Talk:James Baker

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[edit] Iraq report

The brief paragraph on the Iraq report as of 7 Dec 06 is inaccurate (way oversimplified) but presumably an accurate summary will soon be substituted. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 4.236.162.238 (talk) 14:08, 7 December 2006 (UTC).

[edit] Gulf War

The article says: "During the Gulf War, he helped to architect the 31-nation alliance that fought alongside the United States in the first Gulf War.". This seems to be in contradiction to the Gulf War article, which states that there were 34 nations in the coalition... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 80.213.243.135 (talk • contribs).

[edit] Alleged quotes

I removed the following section from the article for discussion.

== Quotes ==
  • "Fuck the Jews...they don't vote for us anyway." - 1992

I did some looking, and every reputable source attributes this as an alleged quote overheard from a private conversation. I'm not comfortable with a unsubstantiated quote of this nature gracing the article without some verification. Be nice if there were some real quotes in the article too, if anyone has them. Ocon | Talk 04:21, 15 Jul 2004 (UTC)

[edit] dr. james g. baker

wondering if there was an article about the other james baker... some cold war reconaisance optics guy... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.128.49.11 (talkcontribs).

[edit] Different James A. Baker

This text was incorrect:

Since 2001 he has quietly served as head of the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review. This government agency handles all Justice Department requests for surveillance authorizations under the terms of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, advises the Attorney General and all major intelligence-gathering agencies on legal issues relating to national security and surveillance, and, according to the agency website, "coordinates" the views of the intelligence community regarding intelligence legislation. Baker has often testified before Congress on behalf of Bush administration intelligence policies, and most recently has defended the USA PATRIOT Act before the House Judiciary Committee [1][2].

The individual in question is a different James A. Baker. [3] (see correction). I'm going to see if I can dig up enough to create a bio article, at least for disambiguation purposes. --Dhartung | Talk 23:35, 24 January 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Baker interview

In connection with the publication of his memoir, Mr. Baker was interviewed on October 10, 2006 on the Leonard Lopate show (WNYC radio). The segment is archived at WNYC.org. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.175.82.104 (talkcontribs).

[edit] Senator?

Wasn't he a senator? When did he serve? What state did he represent? Rwflammang 16:28, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

Oops, nevermind; I was thinking of some other Baker. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Rwflammang (talkcontribs).

The Baker who was a Senator was former Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee, who is similarly prominent in politics. He also served as White House Chief of Staff for Reagan (in his second term, after Iran-Contra), was married to Joy Baker, the daughter of the late Senator Everett Dirksen of Illinois, and after her death, married former Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum of Kansas, the daughter of the late Alf Landon, the 1936 GOP Presidential nominee who lost to FDR in a landslide. Talk about political connections! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 198.86.240.89 (talkcontribs).

[edit] Watergate

Was he involved in the impeachment of Nixon? Rwflammang 16:28, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

Oops, nevermind; I was thinking of some other Baker. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Rwflammang (talkcontribs).

See above. You're thinking of former Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 198.86.240.89 (talkcontribs).

[edit] Family

He and wife Susan are described to be the parents of 8 children. Yet he was widowed when he married Susan. Are any of these children from his first marriage? If so, his offspring should be split according to which of his wives was their mother. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 198.86.240.89 (talkcontribs).

[edit] To: IP Address: 68.201.244.25

On December 6, 2006, a report from the Iraq Study Group was sent urging the President of the United States recommending more diplomatic solutions to resolve the Middle East conflict. This wasn't surprising given the group was made up 100% of diplomats and thinkers, with not a single military expert in the group. The report urged aganist a quick withdrawl. It also gave the 9th grade level recommendation to "talk to Iraq," and the ignorant of history recommendation to talk to Iran and Syria about the problems in Iraq, reminiscant of the USSR and Nazi Germany dividing Poland prior to WW2. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.93.119.157 (talkcontribs).

Though I agree with your opinions...and do thank you for your expressing of them, I am afraid this really is not the place. I kindly ask you not revert the article to anything but fair and balanced, or I will ask a admin to block you. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.93.119.157 (talk) 06:12, 9 December 2006 (UTC).

Does this seem resonable? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.93.119.157 (talkcontribs).

It does. While I also agree with your assessment to an extent, Wikipedia isn't the place to address such arguements. It's tough enough having to scrub the left-leaning POVs which dominate many of Wikipedia's political articles ;-) --Goosedoggy 18:06, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "#*@%! the jews"

Considering the slate source above as well as http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/politics/columns/citypolitic/4022/ and many other sources often repeating this quote, it would seem reasonable to discuss it in the main article. Add the caveat "allege" if you like. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.242.147.143 (talkcontribs).

It's no secret Baker is antipathetic to Israel, and has never been a friend to Jews. - MSTCrow 03:07, 14 December 2006 (UTC)
We should put some mention of his quote in so as not to appear bias. - Giuliani2008 03:45, 05 January 2006 (EST)
I think a good idea would be just to copy the same style from a wiki of a similar situation. Jesse Jackson's Hymietown comment seems close enough. Evan7257 10:15, 5 January 2007 (UTC)
While in your opinion its "no secret that Baker is antipathetic to Isreal" may be valid, it has no place on Wikipedia unless it is substantiated by facts that can be validated. As for the @$&! the Jews line, it is a statement that was supposedly overheard being said by Baker, and has since been used by the liberal media to attack him, even though there is no substantiation or proof of the quote. Adding it to this artice would compromise the NPOV that a Wikipedia article is intened to convey. --Goosedoggy 18:03, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Protect this page?

I seen several attempts at vandalism to this page, should I protect it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Giuliani2008 (talk • contribs) 08:44, 5 January 2007 (UTC).

Only an administrator can protect a page. In this instance, I doubt that an admin would consider the level of vandalism to be so great as to call for protection. JamesMLane t c 15:55, 23 January 2007 (UTC)