Perhaps the real reason Hunter wants to "refocus" the discussion on Iraq is because of his own involvement with the Titan Corp., whose employees have been directly involved in the torture of prisoners in Iraq. The Taguba Report cited two Titan employees as implicated in the prisoner abuses, and one, Adel L. Nakhla, is explicitly identified as a suspect by General Taguba. Titan Corp., one of the two private contracting firms involved in military prison interrogations, is one of Hunter's biggest political supporters. According to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, top officials of the San Diego-based Titan have been Hunter's number-one source of campaign contributions each of the last two election cycles. They gave him $16,950 for 2002, and $18,000 so far for 2004. Whether via individual contributions of company officials or through the company PAC, Titan and its president, Gene Ray, more than 80% of its individual and PAC contributions go to the GOP.
Nor is Titan the only major defense contractor supporting Hunter's campaign. The list includes several others with contracts in Iraq, including SAIC, which was accused in a recent Pentagon audit of mismanagement of a contract it received last year to establish an Iraqi media operation that would be friendly to the occupation.
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The biggest obstructionist, by far, is Florida's Rep. Porter Goss (R), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). Goss, a former CIA case officer, is not campaigning for another term in Congress, but to become Director of Central Intelligence replacing George J. Tenet. Darling of the neo-cons, Goss is "Cheney's cat's paw," charges 27-year CIA veteran Ray McGovern, in an article published below.
For more than a year, Goss, whose committee has the mandate to investigate intelligence activities, and the policies related to them, has systematically blocked public hearings when the question emerged of who faked intelligence to drum up war with Iraq. Goss has continued this coverup, despite a near-revolt by Democratic Committee members, who had exerted pressure on Democratic ranking member Rep. Jane Harman.
Now, since early May, Goss has also tried to sweep under the rug, the evidence about the torture scandal at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere out of the front offices of the White House, the office of the Vice President, and the neo-con leadership of the civilian side of the Pentagon.
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2004/3128goss_hunter_block.html