Monthly Archives: October 2007

Hersh on the plan for Iran

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iran_flag.pngIn this New Yorker article, Seymour Hersh lays out his theory on the Bush Administration’s plans for neutralizing Iran. As with most of Hersh’s work, it is a fascinating read. He concludes with the following story about tensions between Allied forces:

Another recent incident, in Afghanistan, reflects the tension over intelligence. In July, the London Telegraph reported that what appeared to be an SA-7 shoulder-launched missile was fired at an American C-130 Hercules aircraft. The missile missed its mark. Months earlier, British commandos had intercepted a few truckloads of weapons, including one containing a working SA-7 missile, coming across the Iranian border. But there was no way of determining whether the missile fired at the C-130 had come from Iranóespecially since SA-7s are available through black-market arms dealers.
Vincent Cannistraro, a retired C.I.A. officer who has worked closely with his counterparts in Britain, added to the story: ìThe Brits told me that they were afraid at first to tell us about the incidentóin fear that Cheney would use it as a reason to attack Iran.î The intelligence subsequently was forwarded, he said.
The retired four-star general confirmed that British intelligence ìwas worriedî about passing the information along. ìThe Brits donít trust the Iranians,î the retired general said, ìbut they also donít trust Bush and Cheney.î

Oscar Wyatt cops a plea

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Oscar%20Wyatt%20100207.gif83 year old Houston oilman Oscar S. Wyatt, Jr. ended an ordeal that could have resulted in a life prison sentence yesterday when he agreed to plead guilty (Chron stories here and here) to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the middle of his ongoing trial in New York City. Wyatt was on trial over charges that he corrupted the United Nationís oil-for-food program by paying paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal kickbacks to Saddam Husseinís regime in 2001 (prior posts here).
Wyatt faces a probable prison sentence of between 18 and 24 months on the one count and he also agreed to forfeit $11 million. The four charges that were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea included conducting financial transactions with an enemy nation (Iraq) and violating a United States embargo on Iraq. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 27.
My sense is that Wyatt cut a reasonably good deal under the circumstances, or at least as good as any deal can be that likely will require a prison sentence. The government had already cut deals with a series of witnesses who had agreed to testify against Wyatt and — let’s face it — it’s hard to think of a less popular criminal defendant in New York City than a wealthy Texas oilman who openly criticized the U.S. State Department’s traditional Middle Eastern policy of supporting Israel. Moreover, although dozens of companies and individuals were cited in the Volcker Report on the scandal-ridden oil-for-food program, it was clear that the Department of Justice was going to make Wyatt the poster boy for the corrupt U.N. program. As Jeff Skilling discovered (see here, here and here), it’s tough enough fighting against the government’s overwhelming prosecutorial power. It’s virtually impossible to defend criminal charges effectively when the government overlays the prosecution with demonization of the defendant.
Ellen Podgor provides insight on the dynamics that may have triggered the deal.

The Tiger Chasm swallows the Texas Open

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VTO.gifThis earlier post noted how the PGA Tour has forsaken the four Texas Tour events that contribute more to charity than virtually any other Tour events. Just to reaffirm that trend, get a load of the following update on the field for this week’s Valero Texas Open at the Westin LaCantera Resort in San Antonio:

By the 5 p.m. deadline for players to officially commit to next week’s PGA Tour event, they saw one of today’s headline attractions, Presidents Cup representative K.J. Choi, withdraw from the field.[. . .]
The exit of Choi, the world’s 10th-ranked player, for undisclosed reasons leaves [Stephen] Ames, the 2006 Players Championship titlist, as the highest-rated player in the field. At No. 42, he will be the only top-50 competitor on hand.

One top-50 player? The venerable Texas Open — one of the oldest Tour events — has been relegated to a glorified Nationwide Tour event.

$1,200 for that?

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franchione%20kneeling%20100207.jpgAs noted in the weekly football report, the water cooler conversation in these psrts over the past several days has inevitably turned to what on earth was embattled Texas A&M head coach Dennis Franchione thinking when he sold a secret newsletter entitled “VIP Connection” to a dozen or so wealthy Aggies for $1,200 a pop (Franchione rakes in over $2 million annually).
The Dallas Morning News’ Brian Davis came up with a few of the newsletters and passes along some of their content:

The Dallas Morning News obtained several “VIP” newsletters written by McKenzie since December 2004. Most have a positive tone. . . . others talk about what plays A&M will run, the team’s travel schedule and generally harmless fluff. [. . .]
Last November, [the newsletter] outlined A&M’s game plan prior to the Texas game. The Aggies wanted to take shots deep, use gadget plays and “hardball running plays.”
“Lane on power, and then [Mike] Goodson on a zone read that goes toward a different place in the defensive set than usual [they’ve never seen it run this way].”

And people wonder why A&M’s offense lacks imagination? ;^)
Update: The DMN provides even more from the newsletters.
And Ray Melick makes a good point at the end of this column:

[W]hen the guys who were once willing to buy everything you were selling, including your secret newsletter at $1,200 a year, begin to turn on you.
It’s usually a pretty good indication that it’s time to start looking for a comfortable place to fall.

2007 Weekly local football review

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Schaub%20with%20towel.jpg(AP Photo/John Amise)(previous weekly summaries here)
Falcons 26 Texans 16

Don’t christen Gary Kubiak as the next great NFL coach just yet.
After a sprightly start of the season, the Texans (2-2) lost to a mediocre Atlanta (1-3) team that is precisely the type of team that the Texans have to be beat in order to become an average NFL team, much less a good one. Although you won’t hear it much from local media that covers the team, the Texans continue to have huge problems, particularly on offense where their best WR (Andre Johnson) is hurt and the “rushing” attack (more like a walking attack) revolves around two over-the-hill and oft-injured RB’s and a mediocre offensive line. Meanwhile, the defense, while improving, still has gaping holes in the secondary and remains inconsistent in putting heat on the opposing team’s QB. The Texans take on a bad Miami Dolphins (0-4) team next Sunday at Reliant Stadium. Don’t be surprised if the Texans serve up the Dolphins’ first victory of the season.

Kansas State 41 Texas Longhorns 21

The shallowness of the Longhorns’ (4-1/0-1) undefeated record was exposed with a bang in Austin as Kansas State (3-1/1-0) took advantage of two kick returns for touchdowns and four interceptions by Colt McCoy to cruise to an easy 41-21 victory. It was the worst home loss for the Horns in 10 years under coach Mack Brown. Texas as the Wildcats pummelled McCoy with multiple blitz packages that the Horns’ offensive line rarely picked up. The Horns — who have been susceptible to blitz packages during the Brown era except for the 2005 National Championship team led by the elusive QB Vince Young — now must figure out quickly how to overcome an even better blitzing team in Oklahoma (4-1/0-1) next weekend in Dallas or else UT will be facing the daunting prospect of an 0-2 start in Big 12 conference play.

Texas Aggies 34 Baylor 10

The Aggie nation heaved a huge sigh of relief as the Ags (4-1/1-0) methodically pounded the Bears (3-2/0-1) into submission at College Station. After last week’s debacle at South Beach and this week’s revelations of Coach Fran’s stupefyingly stupid secret newsletter, a loss against the Bears could well have prompted the type of meltdown in Aggieland not seen since the infamous firing of Aggie head coach Emory Bellard back in 1978. The Ags used their tried and true ball-control offense to overwhelm the Bears, but it remains to be seen whether the Aggies can consistently beat teams with equal or better personnel while playing offense in a phone booth. The Aggies host resurgent Oklahoma State (3-2/1-0) for first place in the Big 12 South (first place in the Big 12 South is on the line next week at Kyle Field, not the Cotton Bowl?!) before their high-anxiety trip to the plains to meet Tech (4-1/0-1) in two weeks.

East Carolina 37 Houston Cougars 35

The Coogs (3-2/1-1) had their annual shoot-self-in-the-foot game when an awful kicking game and poor run defense combined to allow a mediocre East Carolina (2-3/1-0) to pull out the close win at Robertson Stadium. The Coogs now must travel to face a tough game next Saturday at Alabama (3-2) before returning home in two weeks for their annual crosstown rivalry game with Rice (0-4).

The Rice Owls (0-4) were idle this past weekend, but play Southern Miss (2-2) in a rare Wednesday night game this week before returning home to face Houston on October 13.

“Just comes naturally?”

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David%20Carr%20100107.jpgI used to think that former Texans QB David Carr is a nice fellow who just doesn’t have the gumption to be a top-flight NFL QB. But now I’m wondering if he is simply a nice fellow who isn’t very bright.
This earlier post chronicled the increasingly testy exchanges between Carr and his former teammates after the Texan’s unceremonious canning of Carr last summer. Carr followed those brickbats up with the following recent observations reported in John McClain’s Sunday NFL Notebook:

David Carr is starting his first game for Carolina today. After coming off the bench to help Carolina defeat Atlanta last week, Carr replaces quarterback Jake Delhomme, who has a strained right elbow and missed practice last week, against visiting Tampa Bay.
“Honestly, I do feel better on this team,” Carr said comparing the Panthers to the Texans. “I’m more relaxed. I’m not being pressed to do things I don’t need to be doing.
“I feel like I can go out with my mechanics and all that and just throwing the football in general, I feel like that just comes naturally, and I don’t have to think about it. That’s freeing as far as playing quarterback. Now, it’s just completing balls and throwing to the right guy.”

Carr’s stat line for yesterday’s game against Tampa Bay: 10-41 for 137 net yards passing, 1 TD and 1 interception.
Just comes naturally, I guess.

I spoke too soon

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McClain%20100107.jpgAs soon as I acknowledge one of Chronicle NFL columnist John McClain’s rare good columns in the previous post, he serves this blog post entitled “Texans should be embarrassed after 26-16 defeat” in response to the Texans’ loss yesterday at Atlanta.
Embarrassing? McClain thinks that the Texans’ performance was embarrassing? How about this performance? Or this one?
And for more Chronicle sunshine reporting, compare this Richard Justice puff piece from today’s paper with this one during the latter stages of the Texans’ disastrous 2-14 seasons in 2005.
Now, that is embarrassing!