Chalabigate

PNAC and the NEOCON

2006-12-24T08:57:00.000-08:00

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AIPAC Blasts White House On Iran

2005-12-06T15:40:00.000-08:00

Ron KampeasSpecial to the Jewish TimesDECEMBER 06, 2005WashingtonAs time dwindles for diplomatic efforts to curtail Iran's drive for nuclear weapons, the pro-Israel lobby in Washington is criticizing the Bush administration's handling of the issue.The United States has endorsed a European Union plan that would allow Iran to continue its nuclear development as long as it leaves uranium enrichment,

AIPAC Has Been Under Investigation Since Early 1999

2005-11-28T17:21:00.000-08:00

By Andrew I. KillgoreWho launched the current FBI investigation of AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee), Israel’s principal lobby in the United States? The original version had it that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was told about the investigation soon after President George W. Bush began his first term of office. That was in early 2001.According to a story by Laura Rozen in

Bush informed in 2001 of lack of Iraq-Qaeda ties

2005-11-24T16:24:00.000-08:00

Wed Nov 23, 3:39 PM ETUS President George W. Bush was reportedly informed 10 days after the September 11, 2001 attacks that US intelligence had no proof of links between Iraq and that act of terror.Citing government documents as well as past and present Bush administration officials, The National Journal said the president was briefed on September 21, 2001 that evidence of cooperation between

Key Bush Intelligence Briefing Kept From Hill Panel

2005-11-23T13:00:00.000-08:00

by Murray Waas| ZNet | November 23, 2005Ten days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President Bush was told in a highly classified briefing that the U.S. intelligence community had no evidence linking the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein to the attacks and that there was scant credible evidence that Iraq had any significant collaborative ties

White House used 'gossip' to build case for war

2005-11-21T15:33:00.000-08:00

By Rupert Cornwell in Washington11/21/05 "The Independent" -- -- The controversy in America over pre-war intelligence has intensified, with revelations that the Bush administration exaggerated the claims of a key source on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, despite repeated warnings before the invasion that his information was at best dubious, if not downright wrong.The disclosure, in

How U.S. Fell Under the Spell of 'Curveball'

2005-11-20T15:47:00.000-08:00

The Iraqi informant's German handlers say they had told U.S. officials that his information was 'not proven,' and were shocked when President Bush and Colin L. Powell used it in key prewar speeches.By Bob Drogin and John Goetz, Special to The TimesBERLIN — The German intelligence officials responsible for one of the most important informants on Saddam Hussein's suspected weapons of mass

Pentagon Team's War Plan Probed

2005-11-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

An intelligence unit helped make the case for invading Iraq, saying the CIA overlooked links to Al Qaeda -- claims now largely discredited.By Greg Miller and Mark Mazzetti, Times Staff WritersNovember 19, 2005WASHINGTON — The Defense Department's inspector general's office said Friday it had begun investigating a Pentagon team that former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith used to build

Pentagon probes office headed by Feith

2005-11-18T15:19:00.000-08:00

Posted on Fri, Nov. 18, 2005 ROBERT BURNSAssociated PressWASHINGTON - The Pentagon's inspector general said Friday it has begun an investigation into allegations that an office run by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's former policy chief, Douglas J. Feith, engaged in illegal or inappropriate intelligence activities before the Iraq war.The probe, which two senators requested two months ago,

Pentagon agrees to probe Feith's role in Iraq intel

2005-11-18T15:18:00.000-08:00

Thu Nov 17, 2005 8:42 PM ETBy David MorganWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon's inspector general has agreed to review the prewar intelligence activities of former U.S. defense undersecretary Douglas Feith, a main architect of the Iraq war, congressional officials said on Thursday.News of the Defense Department probe comes at a time of bitter political debate over whether President George W. Bush

The Man Who Sold the War

2005-11-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

Meet John Rendon, Bush's general in the propaganda warBy JAMES BAMFORDThe road to war in Iraq led through many unlikely places. One of them was a chic hotel nestled among the strip bars and brothels that cater to foreigners in the town of Pattaya, on the Gulf of Thailand.On December 17th, 2001, in a small room within the sound of the crashing tide, a CIA officer attached metal electrodes to the

Bush team has good reason to worry

2005-11-15T17:08:00.000-08:00

By Evelyn PringleOnline Journal Contributing WriterNov 15, 2005, 16:33In its systematic and concerted effort to portray a link between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, the White House propaganda team was so successful, that a poll conducted in late 2002, showed that over half of the people polled believed that Saddam was connected to 9/11.While that may have been great news for the home team

Forging the Case for War

2005-11-15T16:50:00.000-08:00

Who was behind the Niger uranium documents?by Philip GiraldiFrom the beginning, there has been little doubt in the intelligence community that the outing of CIA officer Valerie Plame was part of a bigger story. That she was exposed in an attempt to discredit her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, is clear, but the drive to demonize Wilson cannot reasonably be attributed only to revenge.

Senate Asks Pentagon to Probe Feith Role on Iraq

2005-11-14T05:38:00.000-08:00

by David MorganNovember 8, 2005 ReutersThe Pentagon's inspector general has been asked to investigate the prewar intelligence role of a planning office headed by former U.S. defense policy chief Douglas Feith, a main architect of the Iraq war, officials said on Tuesday.The request was made by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in a letter sent in August.It said the Defense Department

Controversial WMD Reporter and NY Times Divorce

2005-11-12T19:02:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (IPS) - Was she an innocent dupe who was played mercilessly by exile chieftain Ahmed Chalabi and his neo-conservative and Pentagon backers who led the march to war with Iraq in March 2003?Analysis by Jim LobeOr was she a co-conspirator in what former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson called a "cabal" that hijacked U.S. foreign policy in order

Chalabi's impact on the war

2005-11-11T18:56:00.000-08:00

Iraqi leader's role in bolstered intelligence reports leading up to invasion Nov. 11, 2005MSNBCHe was the trusted ally of administration hawks and fed them bogus information that frightened America into a war.Now, Ahmed Chalabi is being welcomed again by his White House friends: Vice President Cheney, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.Protestors

Chalabi's curtain call

2005-11-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

The White House resets the stage yet again for the notorious Iraqi expatriate who helped cook the case for war.By Juan ColeNov. 10, 2005 | On the street in Iraq, people give nicknames to the big longtime-expatriate politicians whom the Americans brought back to Iraq. They call former transitional Prime Minister Iyad Allawi "Iyad the Baathist" because of his background in that party. And they call

Chalabi And AEI: The Sequel

2005-11-10T05:14:00.000-08:00

Robert Dreyfuss November 10, 2005 The convicted embezzler, the suave fabricator of intelligence, and the secularist-turned-Shiite fundamentalist-turned-Iranian agent, the elusive subject of a slow-moving FBI spy investigation, and the self-described “hero in error” approached the podium at the American Enterprise Institute yesterday after a glowing introduction from Chris DeMuth, AEI’s president.

Top Secret: Status Of Chalabi Inquiry

2005-11-07T12:38:00.000-08:00

Few Signs of Progress Emerge in FBI CaseInvolving a Possible Leak of U.S. IntelligenceBy SCOT J. PALTROWStaff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNALAs Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi arrives this week in Washington for talks, there is little sign of progress in a federal investigation of allegations that he once leaked U.S. intelligence secrets to Iran.More than 17 months after

AIPAC trial could expose ways information is gathered in D.C.

2005-11-04T18:28:00.000-08:00

By Ron KampeasWASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (JTA) — It’s a classified leak case that could rattle U.S. foreign policy and fundamentally alter how Washington does business. But while the world watches the implosion in the vice president’s office, this case is proceeding quietly across the Potomac.Motions filed in recent weeks in the case against two former senior staffers of the American Israel Public

AIPAC judge keeps evidence classified

2005-11-04T18:23:00.000-08:00

The federal judge in the AIPAC classified-information case ruled that prosecutors may withhold evidence from the defense.In a hearing Wednesday in the case against Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, two former staffers of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Judge T.S. Ellis of the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., ruled in favor of government arguments that recordings and transcripts

Phase II

2005-11-04T18:18:00.000-08:00

Squeezing Bush on his Prewar WMD HypeDavid CornWhen Senator Pat Roberts, the Republican chairman of the intelligence committee, promised in 2004 that his committee would investigate how Bush had used (or abused) the prewar intelligence on Iraq's WMDs--an unkept promise that led to the Democratic shutdown of the Senate this week--he made that promise to me.Actually, what the Democrats did was not

Source of Forged Niger-Iraq Uranium Documents Identified

2005-11-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

By ELAINE SCIOLINOand ELISABETTA POVOLEDOPublished: November 4, 2005ROME, Nov. 3 - Italy's spymaster identified an Italian occasional spy named Rocco Martino on Thursday as the disseminator of forged documents that described efforts by Iraq to buy uranium ore from Niger for a nuclear weapons program, three lawmakers said Thursday.The spymaster, Gen. Nicolò Pollari, director of the Italian

Libby Jewish? Some wonder how neo-con’s faith impacts leak scandal

2005-11-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

By Ron Kampeas | WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (JTA) —When Joshua Muravchik, perhaps the pre-eminent expert on the interventionist foreign policy that has become known as neo-conservatism, was looking for non-Jewish neo-cons to prove that the movement isn’t pervasively Jewish, he naturally included Lewis Libby.“Non-Jews figuring prominently in current foreign-policy debates and today called neo-cons include

SISMI's War in Iraq: A Matter of Belligerence

2005-11-02T16:23:00.000-08:00

Rome knew in early 2003 that Saddam possessed no WMDs.By Carlo Bonini and Giuseppi d'AvanzoItalian intelligence knew that Iraq had no unconventional weapons.With its intelligence team already on the ground, Italy enters the war.ROME: The terrace of the Hotel Eden in via Ludovisi is flooded with sunlight. The SISMI official narrates the story of secret operations conducted on the ground in Iraq on

From Chalabi to Iranian Agents--SISMI's War in Iraq

2005-11-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

A strategic summit in Rome with the Pentagon.By Carlo Bonini and Giuseppi d'AvanzoROME: He’s another politico-military intelligence chief. He’s a SISMI man. He makes his way slowly down the narrow hallway of the bar at the Hotel Eden in via Ludovisi. He stops to admire the sky and the attractive skyline of Rome in the April sun (it is 22 April 2003) through the hotel’s large windows. He looks

Bolton's chief of staff gave information on outed agent to Libby

2005-11-02T16:01:00.000-08:00

Bolton's chief of staff gave information on outed agent to Libby, lawyers involved in leak case say Larisa Alexandrovna and Jason Leopold | RAW STORY | November 2, 2005 John Bolton, the former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs who is now the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was contacted by I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in late May 2003 to find out who

CIA leak probe 'widening to include use of intelligence'

2005-10-31T02:46:00.000-08:00

By Caroline Daniel and Edward Alden in WashingtonFinancial TimesOct. 18, 2005Evidence is building that the probe conducted by Patrick Fitzgerald, special prosecutor, has extended beyond the leaking of a covert CIA agent's name to include questioning about the administration's handling of pre-Iraq war intelligence.According to the Democratic National Committee, a majority of the nine members of

All the Vice President's Men

2005-10-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

By Juan ColeSalon.comFriday 28 October 2005The ideologues in Cheney's inner circle drummed up a war. Now their zealotry is blowing up in their faces.As Washington waits on pins and needles to see if special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald hands down indictments, the focus falls on Dick Cheney's inner circle. This group, along with that surrounding Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, made up what Colin

Background to Betrayal

2005-10-27T16:31:00.000-07:00

Behind the CIA leak investigation by Justin RaimondoAntiWarOctober 26, 2005 Has I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, made a deal with CIA leak investigator Patrick J. Fitzgerald – and turned on his boss in return for leniency? It sure looks like it. Or else how is it that Scooter suddenly discovered his notes of a "previously undisclosed"

Dating Cheney's Nuclear Drumbeat

2005-10-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

Framing the Plame CaseBy Jim LobeOct. 26, 2005 | In the wake of the release of the Downing Street Memo, there has been much talk about how the Bush administration "fixed" its intelligence to create a war fever in the U.S. in the many months leading up to the invasion of Iraq. What still remains to be fully grasped, however, is the wider pattern of propaganda that underlay the administration's war

The White House cabal

2005-10-25T17:30:00.000-07:00

By Lawrence B. WilkersonOctober 25, 2005IN PRESIDENT BUSH'S first term, some of the most important decisions about U.S. national security — including vital decisions about postwar Iraq — were made by a secretive, little-known cabal. It was made up of a very small group of people led by Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.When I first discussed this group in a speech

Commentary: The role of Douglas Feith in the Iraq war

2005-10-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

By Arnaud de BorchgraveUPI Editor at LargePublished October 24, 2005WASHINGTON -- What has Douglas Feith, the former No. 3 at the Pentagon, done to deserve so many high-ranking public hoots of derision? First he was lampooned by Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander of both the 2001 Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Iraqi Freedom in 2003. "The stupidest guy on the face of the earth,"

Wurmser suspect in Plame leak

2005-10-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

Cheney aide passed Plame's name to Libby, Hadley, those close to leak investigation sayJason Leopold and Larisa Alexandrovna | Raw Story | October 24, 2005.With the possibility of indictments just days away, sources close to the investigation into who outed covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson have provided Raw Story a more detailed account into how and why Plame's name was leaked and what role

Powell Aide Blasts Rice, Cheney- Rumsfeld 'Cabal'

2005-10-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON , Oct 20 (IPS) - As top officials in the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney’s office await possible criminal indictments for their efforts to discredit a whistleblower, a top aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Wednesday, accused a ''cabal'' led by Cheney and Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld of hijacking U.S. foreign policy by circumventing or ignoring formal

The Report They Forgot

2005-10-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

The Fitzgerald probe reminds us: Whatever happened to Pat Roberts' Phase II intelligence report?By Laura RozenWeb Exclusive: 10.19.05In February 2004, the Senate Select Intelligence Committee (SSCI) announced that it had unanimously agreed to expand its investigation of prewar Iraq intelligence from focus on intelligence community blunders and into the more controversial area of “whether

Niger Uranium Forgery Mystery Solved?

2005-10-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

The Fitzgerald/Plame investigation goes in a new directionby Justin Raimondo October 19, 2005Amid all the brouhaha over whether I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Karl Rove, or any number of Bush administration insiders had a hand in leaking the name of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame, the essential crime at the core of the investigation – and its probable starting point – often gets lost in

Cheney aide cooperating with CIA outing probe, sources say

2005-10-18T20:30:00.000-07:00

A senior aide to Vice President Dick Cheney is cooperating with special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald in the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, sources close to the investigation say.10/18/2005 @ 12:50 pm Filed by Larisa Alexandrovna and Jason LeopoldIndividuals familiar with Fitzgerald’s case tell RAW STORY that John Hannah, a senior national security aide on loan to Vice President Dick

The White House Iraq Group and the Case for War in Iraq

2005-10-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

The Heat is on Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald in the CIA Leak Probe Will He Bring Indictments and If So, Who Will Be Charged? With the term of Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's Grand Jury about to expire in less than two weeks, on October 28, 2005, Washington is abuzz with rumors about whether he will bring indictments in his investigation of the exposure of Valerie Plame's covert

AIPAC case reaches plea bargain

2005-10-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

By NATHAN GUTTMANWashingtonSep. 29, 2005Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin, charged with providing officials in the pro-Israel lobby (AIPAC) with classified defense information, has struck a plea bargain with the prosecution and is expected to testify against the former AIPAC employees in the case. Franklin will enter his guilty plea next Wednesday at the US District court in Alexandria,

Israelis won't testify in AIPAC trial

2005-10-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

Oct. 2, 2005The three Israeli diplomats who were in touch with former AIPAC staffers now standing trial in Virginia are unwilling to cooperate with defense attorneys and do not intend to agree to come and testify in the case.In a court hearing on September 19 at the US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, Judge T.S. Ellis asked attorney Abbe Lowell, who is representing Steve Rosen, the former

Franklin admits: I gave Israel secret material

2005-10-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

Oct. 6, 2005Former Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin admitted in court Wednesday he passed classified information to Israeli diplomat Naor Gilon and to two former AIPAC officials, Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman.Franklin agreed in court to testify against the two AIPAC officials and to prove that he had indeed passed classified information on to them, and had told them clearly this information was

Pentagon Analyst Pleads Guilty to Passing U.S. State Secrets

2005-10-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- A former U.S. Defense Department analyst pleaded guilty to charges he gave classified military documents to unauthorized individuals.Lawrence A. Franklin, 58, who worked on the Pentagon's Iran desk, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, to three counts. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the most serious of the charges. The

Pentagon aide pleads guilty to passing classified data to Israel

2005-10-05T16:02:00.000-07:00

By Shmuel Rosner, Haaretz Correspondent, and APA top Defenese Department analyst with expertise in the Middle East pleaded guilty Wednesday to giving classified information to an Israeli embassy official and members of a pro-Israel lobbying group.Lawrence A. Franklin, 58, said in court that he was frustrated with government policy and that he had hoped the two members of American Israel Public

Cheney's aide revealed as source of CIA leak

2005-10-01T05:28:00.000-07:00

Reporter released after naming Lewis Libby Officials may face charge of obstructing justiceJulian Borger WashingtonSaturday October 1, 2005The GuardianAn investigation into a White House intelligence leak was nearing its conclusion yesterday after a New York Times reporter, jailed in July for refusing to testify, identified Vice-President Dick Cheney's leading aide as her main source.Judith

Ex-Pentagon Analyst Is Said to Agree to a Guilty Plea

2005-09-30T05:40:00.000-07:00

By ERIC LICHTBLAUSeptember 30, 2005WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 - Lawrence A. Franklin, the former Defense Department analyst charged in a far-ranging national security inquiry with passing classified military information to pro-Israel lobbyists, has agreed to a guilty plea, officials said Thursday.Prosecutors declined to discuss the exact terms of the agreement. It is to be formalized in federal court

2005-09-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

DEBKAfile Exclusive: Israel deploys naval-air force shield for new US oil tanker supply route through Jordan for American troops in IraqSeptember 13, 2005, 11:24 AM (GMT+02:00)DEBKAfile’s Exclusive sources in Eilat report that a new US fuel supply line to Iraq began operating through Jordan last month. Every few days, a US supertanker puts in at the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba and transfers

Why We Fight, and Why We Shouldn't

2005-09-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

by Rep. Ron PaulMany reasons have been given for why we fight and our youth must die in Iraq. The reasons now given for why we must continue this war bear no resemblance to the reasons given to gain the support of the American people and the United States Congress prior to our invasion in March of 2003. Before the war, we were told we faced an imminent threat to our national security from Saddam

Syria: A New Iraq in the Making

2005-09-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

by Ferry BiedermannDAMASCUS - Syria is almost visibly wilting under a double American onslaught.The Bush administration made it clearer than ever this week that it regards Syria as an important source of unrest in Iraq. At the same time President George Bush made hardly any attempt to hide his conviction that Syria was involved in the murder last February of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik

Sept. 11 riddles remain

2005-09-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

NORRISTOWN - Accusations that the 9/11 Commission ignored information about a defense intelligence operation "Able Danger" that targeted al-Qaida in 2000 has renewed criticism that the panel may have passed up other intriguing leads gathered in the months before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.A memorandum sent to the 9/11 Commission, and Senate and House intelligence committees in September 2004,

The US vs. the UN

2005-08-26T03:30:00.000-07:00

American ambassador seeks to scupper UN's global strategy with 750 amendments after just three weeks in the jobBy David Usborne in New York26 August 2005America's controversial new ambassador to the United Nations is seeking to shred an agreement on strengthening the world body and fighting poverty intended to be the highlight of a 60th anniversary summit next month. In the extraordinary

Dual Disloyalty: Feith and the Occupations of Gaza and Iraq

2005-08-19T06:05:00.000-07:00

He pushed hard for both. Others are paying the price in blood. August 19 2005By Ward HarkavyDuring the Gaza "disengagement" saga — Jon Stewart calls it "The Jew Carry Show" — a lot of people are showing their true colors. But as the strange sight of fanatical young acidic Jews fighting other Jews proves, the color orange, for one, means different things in different contexts. In Ukraine, orange

Letter from Ralph Nader to Cindy Sheehan

2005-08-14T16:36:00.000-07:00

Dear Ms. Sheehan,From your grief over the loss of your son, Casey, in Iraq has come the courage to spotlight nationally the character of a President who refuses to meet with anyone or any group critical of his illegal, fabricated, deceptive war and occupation of that ravaged country. As a messianic militarist, Mr. Bush turned aside his own father's major advisers who warned him of the political,

The Bush Administration on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Capabilities

2005-08-14T16:16:00.000-07:00

Vice President Cheney Veterans of Foreign Wars 103 rd National Convention August 26, 2002"But we now know that Saddam has resumed his efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. Among other sources, we've gotten this from the firsthand testimony of defectors --including Saddam's own son-in-law, who was subsequently murdered at Saddam's direction. Many of us are convinced that Saddam will acquire nuclear

Bigger Than AIPAC

2005-08-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

Robert Dreyfuss August 09, 2005 Important new details of the U.S.-Israeli espionage case involving Larry Franklin, the alleged Pentagon spy, two officials of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, and an intelligence official at the Embassy of Israel emerged last week. Two AIPAC officials—who have left the organization—were indicted along with Franklin on charges of "

Robin Cook's resignation speech 18 March 2003

2005-08-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

Here is the full text of Robin Cook's resignation speech in the House of Commons, which won applause from some backbenchers in unprecedented Commons scenes.This is the first time for 20 years that I have addressed the House from the back benches.I must confess that I had forgotten how much better the view is from here.None of those 20 years were more enjoyable or more rewarding than the past two,

Israel lobbyist bragged about Pentagon source

2005-08-08T16:05:00.000-07:00

By Jerry SeperTHE WASHINGTON TIMESAugust 8, 2005A former official of a pro-Israel lobbying group indicted last week boasted that his Pentagon source was a "real insider" and promised to "do what I can" to help the source get a job with the National Security Council, court records show. Steven J. Rosen, former director of foreign policy issues for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee,

The Real AIPAC Spy Ring Story--it Was All About Iran

2005-08-07T06:10:00.000-07:00

by Doug Ireland - August 07, 2005Here's what the stories in today's Washington Post and New York Times on the new indictments of the two AIPAC spies aren't telling you: their espionage was principally about helping to prepare an attack by Israel on Iran. And one of the Israeli embassy officials who knows all about AIPAC's role in helping plan the attack on Iran has been whisked out of the

The Real AIPAC Spy Ring Story--it Was All About Iran

2005-08-07T03:12:00.000-07:00

Here's what the stories in today's Washington Post and New York Times on the new indictments of the two AIPAC spies aren't telling you: their espionage was principally about helping to prepare an attack by Israel on Iran. And one of the Israeli embassy officials who knows all about AIPAC's role in helping plan the attack on Iran has been whisked out of the country and out of the reach of U.S.

Former officials with pro-Israel group indicted

2005-08-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

By Shannon McCaffrey and Warren P. StrobelKnight Ridder NewspapersWASHINGTON - The Justice Department indicted two top former officials with a prominent pro-Israel lobbying group Thursday for allegedly conspiring to communicate classified defense information.U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty said the men were attempting to influence U.S. foreign policy. He said trafficking in information is commonplace

Al Qaeda to West: It's about policies

2005-08-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

In a broadcast Thursday, Al Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri blamed Tony Blair for the 7/7 attacks.By Dan Murphy- With an AK-47 at his side, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda's No. 2, appeared in a videotape broadcast Thursday and claimed that the 7/7 bombings were payback for British participation in America's "policy of aggression against Muslims."The video is another Al Qaeda message apparently intended to

AIPAC Spy Nest Exposed

2005-08-05T06:19:00.000-07:00

New indictments implicate unnamed government officials and reporters by Justin Raimondo The other shoe has finally dropped in the case of the spy scandal involving the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In addition to five espionage-related charges filed against former Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin, two counts of

Iran Is Judged 10 Years From Nuclear Bomb

2005-08-02T03:52:00.000-07:00

U.S. Intelligence Review Contrasts With Administration StatementsBy Dafna LinzerWashington Post Staff WriterTuesday, August 2, 2005A major U.S. intelligence review has projected that Iran is about a decade away from manufacturing the key ingredient for a nuclear weapon, roughly doubling the previous estimate of five years, according to government sources with firsthand knowledge of the new

Defending The Neocon War

2005-07-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

John BrownJuly 26, 2005John Brown, a former Foreign Service officer who resigned from the State Department over the war in Iraq, compiles a daily “Public Diplomacy Press Review” available free by requesting it here.“We are only in the very early stages of what promises to be a very long war, and Iraq is only the second front to have been opened in that war ...”—Norman Podhoretz, Commentary ,

Did Michael Ledeen Circulate The Niger Forgeries For Karl Rove?

2005-07-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

By Thomas Keyes July 23, 2005Is Michael Ledeen somehow involved in the ongoing investigations into the provenance of the Níger forgeries, the disclosure of Valerie Plame’s name as a covert CIA operative and the delivery of classified materials to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) by Larry Franklin?Michael Ledeen is a long-time Jewish Zionist activist who cherishes great

AIPAC/Likudnik Larry Franklin Arrested for Espionage on Behalf of Israel

2005-07-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

By Andrew I. KillgoreThe FBI arrested Pentagon Iranian analyst Larry Franklin on May 4 for illegally disclosing highly classified information about possible attacks on American forces in Iraq to Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Israel’s principal lobby in the United States. Rosen was AIPAC’s director of foreign policy issues and Weissman

The secret Downing Street memo

2005-07-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

May 01, 2005SECRET AND STRICTLY PERSONAL - UK EYES ONLYDAVID MANNINGFrom: Matthew RycroftDate: 23 July 2002S 195 /02cc: Defence Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Attorney-General, Sir Richard Wilson, John Scarlett, Francis Richards, CDS, C, Jonathan Powell, Sally Morgan, Alastair CampbellIRAQ: PRIME MINISTER'S MEETING, 23 JULYCopy addressees and you met the Prime Minister on 23 July to discuss

In Case of Emergency, Nuke Iran

2005-07-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

Philip GiraldiIn Washington it is hardly a secret that the same people in and around the administration who brought you Iraq are preparing to do the same for Iran.The Pentagon, acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, has tasked the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with drawing up a contingency plan to be employed in response to another 9/11-type terrorist

Niger Yellowcake and The Man Who Forged Too Much

2005-07-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

Pen, Daily KosFri Jul 22nd, 2005 at 04:56:03 PDTThey say all roads lead to Rome. Well, this one certainly does. It's a road that starts in Paris, at the door of Iranian arms dealer and Mossad double agent Manucher Ghorbanifar, a man known to the CIA as an "intelligence fabricator". It's a road that runs through Niger uranium mines, past a Genoan fascist organization operating as a parallel

Rovegate: The Scandal That Lays Bare the Cynicism Behind Bush's War in Iraq

2005-07-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

by Rupert CornwellIt has the classic ingredients of a spy thriller: undercover agents, investigative journalists and a Middle Eastern dictator. But as Rupert Cornwell reports, this Washington tale is fact, not fictionAh, for a scandal to while away the sticky days of high summer in the capital of the free world. This one has the lot. Featured ingredients include a glamorous CIA agent, a jailed

The Iraq war is over, and the winner is... Iran

2005-07-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

Hamstrung by the Iraq debacle, all Bush can do is gnash his teeth as the hated mullahs in Iran cozy up to their co-religionists in Iraq.- - - - - - - - - - - -By Juan ColeJuly 21, 2005 | Iraq's new government has been trumpeted by the Bush administration as a close friend and a model for democracy in the region. In contrast, Bush calls Iran part of an axis of evil and dismisses its elections and

Ten Appalling Lies We Were Told About Iraq

2005-06-27T04:35:00.000-07:00

By Christopher Scheer | AlterNet | June 27, 2003 "The Iraqi dictator must not be permitted to threaten America and the world with horrible poisons and diseases and gases and atomic weapons."-- George Bush, Oct. 7, 2002, in a speech in Cincinnati. There is a small somber box that appears in the New York Times every day. Titled simply "Killed in Iraq," it lists the names and military

More Memos: Brits Backed Sunni-led Iraq

2005-06-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

Knut RoyceNewsday, pg. A7June 23, 2005WASHINGTON -- The British government, in sharp disagreement with the United States' ultimate position, believed that post-invasion Iraq should be run by a Sunni-led government and not one controlled by the majority Shias.One of the so-called Downing Street documents, secret internal British memos stirring controversy on both sides of the Atlantic, drafted

Larry Franklin wanted to sway policy, not just spill intel.

2005-06-20T16:30:00.000-07:00

by Justin RaimondoJune 20, 2005The circumstances surrounding the arrest of Pentagon analyst Lawrence A. Franklin for passing classified information to two employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) would make a good thriller. Acted out against a backdrop of war and terrorism, it’s a cloak-and-dagger tale swathed in mystery, pregnant with political implications, and hinting

Exclusive dKOS Interview With Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski

2005-06-16T04:27:00.000-07:00

by alysheba Thu Jun 16th, 2005 at 10:41:33 PDT "The Downing Street Memo confirms what I witnessed and have been writing about... It all fits, and should lead to a deluge of related documents and witnesses." - Lt. Col Karen Kwiatkowski As you know, Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) is holding a hearing today to investigate, for the first time at the Congressional level, the

Why did Feith resign? Israel spy investigation?

2005-05-30T06:16:00.000-07:00

May 30, 2005by Justin RaimondoThe headline of this New York Sun article by Eli Lake on the progress of the case [.pdf] against Lawrence A. Franklin, a Pentagon analyst accused of handing over sensitive information to Israel, has got to take the cake for sheer gall: "Pentagon Analyst In Israel Spy Case Is Called a 'Patriot'"!You can't make this stuff up.Franklin was recently arrested and charged

Franklin Arrested

2005-05-05T16:34:00.000-07:00

Thursday, May 05, 2005Juan ColeFranklin Arrested Pentagon official Lawrence Franklin has been arrested and charged by the FBI with having shown classified documents to two officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Steven Rosen, AIPAC director of foreign policy issues, and Keith Weissman, high-level Middle East analyst--both of them only recently fired).Rosen is alleged once to

A little Learning - What Douglas Feith knew, and when he knew it.

2005-05-02T06:01:00.000-07:00

by JEFFREY GOLDBERGIssue of 2005-05-09Posted 2005-05-02Douglas J. Feith, who is the UnderSecretary of Defense for Policy, lives in one of the better Maryland suburbs, on a street of large and unhandsome Colonial homes. The interior of Feith’s house has space and light, but it is furnished in a mostly expedient manner; Feith and his wife, Tatiana, have four children—ages eight to twenty-one—and

The US primes Israel to attack Iran and Syria

2005-02-20T14:30:00.000-08:00

Uri Avnery looks at the moves, already underway, to implement the next two stages of the US neo-conservative plan for the extension of the American empire, now that the occupation of Iraq has been accomplished. He sees the likely appointment of an airman, General Dan Halutz, as Israeli chief of staff as a sign that Israel is preparing to attack Iranian nuclear facilities at Washington's behest,

Mossad blamed for Hariri's killing

2005-02-15T12:14:00.000-08:00

Tehran, Feb 15 Late Lebanese politician Rafiq Hariri's consultant Mustafa Al-naser said Monday evening, "assassination Hariri is the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad's job, aimed at creating political tension in Lebanon."Al-naser added, "beyond doubt, the peace, stability, and high level security prevailing in Lebanon in recent years, in creation of which all Lebanese groups play a harmonious

Ahmed Chalabi vying for Iraq PM's post

2005-02-14T19:23:00.000-08:00

Agence France-PresseWashington, February 14, 2005Iraq's Ahmed Chalabi, once supported by the United States only to fall from favour, on Sunday said that he is vying to become his country's Prime Minister, following the formal announcement of election results there."I am nominated for position of prime minister. And I will work with my colleagues to win this position," Chalabi, a Shia, told CNN

Pardon My Analysis

2005-02-12T18:00:00.000-08:00

ON DECEMBER 24th, 1992, George Bush bestowed presidential pardons on six former henchmen: Caspar Weinburger, ex-War Secretary; Duane Claridge, former head of covert CIA wars in Latin America; Alan Fiers, closely linked to Central American death squads; Eliot Abrams, whose Goebbels-like spin on U.S. Latin American policy provided cover for the above, and former National Security Advisor (and

Halliburton Doing Business With the 'Axis of Evil'

2005-02-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

By Jefferson Morleywashingtonpost.com staff writerThursday, February 3, 2005; 8:00 AMThe award for oddest geopolitical couple of 2005 goes to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Houston-based Halliburton.You might not think that a charter member of President Bush's "axis of evil" could enlist the oil-services firm once run by Vice President Cheney to bolster its

Continuing FBI Investigations Mean Potentially Serious Trouble for Israel

2005-02-12T17:41:00.000-08:00

By Andrew I. KillgoreTwo ongoing FBI investigations could cause serious problems for Israel. One concerns Larry Franklin, an Iranian analyst who worked at the Pentagon under neocon/Zionist Douglas Feith, under secretary of defense for policy. According to press reports, Franklin—who cooperated with the FBI, initially at least—is suspected of having passed to the American Israel Public Affairs

Iran: The next Nicaragua?

2005-02-11T17:53:00.000-08:00

Iran: The next Nicaragua?Mona CharenFebruary 11, 2005Isn't it revealing that autocrats and dictators around the globe bother to stage phony elections in order to claim legitimacy? Remember Saddam Hussein telling Dan Rather in 2002 that he had won 99 percent of the vote? Fidel Castro routinely claims to receive overwhelming majorities in his rigged elections, and throughout Africa, potentates of

Democracy According to Elliott Abrams

2005-02-11T17:50:00.000-08:00

By LARRY BIRNSWhy has an admitted perjurer, a facilitator of death squads and an arms broker to Islamic terrorists just been appointed to be deputy national security adviser to President Bush?It's tough to think of anything more "un-American" and less reflective of traditional family values than lying to Congress about illegal U.S. arm sales to a CIA-created band of murderous rightwing terrorists

Elliott Abrams: the Neocon's Neocon

2005-02-09T17:39:00.000-08:00

By TOM BARRYPresident Bush's Inaugural Address was the sound of the second shoe dropping. Three years ago the president shocked the world with the announcement of the U.S. government's new doctrine of preventive war and global military engagement. Last month he proclaimed that U.S. power and influence had a soft side. Along with use of our military might, the U.S. government was committing the

Natan Sharansky and US Israel Policy

2005-02-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

by Tom Barry There is little doubt that George W. Bush and Natan Sharansky, a Soviet émigré who is a top political official in Israel, share a similar perspective about international

Movin' on up

2005-02-08T19:50:00.000-08:00

Elliott Abrams, who pleaded guilty in 1991 to withholding information from Congress in the Iran-contra affair, has been promoted to deputy national security adviser to President Bush. Abrams, who previously was in charge of Middle East affairs, will be responsible for pushing Bush's strategy for advancing democracy. He was pardoned by the first President Bush. Source: KansasCityStar

Kay Warns U.S. Not to Repeat Iraq Mistakes in Iran

2005-02-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

Mon Feb 7,12:27 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. official who declared the White House's hunt for illicit weapons in Iraq to be a failure driven by faulty intelligence has warned the Bush administration against repeating its mistakes in the current war of words with arch-foe Iran. "There is an eerie similarity to the events preceding the Iraq war," David Kay, who led the search for banned

Only Bush knows the neocons' fate

2005-02-07T20:30:00.000-08:00

By David Ignatius Special to The Daily Star Are the neoconservatives "up" or "down" in the second Bush administration? Will their agenda of transformational regime change in the Middle East be dominant under Bush II, or will their influence be reduced? The truth is that nobody knows except U.S. President George W. Bush. And the fact that nobody in Washington can be sure who really has the

Okrent Column Hits Judith Miller, After She Plays 'Hardball'

2005-02-06T20:27:00.000-08:00

The Times' star reporter gave a scoop about her old friend Ahmad Chalabi to Chris Matthews a week ago, and it still hasn't shown up in her own paper. Now the Times' public editor has pressed Executive Editor Bill Keller for an explanation, but Keller replies that this "is not the time" for that. By William E. Jackson Jr. (February 06, 2005) -- Last Sunday, Judith Miller revealed, on Chris

Bush-Cheney Re-Election Means Perpetual War

2005-02-04T17:06:00.000-08:00

by Jeffrey SteinbergAt a conference in Dubai, on Jan. 5-6, Patrick Clawson, speaking on behalf of the Bush-Cheney Administration, announced that Washington is hell-bent on taking out Iran's "nuclear weapons sites." Clawson, the vice president of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), and a leading Beltway neo-con, was part of an American delegation to a conference sponsored by the

Neocons: More Cannon Fodder, Please

2005-02-02T17:58:00.000-08:00

by Jim Lobe Amid rising concern about the over-extension of U.S. military forces and the growing budget deficit, the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), a neoconservative group whose past foreign policy recommendations have often been followed by President George W. Bush, is urging Congress to add 25,000 new soldiers to U.S. ground forces each year over the next several years. The appeal

White House showing neocons the door

2005-02-01T17:01:00.000-08:00

THE INDEPENDENTEDITORIAL COMMENTARYThe resignation of a U.S. undersecretary for defense does not often cause ripples, let alone waves, beyond the generous perimeter of the Pentagon.The resignation of Douglas Feith, however, is different. For Feith is not just any U.S. defense official; he is widely seen as a focus of the group that advocated, and then orchestrated, the invasion of Iraq.

Criticism from conservatives signals troubles for Bush's agenda

2005-01-30T17:10:00.000-08:00

DICK POLMAN Knight Ridder Newspapers PHILADELPHIA - (KRT) - Here's what critics are saying these days about President Bush's war policy: One says, "America has blundered into a needless and dangerous war." Another says, "We were rushed into the war, and now we are bogged down." Another assails "this massive exercise in social engineering." Another scorns Bush's "specious arguments" for going to

Hitting Iran!

2005-01-29T17:33:00.000-08:00

January 29, 2005 E. Basyurt Famous journalist Seymour Hersh reported another agenda-forming news leaked to him, in the recent edition of New Yorker magazine. The United States claimed that spy teams had secretly infiltrated into Iran and determined the target of a possible attack. Before the military intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq, a few members of the special team affiliated to the CIA

Good Riddance, Douglas Feith

2005-01-29T13:57:00.000-08:00

by Kurt Nimmo published by Another Day in the Empire Reuters reported last night that undersecretary of defense for policy, Douglas Feith, the third ranked civilian in the Pentagon, has announced his resignation, not due immediately, unfortunately. “Douglas Feith, the Defense Department’s top policy officer and an architect of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, announced Wednesday that he would

US jets 'flying over Iran to spot potential targets'

2005-01-28T17:40:00.000-08:00

Julian Borger in Washington Saturday January 29, 2005 The Guardian The US is increasing the pressure on Iran by sending military planes into its airspace to test the country's defences and spot potential targets, according to an intelligence source in Washington. The overflights have been reported in the Iranian press and the head of Iran's air force, Brigadier General Karim Qavami, declared

Feith Resigns Under Pressure of Investigations

2005-01-28T16:58:00.000-08:00

by Juan ColeDouglas Feith, the number three man at the Pentagon who went there from the pro-Likud Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) and the Project for a New American Century, will leave the Pentagon as of this summer. Feith's office is the subject of an FBI investigation as well as two Congressional investigations, one by the Senate Intelligence Committee. Feith helped set