| #6 Bush will want sufficient intelligence to preclude the breakdown on Iraq WMD intelligence. Plus, he will need to convince an already cynical Congress and world body (to the extent that matters). |
| Posted by: Duke Nukem 2005-01-28 9:18:22 PM |
| #5 The use of the MEK for U.S.-intelligence-gathering missions strikes some former U.S. intelligence officials as bizarre. The State Department's annual publication, "Patterns of Global Terrorism," lists them as a terrorist organization. According to the State Department report, the MEK were allies with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in fighting Iran and, in addition, "assisted Saddam in "suppressing opposition within Iraq, and performed internal security for the Iraqi regime." After the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, U.S. forces seized and destroyed MEK munitions and weapons, and about 4,000 MEK operatives were "consolidated, detained, disarmed, and screened for any past terrorist acts, the report said. Shortly afterwards, the Bush administration began to use them in its covert operations against Iran, former senior U.S. intelligence officials said. "They've been active in the south for some time," said former CIA counterterrorism chi ef, Vince Cannistraro. The MEK are said to be currently launching raids from Camp Habib in Basra, but recently Pakistan President Pervez Musharaff granted permission for the MEK to operate from Pakistan's Baluchi area, U.S. officials said. Asked about the Musharaff decision, Laipson said: "Not a smart move. The last thing he (Musharaff) needs is another batch of hotheads on Pakistani soil." I call bullshit on the MEK in Pakiland |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-01-28 9:18:01 PM |
| #4 I don't see the Kurds as surrogates, and there are plenty of native Iranians for which to collaborate. The only reason for combat aircraft flyovers is to pinpoint defensive positions and target cites. The only reason to be accelerate these activities now is that the "red line" is soon to be crossed. |
| Posted by: Duke Nukem 2005-01-28 9:10:10 PM |
| #3 It's good to see that CIA/SOF are using the Kurds as surrogates -- they're a useful asset. I dunno, personally, I think that surrogates are more a tool than anything, and the Kurds are definitely not that. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-01-28 3:53:20 PM |
| #2 Vince Cannistraro? Isn't he a longtime ex-CIA blowhard? Like, out-of-the-CIA-since-forever ex-CIA? Why is he retailing all of these stories? He isn't in a position to have official or first-hand knowledge of any of that, although the article's writer does his best to leave the opposite impression. Who's he fronting for? |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2005-01-28 1:19:02 PM |
| #1 The US and Israel are setting up a covert action infrastructure in Iran, that's for sure. Maybe they're arming and supporting underground student groups or rogue Iranian army elements. It's good to see that CIA/SOF are using the Kurds as surrogates -- they're a useful asset. My wild-ass guess: Perhaps an armed uprising by midyear, or whenever the next major Muslim occurs, and almost certainly an attack on at least some of the Iranian nuclear sites by Kurds/CIA/SOF/Iranian exiles. |
| Posted by: Jonathan 2005-01-28 12:24:54 PM |