I'm so sorry to hear of Randy's passing. He was one of the good guys.

"Some of them put on their cowboy boots and put their feet up on the desk." -Wes Clark

I wonder if Noel knows

RIP Randy

People want leadership......and in the absence of leadership, they will listen to anyone who walks up to the microphone.
Lewis Rothschild, in "American President"

Good question....I'm trying to get the word out. Please help. This is truly sad.

I'm in a total state of shock and sadness.

I didn't always agree with Randy, but when I didn't agree with him, I worried about it and felt I had to research and think some more to be sure of what I thought. His experience and insight will, truly, be sorely missed.

Rest in peace, Randy. May God bless the whole Risener family.

Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark -- Don't settle for less.
Make America All It Can Be!

From the local local local to the international

He had been subbing for a friend who ran a local paper out there in Missouri (Or is it Missourah?). This is one of my favorites. :)

Will be good to be back although I have enjoyed this three week or whatever change of pace. I can also report that you don't have to go to Washington D.C. to find political corruption.

I was at a city council meeting when one of the council members blurted out that he objected to the city selling property next to city hall for $50,000. At the end of the meeting I pounced on the Mayor who acknowledged they were in negotiations to do that.

Next morning I went to the Assessors office and found that the property had been appraised at $150,000. I called the Mayor, told her of the appraisal and asked who the buyer was (real estate deals and personnel matters are excluded under Missouri's Sunshine law).

She wouldn't tell me and argued that it was a routine deal. My rejoinder was that the county government had appraised the property at three times the value the city was selling it for and the public had a right to know why.

We went with the story. The next day the Mayor called and said they had dropped the negotiations and that they had only been exploratory which was not what she had said the night of council meeting.

Being careful not to screw things up for my friend (the publisher/editor) and his wife who manages the production side, I consulted with his wife and she said don't worry, Xxxxx and the Mayor had been clashing for a long time.

So then I ran a story detailing the descrepancies in the Mayor's statements. Xxxxx is going to be digging more to find out who the buyer was.

God, I love this stuff.

Randy

---------------

To the grand international scheme for FDNS:

Saudis Going Nuclear With Russia, Pak Aid

By Randy Risener
Editor, FDNS

As America’s reputation in the Middle East continues downward Russia’s is on the ascendancy and the U.S. faces the prospect of unhappy political realignments directly affecting American interests and upping the stakes for the next president. Nothing more clearly illustrates this than the recent talks calling for Russia to help the Saudis with nuclear power development along with providing weapons and satellites and the Saudi’s reportedly sealing a deal with Pakistan to get a nuclear bomb if Iran develops one.

There are “no barriers” to Russian help with nuclear energy development said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal during a press conference. “Saudi Arabia discussed this matter with the Secretariat General of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council)” during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to the area that was well received by Arab leaders and many Arab press commentators.

He also confirmed that the Saudis were in talks with the Russians about weapons and satellite purchases that may include a sale of about 150 Russian T-90 battle tanks, according to the Gulf Daily newspaper published in Bahrain.

Separately the Middle East based private Israeli intelligence website, DebkaFile, reports that the Saudis concluded a formal agreement with Pakistan in January that would formalize the procedure of transferring not just the technology but the actual nuclear bomb to Saudi Arabia if it looked like the Iran was going to obtain the bomb in order to stop Iran dominance over the Middle East.

While this cannot be confirmed it does square with previous understandings between the Saudi and Pakistan governments that if Iran obtained a nuclear bomb, Pakistan would arm the Saudis as a deterrent to Iranian dominance in the Gulf.

Iran is Shiite and Saudi Arabia leaders are Sunnis and the fear among many foreign policy experts is that the Sunni-Shiite civil war in Iraq will spill over into a regional and beyond war between the two sects.

Russia has four goals: increase influence in the region, improve economic relations, try to minimize Arab support for the Chechen rebellion in Russia and position itself as an alternative to the U.S. in terms of geopolitical alignment.

And there is support among many Arabs for Russian elevating its role as a player in the Middle East.

Aijaz Jaka Syed, assistant editor of the Khaleej Times in United Arab Emirates, wrote approvingly of the new relationship between Russia and Saudi Arabia in an editorial titled “Time to look East.”

Noting that Russia will be launching six telecommunication and remote sensing satellites for the Saudis and help them develop nuclear energy he wrote:

“What’s going on? The world is changing folks. That’s what’s going on. And about time too. The Arab and Muslim world has depended for far too long on its traditional allies in the West. And what has it got in return? Only contempt and wanton indifference to their concerns and problems.”

He added that the region “will not forever remain a US-controlled and West-dominated” and that Russia was keen “to play a more assertive role on the world stage.”

Likewise, writing in the international Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, respected Arab commentator and columnist Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed said the return of Russia to the international scene through the Arab door could have more than economic benefits for the Mideast since it could be “expected to play a pacifying role in an uneasy region.”

Russia has had longstanding relations with Iran.

Putin’s recent visit was accompanied by sharp attacks on the U.S. for inflaming the Mideast and he accused the administration of undermining peace in the world with the Iraq war.

The Russian leader knew he was on solid political ground since his rhetoric positions him on the side of much of the Mideast populace.

Russia’s reemergence in the Middle East also adds another complex factor in an Arab world where often little is as it may appear and it is this mystifying world where the next president will find their most urgent challenges.

And anyone who got into it with him on a yahoo group or email exchange knows that he could hold his ground like no other. :)

FDNS stuff is at http://www.fighting-dems.us

Thank you for that Rich! Randy was one of a kind and really knew his stuff. He was willing to give it but also willing to take it. He truly will be missed.

I will miss Randy so.

I thoroughly enjoyed Randy's posts on CCN over the years. My family joins me in sending our sincere condolences. We remember him for his keen wit and service to our country.

Best regards,
Betsy in Memphis

I'm so sorry to hear this. RIP Randy.

:-(

Like so many here I never met Randy, but I was still shocked by the news earlier today. You don't have to meet a person to know them and to value them. He'll be missed.

Barry
Are you safer today than you were six years ago?©

Condolences to Randy's family.

In a world of idealism and idealogues, Randy's voice was one of realism and facts and was based upon experience. I always looked forward to reading his posts.

His voice will be missed. My sympathies to his family and friends.

David

I never met Randy in person, but when FDNS was starting up we were in frequent contact and found we had a lot in common, starting with our service in Vietnam. He did a tremendous job as the founder of FDNS and taught me a lot about the news business.

May he rest in peace.

Fred Seamon

I really looked forward to the installments of FDNS. It was always clear and sharp and got it's messages across with such an economy of words.

It's hard to imagine that someone who was exchanging views with us just within the last couple of weeks is gone.

Thank-you, Randy, for all you contributed. You will be missed.

carol4clark

General Wes Clark * * * * 4 Stars Over Texas

Aw, this news is more than heartbreaking.

Randy was definitely a force and his passing leaves a huge hole. This world is surely a lesser place without him in it.

It's so incomprehensible to me that it took me some time after reading the email to actually figure out what it meant....

I am reminded of a line from a Tom Paxton Song, "There Was No Time To Say Goodbye"....
"For you were here so totally,
It seemed impossible that you could ever die – "

In fact, I am reminded of the whole song:

"There Was No Time To Say Goodbye" - Tom Paxton

It was a phone call in the night –
The kind you hear before it rings.
It was a phone call in the night,
When you can hear an angel’s wings.
When you know before you answer
That it’s someone’s time to die,
And then I learned that it was you,
And as I stood there I could feel you passing by –
There was no time to say goodbye.

There was no time to say goodbye;
No time to thank you for the years.
There was no time to say goodbye –
A lamp gone out, light disappears.
And as I stood there in the darkness,
There were more tears than I could cry,
For you were here so totally,
It seemed impossible that you could ever die –
There was no time to say goodbye.

There are pictures in a box,
In a room in a house long miles from here,
There are old seashells and rocks;
Faded labels from our days of German beer.
There are postcards from Montana;
Faded drawings and some drums,
And I can’t recall the rest –
Oh, God, you’re never really ready when it comes.

There was no time to say goodbye –
I was delayed in getting home.
There was a missed connecting flight,
And when I got here you were gone.
Someone handed me some coffee;
A tiny sandwich made on rye,
I put it down. I stood there looking
At your picture on the mantel, wondering why
There was no time to say goodbye.
No time to thank you for the years.

A lamp goes out, light disappears....We will miss Randy's light.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Love, Carol

"The mark of leadership is not to standup when everybody is standing, but rather to actually stand up when no one else is standing" - Pulitzer Prize winning author Samantha Power, introducing Gen Clark

I am shocked and saddened by his passing. Although I never met Randy in person, I felt like I knew him through the Clark e-mail groups. His insights were always interesting, and I agreed with him more often than not. He made a significant contribution to the Clark Community and will be missed.

My thoughts go out to his family at this difficult time.

Florence Upson
Arlington, VA

Others have already mentioned his knowledge, commitment, and hard work.

I suppose I could say lots of things about my positive impressions of Randy as a thinker, a leader, and occasionally as a tough adversary, but there is one at once banal and meaningful reality in my little universe which makes it hard to believe that he could really be gone. Randy was so knowledgeable about intelligence work that earlier this year I created a special folder in my email server reserved solely for saving some of his posts relating to that topic. It's labeled "Randy - Intelligence". I am very sad that I never shared any of that with him.

May his family and friends somehow find comfort.

Nick Kelly

Wes Clark still could be the national security candidate.

I realized from reading the early posts this morning before I had to leave for the Seattle airport how much I personally have relied on Randy.  I feel like my right arm is gone.  I miss him already.  I love all of you, but I needed to bounce things off of Randy in order not to make a complete ass out of myself before I posted certain kinds of things.  He was my reality check, and although I've never met him face to face, I considered him a valued friend.

Later I will relay a story that I think tells what kind of person Randy was.

Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark -- Don't settle for less.
Make America All It Can Be!

I always felt a special kinship with Randy who was one of the best writers in the Clark universe. Randy and I were both from Missouri, the Show-Me State. In another twist, our first jobs were both with the St. Louis Globe-Democrat (I was only 16 and didn't know him then). Randy had the common sense of another Missourian, Harry Truman and I know he would like me saying that. I will miss Randy very, very much. It's a cliche, but he was a great American and will be missed by many.

be greatly missed.

Virtual friendships are relatively new to me, and I expected that they would largely be about information and idea transmission. Pretty detached stuff. It didn't occur to me that they could become quite so emotionally involving until I heard the news about Randy. I never met him. I would not know him if he had knocked on my door. But the sadness I feel is very real.

Randy has been a beacon of wisdom and knowledge. What a shame his life was cut short. I will miss his insightful postings as I am sure many will. He was such a valued person. Condolences to his family.

This is a profound loss to the group, It is as if we just lost a piece of our heart.
He was one of my favorite people to disagree with, I loved the process and the argument. At least when he had a position he was able to "back up" what he said. I for one will truly miss him.

I remember a thread about a month ago where we had a 3 way argument with my other favorite adversary Stan Davis, I had not had that much fun in a long time.

May God bless and keep you my brother!

Rick Crumpton
The Wes Clark Army

I'm not active on CCN, I barely have time for the Yahoo group, but I've grown to love the active members and Randy was certainly one of them. I like all of you was shocked and saddened to hear of Randy's passing. I'm fighting tears just typing this about a man I never met. I feel like I've lost at the very least a mentor, if not a father figure.

You'll be missed Randy; I hope someday we'll meet.

A Wes Clark Democrat.
Eliot Lemoncelli

What a sad, sad turn of events. Randy was such a great voice for our country, General Clark, and all of the veterans he helped win in 2006. Today I received a very nice email from his brother Stan, and while I won't give the details since it had a lot of personal information about the Risener family, I can say that Stan told me he appreciated my note to him, and that he is just devastated over the loss.

I imagine he wouldn't mind receiving more condolences directly from others.

There aren't enough words in the language to due Randy justice. I will only say that I feel honored to have been in the yahoo groups with Randy. He was always very thorough in his explanations and views. I didn't always agree with him, but I always felt that I learned something about the issue at hand after Randy had weighed in. His efforts for the FDNS were nothing short of inspirational, and I'm sure went all too often unappreciated by the congressional staffs who received it.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family he left behind, A truly good man has left us.

Ron Esquerra
Alger County Democratic Party
Upper Peninsula Veterans Coordinator-
www.michigan4clark.com

I joined the Clark04 campaign right after the General announced his candidacy. Randy was part of the St. Louis Drafts Clark group that was waiting on the other side of the Mississippi to greet me. He was officially the Chair for the Media and PR committee. I was politically independent back then and knew zip, nada, and zilch about political campaigning. So, I don't know what I would have done if he and the others weren't already organized in the area as a base of support.

Back in '06, when Foleygate broke, I was thrilled to have Randy go to bat for us in Illinois to gain attention for two of our candidates, John Laesch and Danny Stover, who were challenging Hastert and Shimkus. I know from my most recent communication with him and Noel, along with reading others' reports of communication, that he was looking forward to the new election cycle and another chance to continue and improve on the Fighting Dems' mission. I was looking forward to fighting that good fight with him, as I know you all were.

I believe in spirit and that it knows what we do and think. So, I believe he knows how upset we all are that he's not able to continue the mission in physical form with us. However, I hope we'll honor him by allowing him to inspire us to do our best to elect more people to office, who understand what war is about and the needs of our troops and our veterans.

I also want to offer my heartfelt sympathy to the Risener family and thank you for your family's gift of Randy to us.

I am, like other Action Team Members, so saddened to find the stillness left by Randy's early passage to peace. His voice here was always earthbound, so insightful, a rock holding some of us balloons down. I appreciated his experienced insight and his willingness to be logical and factual. My post is later than it should be, due to computer problems and an out of town assignment. I think we all realize what we are missing by his absence. Thanks be to God that we were fortunate to have Randy in our lives as we did, even if only virtually.

I hope Randy didn't play much poker. Judging from his wriings, one was never in doubt about how he felt about things. His writing was direct, well-researched, authoritative, and occasionally confrontational. As someone said in this thread, he was the kind of person with whom one loved to disagree.

Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
Wes Clark -- Don't settle for less.
Make America All It Can Be!

I just heard about Randy's passing this morning.

It's odd how you can miss a person you've never met. :-) I miss him already.

Randy and I were both in the ASA, though not at the same time. We were also both 05D's, i.e. we did radio direction finding for the purpose of locating the bad guys.

That's not relevant to anything, I'm just remembering chatting with him offline from time to time. He was a good fellow. I wish we'd met.

- Dick