at Paul O'Neil's inverview on 60 minutes tomorrow:

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash9.htm

Now, I certainly wouldn't trust Drudge with my bank account, and wouldn't
buy a used car from him, so ignore Drudge's commentary and just look at the
quotes from a transcript of the taped 60 minutes program:

FORMER TREASURY SECRETARY PAUL ONEILL SAYS INVASION OF IRAQ WAS PLANNED IN
THE FIRST DAYS OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION LONG BEFORE 9/11, IN AN EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW SUNDAY ON "60 MINUTES"


Sat Jan 10 2004 09:12:37 ET


The Bush Administration began laying plans for an invasion of Iraq including
the use of American troops within days of President Bush's inauguration in
January of 2001, not eight months later after the 9/11 attacks as has been
previously reported. That is what former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill
says in his first interview about his time as a White House insider. O'Neill
talks to Lesley Stahl in the interview, to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES
Sunday, Jan. 11 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

"From the very beginning, there was a conviction that Saddam Hussein was a
bad person and that he needed to go," he tells Stahl. "For me, the notion of
pre-emption, that the U.S. has the unilateral right to do whatever we decide
to do is a really huge leap," says O'Neill.

O'Neill, fired by the White House for his disagreement on tax cuts, is the
main source for an upcoming book, "The Price of Loyalty," authored by Ron
Suskind. Suskind says O'Neill and other White House insiders he interviewed
gave him documents that show that in the first three months of 2001, the
administration was looking at military options for removing Saddam Hussein
from power and planning for the aftermath of Saddam's downfall, including
post-war contingencies like peacekeeping troops, war crimes tribunals and
the future of Iraq's oil. "There are memos," Suskind tells Stahl, "One of
them marked 'secret' says 'Plan for Post-Saddam Iraq.'" A Pentagon document,
says Suskind, titled "Foreign Suitors For Iraqi Oilfield Contracts,"
outlines areas of oil exploration. "It talks about contractors around the
world from...30, 40 countries and which ones have what intentions on oil in
Iraq," Suskind says.

In the book, O'Neill is quoted as saying he was surprised that no one in a
National Security Council meeting questioned why Iraq should be invaded. "It
was all about finding a way to do it. That was the tone of it. The president
saying 'Go find me a way to do this,'" says O'Neill in the book.

Suskind also writes about a White House meeting in which he says the
president seems to be wavering about going forward with his second round of
tax cuts. "Haven't we already given money to rich people," Suskind says the
president uttered, according to a nearly verbatim transcript of an Economic
Team meeting he says he obtained from someone at the meeting, "Shouldn't we
be giving money to the middle?"

O'Neill, who was asked to resign because of his opposition to the tax cut,
says he doesn't think his tell-all account in this book will be attacked by
his former employers as sour grapes. "I will be really disappointed if [the
White House] reacts that way," he tells Stahl. "I can't imagine that I am
going to be attacked for telling the truth."

Ummm, Mr. O'Neill, do the words JOE WILSON/VALERIE PLAME/KARL ROVE/ROBERT
NOVAK ring a bell????

Here's a more reliable source:

http://cbs.marke****ch.com/news/stor...1A1%2D4AE8%2D9
FBF%2D20B4EE44E672%7D&siteid=mktw

"Sandman" wrote in message
...
at Paul O'Neil's inverview on 60 minutes tomorrow:

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash9.htm

Now, I certainly wouldn't trust Drudge with my bank account, and wouldn't
buy a used car from him, so ignore Drudge's commentary and just look at
the
quotes from a transcript of the taped 60 minutes program:

FORMER TREASURY SECRETARY PAUL ONEILL SAYS INVASION OF IRAQ WAS PLANNED IN
THE FIRST DAYS OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION LONG BEFORE 9/11, IN AN
EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW SUNDAY ON "60 MINUTES"


Sat Jan 10 2004 09:12:37 ET


The Bush Administration began laying plans for an invasion of Iraq
including
the use of American troops within days of President Bush's inauguration in
January of 2001, not eight months later after the 9/11 attacks as has been
previously reported. That is what former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill
says in his first interview about his time as a White House insider.
O'Neill
talks to Lesley Stahl in the interview, to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES
Sunday, Jan. 11 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

"From the very beginning, there was a conviction that Saddam Hussein was a
bad person and that he needed to go," he tells Stahl. "For me, the notion
of
pre-emption, that the U.S. has the unilateral right to do whatever we
decide
to do is a really huge leap," says O'Neill.

O'Neill, fired by the White House for his disagreement on tax cuts, is the
main source for an upcoming book, "The Price of Loyalty," authored by Ron
Suskind. Suskind says O'Neill and other White House insiders he
interviewed
gave him documents that show that in the first three months of 2001, the
administration was looking at military options for removing Saddam Hussein
from power and planning for the aftermath of Saddam's downfall, including
post-war contingencies like peacekeeping troops, war crimes tribunals and
the future of Iraq's oil. "There are memos," Suskind tells Stahl, "One of
them marked 'secret' says 'Plan for Post-Saddam Iraq.'" A Pentagon
document,
says Suskind, titled "Foreign Suitors For Iraqi Oilfield Contracts,"
outlines areas of oil exploration. "It talks about contractors around the
world from...30, 40 countries and which ones have what intentions on oil
in
Iraq," Suskind says.

In the book, O'Neill is quoted as saying he was surprised that no one in a
National Security Council meeting questioned why Iraq should be invaded.
"It
was all about finding a way to do it. That was the tone of it. The
president
saying 'Go find me a way to do this,'" says O'Neill in the book.

Suskind also writes about a White House meeting in which he says the
president seems to be wavering about going forward with his second round
of
tax cuts. "Haven't we already given money to rich people," Suskind says
the
president uttered, according to a nearly verbatim transcript of an
Economic
Team meeting he says he obtained from someone at the meeting, "Shouldn't
we
be giving money to the middle?"

O'Neill, who was asked to resign because of his opposition to the tax cut,
says he doesn't think his tell-all account in this book will be attacked
by
his former employers as sour grapes. "I will be really disappointed if
[the
White House] reacts that way," he tells Stahl. "I can't imagine that I am
going to be attacked for telling the truth."

Ummm, Mr. O'Neill, do the words JOE WILSON/VALERIE PLAME/KARL ROVE/ROBERT
NOVAK ring a bell????