the world is what you know - NO MORE SECRETS

 
1980s Intelligence sharing with Iraq revisited

www.fas.org writes:
"Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday blamed American defectors to Russia for the difficulty of locating and
eliminating Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, arguing that the spies' disclosures had been provided to Iraq and used
to support its denial and deception activities. But he neglected to mention that for years Iraq enjoyed more a direct
source of U.S. intelligence information.

According to Secretary Rumsfeld, "The Iraqis have benefited from American spies defecting to the Soviet Union or
Russia and providing information as to how we do things, and then they proliferate that information on how another
country can best achieve denial and deception and avoid having the location, precise location, actionable locations
of things [i.e., weapons of mass destruction] known."
See: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2002/t07292002_t0729sd.html

But former CIA analyst Allen Thomson observed that the record indicates a much less roundabout source for Iraqi
access to such U.S. intelligence information, namely the U.S. government itself. On May 28, 1984, President Reagan
issued National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 141 on "Responding to Escalation in Iran-Iraq War" which
authorized intelligence sharing with the Government of Iraq in order to forestall an Iranian victory. (That Directive
remains classified.) In 1986, the scope of intelligence sharing with Iraq was expanded twice, according to a
Senate Intelligence Committee report. The consequences of that arrangement were suggested by Sen. Tom Harkin
in a November 7, 1991 floor statement. "The secret intelligence sharing operation with Iraq was not only a highly
questionable and possibly illegal operation, but also may have jeopardized American lives and our national interests,"
Sen. Harkin said. "The photo reconnaissance, highly sensitive electronic eavesdropping and narrative texts provided to
Saddam, may not only have helped him in Iraq's war against Iran but also in the recent gulf war. Saddam Hussein may
have discovered the value of underground land lines as opposed to radio communications after he was given our
intelligence information."

"Further, after the Persian Gulf war, our intelligence community was surprised at the extent of Iraq's nuclear program. One
reason Saddam may have hidden his nuclear program so effectively from detection was because of his knowledge of our
satellite photos. What also concerns me about that operation is that we spend millions of dollars keeping secrets from the
Soviets and then we give it to Saddam who sells them to the Soviets," said Sen. Harkin. See Harkin's statement here:
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1991_cr/s911107-gates.htm

The latter point, of course, contrasts directly with Secretary Rumsfeld's allegation that the Soviets or Russians had
forwarded such information to Saddam. "The Iraqis are deceiving U.S. spy satellites and fooling Pentagon intelligence
analysts thanks to techniques they learned from U.S. military intelligence officers during the eight-year war between
Iran and Iraq," reported Tim Weiner, then of the Philadelphia Inquirer, back in 1991. See his article "Iraq Uses
Techniques in Spying Against Its Former Tutor, the U.S.," with commentary by Jonathan Pollard, of all people, here:
http://www.jonathanpollard.org/1991/020591.htm"


posted by wenz at 8:40:00 PM |

 
Military blunders of World War I repeated in Iraq

"The American planners clearly had not read the history of World War I when British Gen. Sir Charles Townshend, commanding two Indian Army divisions, marched on Baghdad to seize the capital of what was then Mesopotamia and kick out the Turkish army. Townshend was repulsed and fell back on the city of Kut, where the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers meet. After a bloody siege during which Townshend's troops ate their horses, the Turks prevailed and Townshend surrendered..."http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20020722-75587646.htm

posted by wenz at 6:59:00 PM |

 
The Global Strategic Threat



"We're going to have something in the way of a major nuclear event in this country," Warren Buffett, the second wealthiest man in the world, told stockholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. just 11 weeks ago. "It will happen. Whether it will happen in 10 years or 10 minutes, or 50 years ... it's virtually a certainty."
What does Warren Buffett, whose major business is insurance, know that you don't know?



posted by wenz at 4:44:00 PM |