We cannot choose our relatives, that is a fact no one will dispute. But we do have a choice in whether we set our own path in life, or we slavishly follow that set by our relatives.

An example of the former was John F. Kennedy. He was elected president of the United States due in no small part to his father's Mafia connections. Upon his election, he and his brother Bobby began to vigorously prosecute the Mafia. It was this, along with his refusal to support the Mafia in the Bay of Pigs, that led to both of their deaths (see "Double Cross" by Chuck Giancana for details).

In contrast, we have George W. Bush, who throughout his political career, has hung to his father's coattails. So an examination of his father's career in politics is fair.

According to a memo dated 29 Nov., 1963 (among the 98,755 FBI documents released to the public during 1977 and 1978 obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act), J. Edgar Hoover described a briefing given to "George Bush of the Central Intelligence Agency." This was one day after Kennedy's assassination, when Lee Harvey Oswald was being questioned about his connections to Cuban exiles and the CIA.

From this memo, there is little doubt that George Bush Sr. was a CIA agent or asset from early on. Bush was later appointed CIA Director during the Ford Administration, an act similar to the fox being appointed to manage the hen house.

The CIA often used businessmen as covers, and G. Bush, who traveled around the world for his company, Zapata Petroleum (later merged with Pennzoil), had the perfect cover. In brief, most of his wealth came from the oil industry. Later, when Bush became Vice President, his son, George W., became President of Zapata Off-Shore. In 1986, while Vice President. G. Bush flew to the Middle East to persuade Arab countries to raise the price of oil. The low oil price made drilling of US oil uneconomical.

Again, after Bush became President, when Saddam Hussein was menacing Kuwait, Bush and his Secretary of State, James Baker (also from the Texas oil industry), instructed the US Ambassador to Iraq to tell Saddam that the US would not stand in his way. When Iraq invaded, the price of oil skyrocketed. How would you feel if your son or daughter died during this war?

Another interesting Bush associate was William Casey, ex-OSS agent who later became Ronald Reagan's campaign manager and later CIA director under Reagan. According to a number of sources, Casey and Bush were both heavily involved in campaign skullduggery, including the theft of Jimmy Carter's debate briefing books and the later secret deal with Iran that involved payment of $40 million dollars and an agreement to sell them weapons (through the Israelis) if the Persians would hold the US embassy hostages until after the election. It is interesting that neither George Bush or William Casey could account for their whereabouts on October 19, 1980, just two weeks before the upcoming election. Imagine today, if G.W. Bush's campaign manager and Dick Cheny disappeared for an entire day, two weeks before the election.

Casey later became involved in the Iran-Contra scandal. He died in 1987 shortly before he was to testify on the scandal before Congress.

In the early 1990's, I had a friend in Bangkok whose father worked for the US government. He was one of the country's top blood doctors and was brought in assist with the autopsy on William Casey. When he asked to see the results of the blood tests, he was firmly told that "that data would not be available." My friend's father told his son that he believed that Casey died of AIDS. I have a slightly more cynical mind. There is little doubt in my mind that Casey was poisoned to prevent him from talking. Other than George Bush, he was the one man who knew where all the bodies were buried.

I could go on and on (Noriega, the Savings & Loan scandal, the BCCI, etc.), but suffice to say that George Bush Sr. was one of the most ruthless officials ever to hold public office in US history. His legacy today continues, in the guise of his sons. Yes, the sins of the father are indeed the sins of the sons...

Thus I suppose I should make plans to move somewhere else if G.W. is elected. I've always thought about living in Calcutta. Perhaps I'll get a room at the Fairlawn Hotel on Sudder Street, where I can work on a novel or three, until it is safe to return... after Bush and his cronies are revealed for what they are!