vault backup: 2026-10-12 21:40:22

70 - DISPATCHES/2026-10-08 Promotional Material.md

@@ -32,13 +32,13 @@ In another folder of the same papers, a *St. Louis Post-Dispatch* clipping of Fe
 
 On May 26, 1993 a federal grand jury in Miami indicted Cardoen, his company and Swissco over zirconium and fuze components exported to Chile for cluster bombs sold to Iraq.[^5] On January 31, 1995 [[Howard Teicher]], who had served on the National Security Council staff from 1982 to 1987, signed a declaration in the case stating that "the CIA authorized, approved and assisted Cardoen in the manufacture and sale of cluster bombs." The declaration was sealed.[^6] Robert Parry reported that the government sealed it as a state secret while attacking Teicher's credibility, and that Teicher was kept from testifying; Consortium News reported that a federal grand jury heard testimony on a complaint over the defense's filing of an affidavit in the case.[^6][^8]
 
-On November 8, 1996 the United States served a corrective declaration that Teicher had signed on October 3. In it he wrote that lawyers for Teledyne had drafted the January text, that he had not reviewed his National Security Council files since 1987, and that his statements in paragraphs 15 through 18 were his best memory and belief rather than "categorical statements of fact." He wrote that he was "not aware of any specific evidence that the United States government or any government official or agency took steps to help Cardoen obtain any U.S.-origin components for use in cluster bombs." The corrective declaration does not address paragraph 14 of the January text, which describes the supply of Cardoen's cluster bombs to Iraq as an "extension" of United States policy.[^7][^6]
+On November 8, 1996 the United States served a corrective declaration that Teicher had signed on October 31. In it he wrote that lawyers for Teledyne had drafted the January text, that he had not reviewed his National Security Council files since 1987, and that his statements in paragraphs 15 through 18 were his best memory and belief rather than "categorical statements of fact." He wrote that he was "not aware of any specific evidence that the United States government or any government official or agency took steps to help Cardoen obtain any U.S.-origin components for use in cluster bombs." The corrective declaration does not address paragraph 14 of the January text, which describes the supply of Cardoen's cluster bombs to Iraq as an "extension" of United States policy.[^7][^6]
 
 [^1]: Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Promotional Material," items BD|AI|PM-01 to PM-05, https://archive.org/download/casolaro-notebooks/PromotionalMaterial.pdf.
 [^2]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee on Intelligence, *Nomination of Robert M. Gates to be Director of Central Intelligence*, S. Exec. Rept. 102-19, October 24, 1991, section 5, https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sites-default-filesations-10219.pdf (PDF pages 186 to 188).
 [^3]: "RAW, Rifleman's Assault Weapon for Urban Warfare, October 1976," Brunswick Corporation Defense Division, cover sheet hand-marked "BD|AI|PM-03," same folder as note 1.
 [^4]: *St. Louis Post-Dispatch*, February 19, 1991, "Stolen Software Scattered: Affidavits Allege Sales To Iraqis And Israelis," clipping in the INSLAW folder of the Casolaro papers, https://archive.org/download/casolaro-notebooks/InslawIi_djvu.txt.
 [^5]: *United States v. Cardoen*, 898 F. Supp. 1563 (S.D. Fla. 1995), No. 93-241-CR, https://static.case.law/f-supp/898/cases/1563-01.json.
-[^6]: Declaration of Howard Teicher, January 31, 1995, *United States v. Cardoen*, No. 93-241-CR (S.D. Fla.), paragraphs 14 to 18, as transcribed at http://spikethenews.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-teicher-affidavit.html; Robert Parry, "Iraqgate: Confession and Cover-up," *Extra!*, 1995, https://scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0212/S00074.htm.
-[^7]: Corrective declaration of Howard R. Teicher, October 3, 1996, *United States v. Cardoen*, No. 93-241-CR-Highsmith (S.D. Fla.), https://archive.org/details/utf-893cr-241-de-679.
+[^6]: Declaration of Howard Teicher, January 31, 1995, *United States v. Cardoen*, No. 93-241-CR (S.D. Fla.), paragraphs 14 to 18, filed copy in National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 82, https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/iraq61.pdf; Robert Parry, "Iraqgate: Confession and Cover-up," *Extra!*, 1995, https://scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0212/S00074.htm.
+[^7]: Corrective declaration of Howard R. Teicher, October 31, 1996, *United States v. Cardoen*, No. 93-241-CR-Highsmith (S.D. Fla.), https://archive.org/details/utf-893cr-241-de-679.
 [^8]: Consortium News, "Iraqgate Cover-Up Goes After Defense Lawyers," https://consortiumnews.com/archive/story1.html.

70 - DISPATCHES/2026-10-12 Your Policy Preference.md

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+---
+title: "Your Policy Preference"
+date: 2026-10-12
+status: published
+summary: "In February 1991 the NSC legal adviser told Brent Scowcroft he had informed Robert Mueller of Scowcroft's reluctance to indict Iraqi officials in the BNL case."
+entities:
+  - "[[Brent Scowcroft]]"
+  - "[[C. Nicholas Rostow]]"
+  - "[[Robert Mueller]]"
+  - "[[William Barr]]"
+  - "[[Robert Gates]]"
+  - "[[Banca Nazionale del Lavoro]]"
+  - "[[BNL Scandal]]"
+  - "[[National Security Council]]"
+tags:
+  - BNL
+  - Iraqgate
+  - NationalSecurityCouncil
+  - Iraq
+---
+# Your Policy Preference
+
+On May 29, 1990, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's office in [[Atlanta]] briefed [[C. Nicholas Rostow]], legal adviser to the [[National Security Council]], at the State Department on their investigation of the [[Banca Nazionale del Lavoro]] branch there. Rostow's memorandum of the meeting to [[Robert Gates]] recorded that the U.S. Attorney planned to indict six Iraqi officials and that, "whether or not Iraqi officials are defendants," the prosecution "would generate embarrassing information about the CCC program and Iraq's involvement in bank fraud, misrepresentations to U.S. Government agencies, and corruption." Gates chaired the NSC Deputies Committee on Iraq later that day.[^1]
+
+On February 8, 1991, Rostow wrote to National Security Adviser [[Brent Scowcroft]] about the BNL indictment: "I have informed Robert Mueller ... of your reluctance to seek an indictment of Iraqi government officials whom we are unlikely to take into custody. Bill Barr may call you to discuss this matter. ... In the event Barr calls you about this matter, I recommend that, as part of the defense of your policy preference not to go forward, you carefully question him with respect to the [DOJ's] ..." [[Robert Mueller]] then headed the Justice Department's Criminal Division; [[William Barr]] was Deputy Attorney General.[^2]
+
+The indictment was returned on February 28, 1991. It named the Iraqi state [[Rafidain Bank]] and four Iraqi officials, and did not charge the Central Bank of Iraq, which had been named as a potential defendant. Mueller testified to the independent counsel [[Frederick B. Lacey]] that the decision not to indict the Central Bank was based on foreign policy considerations raised by the State and Treasury Departments.[^3]
+
+[^1]: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, *The Intelligence Community's Involvement in the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) Affair,* Committee Print S. Prt. 103-12, February 1993, pp. 51-52, quoting the memorandum from Rostow to Robert M. Gates, May 29, 1990. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/publications/10312.pdf
+[^2]: Frederick B. Lacey, report of the Independent Counsel on the BNL investigation, in House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, *Testimony of Former Employees of the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro,* Serial No. 103-95 (1994), p. 598, quoting the memorandum from Nicholas Rostow to Brent Scowcroft, February 8, 1991. https://archive.org/details/testimonyofforme1994unit
+[^3]: Lacey report, in Serial No. 103-95, pp. 361-366, 413 and 598 (Mueller Tr. 24-26). https://archive.org/details/testimonyofforme1994unit