Registered: Jan 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 13002

The leading American hawk, Richard Perle has dropped his threat to sue veteran US investigative reporter Seymour Hersh for libel.

Private Eye broke the story of Perle's libel suit in March 2003 (Hawkwatch, 1076). Hersh had published an article in the New Yorker showing that Perle helped run an investment firm, Trireme Partners. While Perle was a defence advisor to President George Bush, Trireme was also seeking to make money from investments related to the "war on terror". Hersh suggested that Perle had met with veteran arms dealer Adnan Kashoggi and a Saudi businessman, and tried to exploit his links with Bush to drum up business.

Perle threatened to sue the New Yorker in London, where libel laws are less friendlym to the press. But he announced his intention not to sue in the New York Sun on the 12 March 2004 saying: "Lies and distortions do not constitute libel unless one can demonstrate the errorss, lies and distortions are willful"

While Perle promised to produce 90 pages of interview transcripts to show Hersh was wrong, his legal attentions may be diverted elsewhere as he is in danger of being sucked into the court cases involving Conrad Black, the Telegraph Group and Hollinger.

Perle was a director of Hollinger Digital, a subsidiary that, to the surprise of many shareholders, invested in Trireme. Perle also reportedly to £1.6m in bonuses from Hollinger, apparently without declaring them; and he seems to be one of the Hollinger directors authorising the transfer of the huge "non compete" fees to Lord Black's personal funds, rather than the company in general.

In february Perle resigned from his official advisory post at the US Defence Policy Board so he could feely promote his new book on defeating terrorism, available for £12.99 from all good bookshops

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The bold was added by me. It made me giggle. Essentially Perle is saying "I can;t prove what was printed about me was wrong. Consequentially implying that it was in fact true. Hah. I bet his book is published by Hollinger as well.

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Dumbfucksville!
Posts: 12164

The whole war against Iraq was so that President Bush's oil cronies could make their money, uh, Vice President Cheney's Halliburton pals could make their money and Richard Perle's Trireme buddies could recoup beaucoup bucks from their investments.

I really should be a Left wing nut job... I think I'd be rather good at it, don't you?

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Registered: Jan 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 13002

err this is nothing to do with left or irght wing politics. It;s about the fact that Richard Perle did try to make money from the "war on terror" and did resign over it.


You do know I supported the war in Iraq right? And continue to support it?


edit: Just to point out, Private Eye is neither right or left wing. It is a publication that takes great pleasure in showing the the shit inside the political elite on all sides. I love the way that anything that is posted is instantly seen as being somehow partisan to a viewpoint. Why is it not possible to say "hey, you know what? The majority of the top political elite are scumbag money grabbing arseholes."

Last edited by philjit on 04-04-2004 at 09:13 AM

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