lies and betrayal, hersh is assailed, richard perle has conflicts

In the latest, new yorker seymour hersh writes about richard perle's conflicts of interest as head of Trireme Partners, LLP, a company registered in Delaware (which has some of the best corporate secrecy laws in the US) in November 2001, whose business is to invest in companies dealing in technology, goods, and services that are of value to homeland security and defense. Perle is also the chairman for the Defense Policy Board, a Defense Department advisory group composed primarily of highly respected former government officials, retired military officers, and academics. Its members, who serve without pay, include former national-security advisers, Secretaries of Defense, and heads of the C.I.A.

Hersh's article is another in a long line of articles discussing the various conflicts of interest of our political leaders (skimble is a good resource for others). Its distressing, then to note that yesterday, when discussing the article on CNN with Wolf Blitzer, Perle defamed Hersh in a 1950s McCarthy-era kind of a way, by calling him a terrorist. Joe Conason has reported this salon.

Perle should not get away with this type of behavior. Hersh should sue Perle, if only to get information into the public record. And while he's at it maybe he can get to the bottom of what is discussed in the Cheney papers nobody is allowed to see.