entity

Brent Scowcroft

Also known as: National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft

Facts (16)

Sources

The Persian Gulf TV War by Douglas Kellner (http://www.gseis.ucla ... pages.gseis.ucla.edu Douglas Kellner · UCLA 16 facts

claimBrent Scowcroft served as a representative of the military-industrial complex, having served in the military, sat on boards of corporations active in the defense industry, and held investments in oil and defense companies with interests in the Persian Gulf.

measurementBrent Scowcroft served as a member of the board of directors for Santa Fe International, a subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, during 1984, 1985, and 1986, according to the Standard and Poor's Register of Corporations.

perspectiveDouglas Kellner asserts that Brent Scowcroft was compromised by using U.S. foreign policy to advance his and his associates' economic and political interests regarding the Gulf.

claimAs National Security Adviser, Brent Scowcroft pushed to replace General Frederick Woerner as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Southern Command (CINCSOUTH) because Woerner opposed aggressive U.S. military intervention in Latin America.

claimBob Woodward's book 'The Commanders' (1991) suggests that President George Bush was the primary force pushing for war, supported by National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, Chief of Staff John Sununu, and Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney.

claimDouglas Kellner asserts that Brent Scowcroft had an economic relationship with the Kuwaiti government, whose interests Scowcroft promoted during the Gulf crisis and the Gulf War.

claimBrent Scowcroft served on the board of directors of Santa Fe International, a Kuwaiti corporation that controlled U.S. corporations, including one accused of slant-drilling into the Iraqi Rumalia oil field.

quoteAn unnamed White House official stated that Brent Scowcroft's presentation on August 3, 1990, crystallized the administration's thinking and galvanized support for a strong response to the invasion of Kuwait.

quoteDavid Corn reported in The Nation (May 27, 1991) that it was alleged Brent Scowcroft "owns stock in forty companies that took advantage of the let's-trade with Iraq policy backed by the N.S.C. [National Security Council, which Scowcroft headed]. Several of these firms are also clients of Kissinger Associates."

accountBrent Scowcroft was a lieutenant general in the Air Force, a deputy to Henry Kissinger, and a member of Kissinger Associates.

claimNational Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft advocated for the military option regarding the Gulf War.

accountOn August 23, a former high-ranking U.S. official delivered an Iraqi peace offer to National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft. The proposal included an Iraqi agreement to withdraw from Kuwait and allow foreigners to leave in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions, guaranteed access to the Gulf, and control of the Rumaila oil field. It also proposed negotiations for an oil agreement, joint efforts to secure Gulf stability, and a plan to alleviate Iraq's economic and financial problems.

quoteDavid Corn reported that Henry B. Gonzalez, head of the House Banking Committee, was "deeply concerned" about "the influence Kissinger may exert over his former lieutenants" and was "especially troubled" by "Scowcroft's ability to set policy that affects his portfolio."

accountBrent Scowcroft served on the Tower Commission, which investigated the Iran/Contra affair and exonerated George H.W. Bush.

claimThomas Friedman and Patrick Tyler, writing in the New York Times on March 3, 1991, claimed that the George H.W. Bush administration decided on the path to war in September 1990, while the Times's analysis suggested that George H.W. Bush and Brent Scowcroft were pushing for the military option from the beginning.

claimBrent Scowcroft lobbied for Dick Cheney to be appointed as Secretary of Defense because Scowcroft had worked with Cheney in the Ford administration and wanted a known commodity in the Pentagon.