Lieberman volunteers to be GOP VP if needed

Posted by Joe Lieberman on Wednesday November 22, @09:54AM

from the Not far from the truth dept.

WASHINGTON (JNS) _ Joe Lieberman said Wednesday that he was ready to fill in as vice president under George W. Bush if needed.

Lieberman, who ran for vice president on the Democratic ticket, will not be without work if Al Gore loses the presidential election because he also ran for Senate in Connecticut, where he was elected.

Lieberman, however, said he really wants to be vice president, and was willing to fill in for Dick Cheney if Cheney can not serve because of heart problems.

``This is something that, in my heart, I know I've wanted to do for a long time,'' Lieberman said.

Lieberman has been seen as the driving force behind the recount effort in Florida.

Cheney suffered chest pains Wednesday morning and was hospitalized for tests, the Bush campaign said.

Cheney, 59, had three heart attacks more than a decade ago, but his doctors said he was healthy enough to run with Bush.

The Jabali News Service reported last week that the Gore team is desperately seeking to keep the White House in Democratic hands because Bush can't be counted on to keep secret Israeli arms deals to China under wraps.

Sources tell JNS that Bush is known to be a loose cannon, who can't be bought and can't keep his mouth shut. Moreover, there are concerns that the growing enmity between Gore and Bush will prompt Bush to make the arms sales public even though they could harm his administration as well.

The deals reportedly included campaign donations by Israeli arms interests to the Democratic campaign in exchange for turning a blind eye to the deals.

China promised earlier this week not to sell missiles or components to countries developing nuclear weapons. The commitment helped calm concerns in the United States that China has been providing countries such as Pakistan, Iran and North Korea with missile technology.

A CIA report released in August said Chinese firms have sent missile-related parts, raw materials and provided other aid to Iran, North Korea and Libya.

China has been seeking to modernize it's huge military, and Israel has been seeking to grab a piece of that market. The U.S. has publicly opposed a number of Sino-Israeli deals, but in reality has looked the other way on a number of others, the source told JNS.

Israel reportedly began secret sales of arms to China in 1980, 12 years before the two countries established diplomatic relations, and has made billions, mostly from tank and aircraft upgrades.

However, the market dried up around 1993 and the Israelis have been eager to renew the sales. China and Israel have refused to discuss their dealings, but the U.S. publicly opposed the sale of AWACS airborne radar planes by Israel to China earlier this year.

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Posted by Alex at November 22, 2000 09:54 AM