http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/371308|top|12-05-2003::11:48|reuters.ht
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Bush Picks Friend Baker as Iraq Debt Envoy
Dec 5, 2003 - 11:46 AM (ET)

By Steve Holland

Oh yeah, nothing like hiring on a WEASEL OF CRASS CORRUPTION for a
SLEAZY CROOKED APPOINTMENT.

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http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/371308|top|12-05-2003::11:48|reuters.ht
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Bush Picks Friend Baker as Iraq Debt Envoy
Dec 5, 2003 - 11:46 AM (ET)

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Friday turned to a family friend
who helped bail him out of the 2000 Florida recount battle, former Secretary
of State James Baker, to seek an international consensus on restructuring
Iraq's estimated $120 billion in debt.

"Secretary Baker will report directly to me and will lead an effort to work
with the world's governments at the highest levels, with international
organizations and with the Iraqis in seeking the restructuring and reduction
of Iraq's official debt," Bush said in a statement.

The appointment of Baker, 73, reflected Bush's need for a seasoned and
trusted diplomat to try to resolve the complicated issue of Iraq debt. The
administration believes debt relief will accelerate Iraq's transition to a
functioning, viable economy.

The issue has become politicized and provided a means for countries like
Germany and France, which opposed the U.S.-led war to oust Saddam Hussein,
to try to influence the reconstruction and political future of Iraq.

Baker was Bush's point man in the 2000 Florida recount battle between Bush
and Democrat Al Gore, a dramatic struggle that ended with a split U.S.
Supreme Court ruling that Bush won the state's closely fought election,
essentially giving him the presidency.

Baker served under President Ronald Reagan as treasury secretary and also
did a stint as White House chief of staff. He was secretary of state for the
current president's father, George Bush. He was highly regarded in all three
positions.

Bush said the appointment was made in response to a request by the Iraqi
Governing Council for help with debt relief, and that Baker was chosen due
to his government connections and experience as secretary of state during
the first Gulf War.

World Bank President James Wolfensohn has said that at least two-thirds of
Iraq's estimated $120 billion foreign debt will need to be written off to
rebuild the country properly.

"The future of the Iraqi people should not be mortgaged to the enormous
burden of debt incurred to enrich Saddam Hussein's regime," Bush said.

Baker is presently a senior partner in the law firm of Baker Botts and
senior counselor to The Carlyle Group, an influential merchant banking firm
in Washington.

He is honorary chairman of the James A. Baker, III Institute for Public
Policy at Rice University in his native Houston.

FINANCIAL LEADERS POSITIVE, FRENCH LESS SO

In St. Louis, Treasury Secretary John Snow said he had met Baker on Thursday
in Washington and then had spent a good deal of time on Thursday night and
Friday morning talking with international financial leaders on the phone and
informing them of the move.

They had a "very positive response," Snow said. "They said it was a positive
step, a good step and they all looked forward to working with Mr. Baker."

His Houston office said Baker was traveling and could not be reached for
comment.

A senior French official said on Thursday that he did not see an easy way to
quickly reduce some of Iraq's debt because the U.S.-occupied land was not a
sovereign country.

The official, Foreign Ministry spokesman Herve Ladsous, said members of the
U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council may visit Paris in mid-December and
that the issue of debt forgiveness would be discussed.

Baker was Bush's point man in the 2000 Florida recount battle between Bush
and Democrat Al Gore, a dramatic struggle that ended with a split U.S.
Supreme Court ruling that Bush won the state's closely fought election,
essentially giving him the presidency.