Secret Talks With Iranian Arms Dealer (Pentagon hardliners)

[tinnypriv]

Secret Talks With Iranian Arms Dealer
NY Newsday, August 8 2003

WASHINGTON - Pentagon hardliners pressing for regime change in Iran have held secret and unauthorized meetings in Paris with a controversial arms dealer who was a major figure in the Iran-contra scandal, according to administration officials.

The officials said at least two Pentagon officials working for Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith have held "several" meetings with Manucher Ghorbanifar, the Iranian middleman in U.S. arms-for-hostage shipments to Iran in the mid-1980s.

...

"They were talking to him about stuff which they weren't officially authorized to do," said a senior administration official. "It was only accidentally that certain parts of our government learned about it."

The official would not identify those "parts" of the government, but a former intelligence official confirmed they are the State Department, the CIA and the White House, itself.

...

He said that the immediate objective of the Pentagon hardliners appears to be to "antagonize Iran so that they get frustrated and then by their reactions harden U.S. policy against them."

...

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0808-12.htm

[htuttle]

1. Whatta know. Ghorbanifar is back in the news!

That means Adnan Khashoggi HAS to be involved in there somewhere too!

(on edit)

BTW, sounds like they are COMPLETELY out of control again:

"They were talking to him about stuff which they weren't officially authorized to do," said a senior administration official. "It was only accidentally that certain parts of our government learned about it."

Sounds like they are back in the 'cake and bible' delivery business...

[short bus president]

11. Khashoggi was mentioned here a few months back

before the war. something about a Paris cafe meeting with Perle - Sy Hersch reported it, I think. Perle sued him. Whatever happened to that?

[Rose Siding]

18. Here's Hersh's article, "Lunch With the Chairman"

snip>

Khashoggi is still brokering. In January of this year, he arranged a private lunch, in France, to bring together Harb Saleh al-Zuhair, a Saudi industrialist whose family fortune includes extensive holdings in construction, electronics, and engineering companies throughout the Middle East, and Richard N. Perle, the chairman of the Defense Policy Board, who is one of the most outspoken and influential American advocates of war with Iraq.

http://newyorker.com/fact/content/?030317fa_fact

[short bus president]

20. thanks for the link

any idea what happened with Perle's suit? Wasn't he suing in British courts? The stuff is flying so fast and furious these days, little things like unholy bastards suing reporters to silence criticism can fall through the cracks.

[Rose Siding]

21. I don't know

I seem to remember some good news about it, but I don't know for sure.

[LauraK]

17. Why don't they ever get busted.

I guess the contra thing did but not until thousands of people were slaughtered.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. The surprise is not in the talks, but in the fact that it was leaked.

Obviously Shrubco wanted this story in the press.

Is this an attempt to distance the WH gang from the neoCon/PNAC crowd, or an attempt to APPEAR like they're distancing themselves?

And who's watching closely enough to care?

And why didn't they just fire the PentaHawks in question rather than getting this into the press?

Or is it just damage control because somebody was about to blow the cover on this story? (I.e. head off the CIA before they put out something really embarrassing)

I swear, trying to follow the news in this country gets a little more like reading Pravda between the lines every day.

[PATRICK]

5. Open enmity of the CIA

is rather refreshing and democtratically responsible this time round. Obviously all the dirty tricks people are on the other side or Bush would be completely toast instead of dry roasted by now.

Expect more leaks. Expect Bush and media not to give a damn- at least in public.

[MasonJar]

3. Gore's speech

Gore's speech had marvelous suggestions, such as getting rid of Rummy.

[sam sarrha]

4. maybe they want to trade another 250 stinger missiles...to buy guns to

to trade for cocaine again, they may be getting short of blow.. the shrub is acting like a total cranky goof ball lately holed up at his ranch......:freak:

[jamesinca]

6. They don't even have Afghanastan settled

Why are they starting on Iran. Lets see axis of evil, 4 years, 3 countries. He has a year and a half to take out Iran and N. Korea. Is this also his domino theory of Middle East peace and democracy. Starting a war with them is that what he meant by the rest would follow when they saw democracy? Does he figure the fix is in with the voting machines and he can do what he wants?

[indictrichardperle]

7. why is Feith not being fired ?

this is a rogue extra-judicial cabal within our government. This is a BIG story. Feith is not an oil man, what is his motivation for trying to provoke an Iran/US confrontation ? It sure as hell isnt "American interests".


Where is congress ? If DU knows about this outrage why arent alarm bells going off all over the belt way ?

The OSP needs to be hauled before congress and prosecuted, Feith must be fired, Wolfowitz must be fired and Bunker Dick told to resign. We have troops dying every day because of the neo-con chicanery. SICKENING.

[berry]

16. Don't forget Ledeen--he's involved with this too.

And Sharon is on record as wanting regime change in Iran next. What I don't understand is how anyone who cares about Israel can think that when all of this falls apart, Israel won't be hurt by being too close to these thugs. Well, I do understand--they really think they're going to get away with all of it (even the stuff they haven't done yet). God help us if they're right.

[Rose Siding]

19. It's because Bush thinks (hard to imagine) that Rummy is a

"really good" Sec of Defense. And he's incurious. And the DoD will lie their hearts out in hearings.

[htuttle]

8. Maybe John Kerry should look into this

After all, he's investigated this sort of thing, and these same people, once before.

[indictrichardperle]

9. ill tell you what...Kerry People.....

If Kerry hauls Feith and the OSP crooks up before congress...i will vote for Kerry over Dean. That would be saving this country and its service people from future disaster. That would be patriotism and guts. Thank God for the patriots in the CIA. * is absolutely spineless.

This is a stinking scandal, this is treasonous.

[kainah]

10. It's been picked up by AP and is on Yahoo News

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030809/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/pentagon_ghorbanifar

This gives me hope that there are reporters out there chipping away at the story, despite the August doldrums and Kobe-Ahnold hysteria.

[Rose Siding]

12. Look what else Feith's been linked with

Iran recently said it was prepared to turn over five senior al-Qaeda figures, including the son of Osama bin Laden, who are currently in its custody if Washington permanently shuts down an Iraqi-based Iranian rebel group that is listed as a terrorist organization by the State Department.

Pentagon officials, particularly Feith's office, have reportedly opposed the deal, which had been favored by the State Department, because of the possibility that the group, the Mujahideen-e-Khalq, might be useful in putting pressure on Tehran.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=57671&mesg_id=57671

[kainah]

14. Remember Feith's strange little press conference

a couple of months ago. It was very odd, the press interpreted as odd, and it convinced me that he was hiding things. He should be called the Undersecretary of Sexing Up Intelligence. Or maybe the Over-Sexretary for Defense Intelligence.

[Rose Siding]

15. He's new to me

But it looks like he's getting hung out there now.

[ewagner]

13. Did you notice

they also mention leeden and also Cheney's favorite hangout (where his wife is a Fellow I believe) the American Enterprise Institute.

This is damage control. Somehow the story got out and the WH is making sure that they are the ones leaking it and distancing themselves from it.

keep in mind however, that there is no doubt that Dubya knows nothing of this....he's just the pawn.

Wouldn't it be interesting if:

Dubya "uncovered" a scandal in his admin where a group of pentagon types had LIED to him to get him into war for their own purposes and MADE HIM BELIEVE that Iraq was a threat. the bottom line:Oh well, too late now...just collect the oil revenues and move on..........

too much scotch and soda tonight?

[umcwb]

22. Kick, n/t