Iran-Contra Figure Emerges in WMD Probe

[durutti]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&e=34&u=/ap/20031016/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_uranium_allegations

WASHINGTON - Acting through a prominent conservative with friends at the Pentagon (news - web sites), a central figure in the Iran-Contra scandal has passed allegations to the Bush administration that enriched uranium was smuggled from Iraq (news - web sites) into Iran five years ago and some may remain hidden in Iraq.

The intermediary, Michael Ledeen, said the CIA (news - web sites) failed to aggressively check out the allegations because of its long-held distrust of Manucher Ghorbanifar, the middleman in the Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages deals of the Reagan years.

The CIA agrees it is skeptical of information from Ghorbanifar, saying he has "proven to be a fabricator."

In an acrimonious meeting two weeks ago in a sport utility vehicle with dark-tinted windows being driven through Baghdad streets, the CIA told the source of Ghorbanifar's information that it did not believe the allegations and suspected the people the source was working with only wanted money. The agency demanded a sample of the uranium, Ghorbanifar's source said in an interview arranged by Ledeen.

[SpiralHawk]

1. Shit - I was kinda hoping it would turn out to be

Elliot Abrams. He is still skulking about the Halls of Power.

'nuf said.

[Octafish]

2. Elliot Abrams IS suspected of being one of the leakers.

From korporat Pravda MSNBC:

Criminal or Just Plain Stupid?

‘Leakgate’ may be little more than a bumbling effort to slam a critic. Plus, waging holy war from Norway

by Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball

EXCERPT...

That still leaves open the question of Novak’s original source—and at this point, White House statements are more carefully hedged than most of the public probably realizes. The administration has steadfastly refused to answer direct questions about whether certain high-level officials ever talked to Novak about Wilson’s wife. (“I don’t know the answer,” said Catherine Martin, communications director for Vice President Dick Cheney, when asked today whether Cheney’s chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby, ever had such a discussion with Novak.) Instead, White House spokesman McClellan has denied only that three senior officials—Libby, Rove or National Security Council official Elliot Abrams—leaked any “classified” information to Novak. One possible translation: whatever they may or may not have said to Novak, nobody passed along anything they knew to be classified at the time.

CONTINUED...

http://www.msnbc.com/news/977708.asp

[sendero]

8. "Criminal or Just Plain Stupid?"

Tries to separate the two, as if doing something that is "just plain stupid" could not be criminal.

Anyone familiar with real crime can't help but notice how stupid most criminals are (at least the ones who get caught :))

[0007]

6. Another friend of John Nergoponte, 'eh?

*

[lumpy]

3. The question is : who is michael ledeen ?

nt

[Wwagsthedog]

4. Must be a PNAC operative of some kind

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15860

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

5. A very scary MOFO

Was moving in weird fascist circles in Italy (the P2 lodge for example) in the 70's, was heavily involved in the Iran-Contra getup & is now calling for America to invade everyone (well nearly!)

[Minstrel Boy]

7. Ledeen: "we are a warlike people"

A quote from Ledeen's March 25, 2003 address at the American Enterprise Institute:

"I think the level of causalities is secondary. It may sound like an odd thing to say. But all the great scholars who have studied American character have come to the conclusion that we are a warlike people. And that we love war."
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/001363.html

[tlcandie]

11. Another of Ledeen's great quotes .. from the memo

<snip>
"We can lead by the force of high moral example ... fear is much more reliable, and lasts longer. Once we show that we are capable of dealing out terrible punishment to our enemies, our power will be far greater."
<snip>

[Media_Lies_Daily]

9. Here are some links on that guy...

<http://www.apfn.net/messageboard/8-10-03/discussion.cgi.29.html>

Interesting stuff.

[Saudade]

10. Leeden

I read an article in Counterpunch a few weeks ago that tried to trace the Niger/Iraq forgery to Leeden and then speculated that the source of the forgery was Mossad. I wish I had the exact reference.

[underpants]

12. Link to 60 Minutes II "The Man who Knew" last night.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/10/14/60II/main577975.shtml

[ElsewheresDaughter]

13. Powell?