Knight Ridder:FBI espionage probe goes beyond Israeli allegations

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

Posted on Sat, Aug. 28, 2004

FBI espionage probe goes beyond Israeli allegations, sources say

By Warren P. Strobel

Knight Ridder Newspapers


WASHINGTON - An FBI probe into the handling of highly classified material by Pentagon civilians is broader than previously reported, and goes well beyond allegations that a single mid-level analyst gave a top-secret Iran policy document to Israel, three sources familiar with the investigation said Saturday.

The probe, which has been going on for more than two years, also has focused on other civilians in the Secretary of Defense's office, said the sources, who spoke on condition they not be identified, but who have first-hand knowledge of the subject.

In addition, one said, FBI investigators in recent weeks have conducted interviews to determine whether Pentagon officials gave highly classified U.S. intelligence to a leading Iraqi exile group, the Iraqi National Congress, which may in turn have passed it on to Iran. INC leader Ahmed Chalabi has denied his group was involved in any wrongdoing.

The linkage, if any, between the two leak investigations, remains unclear.

But they both center on the office of Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith, the Pentagon's No. 3 official.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9524480.htm

Note: Knight Ridder has been doing THE best work in Beltway media. Hands down.

[swag]

1. Well, it's certainly all coming together just as several of my fave DU

authors have intimated that it would.

Holy fuck.

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. I wonder if the raid at Chalabi's house

a few months ago, was part of this?

Funny how Chalabi was hiding in Iran, when they issued his arrest warrant in Iraq a couple of weeks ago.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

8. All sorts of things...

Are a part of this. Whether or not they will be revealed or confirmed to the American Public is another story altogether.

[struggle4progress]

27. And why was the Administration lying?

U.S. Knew of Chalabi Warrants
August 14, 2004
By Paul Richter, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials were informed in advance that Iraq's interim government planned to crack down on Ahmad Chalabi, a longtime Bush administration ally, and did not object to the move, a U.S. official said.

Early this week, administration officials sought to distance themselves from the furor over arrest warrants issued Sunday for Chalabi, a prominent former exile, and his nephew Salem. They said they were unaware of the Iraqi government's plans.

But a U.S. official acknowledged in an interview Thursday that the Bush administration had been aware of the impending move against the Chalabis.
<snip>

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-chalabi14aug14,1,7527704.story?coll=la-headlines-world

[wickywom]

3. can we

the american people trust the probers?

[shadu]

5. No way. These spies should be put to death.

All of them. All involved with them.

[grytpype]

4. Please fix the title of your post...

It's:

FBI espionage probe goes beyond Israeli allegations, sources say


This is an important article, it's a good overview of the numerous, numerous fuckups of one Douglas Feith, Undersecretary of Defense.

[Dudley_DUright]

7. Looks like Tommy Franks was right about one thing

Feith really is "the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth."

http://slate.msn.com/id/2100899/

[Dudley_DUright]

6. Laura Rozen's (War and Piece blog) take on the new developments

Let's just highlight. The investigation has been going on for more than two years, not for a year as reported most places today. It is looking at more than just the allegations of passing intelligence to Aipac/Israel. And it's looking at more civilian officials in Feith's office than Franklin, including in relation to who leaked US intelligence to the INC. Very interesting.

http://www.warandpiece.com/

[salin]

28. her work is phenomenal

have been following her blog since the first Chalabi raid story.

[blitzen]

9. Juan Cole's take (excellent read)

http://juancole.com/

"The Founding Fathers of the United States deeply feared that a foreign government might gain this level of control over a branch of the United States government, and their fears have been vindicated."

[Dudley_DUright]

10. Thanks, I already have Juan Cole bookmarked

but had not checked to see if he had anything to say on the Pentagon spy scandal. Very interesting post.

on edit: As an academic myself, I found this information to be quite chilling.

AIPAC currently has a project to shut up academics such as myself, the same way it has shut up Congress, through congressional legislation mandating "balance" (i.e. pro-Likud stances) in Middle East programs at American Universities. How long the US public will allow itself to be spied on and pushed around like this is a big question. And, with the rise of international terrorism targeting the US in part over these issues, the fate of the country hangs in the balance

[leftchick]

12. fascinating and sad...

most Americans think terrorists "hate us for our freedoms" as dimbulb* repeats ad naseum. The reality is, it is US policies like this that drive the rage.

[shraby]

25. Doesn't this make AIPAC a terrorist organization?

AIPAC currently has a project to shut up academics such as myself, the same way it has shut up Congress, through congressional legislation mandating "balance" (i.e. pro-Likud stances) in Middle East programs at American Universities. How long the US public will allow itself to be spied on and pushed around like this is a big question. And, with the rise of international terrorism targeting the US in part over these issues, the fate of the country hangs in the balance

[lancdem]

11. Isn't it interesting how this is coming out right before the RNC?

Looks like someone is trying to rain on Bush's parade. :evilgrin:

BTW, I've heard Perle and Wolfowitz are knee deep in this as well.

[Cush]

13. there's a shocker

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

19. I'll bet the someone is the anti-bush Pentagoners...

...Theres alot of bad blood in The Building toward Rumsfeld, and I think thats where these leaks are coming from.

They want Rumsfeld, and his cronies, out. This is a way of building alot of negativity toward Rummy & his appointees. ...so even if Bush wins the Rummy crowd will be so damaged that they will have to leave....

Colin Powell might have had something to do with this too, backchannel.

[CANDO]

14. Is this the BIG Story that was going to cause Tectonic shifts in DC???

Remember back in late June, there was supposed to be something so huge it may cause someone or several administration officials to resign or be impeached? Could this be it? The story is just coming together and perhaps it grows and grows. ????????

[KittyWampus]

16. This Is More Like A Raging Forest Fire Which'll Clear Out The Dead Wood

hopefully.

[REVOLT823]

23. I would say so,

This is huge, I mean HUGE. There is no way Rummy can stay now, this is going to sink him for sure. Minimum resignation, but this could become criminal even for him, utter imcompetence. And this incompetence will cause people to reevaluate the Iraq war as well, this is incredible.

[TacticalPeek]

15. Franklin must be a geezer.

Mr. Franklin also has a military background. A former defense official said Mr. Franklin had been a colonel in the Air Force Reserve who served two short tours at the United States Embassy in Tel Aviv.

Purest coincidence, I'm sure.



"I don't believe a word of it," Mr. Ledeen said. "This story is incoherent, it makes no sense. Anyone who wanted to know about U.S. policy on Iran could just read The New York Times."

Haaahahahahahahahaha!

[librechik]

17. Excellent--everyone should read this n/t

:kick:

[MasonJar]

18. So far I have found Knight-Ridder more non-oartisan than any

other organization. We should congrat them.

[msanthrope]

20. I swear, this will be the same freakin' cast of minor characters

from Iran-Contra.

From the article posted above:

"Investigators have asked about the security practices of several other Defense Department civilians, they said.

Franklin's name surfaced in news reports last year when it became known that he and another Pentagon Middle East specialist, Harold Rhode, met in late 2001 with Manucher Ghorbanifar, an Iranian arms merchant who played a role in the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said publicly last year that nothing came of the meeting, which reportedly was brokered by former National Security Council official Michael Ledeen."


Ahhhh,.....the infamous "Gorba" is back!!!! And Michael Ledeen. Well people of DU, especially you who are younger than thirty, I suggest you brush up on Iran-Contra, because you are not going to believe who Ghorbanifar and Ledeen are......
HEre's a good place to start.

http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/chris.holt/home.informal/bar/corsair.afdq/contra.cards/

[nightperson]

21. A similar new article

here.

[Zo Zig]

22. Interesting lines from the Knight Ridder story

"But other sources said the FBI investigation is more wide-ranging than initial news reports suggested.

They said it has involved interviews of current and former officials at the White House, Pentagon and State Department.

Investigators have asked about the security practices of several other Defense Department civilians, they said."

All roads led to the VP office, IMO.

Hey Tandalayo, no UNMIC that I could find.

Question who out of the Neo cons would have Plame's ID?

[DeepModem Mom]

24. kick

[DixieDem]

26. More From Juan Cole...

Pentagon/Israel Spying Case Expands:
Fomenting a War on Iran

http://juancole.com/

[cal04]

29. Interesting read on Antiwar. com

But the reality of Israeli covert agents in America, far from being something out of a cheap paperback spy thriller, is certainly borne out by the Franklin affair. Not since Pollard? Tell that to Carl Cameron of Fox News, whose four-part series on Israeli surveillance of targets in the U.S., including Mohammed Atta and the 9/11 hijackers, cited anonymous law enforcement and government officials. In Part I, broadcast on December 17, 2001, Cameron stated:

"There is no indication that the Israelis were involved in the 9/11 attacks, but investigators suspect that the Israelis may have gathered intelligence about the attacks in advance and not shared it. A highly-placed investigator said there are – quote – 'tie-ins.' But when asked for details, he flatly refused to describe them, saying – quote – evidence linking these Israelis to 9/11 is classified. I cannot tell you about evidence that has been gathered. It's classified information.'"

At the time, Cameron's report – and my columns on the subject – were derided as "conspiracy theories," and largely ignored. When Cameron's sources leaked an interagency report on the existence of an Israeli "art student" operation in the U.S. that was clearly an intelligence-gathering tool, a Justice Department spokeswoman described its thesis – that the Israelis had launched a massive covert action in on U.S. soil – as an "urban myth," and the Israel First crowd took up the cry. The respected German weekly news magazine, Die Zeit, reported that Israeli agents were living "next door to Mohammed Atta," but this, too, was ignored.

Now that we have uncovered a pro-Israeli cabal engaged in espionage operating at the very highest levels of the U.S. government, does it all seem so improbable?

(When the American people find out what is going on, God help the neocons, because they are going to need it. The arrest and trial of Israel's fifth column in the Pentagon is going to unleash a lot of anger, because it is going to make Americans understand the nature and extent of the treason that entrapped them in Iraq. The very word "neocon" will become a synonym for treason, like Quisling. Moreover, the complexity of this war that we found ourselves in, as the smoke from the World Trade Center and the Pentagon began to clear, will perhaps begin to dawn on us)

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=3469