One of the odd things about this article in the Times of London is that it refers to an ‘an exiled former central Asian president’ and later to ‘the “family” of the Asian politician’ and ‘he [the Asian politician]’ but it never mentions the identity of the politician or the country from which the ex-president comes.
The article, which is accompanied by video, explains:
A lobbyist with close ties to the White House is offering access to key figures in George W Bush’s administration in return for six-figure donations to the private library being set up to commemorate Bush’s presidency.
Stephen Payne, who claims to have raised more than $1m for the president’s Republican party in recent years, said he would arrange meetings with Dick Cheney, the vice-president, Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, and other senior officials in return for a payment of $250,000 (£126,000) towards the library in Texas.
Payne, who has accompanied Bush and Cheney on several foreign trips, also said he would try to secure a meeting with the president himself.
Yet, all you have to do to identify the country is watch the video. There are clear and unambiguous references to Kyrgyzstan. Thus, I took a two-click trip over to the CIA’s World Factbook and found the following:
Nationwide demonstrations in the spring of 2005 resulted in the ouster of President Askar AKAYEV, who had run the country since 1990. Subsequent presidential elections in July 2005 were won overwhelmingly by former prime minister Kurmanbek BAKIYEV.
Thus, the prospective client who is being asked to pony up $600,000-$750,000 ($200,000-$250,000 of which will go to the Bush Library) is former President Askar Akayev, as he is the only exiled former president of Kyrgyzstan in existence. Akayev’s human rights record is mixed. For the region, it was better than average, but in the years just prior to his ouster he began to restrict and harass political and media freedoms.
The Times of London sting operation is curious. The video shows a meeting between Stephen Payne, [who is a Bush pioneer, a political appointee to the Homeland Security Advisory Council, and a Senior Advance Representative traveling internationally in advance of and with President Bush and Vice President Cheney], an unidentified representative of Askar Akayev, and an undercover reporter who is surreptitiously videotaping the conversation. It appears that the latter two gentleman colluded in setting up the sting and that part of the agreement was that the Times would not mention Akayev’s name or country in print. What possible motivation would Akayev have to embarrass the Bush administration? Let’s look at who Akayev blamed for his ouster:
The ousted Kyrgyzstan president, Askar Akayev, last night accused the US of being behind the “anti-constitutional coup” which forced him to flee the country last week, and said he would only resign if given sufficient a guarantee of his personal safety.
In his first interview with the western media since he was driven from the central Asian state he had ruled for 15 years, Mr Akayev said “foreign interference” was “unconditionally an important aspect” in the dramatic events that culminated in his flight last Thursday.
Perhaps this was all payback?
In any case, Payne, who served as George W. Bush’s personal travel aide during Poppy’s 1988 presidential bid, doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong.
When confronted, Payne said that there would be “no quid pro quo” for any donation and added that his firm was “always above board”.
The White House said it would not be influenced by such donations.
Yet, he openly solicited donations for Bush’s Library offering a very specific ‘quid pro quo’.
Asked by an undercover reporter who the politician would be able to meet for that price, Payne said: “Cheney’s possible, definitely the national security adviser [Stephen Hadley], definitely either Dr Rice or . . . I think a meeting with Dr Rice or the deputy secretary [John Negroponte] is possible . . .
“The main thing is that he [the Asian politician] comes, and he’s well received, that he meets with high-level people . . . and we send positive statements made back from the administration about ‘This guy wasn’t such a bad guy, many people have done worse’.”
In other words, members of the administration would facilitate a future election campaign for Akayev by issuing positive statements about him. But they’ll only do that if they see $200,000-$250,000 donated to the Bush Library first. It’s sickening to watch our foreign policy get sold for such a pittance.
