:32:01
started increasing its defense spending, um,
:32:03
the bin Laden family stood to gain
:32:05
from those investments through the Carlyle Group.
:32:13
Of all the weapons companies it owned,
:32:16
the Carlyle Group was in essence
:32:17
the 11th largest defense contractor
:32:19
in the United States.
:32:23
It owned United Defense,
:32:25
makers of the Bradley Armored Fighting Vehicle.
:32:29
September 11th guaranteed
:32:31
that United Defense was going to have
:32:33
a very good year.
:32:38
Just six weeks after 9/11,
:32:40
Carlyle filed to take United Defense public,
:32:43
and in December, made a one day profit
:32:46
of $237 million dollars.
:32:50
But sadly, with so much attention
:32:52
focused on the bin Laden family
:32:53
being important Carlyle investors,
:32:56
the bin Ladens eventually had to withdraw.
:32:59
Bush's dad though stayed on as senior advisor
:33:02
to Carlyle's Asia board for another two years.
:33:06
As unassuming as it seems, uh, to, uh, to,
:33:10
to know that George H.W. Bush
:33:12
was meeting with the bin Laden family
:33:14
while Osama was a wanted terrorist, um,
:33:18
well before September 11th,
:33:22
it's very discomforting for Americans
:33:24
to know that.
:33:25
George H.W. Bush is a man
:33:28
who has obviously incredible reach
:33:30
into the White House.
:33:31
Um, he receives daily CIA briefings,
:33:35
which is the right of any ex-President,
:33:37
but very few ex-Presidents actually exercise
:33:40
that right -- uh, he does.
:33:42
And I think in a very real way
:33:44
they are benefiting from the confusion
:33:46
that arises when George H.W.
:33:48
Bush visits Saudi Arabia on behalf of Carlyle
:33:50
and meets with the royal family
:33:53
and meets with the bin Laden family.
:33:55
Is he representing the United States of America
:33:59
or is he representing an investment firm