2 September 2007
Iran's president Ahmadinejad claims Iran now has 3,000 centrifuges in operation for the production of refined uranium. This is way ahead of a recent IAEA assessment.
3 September 07
The last British troops have left Basra, to join the 5,000 at their base at Basra Airport outside the city.
US President George Bush has paid a surprise visit to US troops in Anbar province, Iraq.
4 September 07
The Chinese have hacked into the Pentagon's computers.
A congressional report calls the Iraqi government "dysfunctional".
5 September 07
In the UK, Lord Justice Sedley calls for everyone, including short-term visitors to the country, to be put on the DNA database. Chief Constable Tony Lake, in charge of the national DNA database, welcomed his call.
In the run-up to the sixth anniversary to 9/11, a dastardly plot to stage car-bomb attacks in Germany is thwarted in its last stages. The "explosive" — hydrogen peroxide — is the same as that used in the 7/7 and 21/7 plots — thus making it the third occasion in world history.
Frankfurt airport and US military bases were thought to be targets. Right-wing chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the plot's breaking.
7 September 07
A new video of "Osama bin Laden". The mountains are evidently working wonders: he looks years younger, his beard has become black again.
But he's bang-up-to-date. He talks like a dissident neocon or CIA manager, and pontificates about such things as the sub-prime lending market upset.
I didn't see any IntelCenter trademark stamped on this one.
.... ABC News showed the video with "SITE Intelligence Group" (a similar company) on it.
Naturally, the Bush front-administration "appears to believe" in the video's authenticity. [Later: The tape has, as usual, been "authenticated".]
... But it's as if CIAgitprop (see-eye-aye-jit-prop) has given up any pretence of Islamist-terror-authenticity for its productions. ...
'... The 30-minute video was obtained by the SITE Institute, a Washington-based group that monitors terrorist messages, and provided to the Associated Press.
'"... as you liberated yourselves before from the slavery of monks, kings and feudalism, you should liberate yourselves from the deception, shackles and attrition of the capitalist system," he said. [I can just hear my ole buddy Col. Horace J Blitzenburger ] muttering — loudly — about all he said about that "commie Kayeeda faggot" being borne out.]
'Several current and former government officials said they believed an American — 28-year-old Adam Gadahn — may have written at least part of the speech. ...
'[Bin Laden] shows a grasp of current events, dropping mentions of global warming and saying Americans are "reeling under the burdens" of a mortgage crisis.
'And he praises ... Michael_Scheuer, former head of the CIA's bin Laden unit, who has said poor U.S. leadership was losing the war against terrorist groups. [On 2 Sept. 07, Scheuer was praised by "Adam Gadahn" — see Gadahn's Wikipedia entry, as well as George Galloway and Robert Fisk.] ...
'...The Al Qaeda leader had not appeared in new video footage since October 2004, and he had not put out an audiotape in more than a year, his longest period without a message.
'His deputy, Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahiri, has issued numerous videos and audiotapes in the meantime ...
'Rita Katz, director of the SITE Institute, said she believes "strongly that Al Qaeda has regrouped" but that its core bases are more scattered than previously, comprising several training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She said it was likely bin Laden is hidden in a more secure location, away from any of those sites. [Yup.]
'During the video, bin Laden's image moves for only a total of 3½ minutes in two segments, staying frozen the rest of the time while his remarks continue. [My emphasis.]
'A former U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it might have resulted from a technical glitch while Al Qaeda passed the video through a variety of computer sites to mask its cyber trail.
'The United states intercepted the video before it was released on Islamic Web sites where Al Qaeda usually posts its messages, a U.S. counterterrorism official said in Washington. U.S. officials had analyzed the video for hours before transcripts and videos were leaked, the official said ...'
Voice dating evidence comes only from the "frozen" parts, leading to accusations of splicing. (Faking, more like.) (British Channel 4 News, 11 Sept. 07)
US general Patraeus has said that the troop surge in Iraq hasn't really worked.
8 September 07
"Members of al-Qaeda in North Africa" have claimed responsibility for two bomb attacks in Algeria which killed fifty people.
9 September 07
A repeat of the film about Cyril "Rick" Rescorla, security officer of Morgan Stanley in the New York World Trade Center. The company occupied the 44th through 77th floors of the south tower.
After the 1993 bombing, it was suggested that — after tightened ground security — the next attack would be from the air (an explosive-packed plane was suggested). Rescorla developed evacuation procedures for company staff.
After the hit on the north tower, the plan was put into effect. (When the south tower was struck, floors above the 44th were cut off.) Thus Rescorla was "the man who saved 2,700 lives".
("The Man Who Predicted 9/11", British Channel 4/History Channel production, 2005) 10 September 07
Yesterday the British army's commander in Iraq, Brigadier James Bashall, said that UK troops could have come back in April (after Operation Sinbad), but the US prevented it.
'Washington deemed the political conditions were not right for a withdrawal. Also, with no American headquarters or consulate physically established at Basra airport and with the CIA still keen to monitor Iranian activities [my emphasis], the Americans were extremely reluctant to leave the city under Iraqi control.'
And no doubt the CIA was also keen to continue running its own "Iranian" operations in southern Iraq, under SAS/SRR sub-franchise.
US plans base on Iraq-Iran border
BBC News online, 10 Sept. 07
'The US military is planning to build its first base near Iraq's border with Iran [I think a similar announcement was made a couple of years ago] in order to curb the alleged flow of weapons to Shia militants in Iraq.
Maj Gen Rick Lynch told the Wall Street Journal that the base would be located 6.4km (four miles) from the border and house at least 200 US soldiers.
'US forces also plan to build fortified checkpoints on major roads leading to Baghdad from Iran [or is that the other way around], Gen Lynch said. ...'
11 September 07
A "new video" of Bin Laden, praising the 9/11 attacks, and containing video of one of the "bombers", Waleed al-Shehri. The Osama parts are "entirely frozen" — a still picture, the same black-bearded guy, the same image, as in the 7 Sept. 07 video (see above under that date). The voice, however, has been "authenticated".
This "video" was stamped "IntelCenter", the other half of the SITE-IntelCenter double act.
US officials have said a flow of Saudi money and a "new safe haven in north-west Pakistan" are behind the "revival of al-Qaeda".
... which they cannot do without.
BBC Newsnight presented yet another "expose" of Hizb ut-Tahrir, by former member and propagandist Nawaf.
On ITV News at 10:30, a piece about an Israeli-style wall around a Sunni Baghdad district to protect it from car-bombers, which some residents oppose because it is turning their home into a prison.
12 September 07
Bin Laden, Brought to You by ...
Joby Warrick, Washington Post, p.A01
'Early yesterday morning, a South Carolina Web designer who works at home managed to scoop al-Qaeda by publicly unveiling its new video, a feat she has accomplished numerous times since 2002. Within hours, cable news stations were broadcasting images of Osama bin Laden commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and crediting the 50-year-old woman, who uses the pseudonym Laura Mansfield. [See above under 11 Sept. 07 for the tape release.]
'A similar event occurred Friday [7 Sept. 07], when another group beat al-Qaeda by nearly a full day with the release of the first video images on bin Laden to appear publicly since 2004. That group, the SITE Institute, provided the tape to government agencies and news organizations [see above, under 7 Sept. 07] at a time when many well-known jihadist Web sites had been shut down in a powerful cyber attack by unknown hackers.
'It was the latest round of electronic warfare between al-Qaeda and a small community of individuals and companies that troll [sic] the Internet for messages from terrorists — as a livelihood, a personal obsession or both. Often, the groups compete to be the first to find and post a new video or message. Frequently, they accomplish their goal several steps ahead of government agencies who turn to them for material. ...
''"It's not about bragging rights, it's about the mission," said Ben Venzke, IntelCenter's founder. Venzke, who claims several intelligence and military clients in the United States and abroad, said there is value in giving Americans advance word of al-Qaeda's plans.
'Though government intelligence agencies may independently obtain the same material through their own sources, Venzke said each release of a new video triggers requests from his government subscribers. "We're one of the primary sources for a lot of this stuff," he said. [My emphasis. "Primary" of course means original.]
'The bin Laden video that surfaced on Friday [7 Sept. 07] was promoted on several Islamic Web sites in messages posted by As Sahab, a group that produces some of al-Qaeda's propaganda videos. U.S. officials now believe the video was intended for release on Saturday [8 Sept. 07]. But SITE, which operates a Web site and subscription service offering access to an archive of terrorist-group images and materials, obtained the video nearly 24 hours ahead of the scheduled release.
'The group's founder, Rita Katz, declined to comment on the methods used to obtain the footage. ...'
US accuses Iran over Iraq attacks
BBC News online, 12 Sept. 07
'Senior US officials have singled out Iran for criticism, a day after giving a progress report on security in Iraq.
'Gen David Petraeus, top US commander in Iraq, and US envoy to Baghdad Ryan Crocker both cited evidence of Iranian involvement in attacks on US troops.
'Responding to their report, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it made clear Iraq's security had improved, but Iran was a "troublesome neighbor". ...'
The 'proxy war': UK troops are sent to Iranian border
'Exclusive', Kim Sengupta, The Independent (UK), 12 September 07
'British forces have been sent from Basra to the volatile border with Iran amid warnings from the senior US commander in Iraq that Tehran is fomenting a "proxy war". ... 'In signs of a fast-developing confrontation, the Iranians have threatened military action [Poland invaded Nazi Germany in 1939, too. ;-)] in response to attacks launched from Iraqi territory while the Pentagon has announced the building of a US base and fortified checkpoints at the frontier. [See above, under 10 Sept. 07.]
'The UK operation, in which up to 350 troops are involved, has come at the request of the Americans, who say that elements close to the Iranian regime have stepped up supplies of weapons to Shia militias in recent weeks in preparation for attacks inside Iraq. [Mirror descriptions, as usual. ...
'The mission will include the King's Royal Hussars battle group, 250 of whom were told at the weekend that they would be returning to the UK as part of a drawdown of forces in Iraq.
'The operation is regarded as a high-risk strategy which could lead to clashes with Iranian-backed Shia militias or even Iranian forces [they hope] ...
'In an interview after his appearance before a congressional panel on Monday [10 Sept. 07], General Petraeus [commander of US forces in Iraq] strongly implied that it would soon be necessary to obtain authorization to take action against Iran within its own borders [my emphasis], rather than just inside Iraq. "There is a pretty hard look ongoing at that particular situation" he said. ...
'The US decision to build fortifications at the Iranian border, after four years of presence in Iraq, shows, say American commanders, that the "Iranian threat" is now one of their main concerns. ...' The
Target: Iran's oil fields. Of course.
Will the British troops be the cannon fodder for some staged atrocity to set the pretext for the invasion?
Another outbreak of foot-and-mouth in the UK, this one at Egham, ten miles north of the Pirbright (Merial?) laboratory the original "leaked" from. (Another suspect in Norfolk.) (Cf. August 2007 diary, under 8 Aug. 07.)
13 September 07
My Usenet posting, "TARGET: IRAN OILFIELDS".
In Iraq, the Sunni Sheikh Abdul Saha (sp.?) in charge of the "native" end of Bush's "peace effort" in Anbar province has been killed by a bomb.
14 September 07
Over a million Iraqis have died in violence since the US /UK invasion in 2003, says the polling organization ORB. (BBC Newsnight)
The CIA has prohibited waterboarding, a torture technique which makes victims think they are drowning. The agency has never officially admitted that it has used it.
The current deputy DCI is said to have asked the White House for permission for the prohibition. Intelligence officials say waterboarding has been used on only a handful of top terror suspects, such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), who is said to have been broken by the technique, and confessed to 9/11 and other plots.
(ABC News Tonight, 14 Sept. 07)
16 September 07
Former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan says the motive for going to war on Iraq was oil. (Sky News ticker)
... In his memoirs (out tomorrow).
The French foreign minister says the world should prepare itself for possible war against Iran.
The French administration is a right-wing one. They are probably angling to pick up scraps from the American Mideast oil empire. They already have "peacekeeping" troops in Lebanon, next to Syria, which Eric Margolis suggested might be such a scrap.
17 September 07
The UK has sold 72 Typhoon Eurofighter jets to Saudi Arabia, the Saudi government confirmed. The deal was signed on September 11.
Recently, the US has concluded large arms deals with the Israelis and the Saudis. The aim, says British Channel 4 News, is to build up the Saudis against Iran.
Which sounds a little like the German Nazis and Italian fascists building up Poland against the "Czecho-slovak menace".
Iraq Government Expels Blackwater USA After Baghdad Shootings, Demands Trial For Those Responsible
17 September 07
The government of Iraq has revoked the licence of Blackwater USA and ordered it out of the country after a gunfight yesterday in Baghdad in which nine civilians were killed and fifteen injured. It also demanded that the employees responsible be put on trial.
The company says it acted lawfully, and that its employees were defending themselves when insurgents attacked a convoy they were guarding. But US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took the unusual step of expressing regret for the incident in a phone conversation with Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki. The US government (apparently Rice again) said it would launch a transparent investigation.
Iraq is riddled with private military/security companies, of which Blackwater is probably the largest. The California-based firm has about 1,000 employees in the country.
These companies are presumably a major conduit through which the terror is executed. The continuing violence provides not only the pretext to stay indefinitely in Iraq, but also to blame Iraq's neighbours, and thus to attack these oil giants too.
Blackwater's vice chairman, Cofer Black, was the director of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center from 1999-2002. He seems a good candidate for the true operational mastermind of 9/11 itself — the mother of all petro-imperialist facilitators.
'... Diplomats, engineers and other westerners in Iraq rely heavily on protection by Blackwater. ...
'Ms Rice called the prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, to apologize for the shooting. They agreed to run a "fair and transparent investigation", according to a statement from Mr Maliki's office. ...
'There are tens of thousands of mercenaries — or private security operators — in Iraq, including British firms as well as American. Jeremy Scahill, author of a book about Blackwater, put the figure at about 180,000 and described them as "unaccountable". Blackwater has 1,000 employees in Iraq.
''The private security firms are controversial and are often hated by Iraqis who regard them as trigger-happy. US soldiers can face court martial if accused of unprovoked assaults or over-reaction, thought eh ratio of those convicted is low. But the law in relation to private security firms is vague. ...'
Five Blackwater guards were involved in the incident. Iraq doesn't have the power to prosecute them, in this murky field of law.
(ABC News)
20 September 07
Tomorrow's UK Independent leads on the booming "security company" business, which operates in 50 countries. (ITV News, paper reviews)
22 September 07
Blackwater USA has denied an accusation of weapons smuggling in Iraq which, it was claimed, could have supplied a group labelled terrorist in the US.
That's the CIA, right? :-) Specifically, the counter .... terrorist .... center.
It seems the Masters' Of Terror's chamber of black secrets is starting to crack open. .... Trouble is, so many are wearing rose-coloured blinkers.
Blackwater's vice-chairman, Cofer Black, former head of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center, and putative operational mastermind of 9/11. Now likely involved in running the Iraqi terror needed to give the excuse for US forces to stay indefinitely in Iraq, and to blame neighbouring oil giants for as the pretext to conquer them.
They still hope to snatch victory from the jaws of the monumental cock-up Dubya made of it, firstly by invading "Bush-family-dispute" Iraq — not the CIA's target of choice. They would presumably have put "al-Qaeda homeland" Saudi Arabia top of the hit-list. (And Iran, with its "Qaeda connections", second.
and
David Scott, "Blackwater Denies Smuggling Allegations", Associated Press, (22 Sept. 07), hosted by Google
24 September 07
Seven CIA Veterans challenge 9/11 Commission Report
Alan Miller, OpedNews.com
Yes, well, we probably shouldn't be too cynical and remark this is a bit like Reinhard Heydrich challenging the official Nazi account of the Reichstag fire ....
Now if Cofer Black were to join them ....
The seven CIA veterans — including "joker" Christison and "lets-blame-Iran-and-Saudi-Arabia" Baer — don't venture to cast aspersions on their own "ex"-employer, but rather target the Bush-Cheney front boys.
29 September 07
Split in Group Delays Vote on Sanctions Against Iran
Helene Cooper, New York Times
'The United States, Britain and France chose unity over speed and agreed on Friday to delay until November a United Nations Security Council vote on a third sanctions resolution against Iran.
'The delay, a concession to Russia, China and Germany — the other three countries in the fragile coalition of six world powers that are seeking to rein in Tehran's nuclear ambitions — came after a week of haggling on the outskirts of the General Assembly. The six countries issued a statement advising Iran that a diplomatic offer of economic incentives remained on the table if Iran suspended its uranium enrichment program.
'The statement said the six powers would complete the new resolution and bring it to a vote unless reports from the European policy chief, Javier Solana, and the International Atomic Energy Agency in November "show a positive outcome of their efforts."
'Bush administration officials, who have been pushing diplomats to increase sanctions against Iran, said the move to put off a decision until November reflected the harsh realities of getting all six countries to speak with one voice. While officials from Britain, France and the United States were pressing for another sanctions vote right away, China and Russia in particular wanted to wait for another report from the nuclear monitoring agency. ...'
They've now settled into a pattern of running an anti-Iran campaign comparable in length with the 11-year "campaign" against Iraq (from the 1991 Gulf War to the 2003 invasion).
It's looking as if the petro-imperialists' only chance, before the next US presidential election (November 2008), is an October Surprise arranged precisely for that election.
30 September 07
In the UK, telephone companies will be forced to retain call records for use in terror investigations from tomorrow. (Sky News ticker)
ITV Teletext news online BBC News online