Trading in Death

TRADING IN DEATH

    Mr. DURBIN. Will the Senator yield for a question?

    Mr. DASCHLE. I am happy to yield to the Senator from Illinois.

    Mr. DURBIN. I would like to ask the Senator from South Dakota, our distinguished minority leader, is it not true that those who find your statement incredulous can log on to policymarketanalysis.com and find this proposal from the Department of Defense to create some sort of investment speculation in the possibility of assassination and terrorism? Is that not a fact?

    Mr. DASCHLE. The Senator from Illinois has exactly stated the fact. Policymarket.com can be called up on your Web site today. The Web site can be called up on the Internet and you can see for yourself.

    Mr. DURBIN. In fairness to the Senator, I think the reference is policyanalysis.

    The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Will the Senator please address through the Chair? The Senator from Nevada has the floor.

    Mr. DURBIN. I believe the Senator from South Dakota has the floor.

    Mr. DASCHLE. I sought recognition and the Chair recognized me.

    The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Very well. I thought the Senator yielded to the Senator from Nevada. The minority leader has the floor.

    Mr. DURBIN. If the minority leader would further yield, through the Chair, is it not true that the site referenced here is policyanalysismarket.org, for those who question whether what you are saying is accurate?

    Mr. DASCHLE. That is correct. I don't have the Internet reference in front of me.

    Mr. DURBIN. Is it not also, I say through the Chair, that the administration is proposing spending $8 million of taxpayer money through the year 2005 in creating this marketplace to trade in speculation about assassination and terrorism, $8 million over the next several years?

    Mr. DASCHLE. It is my understanding they are actually encouraging investors to trade in this terrorist probability or possibility. Their view is that somehow, by those who invest, in watching or monitoring those who invest, they can better determine where this terrorist attack may occur. What they don't fail to appreciate is that investors try to make good on their investments. So would it not stand to reason that once this investment was made and the market moved in the direction of assassinating a given leader, indeed, that would be the ultimate outcome?

    Mr. DURBIN. If the Senator would further yield for a question, is it not true that on their Web site yesterday they put up some hypothetical things that people could invest in, questions as to whether, for example, Mr. Arafat, with the Palestinian Authority, would be assassinated, whether North Korea would launch a missile attack, whether the King of Jordan would be overthrown, and whether Israel would be attacked with bioterrorism weapons? Weren't these some of the items on which the Department of Defense was suggesting we start opening speculation and investment and betting by people around the world, including possible terrorists? Wasn't this on the Web site yesterday and removed today?

    Mr. DASCHLE. Each of the items that the Senator from Illinois has reported were on the Web site yesterday: When the first biological attack would occur in Israel, when the King of Jordan might be assassinated. Each of these were listed as possible investment opportunities. Of course, our distinguished colleagues—I cite them for their efforts, Senators WYDEN and DORGAN—called attention to these particularly unusual investments, and they were pulled from the Web site once the fact that these were listed was made public.

    Mr. DURBIN. If the Senator would further yield, I would ask the Senator from South Dakota to reflect on the reaction of the United States and the Congress——

    The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. ENSIGN). The Senator will suspend.

    Mr. STEVENS. Is the Pastore rule in effect at this time?

    The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.

    Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, am I not recognized on leader time?

    The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is.

    Mr. DASCHLE. I appreciate that.

    Mr. DURBIN. If the Senator from South Dakota will further yield for a question, would the Senator from South Dakota indicate what his reaction would be if we learned that in some country overseas they were opening up betting on the assassination of American officials, opening up betting on the possibility that America would be the target of future terrorism? Could the Senator from South Dakota speculate on our reaction if a similar betting scheme were opened in some other country in the world?

    The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator will address his questions through the Chair.

    Mr. DURBIN. Through the President, I ask whether the Senator from South Dakota would respond.

    Mr. DASCHLE. Responding to the Senator, I would simply say where do we limit this? What would prevent somebody from offering a futures market on terrorist acts within the United States on a leader of the United States? If these markets were available to leaders in the Middle East, countries in the Middle East, it doesn't take much of a stretch of the imagination to suggest that perhaps these new investment opportunities on terror for U.S. leaders, U.S. politicians, U.S. locations would be a big part of this market of death in a very short time. Once this is in the marketplace, as we say, there is no telling what the market may do.

    This policyanalysismarket.org is something I would encourage my colleagues to check out. It is the most amazing Web site I think I have seen in my life. I just cannot imagine that somebody seriously would propose something as outrageously irresponsible as this.

    Mr. DURBIN. Will the Senator yield for one final question?

    Mr. DASCHLE. I am happy to yield.

    Mr. DURBIN. I would like to ask through the Chair, it is my understanding from press reports that former Admiral John Poindexter has now been associated with this concepted idea, the same man who was involved in the controversy of Iran-contra and the same individual who, through this same office, suggested a massive intelligence-gathering operation across the United States involving the invasion of medical records, financial records, that was discredited by the administration? Is this the same John Poindexter who was behind this proposed scheme by the administration?

    Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I answer the Senator from Illinois by saying yes, indeed, the same John Poindexter with the checkered past that we have known him to have is back again. This time policyanalysismarket.org apparently is one of the projects for which he is responsible. This new trade in death is something that I am told he is heading. I am anxious to get more information, of course, from the administration and others about how this individual as well as this Web site came to be.

    Just very quickly, this is the Web site the Senator from Illinois cited, the specific possibilities for investment: The King of Jordan overthrown, the price they suggest starts at just 23 cents on that one. Arafat assassinated, that is worth 23 cents as a possibility. The price range may be anywhere from 22 to 33 cents. They expect a volume of 2,333 investors.

    We can move to the second chart. This is the actual Web site from DARPA: King of Jordan overthrown, North Korea missile attack, Arafat assassinated. All of these are on the Web site.

    Whatever a prospective trader's interest in the web site, the involvement in this group prediction process should prove engaging and may prove profitable.

    This is one of the most intriguing parts of their assertion, that these actual investments in these incidences could actually prove to be profitable, as they consider investments in any one of these tragedies. I should say, investing in these incidences for purposes of profit.