. As Senator, he voted against a NATO expansion measure in 1998. However, like Rice, he opposes the deployment of U.S. troops in United Nations operations, preferring in interventions to use sole U.S. forces commanded by U.S. Generals.

eXile Cultural Quiz Former Atlanta Braves Relief Pitcher John Rocker said: “The biggest thing I don’t like about New York are the foreigners. You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there. How the hell did they get in this country?” Former Senator of Missouri John Ashcroft said: “Newly arrived in New York, I puzzled, ‘Where are all the Americans? For I met only Italians, Jews, Puerto Ricans.’” eXile Question #1: What happened to Rocker? eXile Question #2: What happened to Ashcroft? 1. Rocker became a national disgrace and was booed every time he walked on the field. And then he was traded to the Cleveland Fucking Indians! 2. Ashcroft sailed through the nomination process to become the most powerful law enforcement official in the country—the U.S. Attorney General

Paul O’Neill Treasury Secretary Background is strictly corporate. From 1987 to 1999 he was CEO of Alcoa, a major American aluminum company, the largest in the world, followed only by Russkiy Aluminniy. From 1975 to 1987, he worked in the International Paper Company. Has a number of other corporate associations: the American Enterprise Institute, the Eastman Kodak Company, Lucent Technologies, the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., the Commission on Presidential Debates, the Education Policy and Issues Center, the National Museum of American History-Smithsonian Institution, and the Rand Corporation. Remains on the board of International Paper, which still maintains a factory in Svetigorsk. Curiously, after his rise to power, the Financial Times wrote a story about the factory, citing it as evidence that “capitalism is functioning” in Russia… Marks a change from the touchy-feely relations between his predecessor, Lawrence Summers, and the “young reformers.” In one of his first actions vis a vis Russia after coming to office, he sent a nasty letter to Alexei Kudrin chiding Russia for failing to make its debts on time, saying that Russia “clearly has the resources’’ to make payments due this year, ``in full and on time....Nations of the good-faith club do what they said they would do.... For us, this is a financial and economic issue, not a political issue.’’ Refuses to renegotiate Russian debt... Called the Clinton administration’s efforts to rescue Russia after the 1998 devaluation “crazy.” Used even blunter language to Kudrin in the face of the latter’s stalling on debt repayment: “I frankly don’t give a damn about some part of your government (that) doesn’t want to pay their fair share ... to the rest of the world. That’s your problem.”… His domestic policies could not be farther to the right. He recently said he favored the abolition of the corporate tax, as well as social security and medicare. He believes that everyone “should be able to save enough” to retire, and therefore should have no need for social security… On the other hand, he believes that national defense is a “legitimate responsibility” of the federal government. He favors the missile shield.

Colin Powell Secretary of State First black man to serve as Secretary of State in US history. Came into the public eye as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Gulf War... Joined Army ROTC in ‘50s and during Vietnam served as the executive officer for the 23rd Infantry Division, also known as Americal. During his tenure, he was assigned to investigate to a GI’s allegations of atrocities in My Lai in ‘68. Powell dismissed the claims in a memo stating, “in direct refutation of this portrayal is the fact that relations between Americal soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent.” The allegations later were exposed as true... Powell served under Reagan as senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Casper Weinburger and knew, by January ‘86, about the illegal replenishment of Israeli weapons stockpiles for the ‘85 Iran-Contra arms shipments in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. Remained quiet about his knowledge of the illegal activity and lobbied Bush for a pre-emptive pardon of Weinburger, who was facing charges of obstructing the Iran-Contra investigation. Bush issued that pardon in the last week of his term... Powell believes the U.S. approach to Russia in the Bush administration “shouldn’t be terribly different than the very realistic approach we had to the old Soviet Union in the late ‘80s”. Declared that Russia’s objections should not be an obstacle to further NATO enlargement or to the development of National Missile Defense… Doesn’t believe Russian threats to scrap START treaties… Seen as the voice of moderation in the current Bush administration, meaning he believes that the US must act only with the approval of its allies... Was an early favorite for the 1996 Presidential elections before deciding not to run. As early as 1994, Newsweek asked “Can Colin Powell Save America?” and declared him “the most respected figure in American public life...” Regarding missile defense, he said, “it would be irresponsible of us not to move forward with technologies” for stopping ballistic missiles and that, “we will bump up against the [treaty] limits.” When that happens, he said the US will try to negotiate with Russia, but the US would need to “hold out the possibility that it may be necessary to leave that treaty if it is no longer serving our purposes, or if it is not something that we can accommodate our programs within...” A major Uncle Tom.