Rev. Moon Orbits Bush Family

When former President George H.W. Bush takes the stage to deliver the keynote address in honour of the 25th anniversary of the ultra-conservative Washington Times newspaper in mid-May, it will not be the first time he has spoken in support of one of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s enterprises.

And whatever fee Bush will realise from his appearance is only one aspect of what author Kevin Philips has termed Moon’s “close” relationship with the Bush family.

While the elder Bush — and other family members — have benefited both financially and politically from this relationship with Moon, the head of the Unification Church has a more varied agenda in mind, one that includes a pardon from current President George W. Bush.

(In the 1980s, Moon served a 13-month sentence in jail for tax evasion. He doesn’t want to be a considered a convicted felon and is hoping for a pardon before Bush leaves office.) [...]

“One of George H.W. Bush’s first tasks as director of the CIA was managing the ‘Koreagate’ scandal, in which the government of South Korea and its intelligence agents had waged espionage against the U.S, government,” Fred Clarkson, the author of “Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy” — which includes a chapter on the Moon organisation — told IPS.

“Some of those agents were leading members of Moon’s Unification church. Some members managed to infiltrate Congressional staffs — primarily Democrats,” he said.

During the 1980s, Moon’s Washington Times consistently supported the Ronald Reagan-Bush team in its version of the events surrounding the Iran-Contra scandal. According to Clarkson, “the Moon organisation was part of the private supply lines to the Nicaraguan contras, The Washington Times was given special access and provided consistently flattering coverage and the newspaper also set up a special fund for private funding of the contras.”

In 1996, the relationship became decidedly financial when the former president traveled to Latin America to help Moon launch “Tiempos del Mundo” (Times of the World). At the time Bush called Moon’s flagship U.S. publication, the Washington Times, “an independent voice” and assured the crowd that “Tiempos del Mundo… [will be] the same thing.” According to published reports Bush received at least 100,000 dollars for his participation in that event.

More recently, Moon’s Washington Times Foundation funneled a million dollars to Bush’s presidential library through the Houston, Texas-based Greater Houston Community Foundation. [...]

“The Rev. Moon is a monster in the laboratory of conservative politics; no one wants to think about him, yet in order to ensure his continued support they must periodically feed his appetite for tribute,” John Gorenfeld, an investigative reporter and a longtime chronicler of Moon’s activities, told IPS. “One of Moon’s paybacks at Times-sponsored events is to have his picture taken and rub shoulders with the politically powerful and well-connected.”

“Besides the gift of the support of the Washington Times, Bush and his son have accepted large amounts of money from Moon’s church,” said Gorenfeld, the author of a forthcoming book about the Rev. Moon and U.S. politics.

“In the Clinton years, George and Barbara Bush toured Japan with Moon, as well as Argentina. He is believed to have taken over a million dollars. More recently, a Moon company funneled 250,000 dollars to the fund for George W. Bush’s inauguration.”

Moon’s enterprises extend far beyond the Unification Church, says Steve Hassan, an expert on cults and a licensed mental health counselor who was once a leader in the Moon organisation.

“There are a number of business and political fronts; it’s a multi-billion-dollar international conglomerate headed by a demagogue who claims that he’s the greatest guy in history, who wants to abolish democracy, end or destroy the United Nations and set up a theocracy for his heirs to rule,” Hassan told IPS.

When the elder Bush takes to the podium next month, it would be surprising if the close relationship between the Bush family and Moon is scrutinised by the mainstream media, since it has been basically ignored or glossed over for decades, Hassan insists.

“It infuriates me, as one who has been in the group and often heard Moon say that he wanted to destroy democracy and take over the world, that the mainstream media has not gotten this story right,” he said. “While they have talked about corporate lobbying, they’ve neglected to discuss the lobbying and political influence of cults. Moon has been basically mainstreamed.”

Hassan also noted that Moon’s operation in the U.S., which began with the “street recruiting” of members — especially in university towns — has shifted to lavish dinners and awards ceremonies where Moon is able to hobnob with powerful political figures and later claim their allegiance.

“Having George H.W. Bush come and speak at the Washington Times anniversary event is definitely a coup,” Hassan pointed out.

“That George H.W. Bush has such a long term alliance with the theocratic Rev. Moon, who for all of his flag waving is on record as hating American constitutional democracy, is disturbing and will no doubt come to be seen as a defining aspect of Bush’s political career, before, during and since his presidency,” Fred Clarkson added.

“Bush’s headlining the Washington Times’ 25th anniversary event couldn’t be more appropriate, since the Rev. Moon and Bush’s fortunes, political and otherwise have been closely intertwined for decades.”

This is a summary extract from the full article as it appeared on IPS, April 12, 2007
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