Filling the Chairs:

A Leadership Review of the Obama Administration

by Carl Teichrib

Forcing Change, Vol.3, Issue 1 www.forcingchange.org

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After endless months of campaigning, mud-slinging, and grandiose political promises, the American presidential elections are now in the rear-view mirror. President Barack Obama, a man with seemingly unquenchable energy and fantastic oratory skills, promised America – and the world – that his administration would be different. Change would be the hallmark of a new era in American politics.

However, looking at the administration team as it currently stands, it’s hard to find too many substantial changes. Instead, it appears that Obama has followed the path of other US presidents – filling the chairs with deeply entrenched political elites.

This report attempts to provide a biographical window into those who are taking the leading offices in America. By better grasping the political networks of those on the Obama team, you’ll be better equipped to understand the direction this administration is going. Moreover, many of these networks, or political organizations, espouse an internationalist worldview. Hence, this leadership list report will be a useful tool in discerning the motives for future political actions.

Please note: The focus of this leadership review isn’t on the individual’s educational background or family ties – which are typically part of a person’s biography. Rather, the primary objective of this list is to highlight the numerous connections between Obama officials and the various elite-centered associations found in America’s economic and political landscape.

Even before Barack Obama’s inauguration, special interest groups were meeting with key Obama transition team members in the hopes of swaying the administration’s long term planning. One example is Eric P. Schwartz and the Citizens for Global Solutions.

Citizens for Global Solutions, formerly known as the World Federalist Association, is America’s largest pro-world government organization. In early December 2008, CGS official Don Kraus met with Eric Schwartz, a member of Obama’s transition team who is in charge of the US/United Nations relationship. Schwartz also handles National Security Policy transition issues.

On the table were a host of issues, from reinstating the United States within the International Criminal Court system to supporting the expansion of the UN Department of Political Affairs.1 While these issues are not the prime goals of Citizens for Global Solutions (a world federal government is the main objective), the very fact that the Obama US/UN transition team would solicit the advice of CGS is problematic.

Schwartz himself is representative of those who are part of the “Obama-difference” in America’s new government. Consider his connections.

Now consider who’s involved in the heart of the Obama administration – Hilary Clinton, Joe Biden, General James L. Jones, and Susan Rice. And these are just a sampling of the top leaders who are linked, in one-way or another, to a global governance agenda. In fact, when you examine the Obama leadership team, you stumble into a smorgasbord of politically elite favorites, tied to organizations that promote international management.

Here’s a few of the primary organizations you’ll find throughout this leadership list (NOTE: brief explanations on these organizations are given below as well as within the report).

The List

Obviously there will be some additions and deletions to this list as time progresses. However, at the point of this article’s completion, the following individuals are viewed as key components within the Obama administration. Further note that this list is not complete, as there are many others in transition team positions and other offices that have been missed (this is simply due to time and space constraints on the part of the author). While some individuals may be overlooked, this list does cover the majority of cabinet positions.

Wherever possible, the author has used primary source materials and authoritative information in compiling this list. Some biographical data comes from the Fund to Restore an Educated Electorate (F.R.E.E.), a group that has done a remarkable job over the years in compiling political membership lists.

The order in which the names in this list occur is as follows:

Vice President: Joe Biden.

There are numerous references to Mr. Biden as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations [link added] and the Trilateral Commission via secondary sources, however, the author of this report could not find any official biography – either in print or online – that mentioned his membership as a fact. That he has been involved in the CFR is not in dispute, as he has participated in many CFR events and is looked upon with great respect by the organization.2 De facto membership information, however, wasn’t available.

In the past Mr. Biden has been the Co-Chair of the Senate NATO Observer Group, and has held prominent positions in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security.

In 1992 Biden gave three days of testimony to the US Senate on an agenda for global affairs. The speech, titled “On the Threshold of the New World Order,” advocated international collective security, global democracy, and “launching a worldwide economic-environmental revolution.”3 His vision was an America that led the way in global management.

According to FREE, Joe Biden is linked to the Bilderberg Group.

Department of State: Hillary Rodham Clinton

If one were to flesh out Mrs. Clinton’s complete bio – listing all of her connections, policy recommendations, and points of contention – you would have a substantial sized book. For the sake of this article, we will focus briefly on global governance issues.

Although Hillary Clinton isn’t a member of the Trilateral Commission or the Council on Foreign Relations (although she has attended CFR events), he husband – former President of the United States, William J. Clinton – has been involved with both. Bill Clinton has also been associated with other internationalist-type organizations, such as the Club of Madrid. Moreover, he founded the Clinton Global Initiative, a program that advocates global governance.

Does Mrs. Clinton share these same values? In 1999, she sent an official video congratulating Walter Cronkite on his being given the World Federalist Association Global Governance Award. “For decades you’ve told us the way it is, and tonight we honor you for fighting for the way it could be…”

“The way it could be”? The World Federalist Association, now known as Citizens for Global Solutions, is the largest pro-world government advocacy group in the United States. Moreover, Walter Cronkite’s speech, and the very premise for being given this award, revolved around an open endorsement of world government. In the past, William Clinton issued a similar statement of support when his friend, Strobe Talbot, received the same WFA recognition.

Hillary and her husband have been Bilderberg Group participants.

Deputy Secretary of State: James Steinberg

This section of Mr. Steinberg’s bio comes from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs,

“From December 1996 to August 2000, he served as deputy national security advisor to President Bill Clinton. During that period he also served as the president’s personal representative (“Sherpa”) to the 1998 and 1999 G-8 summits. Prior to becoming deputy national security advisor, he served as chief of staff of the U.S. State Department and director of the State Department’s policy planning staff (1994-1996), and as deputy assistant secretary for analysis in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (1993-1994).”

Steinberg’s connections into the global community are striking.

Seeing these many connections, it’s no surprise to learn that James Steinberg is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, and has been involved with the Bilderber Group.

Assistant Secretary of State, Asia & Pacific: Kurt M. Campbell (expected)

Although Mr. Campbell hasn’t been officially placed in this position, his name has surfaced as the top candidate for the job. Under the Clinton administration, Campbell was the Assistant Secretary of State for Asia/Pacific. He was also the director of the National Security Council Staff, a presidential counselor on NAFTA, and a White House commissioned fellow at the Department of the Treasury.

He is also deeply entrenched as an elite player in America’s foreign policy and internationalist community.

State Department, Special Envoy: Richard Haass (expected)

While Haass isn’t yet appointed, it is expected that Hillary Clinton will tap Mr. Haass for a special envoy position. In the past he was the US Department of State Director of Policy Planning (a very influential role), Special Assistant to President George H. W. Bush, and the Senior Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs with the National Security Council.

Haass is the quintessential Washington elitist.

State Department, Special Envoy: Dennis Ross (expected)

In the past, Ross was the Director of Policy Planning at the State Department under Georg Bush Sr., and Middle East coordinator under President Clinton. And over the years he’s worked closely on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, German unification, and the creation of the Gulf War coalition. During the Reagan years he held the Near East directorship in the National Security Council.

Past and current memberships include.

“Drawing on the research of its scholars and the experience of policy practitioners, the Institute promotes an American engagement in the Middle East committed to strengthening alliances, nurturing friendships, and promoting security, peace, prosperity, and democracy for the people of the region.”

State Department, Special Envoy, Richard Holbrooke

Holbrooke was appointed State Department Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan under the Obama administration. In the past Mr. Holbrooke was the US Ambassador to Germany, Assistant Secretary of State, Assistant Secretary for European and Canadian Affairs, and US Ambassador to the United Nations. He has also been involved in a myriad of foreign operations, including the Vietnam War peace negotiations and NATOs engagement in the Balkans (he was directly involved in the Dayton Peace Accords).

Mr. Holbrooke has also been involved in international banking, working as a senior advisor to Lehman Brothers and becoming Vice Chair for Credit Suisse First Boston. Moreover, while at the United Nations he brokered the deal to pay off America’s arrears to the UN (almost $1 billion). He is also connected to the private equity firm, Perseus LLC, and the insurance giant, American International Group.

Past and present memberships include,

State Department, Special Envoy: George J. Mitchell

Mr. Mitchell has been awarded the position of Special Envoy for the Middle East. In the past he’s been the Special Envoy for Northern Ireland. Other government offices held include US Attorney for Maine, US District Judge for Maine, and he was elected as a US Senator. He was also a member of the Select Committee on the Iran-Contra Affair.

Mitchell has a long corporate history, serving with Disney, DLA Piper, FedEx, Staples, Starwood Hotels, Xerox and more.

Memberships, past and present, are numerous.

Department of the Treasury: Timothy F. Geithner

Geithner is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and was director of a CFR Task Force on trade policy. He’s also been part of the Bilderberg Group, and has connection to the Rand Corporation (a military/intelligence think tank), and the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

From 2001-2003, he was the Director of the Policy Development and Review Department at the International Monetary Fund. He was also the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. While in this capacity he became Vice Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee, and in 2006 became a member of the Group of Thirty – an elite body of world financiers, bankers, and economists (the G30 started through a Rockefeller Foundation initiative).

In the past he’s worked for Kissinger and Associates, and was the Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs.

Geithner has surrounded himself with an informal group of advisors who are Trilateral and CFR members, including Alan Greenspan (former Chair of the Federal Reserve and the one who is, arguably, the most responsible for the current economic crisis7) and Paul Volker (former Fed Reserve Chairman who supports a single world currency).

Department of Defense: Robert M. Gates

Robert Gates has a long history within the intelligence community, rising through the ranks of the Central Intelligence Agency to eventually become the Director of the CIA under the presidency of William Clinton. He was also the Deputy National Security Advisor for George H.W. Bush.

Gates does have known ties to the Council on Foreign Relations, having worked with a CFR task force on Iran. He’s also a member of the Forum for International Policy, an elite group of experts who advise policy makers on global affairs. According to FREE, Gates has connections with the Bilderberg Group.

Department of Energy: Steven Chu

Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics and past Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Chu is a current member of the Copenhagen Climate Council. The CCC is a body of international business and science leaders who work to support the United Nations Climate Summit, which is to take place in late November 2009. (CCC is working on a new, more robust global climate agreement to replace the soon-expiring Kyoto Protocol.)

Under the Obama administration, Mr. Chu will advance global warming policies; this will probably include an international carbon trade market. There are no known connections between Mr. Chu and the CFR or Trilateral Commission.

Department of the Interior: Ken Salazar

There appears to be no connections between Mr. Salazar and the CFR, Trilateral Commission, or Bilderberg Group. The Secretary of the Interior oversees the National Park Service, the Minerals Management Services, the Bureau of Land Management, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. This position also oversees petroleum drilling programs and endangered species regulations.

Department of Education: Arne Duncan

Previously Mr. Duncan was the CEO of the Chicago Public School system and is a Harvard graduate. He appears to be independent of many of the politically elite associations typically found in Washington circles.

Department of Health and Human Services: Tom Daschle

NOTE: As this issue was being finalized, Tom Daschle announced that he was stepping down from this office, due to his tax problems. However, by including Daschle in this article, you will be given an insight into some different aspects of power politics via global “democracy.”

Daschle is a long-time politician and Washington insider, serving as a South Dakota senator from 1987 until 2005. He has connections with the Bilderberg Group, and according to FREE he’s a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Daschle is further linked to a number of major organizations.

Barbara Conry, a foreign policy analyst, provides a critical review of NDI’s parent body and primary funder, the National Endowment for Democracy.

“The National Endowment for Democracy is a foreign policy loose cannon. Promoting democracy is a nebulous objective that can be manipulated to justify any whim of the special-interest groups – the Republican and Democratic parties, organized labor, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – that control most of NED’s funds. As those groups execute their own foreign policies, they often work against American interests and meddle needlessly in the affairs of other countries, undermining the democratic movements NED was designed to assist… NED, which also has a history of corruption and financial mismanagement, is superfluous at best and often destructive. Through the endowment, the American taxpayer has paid for special-interest groups to harass the duly elected governments of friendly countries, interfere in foreign elections, and foster the corruption of democratic movements.”8

Furthermore, the National Democratic Institute is an  “Associated Organization” of the Socialist International – a global body comprised of extreme leftist political parties that collectively advocate a socialist system of international management.9

Department of Agriculture: Tom Vilsack

Vilsack was the Governor of Iowa, and is a former member of the National Governors Association Executive Committee. He was also chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.

Mr. Vilsack does have direct connections to the Council on Foreign Relations, as he was the co-chair of a CFR task force report on national security and oil dependency (the other co-chair was former CIA Director John Deutch).

Department of Transportation: Ray LaHood

Former Congressman from the 18th District of Illinois. He appears to be independent of many of the elite associations often found in Washington circles.

Department of Labor: Hilda Solis

Former Congresswoman representing California’s 32nd District. She does not appear to be involved with any of the typical, elite political associations found in foreign policy circles.

If she does have a connection into the realm of global governance, it would be through her appointment to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe – an influential, multinational organization that focuses on collective security issues.

Department of Housing and Urban Development: Shaun Donovan

Former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

According to his New York City Department of Housing bio,

“Before joining the Bloomberg administration, Mr. Donovan worked at Prudential Mortgage Capital Company as managing director of its FHA lending and affordable housing investments. In the affordable housing arena, Prudential Mortgage Capital’s portfolio totaled more than $1.5 billion in debt, including Fannie Mae, FHA and other loan types.

"Prior to Prudential, Mr. Donovan was a visiting scholar at New York University, where he researched and wrote about the preservation of federally-assisted housing. He was also a consultant to the Millennial Housing Commission on strategies for increasing the production of multifamily housing. The Commission was created by the United States Congress to recommend ways to expand housing opportunities across the nation.”10

Mr. Donovan has no known direct connections to the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, or any other similar organization.

Department of Veterans Affairs: Eric K. Shinseki

Mr. Shinseki has been involved in military command services since 1996, holding the positions of Army Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations and Plans), Commanding General US Army Europe, Army Vice Chief of Staff, and US Army Chief of Staff.

He has many corporate connections, acting as a board member for BancWest, First Hawaiian Bank, Guardian Life Insurance, and Honeywell.

Department of Commerce: Judd Gregg

Mr. Gregg has been a long-time player in governmental circles. He was elected as a Congressman in 1980, held the position of Governor for New Hampshire, and was elected to the US Senate in 1993. Over the years he has held numerous postings such as the Chair of the US Senate Committee on Budget, the Congressional Oversight Panel, Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, and Chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.

Environmental groups have hailed Mr. Gregg as a green leader. He is promoting the creation of a 100,000-acre wildness zone that straddles New Hampshire and Vermont.

There doesn’t appear to be any direct linkage between Mr. Gregg, the CFR, the Trilateral Commission, or the Bilderberg Group.

Department of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano

Napolitano is the former Governor of Arizona, she’s also a former US Attorney under Janet Reno in the Clinton Administration.

FREE lists her as a CFR member.

Attorney General: Eric Holder

Mr. Holder was a Justice Department official under the Clinton administration, and acted as a legal advisor to Obama’s presidential campaign. Holder’s history is sobering for gun owners in America, as he has vigorously opposed firearm ownership and has endorsed the creation of a national gun-registry database. (In Canada, similar gun registry laws have not been effective in crime control, and have been extremely costly and overly bureaucratic. If anything, Canada’s gun control program has done much more in removing the ability of individuals to protect themselves instead of hampering actual criminal activity.)

Regarding the Trilateral Commission and/or CFR; there are no official connections to Mr. Holder that the author of this report is aware of.

National Security Advisor: Gen. James L. Jones

Retired Marine General James L. Jones was the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. During his final assignment, General Jones advocated that a core part of NATO’s mandate should include energy security.

He also wished to see NATO further involved in Africa, including support roles for the African Union.11 And in 2008 he advocated replacing Israeli forcing in the West Bank with NATO troops, who would in turn hand over full security control to the Palestinian Authority.12

During the Bush administration, General Jones was appointed Middle East Security Envoy by Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. He was also asked by Rice to take the position of Deputy Secretary of State, which he declined.

General Jones is very well connected. His positions have included,

Mr. Jones is a Trilateral Commission member, according to the TC’s 2009 membership list. And, according to FREE, he has connections with the Bildergerg Group.

Deputy National Security Adviser: Tom Donilon

Mr. Donilon was the Assistant Secretary of State and Chief of Staff at the US

State Department during the Clinton administration. Donilon is currently serving

on the Department of State Review Team for the Obama administration.

Director of National Intelligence: Dennis Blair

Retired Navy Admiral Dennis Blair held a Rhodes scholarship and studied at Oxford University. His last military posting was Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Command.

In the past he was the Director of the Joint Staff and Associate Director of Central Intelligence for Military Support (the Director of Central Intelligence oversees the entire American intelligence community).

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency: Leon Panetta

Panetta has direct links to the Trilateral Commission, contributing to the organization’s 1993 Annual Report. He’s also a member of the Bretton Woods Committee. Mr. Panetta has a long history within the Washington beltway. In the past he was the Director of the US Office for Civil Rights, a member of Congress from California, and chairman of the House Committee on the Budget.

He was also Chief of Staff for President William Clinton. For six years he served on the Board of Directors with the New York Stock Exchange.

White House Chief of Staff: Rahm Emanuel

Mr. Emanuel was a senior advisor to Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1998. It was Emanuel who directed the details of the Oslo Accords ceremony, including the famous handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat. In 2000 he was placed on the board of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation – “Freddie Mac.” He was also the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

No known direct links to the CFR, Trilateral Commission, or Bilderberg Group.

White House Military Office: Louis Caldera

The White House Military Office acts as the primary military liaison to the White House for military operations. According to the change.org website (a list of presidential/administrative team members)

“From 1997 to 1998, Caldera was managing director and chief operating officer for the Corporation for National and Community Service. From 1998 to 2001, he served as the nation’s 17th Secretary of the Army. He has served as a vice chancellor for the California State University system and president of the University of New Mexico, after which he joined the faculty of the UNM School of Law as a tenured professor.”

Caldera’s board member positions in the corporate world include seats with A.H. Belo Corporation, IndyMac Bancorp, and Southwest Airlines. He also served with the Panama Canal Commission, which was charged with overseeing the operations of the Panama Canal.

Ambassador to the United Nations: Susan Rice

Rice is a former Clinton Assistant Secretary of State, and is closely tied to the global governance movement.

In the past, Rice has advocated the establishment of a federal department on peacekeeping in order to better connect the US military with the United Nations. She has also supported the idea of an international civilian police force under the command and control of the United Nations.

Rice also has connections to a number of other influential organizations.

Citizens for Global Solutions (used to be named the World Federalist Association), has already announced that it will support Rice in her role at the United Nations.

Domestic Policy Council: Melody Barnes

Melody Barnes is Director of the Domestic Policy Council, the office that coordinates the domestic policy-making processes in the White House.

In the past she was the Executive Vice President for Policy at the Center for American Progress – a leftist policy think tank and advocacy group (it promotes an international management solution to climate change). Also, from 1995 to 2003 she was the Chief Counsel to Senator Edward Kennedy who served on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

There are no known connections between Barnes and the CFR or Trilateral Commission.

US Trade Representative: Ron Kirk

Kirk was the mayor of Dallas from 1995 until 2002. Before that he worked as Secretary of State for Texas under Governor Ann Richards. Corporate affiliations include board memberships at Brinker International, Dean Foods, and PetSmart.

Kirk is known as an advocate for creating a NAFTA-super highway that would economically help to tie Mexico, the United States, and Canada.

Mr. Kirk has no known immediate connections to the Council on Foreign Relations or Trilateral Commission.

National Economic Council: Lawrence Summers

Under the Obama administration, Summers will head up the National Economic Council, which will coordinate national economic decision making at the highest levels within the federal system. However, Mr. Summers is no stranger to Washington politics.

During the 1980s he served on the staff of President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisors. Then, in 1991 he came on board with the World Bank in the capacity of Chief Economist. Under the Clinton presidency he initially was appointed Undersecretary for International Affairs. Later, after a series of position moves, Summers was appointed as Secretary of the Treasury.

After he left the Treasury Department, he was made president of Harvard University, where he served until 2006. That year, he was placed on a Panel of Eminent Persons to work with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Finally, Summers was instrumental in negotiating China’s entrance into the World Trade Organization.

Summers is directly linked to the Council on Foreign Relations, having chaired the CFR’s Independent Task Force on Transatlantic Relations, along with Henry Kissinger.

He has also been an active member of the Trilateral Commission. And, according to FREE, he has been part of the Bilderberg Group.

Mr. Summers has been a board member with a number of other prominent organizations.

The IIE promotes global economic management, deeper regional unification for North America, and the empowerment of the International Monetary Fund.

Council of Economic Advisors: Christina Romer

Before becoming the chairperson for the Council of Economic Advisors, Romer was a co-director at the National Bureau of Economic Research (under the Program in Monetary Economics). She has also served as Vice President of the American Economic Association.

She doesn’t seem to be directly connected to the usual Washington political elite associations.

Economic Recovery Committee: Paul Volker

The Economic Recovery Committee is a new office in the Obama administration. It is charged with providing direction in terms of dealing with the ongoing economic woes in the US and around the world.

Paul Volker was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve during the Jimmy Carter presidency. He’s an advocate for a single global currency and an international monetary structure.

Office of Management and Budget: Peter Orszag

Mr. Orszag has been appointed by President Obama to act as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. In the past he was the Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy during the Clinton administration. He was also the director of the Congressional Budget Office in 2007 and 2008.

- Brookings Institute: Former Deputy Director of Economic Studies.

Securities and Exchange Commission: Mary Schapiro

Schapiro was appointed and confirmed as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Obama administration. In the past she sat on the Securities and Exchange Commission under Reagan and Bush, and was appointed under President Clinton to the position of acting chairperson. In 1994 she took the office of Chair for the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

In 1996, Schapiro became president of the National Association of Securities Dealers, and held this post until 2002. From that point until 2007 she held other positions within the National Association of Securities Dealers. In 2007, she became the CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority – the industry’s self-policing body.

In other words Schapiro has been, and still is, a central figure in the ongoing economic crisis and collapse of the financial industry.

Council on Environmental Quality: Nancy Sutley

Nancy Sutley will lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Before this appointment she was the Deputy Mayor for Energy and Environment, Los Angeles, California. She was also an Energy Advisor for California Governor Gray Davis. And during the Clinton presidency she worked for the Environmental Protection Agency as a Senior Policy Advisor in San Francisco, and as a special EPA assistant in Washington DC.

No known memberships in the CFR or Trilateral Commission.

Environmental Protection Agency: Lisa P. Jackson

Lisa Jackson used to work under the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection as Chief of Staff. Before that she was employed with the United States Environmental Protection Agency in Washington DC and New York City.

Jackson does not appear to have any connections to global governance advocacy groups.

Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change: Carol Browner

Browner served as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency during the Clinton administration, and has been appointed by President Obama to head up the administration’s climate change agenda.

Her past, as an attorney, is one filled with environmental court cases and policy developments – negotiating off shore oil bans, expanding the Big Cypress National Preserve, and working on amendments to the Clean Air Act. Over the years she has worked for Senator Lawton Chiles and Senator Al Gore. She also headed up the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Browner has been criticized by industrial and agricultural groups, along with wiseuse advocates, for her excessive focus on environmental enforcement.

She’s connected to the Audobon Society (past chair) and Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection. Browner is also linked to APX, Inc., a company that’s involved in carbon-offset credits and environmental commodity marketing. (Author’s NOTE: Somehow this seems to be a conflict of interest… Browner heads up the nation’s climate change program while connected to a climate change/carbon market company).

Other organizations that Browner is linked to include,

Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships: Joshua DuBois

This new White House office will coordinate and direct faith-based programs throughout the administration, with a focus on global interfaith dialogue – primarily with the Muslim community. Joshua DuBois is a young Pentecostal pastor who served as Obama’s director of religious affairs during the Presidential campaign. Besides Mr. DuBois’ religious work, he served as an aide to US Representative Rush Holt and US Representative Charles Rangel.

Mr. DuBois has no known relationships with the usual Washington DC foreign affairs organizations. More information on the Obama team will emerge with time. However, it is my hope that this leadership list will help you better understand the direction of this new administration.

So will there be “change”? Yes, I anticipate that the government will become larger than in previous administrations. It will become more socialist, more bureaucratic, more internationalist in its foreign affairs, and more overwhelming in its domestic conerncs. FC

Endnotes:

1 Don Kraus, CGS Obama Transition Team Meetings, Citizens for Global Solutions blog site, December 6, 2008.

2 A search through the CFR website (www.cfr.org) reveals a number of lectures given by Mr. Biden at the Council on Foreign Relations. In listening to the audio files of Senator Biden at the CFR, and in reading the transcripts, it’s obvious that he’s highly respected by the membership.

3 Senator Joseph R. Biden, On the Threshold of the New World Order: The Wilsonian Vision and American Foreign Policy in the 1990’s and Beyond, Address to the United States Senate, Washington DC, June 29-July 1, 1992.

4 Center for a New American Security, Finding Our Way: Debating American Grand Strategy, 2008. http://www.nsnetwork.org/about/beliefs

5 See, James R. Blaker, Defense Alternatives: Policing the New Global Commons, December, 2008, American Security Project.

6 See the following book: William A. Fleckenstein, Greenspan’s Bubbles: The Age of Ignorance at the Federal Reserve (McGraw-Hill, 2008).

7 Barbara Conry, Loose Cannon: The National Endowment for Democracy, Cato Foreign Policy Briefing No. 27, November 8, 1993.

8 See the Member Parties list at the Socialist International website (www.socialistinternational.org).

9 Biography of Commissioner Shaun Donovan, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (www.nyc.gov).

10 Biography of Commissioner Shaun Donovan

11 Statement of General James L. Jones before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 28 September 2005.

12 “US considering international force in West Bank,” Jerusalem Post, online edition, January 8, 2008.

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Forcing Change, Vol.3, Issue 1 - www.forcingchange.org

 

Articles to Watch for in Upcoming Issues of Forcing Change

• Earth Day: A Radical Religious Agenda

• Utopian Politics: International Socialism and the Rise of Global Governance

• Cult of Green: The UN Earth Sabbath

• Fundamental Fears: Biblical Christianity as a Factor in Global Instability

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