Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Another meeting at the White House with Jay Lefkowitz, Gary Edson, Joe O’Neill, Mark Dybul and me to further discuss the potential for getting the President to accept our proposal for a comprehensive $50 billion over 5 year plan. Gary and Jay want me to further refine the presentation and actually start finalizing it for presentation first to Mitch Daniels and then ultimately to President. Jay had shown me a memo that Nils Daulaire had sent to Robin after the meeting with Mugyemnyi et al and it was clear that Robin and Nils are working together. Nils is a fine former public servant and is now in the private sector. However, judging from his memo, he is dead wrong on certain issues, i.e. he does not believe that Russia, China and India will surpass Africa within the next 5 years in AIDS impact. Also, I am not happy that Robin previously told Nils about the plan at the same time that Gary and Jay will not allow me to tell Terrell Halaska or Secretary Thompson about it. Strange situation in this WH regarding secrecy – they are almost pathologic about it. At the meeting, Jay and Gary asked me and Mark to prepare again even more material for an upcoming meeting with Mitch Daniels (see above). We got it to them within 1 day.