Frank Freeman's Diary, October 2005

The US military has killed 11 people in Iraq near the Syrian border, in the second day of its "anti-Qaeda" operation Iron Fist.

About 25 people have been killed in "suicide" bomb attacks on tourist areas in Bali. The attacks come nearly three years after those which killed c.200, including many Australians.

'More than 600 people were detained under the Terrorism Act during the Labour party conference, it was reported yesterday.

'Anti-Iraq war protesters, anti-Blairite OAPs and conference delegates were all detained by police under legislation that was designed to combat violent fanatics and bombers — even though none of them was suspected of terrorist links. None of those detained under Section 44 stop-and-search rules in the 2000 Terrorism Act was arrested and no-one was charged under the terrorism laws.

'Walter Wolfgang, an 82-year-old Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, was thrown out of the conference hall by Labour heavies after heckling the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw.

'When he tried to get back in, he was detained under Section 44 and questioned by police. The party later apologised. [See September 2005 diary.] ...'

US forces have launched a new offensive, "River Gate", in the Euphrates Valley in western Iraq. 3,500 US marines and other soldiers, including Iraqis, are taking part. Mainly civilian casualties have been incurred.

[Says story is from Boston Globe; but Google News search does not turn up original. ]

'The FBI's counterterrorism unit has launched a broad investigation of US-based theft rings after discovering some vehicles used in deadly car bombings in Iraq, including attacks that killed US troops and Iraqi civilians, were probably stolen in the United States, according to senior US Government officials.

'The FBI's deputy assistant director for counterterrorism, Inspector John Lewis, said the investigation did not prove the vehicles were stolen specifically for car bombings in the Middle East, but there was evidence they were smuggled out of the US by organised criminal networks that included terrorists and insurgents. ...'

Superficially sounding like one more piece of evidence of US organizing of terrorism, but rather unlikely-sounding, and coming from government sources, it may be a disinformation effort. Or not.

DeLay Indicted Again, Charges Graver:
The former White House majority leader faces money laundering counts. Once more, he excoriates the Texas prosecutor
Scott Gold, Los Angeles Times, 4 October 05, reproduced on Usenet, 5 October 05

'Houston — Six days after Rep. Tom DeLay's indictment on conspiracy charges, a Texas grand jury issued another indictment Monday charging him with the far more serious crime of money-laundering — a first-degree felony that could bring him a lengthy prison term.

'Under the internal rules of the Republican Party, the conspiracy indictment had forced the Texas congressman to step down from his positon as House majority leader. Taht charge, a fourth-degree felony punishable by a state prison term of two years, came after a wide-ranging probe into allegations that DeLay and his lieutenants had hijacked Texas elections by illegally funneling corporate money into the bank accounts of Republican state candidates.

Tending to confirm my speculation last month that the SAS were engaged in supporting bombings to blame on Iran, etc ...

'Britain has accused Iran of responsibility for explosions which have caused the deaths of all eight [they couldn't be satisfied with two or three] UK soldiers in Iraq this year.

'A senior British official, briefing correspondents in London, blamed Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

'He said they provided the technology to a Shia group in southern Iraq. The Iranians had denied this, he added.

['He [also] said Iran could be attempting to warn off Britain over its demands Tehran abandon its nuclear programme.' (ITV Teletext, p.303) Sewing two invasion pretexts together "pretty neat", to coin a phrase.]

'While UK officials have hinted [they've done a damn sight more than that] at an Iranian link before, this is the first specific allegation to be made.'

Storming forward with a cannonade of brass balls. Still, Who Dares, Wins, to coin another phrase.

'President Bush said yesterday that he would consider using the military to "effect a quarantine" in the event of an outbreak of pandemic influenza in the United States

'Responding to a question during a news conference, Bush also suggested putting National Guard troops under federal, rather than state, control might be one part of a response to the "catastrophe" of an avian influenza outbreak. The President raised the same idea after Hurricane Katrina, suggesting that he is considering a greater role for the military in natural disasters.

'The president gave no details on the specific role troops might play or what sort of quarantine might be invoked. The federal government's pandemic-response plan, the product of more than a year of work, is expected to be released soon.

'Most public health experts believe it is impossible to entirely isolate neighborhoods, towns, cities or regions during an outbreak of disease. Instead, quarantines today generally refer to a variety of strategies for identifying and limiting the movement of people who are infected with a contagious pathogen or are at high risk.

'That might include screening travelers for fever and flu symptoms; prohibiting large gatherings of people [my emphasis], including at some workplaces; and requiring that people exposed to infected individuals stay at home until the incubation period for the illness has passed. China [!!!!] took these measures during the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS] in 2003. ...

'A strain of avian influenza called H5N1 has led to the death of more than 140 million birds in Asia. It has infected 116 people, of whom 60 have died.

'The government is stockpiling antiviral medications and an experimental [!] "bird flu" vaccine as a defense against the virus, should it develop the capacity to spread easily and quickly in human beings.'

Scientists at the US Armed Forces Institute of Pathology have recreated the 1918 Spanish-flu virus, which killed 50 million people, "in order to better understand it". They claim in came from birds, thus neatly linking up with the current H5N1 version of bird flu, which has so far killed 60 people or so.

This follows news that the US military is bulk-buying anthrax (the "harmless" Sterne strain), on the happy fourth anniversary of the Patriot Act. See September 2005 diary, under 24 Sept. 05.

'US Vice-President Dick Cheney has said that the US must be prepared to fight the war on terror for decades.

'Addressing US military personnel, he said that the only way terrorists would win was if the US lost its nerve and abandoned Iraq and the Middle East.

'Mr Cheney is the latest senior member of the US administration trying to bolster support for the war in Iraq.

'On Thursday [tomorrow], President George W Bush will once again address the issue in a major speech in Washington.'

It' clear that they will continue to grasp for Mideast oil, staging terrorist attacks on their own people as "justification", as long as they are allowed to hold on to power.

'After a bruising, three-year battle between the Delta Force generals and the four-stars who command conventional troops around the world, President Bush has given control for managing the administration's global war on terrorism to U.S. Special Operations (SOCOM) — but with a giant caviat.

'The new Unified Command Plan 2004, signed by President Bush on March 1, and reported here for the first time [but cf. next item], assigns SOCOM as "the lead combatant commander" for "synchronizing" operations against terrorist networks. However, the directive leaves the regional commanders in charge of executing counter-terrorism operations in their own theaters.

'Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who has believed the regional commanders were too traditional in their approach to operations, originally sought to make special operations fully responsible for "command" of counter-terrorism, and with much greater centralization.

'But Rumsfeld could not get muster [sic] political top cover int he White House and Congress for his scheme to strip the regional commanders of full control of operations in their countries, and both the CIA and State Department raised questions about independent military operations being run without full coordination with CIA station chiefs and embassy country teams. ...

'... on November 1, SOCOM will formally activate its new Center for Special Operations as the nerve center to coordinate global operations and actionable intelligence, particularly against "high value targets." Previous directorates of operations, plans and policy; and intelligence and information operations; [sounds like the CIA's structure] have already been consolidated into the new Center under three groups: the Intelligence Support Group (J2), the Operations Support Group (J3), and the Campaign Support Group (J5).

'The director of the Center is Lt. Gen. Dell L. Dailey, the commander of Joint Special Operations Command [at Fort Bragg, North Carolina : see next item] from 2001 to May 2003. Dailey was the overall clandestine special operations commander after 9/11, operating from Oman and then from Afghanistan as Commander, Task Force Sword (later called (TF-11). ...'

'U.S. Special Operations Command has drafted a war plan that sets up procedures for how its commandos will work with other regional commands across the globe to hunt for senior Islamic terrorists.

'The complex plan from SoCom in Tampa, Fla., has been in the works since summer 2002, when Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld signed a secret directive authorizing it. ...

'The Washington Times learned of the developing plan this week from defense sources, who said it is encountering resistance from some regional headquarters ... The plan has yet to be presented to Mr. Rumsfeld. ...

'The war-planning task is being handled by SoCom's Center for Special Operations (CSO), led by Lt. Gen. Dell Dailey. ...

'In early 2003, Mr. Rumsfeld elevated SoCom to a status equal to war-fighting commands, such as Central Command, which plan their own battles and executions. Until then, SoCom had only supported war-fighting commands. He also designated SoCom as the global command in the war on Islamic terrorists. ...'

'The CIA will not seek to hold any current or former agency officials, including ex-director George J. Tenet, responsible for failures leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, CIA Director Porter J. Goss said yesterday, despite a recommendation by the agency's inspector general that he convene an "accountablility board" to judge their performance. ... [Good God, whatever next, an investigation of the Reichstag Fire by the Nazi Sondergruppe that carried it out?!] ...

'More than a dozen intelligence officials, including Tenet, his former director of operations, James L. Pavitt; and J. Cofer Black, former head of the counterterrorism center [Pavitt founded it in 1986], are faulted in the CIA report, said officials who have read the classified findings. ...'

And some of that mysterious stock-option trading, in the week before 9/11, on companies likely to be badly hit by those attacks, took place through Alex. Brown, a bank in which Krongard had been a boss, before becoming the CIA's no.2 man. See "9/11 Insider Trading".

'British Prime Minister Tony Blair has issued a warning to Iran, saying "information" linked it to recent bomb attacks on British troops in Iraq.

'He said evidence led either to Iran or its Lebanese militant allies Hezbollah, although "we can't be sure of this". [He would have fallen over then, but he couldn't make up his mind which way.] ...

'Iran has denied any role in the blasts that have killed eight British soldiers in Iraq in the last five months.

'Speaking on Iranian TV, foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza-Asefi said: "This is a lie. The British are the cause of instability and crisis in Iraq."

'He said Iran had no reason to interfere, as Mr Blair suggested, declaring that "a stable Iraq is in our interests".

'The Tehran-based Hezbollah meanwhile issued a statement denouncing Mr Blair's claims as "lies" and "excuses to justify the inability of the occupation to confront the rise of resistance inside Iraq". ...'

However, they don't go far enough — or do they, but it's not reported? — ; these machinations are to provide one more excuse to invade the next oil target of Iran.

British troops have arrested three policemen and five others in night raids in Basra, southern Iraq, in connection with terrorist attacks "by supporters of Moqtadr al-Sadr".

New York is on high alert as its mayor, Bloomberg, warns of a "specific and credible" threat to the city's subway system.

The Nobel peace prize has been awarded to Mohammed elBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency for their "anti-nuclear" work.

'The determination of countries across the Middle East and Asia to develop nuclear arsenals and other weapons of mass destruction is laid bare by a secret British intelligence document which has been seen by the Guardian.

'More than 360 private companies, university departments and government organisations in eight countries, including the Pakistan high commission in London [does that mean Britain counts as one of the countries?!], are identified as having procured goods or technology for use in weapons programmes.

'The length of the list, compiled by MI5 [why not MI6?!expedient? No,] realized. MI5 warns against exports to organisations in Iran [we can expect this country to be top of the list], Pakistan, India, Israel, Syria and Egypt and to beware of front companies [this is a prize one, coming from the CIA's sidekick ... or a giveaway in the United Arab Emirates, which appears to be a hub for the trade. ... [Indeed, the UAE is part of the hub of the prospective Mideast oil empire, it is already a satellite state of the Anglo-Saxon west, and along with its fellow Gulf state Qatar, is already a key US military base (for constructing that empire).]

'The MI5 document, entitled Companies and Organisations of Proliferation Concern, has been compiled in an attempt to prevent British companies inadvertently exporting sensitive goods or expertise to organisations covertly involved in WMD programmes. [:-D] Despite the large number of bodies identified, the document says that the list is not exhaustive. [Yes, where on Earth is Saudi Arabia? :-D :-D :-D] ...

'The 17-page document identifies 95 Pakistani organisations and government bodies, including the Pakistan high commission in London, as having assisted in the country's nuclear programme. The list was compiled two years ago ...

'Some 114 Iranian organisations [my emphasis], including chemical and pharmaceutical companies and university medical schools, are identified as having acquired nuclear, chemical, biological or missile technology. The document also attempts to shed light [!] on the nuclear ambitions of Egypt and Syria: a private chemical company in Egypt is identified as having procured technology for use in a nuclear weapons programme, while the Syrian atomic energy agency faces a similar charge. [This shows the low priority assigned by the petro-imperialists to Syria, which the Israelis would like the Yanks to invade.] Eleven Israeli organisations appear on the list, along with 73 Indian bodies, which are said to have been involved in WMD programmes.

'The document also highlights concerns that companies in Malta and Cyprus could have been used as fronts for WMD programmes. The United Arab Emirates is named as "the most important" of the countries where front companies may have been used, and 24 private firms are identified as having acquired WMD technology for Iran, Pakistan and India. [This brings the total of named countries to nine, not eight as stated in this article. But if we exclude Malta and Cyprus (as MI5 "maybes"), we get seven countries. Now what country hasn't been mentioned? The "elephant in the living room", Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, seems a reasonable suggestion. But this Grand Prize is being saved up for the grand finale when, no doubt, the 9/11 "hijacker" patsies card will be played to the hilt (cf. "Military Intelligence Operation Able Danger identified Brooklyn Atta Qaeda cell, winter 1999-2000 ").]

'A spokesman for the UAE government said it had always worked "very closely" with the British authorities to counter the proliferation of WMD.'

On the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, to which the two SAS soldiers belonged, who were arrested in Basra by Iraqi police (and said to have had a carload of explosives and arms — see September 2005 diary) ....

Woman soldier['s picture] was used for target practice

'One of Britain's most secretive special forces units is facing allegations of sex discrimination and bullying from a female corporal who accuses some of its soldiers of using a picture of her for live target practice.

"Corporal Leah Mates [sounds like a ringer for Leah Betts!], 30. from Calne, Wiltshire, will tell an employment tribunal next month that she was so worried by the incident, involving other members of the Det, a top secret [not that top secret,k evidently] Northern Ireland surveillance unit, that she feared for her life. [the "Det" may have something to do with "Stakeknife", the agent provocateur infiltrated into the IRA.] ...

'The Det is already under scrutiny for its involvement in the surveillance operation in London last July that led to the killing by armed police of the Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, who was wrongly believed to be a terrorist.

'The Det is now being absorbed into the new Special Reconnaissance Regiment, which is at the forefront of the war on terrorism. [My emphases.] Part of the old unit, previously known as 14 Intelligence Company, remains in Northern Ireland, where it is carrying out covert surveillance. The work is so clandestine that some of the tribunal will be closed and held at a secret location. [They don't half go to a lot of trouble for employees, do they! Let's hope the "Det" doesn't take potshots at them.] ...'

The Special Reconnaissance Regiment, like the "Det" it is taking over, is "at the forefront of the war on terrorism". The two SAS soldiers arrested by Iraqi police in Basra lat month were members of this unit.

'Defence sources have told The Scotsman that the soldiers were part of an undercover special forces detachment set up this year to try to "bridge the intelligence void" in Basra. The detachment draws on special forces' experience in Northern Ireland and Aden, where British troops went "deep" undercover in local communities [and used now-notorious methods] to try to break the code of silence against foreign forces.

'The troops are under the jurisdiction of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment that was former last year by the then defence secretary, Geoff Hoon, to gather so-called human intelligence during counter-terrorist missions.'

(Colin Freeman, "British tanks in 'smash and grab" raid", The Scotsman, 20 September 05)

So it appears that these special troops are at the forefront of the War Of Terror in Britain and Iraq alike ....

Some more stuff on this ...

'Green Slime' invades Iraq: The Force Reconnaissance Unit's collusion with death squads in northern Ireland
William Bowles, Centre for Research on Globalization, 29 September 05

'This month Geoff Hoon, the [British] Defence Secretary [in fact John Reid has been Defence Secretary since the government post-reshuffle last May], announced the establishment of a new regiment, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR), to provide covert intelligence expertise for operations by the SAS and the Special Boat Service [SBS]. Although he did not specify which experts he had in mind, the new regiment is largely based around the surveillance specialists of the 14th Intelligence Company, also known as "the Det" (Detachment), which has operated in Northern Ireland for many years. (The Times, April 2005)

'This is Brigadier Gordon Kerr [photo], identified as being involved in the deaths of at least fifteen Irish Republicans during his tenure as head of the FRU or the Force Reconnaissance Unit in Northern Ireland. Promoted from Lt. colonel to Brigadier for his efforts, Kerr was given the job as military attache in Beijing, largely to keep him out of the way of an investigation into the activities of the FRU in the assassination of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane and as many as fourteen other people. ...'

Italy has the highest rate of phone taps in Europe. It has doubled in the last five years. Police can tap a phone for 35 days with an order from a judge, and it can be extended.

'IRAQ[:] The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have established a HQ in an attempt to control terrorists in southern Iraq, London-based dissidents claim.

A repeat performance of the unholy alliance of lies between Anglo-Saxon "intelligence" organizations and Iraqi dissidents, designed to pave the way for the conquest of that country.

'Plans for new powers to detain suspects for up to three months without charge could be challenged under human rights laws, an anti-terror [!] watchdog has said.

'Lord Carlile of Berriew QC said he also had concern about the Terrorism Bill's measure to remove British passports from people with dual nationality [my emphasis].

'But Home Office minister Hazel Blears said the test for removing citizenship in such cases was currently too high.'

... here it comes, the thin end of the wedge for a Soviet-style state depriving citizens of their citizenship at the will and whim of the state.

The Syrian interior minister, Ghazi Kanaan, has committed suicide, according to the official news agency in Damascus.

'He was reportedly questioned by a UN investigation last month over the murder of ex-Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri.'

A fresh burst of invade-Iran agitprop from anonymous British "Defence" officials ...

'Specialist bomb-makers targeting British troops in southern Iraq are being trained by an elite arms unit of Iran's armed forces, UK defence sources say.

'Insurgents making tank-busting explosives, which have killed eight UK soldiers in recent months, are being trained in Iran and Lebanon, they say.

'BBC Defence correspondent Paul Wood in Basra says the claims implicate the Iranian government. Tehran denies them.

'The MoD [Ministry of Defence] said the new claims supported Tony Blair's concerns of an Iranian link.'

'GUARDIAN[:] Osama bin Laden's deputy has set out plans to take control of Iraq when US troops leave — and spread armed conflict to neighbouring nations.'

As ever, the Qaeda chimera is a mirror of its petro-imperialist mythmakers' own behaviour and intentions.

Under pressure from things like Able Danger, on the one hand. And on the other, the need to stoke up a general atmosphere of hysteria as a backdrop for the invasion of next-oil-target Iran.

'People will have to pay £30 for a stand alone identity card, Home Secretary Charles Clarke has announced.

'But it is expected that most people will want a combined passport and ID card, costing an estimated £93 each to make. The cards will be valid for 10 years.

'Revealing the £30 cost, Mr Clarke said: "No-one who wants their identity need pay more."

'The potential price of the cards was among criticisms levelled at the scheme, which MPs debate next week.'

14 October 2015: Special offer, one week only, you pay only £30 for the bullets used to shoot dissidents in your family!

'George Bush told Tony Blair shortly before the invasion of Iraq that he intended to target other countries, including Saudi Arabia [my emphasis], which, he implied, [beat this, Einstein!] planned to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

'Mr Bush said he "wanted to go beyond Iraq in dealing with WMD proliferation, mentioning in particular Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan," according to a note of a telephone conversation between the two men on January 30 2003.

'The note is quoted in the US edition, published next week, of Lawless World, America and the Making and Breaking of Global Rules, by the British international lawyer Philippe Sands. The memo was drawn up by one of the prime minister's foreign policy advisers in Downing Street and passed to the Foreign Office, according to Mr Sands. ...'

'Two bomb blasts have hit a shopping centre near Iran's border with Iraq, killing four people, state TV reports.

'More than 70 people were injured in the explosions in Ahwaz, capital of Khuzestan province in western Iran.

'The attacks, a few minutes apart, took place near an area attacked by several bombs in June.

'Ahwaz, which is close to the Iraq border, was the focus of unrest between Arabs and Persians in April, when several people were reportedly killed.'

Arab Khuzestan contains all the currently-produced oil in Iran. It seems probable US/UK special forces are behind the bombings (as Iran itself has recently claimed). Perhaps even the same "Special Reconnaissance Regiment" (SRR) that appears to be involved in the "Iranian-sponsored terrorist bombings" in southern Iraq (see above, under 10 October 05).

'US Security of State Condoleezza Rice has openly clashed with Russia over whether Iran can pursue a nuclear energy programme.

'In talks with Russian officials in Moscow, Ms Rice said Iran needed to recognise its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

'But her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, told reporters that Tehran had the right to enrich uranium. ...'

Bird flu (H5N1) (Don't PANIC! Don't PANIC!) has now reached Romania, UK scientists have confirmed (after their test samples finally turned up).

It is estimated that a bird-flu outbreak will kill about 50,000 people in Britain, but perhaps over 700,000, a British medical expert says. However, he doesn't expect one this winter.

'A powerful coalition of judges, senior lawyers and politicians has warned that the government is undermining freedoms citizens have taken for granted for centuries and that Britain risks drifting towards a police state. One of the country's most eminent judges has said that undermining the independence of the courts has frightening parallels with Nazi Germany.

'Senior legal figures are worried that "inalienable rights" could swiftly disappear unless Tony Blair ceases attacking the judiciary and freedoms enshrined in the [hardly age-old!] Human Rights Act. ...

'"... The judiciary has been put there by Parliament in order to ensure that the executive acts lawfully. If we take that away from the judiciary we are really aping what happened in Nazi Germany," [Lord Acker] said.

'"If the Prime Minister and other members of the Government continue to threaten to undermine the Human Rights Act and interfere with judicial independence we shall have to secure our basic human rights and freedoms with a written constitution," [Lord Lester] said. ...'

'The senior military police inspector in Iraq has been found dead at the British base in Basra, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed.

'Captain Ken Masters was discovered in his accommodation in Waterloo Lines in southern Iraq, on Saturday [15 Oct. 05].

'The MoD said an inquiry was under way but the circumstances were not regarded as suspicious.

'Captain Masters, who was 40 and married with two children, had served with the royal Military Police since 1981.'

'Captain Ken Masters, British chief [military] police investigator in Basra died under mysterious circumstances. The cause of death was not mentioned. According to a Ministry of Defense [the UK Ministry of Defence, MoD] spokesman, his death was "not due to hostile action" nor to natural causes.

'Ken Masters was Commanding Officer of the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal Military Police. He was "responsible for the investigation of all in-theatre serious incidents, plus investigations conducted by the General Police Duties element of the Theatre Investigation Group." (Statement of Britain's Ministry of Defense [Ministry of Defence], 16 Oct 2005).

'In this capacity, Captain Masters was responsible for investigating the circumstances of the arrest of two undercover elite SAS men, wearing Arab clothing, by Iraqi police in Basra [...] on September 19 (London Times, 17 Oct 2005).

'The Ministry of Defence refused to reveal details about his (Masters'] work but it is believed he was involved in the inquiry into the dramatic rescue of two SAS soldiers held in a prison in Basra." (Daily Mail, 16 Oct 2005). [Not surprising, considering his status, of course]] ...

'The attack on the 19th September to "rescue" the two SAS men was launched under the command of Brig John Lorimer. In a statement, Lorimer said that the purpose of the raid was to ensure the safety of the two SAS men ... ([The Times, 20 [sic] Oct 2005])

'Ironically, Brig Lorimer's account was challenged by the US appointed [sic] interim government. Iraqi interior minister Baqir Solagh Jabr, in an interview with the BBC "denied that the Iraqi police had handed over the SAS men to the local militias, as Brigadier Lorimer had stated ... "That is not right, totally not right," he said. He accused Brigadier Lorimer of reacting to "rumour" when he ordered his men to storm the police station and said that the building where the SAS men had been found was actually part of the police station" (The Independent, 12 Oct 2005). ...'

The terror-agitprop campaign is being stoked up apace, providing a backdrop for US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to the UK today. She met British PM Tony Blair at Chequers, and Iran and Iraq "were discussed". I.e., Rice informed Blair of a preliminary decision to invade Iran.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw (he of the integrity to match his name), interviewed on British Channel 4 News, referred to the Iranian nuclear rake-up ploy as an "Iranian dossier" — apparently intentionally resurrecting the notorious label of the fraudulent Iraq WMD "dossiers", which were used as the pretext to conquer that country.

'Detailed plans of the country's [the UK's, not Iran's!!] most sensitive nuclear sites have been found in a car linked to one of the 7 July [London] bombers, the Sunday Mirror [now purged of it old crusading editor, shamefully] says.

This is a variation on the old disinformational trick of MI5/6 "losing secret documents" in public. (But perhaps not much of a variation, if they themselves carried out the July 7 attacks.)

'The Sunday Times adds that secret plans have been drawn up to evacuate MPs to a site in Hampshire [perhaps to be called the "dustbin of history" :-)] in case of an attack.'

'The Sunday Telegraph claims former Russian military members helped Tehran acquire secret missile technology.

'Western intelligence officials tell the paper the shipments could allow Iran to develop a missile capable of hitting much of Europe. [They're learning from their mistakes in Iraq. They don't actually claim that Iran has such missiles, and so will avoid — as they think — egg on their faces when none are found after invasion.]'

'... The Russians are acting as go-betweens with North Korea as part of a multi-million pound deal they negotiated between Teheran and Pyongyang in 2003. [Neatly throwing in the Koreans as well as The Russians! The Russians!! THE RUSSIANS!!!] It has enabled Teheran to receive regular clandestine shipments of top secret missile technology, believed to be channelled through Russia.

'Western intelligence officials [for which we can read, presumably, CIA, MI6 or their frontmen] believe that the technology will enable Iran to complete development of a missile with a range of 2,200 miles, capable of hitting much of Europe. It is designed to carry a 1.2-ton payload, sufficient for [aaa~aaa~AARGH!!] a basic nuclear device. ...'

This garbage is accompanied by a map showing a circle centred on north-western Iran, with a radius-arrow, terminating in Belgium, and pointing straight toward — you guessed it! little old Britain.

Perhaps it's really a variant strain of bird flu. Perhaps the missiles will carry bird flu. ....... I'm coming to get you ..... I'm coming to GET you .....

And, more curiously,

'The Independent on Sunday examines allegations over Iran's influence in Iraq, suggesting bombs killing British soldiers may be linked to the IRA.'

(Ibid.)

Members of the British top-secret "Forces Research Unit" (FRU), aka the "Det"[atchment], were part of a Real IRA squad responsible for the Omagh bombing in Northern Ireland in 1998.

The FRU has since been absorbed by the recently-formed Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR). The two SAS men caught by Basra police with a carload of explosives and arms last month are said to have been members of this unit. ...

(Michael Keefer, "Were British Special Forces Soldiers Planting Bombs in Basra? ...", Centre for Research on Globalization, 25 Sept. 05; "'Green Slime' invades Iraq ...", Centre for Research on Globalization, 29 Sept. 05)

Here's the Independent On Sunday article:-

revealed: IRA bombs killed eight British soldiers in Iraq
Greg Harkin, Francis Elliot and Raymond Whitaker, Independent (UK), 16 October 05

'Eight British soldiers killed during ambushes in Iraq were the victims of a highly sophisticated bomb first used by the IRA, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.

'The soldiers, who were targeted by insurgents as they travelled through the country, died after being attacked with bombs triggered by infra-red beams. The bombs were developed by the IRA using technology passed on by the security services [my emphasis] in a botched "sting" operation more than a decade ago.

'This contradicts the British government's claims that Iran's Revolutionary Guard is helping Shia insurgents to make the devices.

'The Independent on Sunday can also reveal that the bombs and the firing devices used to kill the soldiers, as well as two private security guards, were initially created by the UK security services [my emphasis] as part of a counter-terrorism strategy at the height of the [Northern Ireland] troubles in the early 1990s.

'According to security sources, the technology for the bombs used in the attacks, which were developed using technology from photographic flash units, was employed by the IRA some 15 years ago after Irish terrorists were given advice by British agents. ...

'Even more alarming is the claim that the devices were supplied by the security services to an agent inside the provisionals [i.e. the Provisional IRA] [my emphasis] as part of a dangerous game of double bluff.

'According to investigators examining past collusion between the security forces and paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, members of the shadowy army undercover outfit, the Force Research Unit [FRU], and officers from MI5 [my emphasis] learned in the early 1990s that a senior IRA member in south Armagh was working to develop bombs triggered by light beams. They decided the risks would be diminished if they [the FRU and MI5, evidently] knew what technology was being used.

'"The thinking of the security forces was that if they were intimate with the technology, then they could develop counter-measures, thereby staying one step ahead of the IRA," a senior source close to the inquiry explained. "It may seem absurd [you got that right!!] that the security forces were supplying technology to the IRA, but the strategy was sound. [The sound, as it turned out, of bombs exploding and being blamed on Iran, "ALL THE BETTER TO EAT YOU WITH!!"] ..."'

And, as we already know, the "Force Research Unit" (FRU, aka the "Det"), recently merged with the "Special Reconnaissance Regiment" (SRR), two of whose men were caught red-handed by Iraqi police in Basra with a carload of explosives and arms. (See above, under 10 October 05.) So, cutting the IRA bullshit, the whole sordid festering plot spews its way to the surface ...

The purpose of the terror campaign, apart from psychologically preparing the public for and "justifying" an invasion of Iran, is also to justify the upcoming police state.

The real purpose of the police state is to deal with the popular resistance which such an invasion will engender. In the worse-case scenario, it will be used to try to quench a civil war.

This is the real purpose of the barricades being erected and strengthened around key centres such as Scotland Yard and Parliament. To defend the agents and frontmen of the Black Empire against a popular uprising.

They will, of course, have to imprison many thousands in such events, and the conventional prison system is useless for such a purpose. Barbed-wire stockades will have to be erected at more-or-less "short notice". Doubtless such plans are already in place.

Well, H5 (not ~~~the dreaded~~~ substrain H5N1) has reached a remote Greek island.

BBC 1's 10 o'clock news has run a feature on a British Tornado warplane "counterforce" to shoot down (as a last resort) hijacked airliners.

The US military says it has killed about 70 people, whom it calls "rebels" (locals say some civilians) in villages near Ramadi, in western Iraq.

The result of the Iraqi referendum on the constitution has been delayed, after the Iraqi Electoral Commission said turnout seemed abnormally high in some areas. Some Sunni politicians complained of "corrupt practices" to boost the Yes vote.

'USA[:] The remains of around 1,000 victims of the September 11 2001 terror attacks may have ended up in a rubbish dump.'

Were these people accounted for in the official statistics of the dead? Or, like the steel members of the World Trade Center exported as scrap to China, were they swept under the carpet? ...

'NEW YORK (AP) — A judge urged the city and families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks Monday [17 Oct. 05] to decide together how to honor the memories of those whose bodies were never found at the World Trade Center and may have reached a landfill.

'The families have filed a lawsuit asking the city to find the remains of some 1,000 unidentified victims at the now-closed landfill in Staten Island and move them to a more dignified location.

'Iraq's independent electoral commission says statistical irregularities in last week's referendum could indicate fraud.

'Chief electoral officer Adel Alami did not give details, but he said many provinces' figures were either too high or too low by international standards.

'The electoral commission said on Monday [17 October 05] it was re-examining the ballots and that final results from the referendum would be delayed by several days. ...'

In the UK, the ID Cards Bill has passed its final (third) reading in the House of Commons, with a majority of just 25. Some Labour backbenchers, as well as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, voted against it.

Whose unelected members, paradoxically, are now a leading defence against the threat to a free society from the elected lower house.

Elected, that is, via a ballot system that has already seen a not-insignificant amount of fraud. And even so, elected on the lowest proportion of votes — 37 percent — seen for a British ruling party.

Will bird flu be used as a pretext for martial law, via the notorious Civil Contingencies Act or whatever? This is a preparation for the squashing of popular opposition during an invasion of Iran.

The UK government has announced plans to obtain 120 million doses of flu vaccine — two for each person in the country.

'A Texas court has issued a warrant for the arrest of leading US Republican politician Tom DeLay on money laundering and conspiracy charges.

'Bail was set at $10,000 (£5,600) ahead of the former House majority leader's scheduled court appearance on Friday [21 Oct. 05].

'Officials said the warrant is a routine step. But it means that before his court appearance, Mr DeLay is likely to be fingerprinted and photographed.

US troops in Afghanistan burnt the corpses of two Taleban soldiers and used the results to taunt other Taleban in the hills. Psyops (psychological-operations) men were responsible for the idea.

Film of the incident was shown on Australian television. Islam is against cremation.

An alternative scenario is that top brass want to step up their provocation-policy of Muslims, the better to "counter-attack" them. Now that petro-imperialism's campaign to seize the rest of Mideast oil has — obviously — swung into high gear.

The lawyer of a co-defendant of Saddam Hussein has been murdered by a team of ten masked men in Iraq.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is "deeply troubled" by a UN report on Syrian "involvement" in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Syria has condemned the report.

'... In blunt language, the report by German prosecutor Dtlev Mehlis [who headed the "investigation"] concluded that the Valentine's Day [14 Feb. 05] bombing of former prime mininster of 22 others "could not have been taken without the approval of top-ranked Syrian security officials and could not have been further organized without the collusion of their counterparts int he Lebanese security forces."

Is chief investigator Mehlis a Jew? It is in Israel's interest to bring down Syria. I think it probable that Mossad was behind the bomb attack (the Israelis are no friends of the Lebanese — any Lebanese), with the supreme coordination of Big Brother in Langley and Washington, in order to "incriminate" the Syrians.

An imported parrot which died in UK quarantine had the H1 strain of avian influenza. Tests are now being carried out to see if had the ~~~dreaded~~~ H5N1 substrain.

The parrot is reported to have died screeching "Attack Iran! Attack Iran!" over-and-over. The bird is believed to have been an MI6 agent who discovered that al-Qaeda is spreading bird flu from a base in that country.

President Bush says he is "deeply disturbed" by a UN report "implicating" Syrian top brass (whose names have been omitted from the final version) in the assassination of former Lebanese PM Hariri (see above, under 21 October 05). He wants, indeed demands, that the matter be brought to the attention of the UN Security Council.

His virtual repetition of Condy Rice's "deeply troubled" phrase is one more demonstration that he is the puppet and Rice is, to say the least, one of the strings.

'Partial results of the vote on a new Iraqi constitution suggest that at least one Sunni province has rejected it.

'The 20% sample said 81.55 had rejected the draft in Salahuddin, but in Diyala — which has a slight Sunni majority — it was approved by just over 50%.

'No figures were given for the other tow Sunni provinces of Anbar and Ninevah. A two-thirds rejection of the charter in both would torpedo the project.

'As expected, the results suggested a very high approval by Shias and Kurds. ...

'The provisional results showed several provinces approving the constitutional daft with more than 90% — including Najaf with 96%, and Karbala with 90%. In Baghdad, the approval rate was 78%. ...'

'... The [Iraqi] election commission says it is still not able to announce even the provisional results of the referendum despite promising to do so by 20 October.

'Instead it has sent special teams out to five provinces to check what it says are "unusual" results and turnout figures.

'The provinces under investigation include three dominated by the minority Sunni community.

'Human rights group Amnesty [International] has accused the government of "going soft" on torture after court evidence given by the head of MI5 was revealed.

'Eliza Manningham-Buller does not specifically mention torture in a statement to the law lords about using intelligence information from overseas.

'But she says: "Experience proves that detainee reporting can be accurate and may enable lives to be saved."

"Her court statement was leaked to British Channel 4 News [which reported on it yesterday].'

And how reasonably-sounding it is phrased! Let's just remind ourselves that MI5 was the author of the tanks-at-Heathrow-Airport drama (to "fight" an alleged threat of portable missile launchers) of early 2003. This propaganda paved the way for the Iraq invasion.

Manningham-Buller herself later gave insidious publicity to allegations that al-Qaeda was trying to poison our food supplies, which later found its justification in the "ricin plot" — for which not one jot of legally-substantiatable evidence could be produced.

Eliza Manningham-Buller is probably a public figurehead for MI6. But it in no way absolves this sinister agitpropnik for the upcoming Black Empire.

The Iraqi constitution has received a "78 percent Yes vote" in the referendum, with three Sunni-dominated provinces voting against. It just missed falling at the hurdle of two-thirds' No majorities in three provinces: one province "only" had a "56 percent No vote".

'The FBI has conducted clandestine surveillance on some U.S. residents for as long as 18 months at a time without proper paperwork or oversight, according to previously classified documents to be released today.

'Records turned over as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit also indicate that the FBI has investigated hundreds of potential violations related to its use of secret surveillance operations, which have been stepped up dramatically since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks but are largely hidden from public view.

'In one case, FBI agents kept an unidentified target under surveillance for more than five years ...

'Although heavily censored, the documents provide a rare glimpse into the world of domestic spying, which is governed by a secret court ...

'The records were provided to The Washington Post by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, an advocacy group that has sued the Justice Department for records relating to the Patriot Act.

'Dan Sobel, EPIC's general counsel, said ... "We're seeing what might be the tip of the iceberg at the FBI and across the intelligence community," ...

'FBI officials disagreed, saying that none of the cases involved major violations and most amount to administrative errors. ...

'The documents provided to EPIC focus on 13 cases from 2002 to 2004 that were referred to the Intelligence Oversight Board ... Case numbers on the documents indicate that a minimum of 287 potential violations were identified by the FBI during those three years, but the actual number is certainly higher because the records are incomplete.

'FBI officials declined to say how many alleged violations they have identified or how many were found to be serious enough to refer to the oversight board. ...

'Most such cases involve powers granted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which governs the use of secret warrants, wiretaps and other methods as part of investigations of agents of foreign powers or terrorist groups. The threshold for such cases is lower than for traditional criminal warrants. More than 1,700 new cases were opened by the court [the "secret court", presumably] last year, according to an administration report to Congress. ...'

'London bomber Mohammed Sidique Khan featured in a surveillance operation by intelligence services last year [my emphasis], a BBC investigation suggests.

'Khan was secretly filmed [!!] and recorded speaking to a UK-based terror suspect ["who can't be named for legal reasons", BBC Newsnight], according to a well-placed source.

'A Radio 4 File on 4 and BBC Newsnight investigation also suggests he was in contact with al-Qaeda activists for the last five years.

Last year, Khan visited the British Parliament, in connection with his teaching job. And, in a supposedly separate matter (a "truck-bomb plot against a Soho nightclub in London") he was checked out by MI5. See July 2005 diary, under 15, 16 July 05. ...

'A draft UN resolution has called on Syria to arrest any [of] its national[s] seen by UN investigators as a suspect in the killing [of] ex-Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri.

'The draft would also impose an asset freeze and travel ban on anyone considered a suspect in the UN inquiry.

'The draft is being circulated by the US and France to the UN Security Council. ...'

The US oil junta, learning from Iraq, has here adopted a relatively-subtle approach to setting the scene for an attack on Syria. A UN resolution on "specific individuals" — albeit for all intents and purposes the country's government — not specifying anything more than sanctions for "failure to comply".

And when this inevitable happens, will this in itself be the pretext for invasion? Or, more to the point, will it be a cover for preparations to invade Iran?

France's collaboration shows the limits of its opposition to American aggrandizement. France, the once and would-be-future colonial "power" in Syria. Like the US Democrats, it is satisfied to pick up the scraps from the oil junta's plate.

'UNITED NATIONS — The United States, France, and Britain demanded yesterday that Syria detain government officials suspected of involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and ensure their cooperation with a UN probe or face possible sanctions.

'The call was contained in a strongly-worded draft resolution that orders Syria to make the officials or individuals "fully and unconditionally available" to a UN probe that has accused Syria of obstructing its work. [See above, under 21 October 05.]...'

US Vice-President Cheney first gave the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame to his secretary Lewis "Scooter" Libby, according to notes taken by Libby ("I ain't taking the fall alone!") and revealed by lawyers.

'... Notes in the hands of a federal prosecutor suggest that Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, first heard of the CIA officer [Valerie Plame] from Cheney himself, The New York Times reported yesterday. ...

'The Times said notes of a previously undisclosed June 12, 2003, conversation between Libby and Cheney appear to differ from Libby's grand jury testimony that he first heard of Valerie Plame from journalists. ...

'The Times reported that Libby's notes indicate Cheney got his information about [Plame's husband Joseph] Wilson from then-CIA Director George Tenet, but said there was no indication he knew her name. ...'

'The prosecutor in the CIA leak case was preparing to outline possible charges before the federal grand jury as early as today, even as the FBI conducted last-minute interviews in the high-profile investigation, according to people familiar with the case.

'With Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald in Washington yesterday, lawyers in the case and some White House officials braced for at least one indictment when the grand jury meets today. I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, is said by several people in the case to be a main focus, but not the only one.

'In a possible sign that Fitzgerald may seek to charge one or more officials with illegally disclosing Valerie Plame's CIA affiliation, FBI agents [Mueller's boys, no less!] as recently as Monday [24 Oct. 05] night interviewed at least two people in her D.C. neighborhood. The agents were attempting to determine whether the neighbors knew that Plame worked for the CIA before she was unmasked with the help of senior Bush administration officials. Two neighbors said they told the FBI they had been surprised to learn she was a CIA operative.

'The FBI interviews suggested the prosecutor wanted to show that Plame's status was covert, and that there was damage from the revelation that she worked at the CIA. ...'

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the new hardline president of Iran, is proving a useful asset for petro-imperialism. In a speech to students yesterday, he said that Israel should be "wiped off the map".

"Death to Israel" and "death to America" have been standard fare for Iranian radicals for the last 26 years. But now ...

'He added that Iran, suspected of having a nuclear weapons programme, could soon be considered a "real threat".' (BBC Ceefax)

Others (British Channel 4 News and tomorrow's Mirror) interpreted some of his remarks as threatening military action against Iran.

Clearly, he has already received his programming, his marching orders, from Condy Rice, and Ahmadinejad's remarks are just an excuse.

And, 'In a rare public rebuke of a UN state, Kofi Annan expressed "dismay" over the comments and said threats of force were against the UN charter. ...'

... and called for the expulsion of the US and UK from the United Nations .......... not!

Oh yes, and the results of a two-year legal investigation into the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's name are due out tomorrow ....

Funny how domestic crises for the US government often coincide with foreign headline-grabbing bru-ha-has ....

'Bolstering the growth of democracy in other countries has joined countering terrorism and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction as the top strategic missions for the [US] nation's intelligence agencies, according to a docuemnt released yesterday by Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte.

'Titled "The National Intelligence Strategy of the United States," the publication publicly sets out for the first time the strategic missions laid out by the director of national intelligence for the country's 15 agencies. ...'

Just as "spreading socialism" was the banner under which Soviet imperialism operated, so this "intelligence director" publicises the "spread democracy" label of 21st-century American imperialism.

'George Galloway has been accused once again of receiving oil from the Iraq of Saddam Hussein under the United Nations' oil-for-food programme.

'A UN-backed investigation alleged more than 11 million barrels of were allocated in the Respect MP's name.

'Mr Galloway has already denied similar claims from US senators. and reiterated there was "not a shred" of evidence.

'"This is all a tissue of lies and a lie doesn't become a truth through repetition," the Bethnal Green MP said. [Clearly he don't live in the modern whirl.]'

Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice-President Cheney's chief-of-staff, has been charged with obstruction of justice and perjury over testimony relating to the "outing" of CIA agent Valerie Plame. He has handed in his resignation.

Karl Rove, Bush's "brain", has not so far been charged, but will continue to be investigated for another six months.

The US has invited the Red Cross to inspect its Guantanamo detention camp, three years after the Red Cross first asked for access.

'The UN Security Council has unanimously [There's irony for you! The Syrians were on the Council when it unanimously passed the resolution used as the legal pretext to invade Iraq.] endorsed called for Syria to co-operate fully with an inquiry into the death of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri.

'However, the resolution's sponsors — the US, France and the UK — dropped a specific threat of sanctions at the last minute in order to win support.

'Instead, the resolution warns of "further action if necessary". [This is hardly a concession — similar unspecific wording on the Iraq resolution was used as the pretext for invasion.]'

'A UN inquiry into the killing of Hariri in February implicated Syria and pro-Syrian Lebanese officials.'

'A car bomb has exploded in a crowded commercial district of the southern city of Basra, killing at least 20 people and wounding at least 40. ...'

Will some staged massive atrocity, probably involving massive Iraqi casualties and possibly massive US/UK troop casualties as well, provide the final pretext for Iran invasion?