I’ve been intrigued by the question how involved the U.S. is in the black ops campaign against Iran that is being conducted largely by Israel. I hadn’t noticed this article published two months ago by AP reporter, Douglas Birch. In it, he delves into the question and comes up with more support for the thesis than I’d seen in previous reports:
The chief of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Fereidoun Abbasi, told journalists at a meeting in Vienna last week that the United States was supporting an Israeli assassination campaign against his scientists.
…The U.S. has denied any role in the slayings [of three Iranian nuclear scientists]. “We condemn any assassination or attack on a person – on an innocent person,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said after the latest killing in July. “We were not involved.”
…Yet there is little doubt that the Obama administration is pursuing a program of high-tech sabotage to disrupt Tehran’s suspected weapons-related nuclear efforts.
“I have no doubt that the U.S. and other countries were behind industrial sabotage aimed at the program of concern,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, a former State Department official who’s now at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
…Publicly, the administration has pushed for…diplomatic isolation to pressure Iran…At the same time, former officials said, the U.S. and its allies have ramped up covert actions aimed at slowing Iran’s nuclear progress toward a bomb. Ex-officials said the U.S. has been careful to target only those facilities suspected of playing a role in weapons work.
One former senior intelligence official said that the U.S. considered a scheme to use a burst of electromagnetic energy to knock out power to one suspected Iranian weapons-related site but rejected the plan because of the risk of causing a widespread power outage. The former official would only speak about classified matters on condition of anonymity.
The suspected sabotage campaign is widely seen as an alternative to military confrontation with Iran, which some experts say could have disastrous consequences for the Middle East.
A 2010 U.S. diplomatic memorandum published by…WikiLeaks quoted a German government official as saying that a program of “covert sabotage” against Iran, including explosions, computer hacking and engineered accidents, “would be more effective than a military strike whose effects in the region could be devastating.” The memo did not cite any specifics.
Birch goes on to note reports of Reagan era U.S. sabotage of a Russian trans-Siberian pipeline which caused a 3 megaton explosion seen from outer space. This is all of a piece with recent developments including sabotaging of Iranian oil pipelines and military bases.
Moving on to a related subject, after the November 12th IRG missile base explosion, Channel 2’s (Israel) military reporter, Roni Daniel, participated in a wrapup of the weekly news and made the following claims. That the blast killed not only Brig. Gen. Hassan Moggadam, the leader of the nation’s missile program, but that it killed another general, Mehdi Dashteen Zadah and a group of distinguished scientific researchers and PhDs in a series of critical fields (and here I’m quoting from the list Daniel stated on air): electro-chemistry, geophysics, mechanics and computer software simulation (imaging). Daniel, who’s known to be a flack for the IDF and intelligence community, is quoting Ronen Solomon, who writes for Israel Defense. So the information needs to be taken with a grain of salt. But the specificity of some of the claims warrant further investigation.
Today a reporter working from U.S. sources, said that he’d also heard that the 17 who were mourned by Ayatollah Khamenei in a state funeral included senior military and scientific figures. There exists a distinct possibility that the blast not only wiped out an advanced missile design being tested, but that it also wiped out a good deal of the scientific and technical expertise of the country’s missile program. Again, not to be considered fully trustworthy until verified further.
On Diane Rehm’s weekly show, one of the guests was former CIA covert ops specialist and neocon darling Reuel Marc Gerecht. He made the rather startling claim that Pres. Obama could engage in specific acts that were “lethal” inside Iran without requiring Congressional oversight, though he did concede that a full-on U.S. covert ops program would require it. If Obama did request such Congressional approval there’s no doubt he’d be welcomed with open arms, which pretty much obviates the need for any such oversight to begin with.
Add to this the sense of nervousness this Reuters report induces, when it quotes U.S. officials acknowledging “a sense of opacity” about Israel’s intentions regarding Iran. Don’t know about you, but if you don’t know the mind of one of your closest allies who’s been rattling sabers for years about an enemy, that’s time to start scanning the skies of F-16s. The time to lay down the law with such an ally is before they take off. You can’t bring them back after that. I’m not event convinced Obama has the power to rein in Israel at all until it begins running out of Cruise missiles and bunker busters. By then a lot of damage will have been done, and I’m not talking about Iran’s nuclear plants. I’m talking about damage to U.S. credibility, damage from Iranian counterattacks, etc. I fear Obama will stand by looking and acting helpless, which is pretty much the way his entire foreign policy looks these days.
“I fear Obama will stand by looking and acting helpless, which is pretty much the way his entire foreign policy looks these days.”
Do you want him to attack Israel? That would be an even more stupid move than attacking Iran. Therefor there is nothing he can do to stop such an attack.
What do you mean there’s nothing Obama can do……he’s like Dorothy from Oz, he’s had the power all along.
He just needs to step up and state the demands, follow through, be tough and watch the Israeli Government back down faster than green grass through a goose.
Conditions on Israel from the USA—long overdue.
How to get rid of what is technically a parasite to the United States ability to function like an independent, sovereign State?
Well, you can’t use “diplomacy” – Israel has enough of our vital secrets and entangled so many key officials in our government into wrongdoings that any break would give opportunity to Israel to tell all and hurt us beyond imagining. In fact, I believe Jonathon Pollard was the shot across the bow regarding this (stole US nuclear secrets for Israel and Israel sold it to Russia killing 1000+ of our covert ops agents in Russia). I also believe the recent gunman with the word, “Israel”, tattooed on his neck was a message directly from the Likudists to Obama. I mean, he managed to shoot a bullet that actually hit above the White House window where Obama regularly sits.
War would cause the same consequence, perhaps worse. Israel is the originator of terror in the Middle East and probably the most effective at it. This so-called terror threat that doesn’t even exist here (it’s an Israeli charade intended to make us into a State just like theirs – this is why DHS was ran by Chertoff and not Pat Buchanan. Why El Al is here. Why our police are trained by Israeli police to brutalize OWS. Why we are a police state. Why Mossad agents filmed 9/11 as it occurred, as featured on ABC and Fox News. Why Netanyahu said 9/11 was good for Israel. Why it’s suddenly us (incl Israel) versus “the Muslims”.) It’s not all coincidence, and there are hardly any reasonable doubts. Even BBC ran a documentary that was pulled about how AQ was built up and is a sham with virtually no members. All AQ tapes after 2001 when Bin Laden first DENIED 9/11 and said he was being framed, suddenly reversed the tale and were available to us only through the SITE institute. Upon closer inspection, you will see that the Institute is run suspiciously by only two outspoken hardcore Israeli-firsters.
And truthfully, our government knows all of this. We know that the level of complicity with 9/11 went all the way to the top (it is provable that Bush et. al. had plans to go into Iraq even before getting into office). We are having a difficult time excising the parasite without killing ourselves or allowing it to kill us prematurely if it knows our intentions.
Instead, we are going to use its own power and momentum against it – we are going to push it into confrontation with an enemy it cannot win against and let it destroy itself. This is my firm belief and much of my insights above are actually an amalgamation of analyses by professors, think tanks, former intelligence personnel, military experts and so on proven right again and again with far more expertise and credentials of repute than me.
PS – Seymour Hersh uncovered Bush’s espionage plans – $70 million per year. Military and CIA experts say Obama not only continued ALL of Bush’s covert ops, he intensified them. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_hersh I don’t think it’s a big secret that we are committing espionage against Iran. I wouldn’t call this a covert “war”. A “war” requires two sides. When did Iran even come close to doing to the US and Israel what is being done to Iran?
Reading your nonsense i learn that the christian innocent lamb has a new face – an Iranian.
To me you are a bit more sophisticated anti-Semite who spews the same old claims AKA the Jews control America (and world banking and media – how could you forget) and they are at blame for everything, of course being a bit more sophisticated you replace Jews with Israeli’s but the number of your bus is written all over your forehead.
Just so you’ll stop rolling your eyes – please get yourself familiar with one of the Iranian intelligence terror operations, this one took place in Germany – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykonos_restaurant_assassinations
if this will not be enough reading material, ask nicely i will provide you with more.
This is OFF TOPIC. Keep yr commments ON TOPIC. Accusations of anti Semitism are very serious charges here & may not be mounted without specific proof. Advancing claims of anti Semitism w/o offering this is a violation of the comment rules.
“In fact, I believe Jonathon Pollard was the shot across the bow regarding this (stole US nuclear secrets for Israel and Israel sold it to Russia killing 1000+ of our covert ops agents in Russia)”
PersianAdvocate……Do you have evidence to support this claim.
To Daniel F.: I appreciate you asking because it is important to think critically about everything.
Sourcewatch provides the testimony of former CIA officer, Philip Giraldi:
“Pollard did more damage to the United States than any spy in history. And it was genuine damage, not just a mass of documents that had been routinely classified. Pollard’s Israeli handler, aided by someone in the White House who has up until now evaded arrest, was able to ask for specific classified documents by name and number. The Soviets obtained US war plans, passed to them by the Israelis in exchange for money and free emigration of Russian Jews without any regard for the damage it was doing to the United States. The KGB was able to use the mass of information to reconstruct US intelligence operations directed against it and a number of Americans and US agents paid with their lives. Pollard also revealed to the Israelis and Soviets the technical and human source capabilities that US intelligence did and did not have, which is the most critical information of all as it underlies all information collection efforts. Compounding the problem, the United States has never actually been able to accurately ascertain all of the damage done by Pollard because the Israeli government has refused to cooperate in the investigation and has not returned the documents that were stolen.”
So, my belief follows that the actual reason for this was a shot across the bow. It is nearly impossible to prove an intent of that nature unless the suspect is willing to confess or there exists some other evidence. The suspect here would be Mossad, and I doubt there would exist much evidence to find without any leaks, etc.
I disclaim that it’s just a belief, as I wrote in the statement originally. But, if you look at the past history of my beliefs, you will find that I’m somewhat accurate. Perhaps even someone who refuses to believe anyone and takes in all of the evidence from all sides before even bothering to post online to anyone. I read JPost, etc. very often and also read the analysts who tell different tales. The above is what I find to be personally most plausible.
I don’t want you to be somewhat accurate. I want you to be accurate. Which means sticking to known historical facts & not adumbrating them with theories whether they be personal or advanced by sources lacking credibility.
I did link those ABC News and Fox News articles for the other claims. Accurate:
A Government Accountability Office report, “Defense Industrial Security: Weaknesses in US Security Arrangements With Foreign-Owned Defense Contractors” found that according to intelligence sources “Country A” (identified by intelligence sources as Israel, Washington Times, 2/22/96) “conducts the most aggressive espionage operation against the United States of any US ally.” The Jerusalem Post (8/30/96) quoted the report, “Classified military information and sensitive military technologies are high-priority targets for the intelligence agencies of this country.” The report described “An espionage operation run by the intelligence organization responsible for collecting scientific and technologic information for [Israel] paid a US government employee to obtain US classified military intelligence documents.” The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (Shawn L. Twing, April 1996) noted that this was “a reference to the 1985 arrest of Jonathan Pollard, a civilian US naval intelligence analyst who provided Israel’s LAKAM [Office of Special Tasks] espionage agency an estimated 800,000 pages of classified US intelligence information.” The GAO report also noted that “Several citizens of [Israel] were caught in the United States stealing sensitive technology used in manufacturing artillery gun tubes.”
This New Yorker article by Seymour Hersh, “Why Pollard Should Never Be Released (the Traitor)”, details the degree by which Pollard hurt us. The article was so “controversial” to people who would cover up for an Israeli spy that it was taken down from the internet, but traces of it exist, and references to it by Dershowitz et. al. exist. A copy of it exists also here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/576453/posts
Hersh writes, “Pollard, these officials told me, had done far more damage to American national security than was ever made known to the public.”
How can we be accurate about Israeli Soviet collusion without Mossad-KGB access? We have to go with what people like ex-CIA officers who have proven reliable on other subjects go with. I don’t know what is to criticize about Philip Giraldi. I’d say he’s pretty high up the feeding chain as far as information goes and he has a legitimate front, not some fringe blog with caricatures of Jews or something. http://www.councilforthenationalinterest.org/
Israel offered much of Pollard’s intelligence trove to the Russians in return for freeing several critical Soviet Jewish prisoners of conscience. The part about exposing our intelligence agents to the Russians seems more spinning on PA’s part. I’ve never heard that part of the story. Pollard’s info dealt with weapons, surveillance technology & the like. I don’t believe he exposed actual personnel.
I think we will agree to disagree. If you look at the tenor of what he released in Seymour Hersh’s article, the full and comprehensive scope of our nuclear surveillance activities not only in Russia, but around the world, you would have to assume that there would be at least some analysts on the ground if you were being intellectually honest. And then further, I would assume that the breach was not discovered until the information was already processed such that the recipients of the information would have ample opportunity to seize operatives for more information. Alternatively, it would also have an opportunity to kill those operatives without risking giving a public causus belli to the US or others. I didn’t spin anything. I point out exactly where I made assumptions of my own and where my thinking comes from. I am willing to provide evidence or TRY TO for anything you ask so that you can digest what I say and then perhaps try to improve my thinking – two heads are always better than one. And look, if I do make a mistake, I apologize and will always be open to the criticism for improvement 🙂
There is no doubt that Pollard did enormous damage to the U.S. And I’ve said that here numerous times. But I think you went overboard when you claimed 1000+ had been killed because of him. Just as I think you go overboard on some other issues which I’ve noted. I think there’s a real virtue to sticking carefully to historical facts esp. when you’re getting into territory that’s terribly emotional for you and others. The more personal opinion or overstatement creeps into such discussions the weaker yr argument becomes, the easier it is to refute.
err the 1,000+ people came from Gordon Duff of Veterans Today. I withdraw my statement officially and defer instead to the articles above and the Philip Giraldi assessment.
I appreciate Daniel F. asking for the evidence in the first place sincerely. See? I am not against hugging the truth even tighter.
I think you just made a few scholars and writers, like Richard, who are above me in credential, expertise and reputation, a little jealous by gifting me with the honor of being the mislabeled anti-Semite. Well, not only that, but you added that I’m sophisticated. I’m touched. Really. But if you even paid attention to what I said, I never stated hyperboles and superlatives like, “The Jewz own the world!!!!!111” In fact, in the above scenario, Israel ends up being the victim of self-defense.
Ignoring your stupidity, the terror claim above was a unilateral trial without an Iranian opportunity to present a defense. The verdict was based on no tangible evidence of links to the Iranian government, no Interpol warrant issued like against Israeli leaders like in Dubai, nothing. Just again, more press manipulation and a verdict via media and hocus pocus. Aka the Saudi Plot prequel. Israel is the king of false flags. See the Lavon Affair or USS Liberty. Those are indisputable facts, like the Mossad Dubai assassination.
So, besides your race card based on a stretch, what can you do to dispute my points?
You are right, you didn’t said the Jews own the world, you just accused the state of Israel in some Mega conspiracy involving El-Al, The Mossad, Claimed the Mossad brought down and was behind 911. You claimed Israel appointed DHS honcho man etc.
All of these remarks are the same old anti-semitic BS, just in another form.
And by the way, you provided no shred of evidence, not even links to the supposed Fox News article, BBC article and any other BS you mentioned. All claims were refuted many times, by different groups, educate yourself goto http://www.911myths.com/
You accused Israel in manipulating the press in Germany Re the Mykonus Incident etc. Same old Anti-Semitic crap.
What else ? Israel was behind blowing the community center in Argentina ? Behind sending the MV Francop, loaded to the roof with Iranian made weapons to Hezbollah in violation of international law and sanctions ? Behind sending the Karin A? Maybe Israel was behind the new IED’s exploding in Iraq which US officials blamed Iran in making ? http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-01-30-ied-iran_x.htm
Just to remind you it was the state department who claimed in 2001 that “Iran reminded the most active state sponsor of terrorism” (google it)
But i guess the state department is controlled by Israel, right ?
What a joke!!!
[comment is off-topic & violates comment rules–do not do so in future]
But i guess the state department is controlled by Israel, right ?
No doubt about that. Can you prove that it is not?
One recent example of the control and self censorship :
Has any other country or religious sect the power to do the same? Not the Muslims nor the Hindus have such power.
During cold war my country – Finland – had a problematic relation with Soviet Union and with its desire to control our society. That period was called Finlandization.
It is understandable that a small country one on the border near the superpower’s biggest economical zone (Leningrad Oblast) and then the world’s biggest marine base (Murmansk) is forced to obey the will of the superpower. It is not understandable how a tiny religious sect and a small country can take completely away the independence of a superpower. In future people will write more books about the Israelization of USA than ever was written about Finlandization. At no stage during the Cold War was the Finnish rhetoric and legislative “efforts” in the Soviet ass licking even close of that Israeli ass licking what is performed now in USA. How US president candidates promise to make their first state visit to Israel is extremely hilarious but on the same time extremely sad.
There’s a diff. bet a State Dept whose policies are pro Israel because American personnel are pro Israel & a policy controlled by Israel. Please be careful in the ways you articulate these ideas.
First, let me say that there is no such thing as a “bad country”, only bad people in it. For all intents and purposes, a “country” is as fictional as the days of the week and our measure of time itself (why not a 14 day calendar? And we shall call the month of June, Pre-July). I agree on the difference, but it’s as if CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS IN Israel would never ever do something like try to control the US Department in unethical ways. Or that this type of plot would be able to hatch over multiple decades, the same characters always at play. Or try to use its American Jewish contingency to affect policy. And then that American Jewish contingency, instead of point out Israeli wrongs and try to separate the accountable individuals, gathers the entire herd to protect the black sheep. And about 50-70% of the people, many whom are actually some of the most gentle and kind one would ever meet if one never mentioned the word Israel or, even worse, Palestinian, completely go die-hard and resort to all sorts of craziness to back what everyone else sees as absurd and insane policies.
So, it’s getting hard to separate the black sheep from the herd, Richard. When one chastises Israel, we’re not seeking to further human suffering (in retaliation), we’re simply seeking to end Israel’s bad behavior before other less understanding individuals start whitewashing and stereotyping.
JFK and RFK were the ones in 1962 who were demanding the American Zionist Council be listed as an agent of a foreign government, which is now AIPAC. So, I’m not in horrible company.
And I would say the same thing about the Iranians, Japanese, French, German.. Gibraltarites get a pass.. Chinese, etc. if they were meddling with domestic operations that outlet into foreign policies of the United States.
Did you watch the Republican Debate? Go see what they are promising Israel and chastising Obama for. Do we devote ourselves like this to any other country? Does any other country devote themselves like that to any other country? Are Israeli politicians free to criticize America? Is it a third rail issue there?
There’s a point at which persuasiveness becomes outright undue influence, manipulation, and control. In this case, of a foreign country: ours. With 95% of our Congress signing written pledges to Israel and no other country, I would say we have a significant influence and control issue. Look at our ally as well, the UK. Rupey Murdoch almost was exposed, 2 PMs entangled (each with ties to many many other English figureheads), the Head of Scotland Yard resigns, and the whistleblower dies mysteriously after with police claiming the death was not suspicious.
Are these influential individuals that work through persuasion, or individuals that entangle important officials by threat, corruption and bribery, assassination, coercion, or extortion? And to which country do these individuals pay the highest allegiance? And why are these same individuals controlling the press (Rupert Murdoch is the epitome)? There’s only 6 owners, and all of them exert that same self-censorship you see everywhere else.
Lest you have a fear that you will be killed for saying what you will say, there is no need to self-censor. I will stay on topic in the future and apologize. My mind goes at 100 MPH when it comes to these things and my fingers type ever faster so we have a slight latency issue lol
Please stay away from conspiracy theories of any sort about Jewish or even Israeli influence that makes them and their “victims” out to be automatons. I find this not only objectionable, but contrary to reality and borderline anti-Semitic or whatever the equivalent term would be related to Israel. Make Israel or the lobby ominpotent is just plain silly and allows yr opponent to turn you into a caricature.
Well said, SimoHurtta. Ass kissing is what it is….all the U.S. candidates, except for Ron Paul, do it as well as the current and past Presidents
I’m going to ask you & Persian Advocate to stay on topic. Both of you. If he wanders off topic in future notify me or note this in a comment & I will address the issue.
Genlemen:
We have some serious conspiracy theorist in our blog today. The Finish gentleman, the Iranian engineer and a few others are seeing all the wrongs of the world concentrated in one nation, Israel. Objectivity is hard to expect from people who are brainwashed. But please try for a second to look at things from Israel’s perspective:
Iran’s leasdership is repeatedly calling for wiping Israel out.
Why should Israel ignore it? Don’t the Jews have the same right of survival like any other nation, or are Israelis expandable? Would any other country not try to sabotage its avowed enemy’s nuclear potential? Whose bad behavior are we talking about?
Your second point is the power of the Zionist lobby. You are exaggerating it beyond its real power, but from Israel’s perspective, they don’t mind that you (and any other would be oponents) think they are so omnipotent. Fact of the matter, if you visit US campuses you would think that your point of view has already taken over the intelligentia of this nation. So is Israel is left with the dummies…
Thirdly, the 9/11 conspiracy. I thought you had the intelligentia in your pocket, so who are you trying to sell this fallacy to? There is no shred of proof that Israel, Mossad, CIA had anything to do with this event. You can repeat this a thousand times, you might get somebody to buy into this conspiracy theory, yet you are just repeating a propaganda lie made by Islamist to distance themselves form the Al Quaida murderers who are shaming the Islamic world.
This is a patently false claim. One that has been raised here numerous times. In fact, there is now a comment rule about it. You may not make false claims here. And in fact if you wish to make any claim, you must support it with facts & credible sources. This claim however is blatantly false, has already been disproven & you may not raise it at all.
In fact, you have not visited any campuses lately. And even if you have, your ideology is so far right that anyone voicing the least criticism of Israel would appear as Goebbels to you undoubtedly.
I have made clear here numerous times here & I repeat myself to Persian Advocate, I do not wish to rehash 9/11 conspiracy theories. That means I don’t want Israeli supporters to rebut them either. I don’t want to issue discussed at all on either side. The issue is off topic. Clear?
This covert action or rather stateterrorism is just a rerun when Israel bombed and assassinated people involved with the Iraq missileprogram (Gerald Bull for example) or when they killed people involed in the eygptian missileprogram some decades ago.
Just imagine for one second if an arab or iranian intelligence service assassinated, bombed, kidnapped people etc involved with the nuclear weapons program at dimona?
There is something very very very wrong with the israeli government when they seems to think that “the international law is something others have to follow – not we” and therefore making them a big threat to world peace.
I fear Obama will stand by looking and acting helpless, which is pretty much the way his entire foreign policy looks these days.
Yes, Ditherer-in-Chief! If only he wasn’t so eager to please everyone. If only he wasn’t afraid of making a few enemies.
His foreign policy has been a total shambles. Instead of picking a fight with Bibi over buildings, he should have strengthened the Israeli left and put this thug out of business. That was riduculous of Obama. He focused on trivia just because he doesn’t like Bibi. It would have been better if he had kept his dislike under wraps and made some concrete changes with a smile.
Though to be fair, it isn’t his fault that the economic problems are so grave. After all he inherited these problems, he didn’t cause them. I hope he does some assertive action in his second term.
And no surprise in convert actions against Iran, it would be remiss if there were not any, just as Iran is probably doing the same in reverse.
I wonder secrets Ahmedinejad discovered in the drone 🙂
As for the Persian Advocate, his conspiracies theories began with his first line and can be ended thus:
How to get rid of what is technically a parasite to the United States ability to function like an independent, sovereign State?
As I have said before, the problem is an internal American one. This is the bigotry of low expectations at play here. If Americans allow themselves to be led by the nose by ANYONE, then that is their own fault.