Caspar Weinberger dies at age 88
I wonder if this means that Jonathan Pollard will have a chance of being released in this lifetime....Caspar W. Weinberger, a conservative Republican and consummate Cold Warrior who served in the Cabinets of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan and got ensnared in the Iran-Contra scandal, died Tuesday at 88.
Weinberger had been hospitalized in Maine for about a week with a high fever and pneumonia brought on by old age, according to his son, Caspar Weinberger Jr. Weinberger's wife of 63 years, Jane, was by his side when he died, the son said.
"He gave everything to his country, to public office and to his family," Caspar Weinberger Jr. said.
As Richard Nixon's budget director, Weinberger was such a zealous economizer he earned the nickname "Cap the Knife" for his efforts to slash government spending, largely by cutting or curtailing many of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society social programs.
Later, he became Ronald Reagan's secretary of defense and presided over $2 trillion in military spending -- the biggest peacetime increase in U.S. history.
Former first lady Nancy Reagan said in a statement: "He devoted his life to this country and served with dedication in many capacities over the years. ... His legacy is a strong and free America, and for this and for a lifetime of selfless service, a grateful nation thanks him."
"It's a very sad day," said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Said former Secretary of State Colin Powell: "Cap Weinberger was an indefatigable fighter for peace through strength." Patrick Buchanan, an aide and speechwriter in the Nixon White House, called him "a good friend."
...
It was his post as defense secretary that lead to Weinberger's greatest challenge: federal felony charges stemming from his alleged role in the sale of weapons to Iran to finance secret, illegal aid to the Nicaragua Contras. The "arms-for-hostages" affair poisoned the closing years of Reagan's administration, permanently stained the reputations of the insiders involved and cast a cloud over President George H.W. Bush throughout his four-year administration.
In one of the first President Bush's final official acts after his 1992 loss to Bill Clinton, he granted Christmas Eve pardons to Weinberger and five others accused in the scandal.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:27 PM
1 Comments:
Carl,
I do not expect Jonathan Pollard to ever be released. Weinberger? I would rather not speak ill of the dead, but what I am thinking?
He sold Pollard out, and it is because of him that he will languish in prison. So many who did so much to harm the US got so little time, but Pollard, who I see as innnocent? He will never get out, as he then would be free to speak from Israel.
I cannot see Olmert lifting a finger to help, though. In reality, no one has.
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