http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/18/mccain-iran-al-qaeda/ Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has spent a majority of his presidential campaign trying to convince voters that he is the most qualified to tackle
foreign policy issues. Of course, McCain's supposed prescient understanding of foreign policy has been
proven faulty over and over. Today, as the Washington Post's Cameron Barr and Michael Shear report,
McCain further undermined his claim to be the best qualified on matters of foreign policy, when he
repeated a mistaken claim that Iran was training al Qaeda fighters. He made the same assertion on right-
wing Hugh Hewitt's radio show last night [March 17]. The "common knowledge" McCain cites is simply
false. Far from working together, Iran and al Qaeda represent opposing sides in the Iraq civil war. Al
Qaeda is a Sunni Muslim extremist group, while Iran is ruled by Shiites, where they make up 90 percent of
the population. McCain, the so-called foreign policy expert, is confusing reports that Iran was aiding
Shiite insurgents in Iraq - one of the groups that virulently opposes al Qaeda. [and from another] Green
Zone Follies [Feb 25] http://www.tbrnews.org/Archives/a2818.htm#001 Here is just a personal vignette of an experience I and my psychologist buddy had with the Republican probable nominee, Senator McCain.
There was the Senator all by himself, sitting on a folding chair by a card table. Then his lips moved but he
said nothing. He looked up and smiled. (My wife's grandfather did just that.) And the Senator may have
been sitting right near us but believe me, he was somewhere else. Then he began a conversation with
someone who wasn't there. We started to go back the way we came when some civilian came in. "It's time
to go to the meeting, John," but McCain just smiled and kept on talking to the table. The civilian said, "All right, gentlemen, time to go. The Senator is very tired and has jet lag." And when we left, the Senator was
talking complete nonsense. Later, one of the staff personnel told both of us that the Senator had "a little
accident" and he had to change his pants. My friend, who is a pro, said he was very obviously suffering
from pre-Alzheimer's and believe me, although I am not trained, this one was a pure space case. They
must know this.
John McCain has been protected from exposure during this campaign. The early dropout of most of the Republican
candidates has allowed him to escape the hard campaigning knocks that Clinton and Obama are throwing at each other.
The earlier debates are notable as a chance for each candidate to air a view, not truly debate. He has not had to answer charges as Obama has, nor had to evade them actively as Clinton has had to do. Media clips are of McCain making a
statement, at most. As those close to the campaign of McCain are aware of his mental lapses, they will try to protect him from exposure by limiting debates with Obama going into the general election. They will try to assuage any
concerns Republicans have about McCain's obvious senility with a strong vice president on the ticket.
Senility is most obvious when a sufferer is in new or strange places, not grounded. When on familiar ground, the
sufferer has many mental pathways to rely upon. Thus when in his home state of Arizona, or in the Senate, or talking
about issues familiar to his senate role, he seems solid. But when away from home in the Middle East, he has been
befuddled and caught at this. In that the general election will bring up subjects he is not versed in, like the economy, and force him to at least a few debates with Obama, there is a strong likelihood of more slips where his early senility will express itself.
Obama Campaign Demands Probe into State Department Passport Records Breach [Mar 20]
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/BREAKING_Obama_demands_probe_into_passport_0320.html Two
contract employees of the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs have been fired, and a third
has been disciplined after it was discovered that they accessed Sen. Barack Obama's passport records
without a specific need to do so ... occurring on January 9, February 21, and March 14 of this year. [and
http://www.zetatalk2.com/index/zeta442.htm[2/5/2012 2:44:42 PM]
ZetaTalk: GodlikeProduction Live
from another] Maura Harty: State Department Official In Charge During Two Of The Breaches An
Ambassador Under Clinton [Mar 21] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/21/maura-harty-state-
depart_n_92693.html MSNBC noted a Clinton connection to the story. The network reported that Maura Harty, the State Department official in charge of the Bureau Of Consular Affairs during the first two
breaches of Obama's passport, had served as an ambassador under Bill Clinton. Harty was a consular
affairs chief until the end of last month when she retired from foreign service work. Before her stint as the
assistant secretary of state of consular affairs, Hardy was an ambassador to Paraguay under President
Bill Clinton.
Maura Harty, the former Bill Clinton ambassador to Paraguay, was leaving anyway. If her suppression of the first two
breaches into Obama's file had been discovered, she would have been excused a few weeks early. What did she have
to gain? Another Clinton appointment! If one examines her bio, it is clear that her ambassadorship was the highlight of her career. For anyone doubting that the Clinton campaign was behind this breach, examine the facts. Once this
Clintonite, Harty, was no longer the supervisor, the next breach was properly reported. Three individuals, not
connected to each other, were "curious" enough to take a risk. Each had been assured they would be financially compensated, and if they stuck to their story about being "curious" they could not be prosecuted. They were all promised a healthy financial payment for any information they gleaned. Harty covered herself by terminating these
contractors, and for some slight that would not get them into trouble. Thus they all thought they had the crime covered.
But after Harty's scheduled exit as supervisor, the Clinton campaign still did not have enough information and pressed yet another contractor. This time, without a Clintonite at the helm, the whistle was blown and Obama was informed of
the breach. Will there be a prosecution? Not unless one of the co-conspirators confesses, which is unlikely. What was the Clinton campaign looking for? A passport file contains personal information on place of birth and social security number, none of which is that difficult to come by. It also contains the stated reason for any foreign travel, and this is what the campaign leaders were looking for. Obama traveled extensively to Africa, the Middle East, and Russian
satellite countries. Did Obama intend to contact any organization with terrorist ties? The Clinton campaign certainly hoped so. Hillary is losing and is desperate to start a smear campaign against Obama, but this episode will prove to be disastrous for Hillary.