Libya : A no lie zone

[Peter Lemkin]

What a mess......I really DO believe 80-90% of Libyans would dearly love to be done with Gaddafi and have a democratic government, share in the wealth of the Nation and not live under a tyrannical dictatorship. However, we supported it all along - the history too long and complex to go into here. Think Wilson and Terpil, for example as to the long connections between Gadaffi and the CIA. [Mousa Kusa was the latest go-between] Gadaffi is and always was a monster - at times our monster and dictator; at times only his own. Support never should have been given him [nice photos of Rice and Blare shaking hands with him - as did many others!]...so now we are trying to [again] cure the problems one of our [created and supported] monsters have wrought. The People always suffer the most. I fear that Gaddafi will resort to foreign terrorism, as his last resort. It will not end without much and needless bloodshed. There are few heroes and 'good-guys' in this play, except for the majority of Libyans wanting their long deserved freedoms and dignity. I think the 'coalition' has its sights on the oil more than liberating the People, sadly...and yet once again!

[Albert Doyle]

The American Government doesn't give a damn about the desert arabs they say they are protecting. The Libya attack is just a progressive phase in the War On Terror under the Project For A New American Century.

CIA has nothing to do but sit in its headquarters and figure this stuff out 24 hours a day. Like with Iraq they lie directly to the American people by saying they are worried that Al Qaeda will take-over Libya. They're just outright lying and doing Michael Moore-type fear mongering as part of their Nazi psychological warfare against the American people.

The Pentagon, State Department, CIA and others are all losers because they have to coopt the US media and take it over in order to get their dirty business done. If you turn on the US media there's another unopposed frenzy of one-sided propaganda coming from the government over its pretend free press. There are no - zero- opposing viewpoints on American cable TV "news", just "terrorism experts" (CIA plants) and paid generals. It's filthy.

What you are seeing is the breaking of arab governments by the CIA and Mossad under the guise of "democratic movements". These rebellions have been covertly engineered by those agencies in order to install permanent pro-Israel and America puppet governments in those countries. Libya has the benefit of having a large pool of oil beneath its "liberation".

Back in the 1960's the US had a little democratic rebellion of its own. Those same major evil hypocrites you see on TV slaughtered, murdered, and did fascist covert agency persecution of those rebels.

The US is lying and there's no chance Al Qaeda will ever get a foothold in Libya and they know it. CIA has found that if you pay the Awakening Councils they'll gladly support a US puppet government like in Iraq. And that's what they are doing.


What you are seeing here is one very powerful international military dictatorship overthrowing a weaker arab one.

[Magda Hassan]

[Magda Hassan]

For updates on military operations in #Libya recommend following: @cencio4 @niallpaterson @FMCNL & @USAfricaCommand But especially @FMCNL He is a Dutch radio geek who is Tweeting live the US radio communications against the Libyans.

[Magda Hassan]

By the way Netherlands have joined in the Libyan attacks.

[Magda Hassan]

Oh, what a loverly war! When thieves fall out.

Germany pulls out of NATO operation due to disagreements over the mission in Libya.

Germany has pulled out of NATO operations in the Mediterranean due to the disagreement over the forces' mission in Libya.


The German defense ministry said on Tuesday that Berlin pulled out of any military operations in the Mediterranean following the Western military alliance's involvement in the Libya conflict, DPA reported.

A ministry spokesman said two frigates and two other ships with a crew of 550 would be reverted to German command.

Some 60 to 70 German troops participating in NATO-operated AWACS surveillance operations in the Mediterranean would also be withdrawn, according to the ministry.

Following the disputes among NATO members over the military intervention in Libya, they met in Brussels to mend differences over what role the alliance should play in Libya.

France says the takeover of the operations by NATO will alienate Arab states, however, Italy believes that NATO should take control of the military campaign in Libya.

Meanwhile, the head of the Italian Senate's defense affairs committee, Gianpiero Cantoni, said the French policy is motivated by a desire to secure oil contracts with a future Libyan government.

US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron have agreed NATO should play an important role in the command structure of the Libya mission, the White House said.

"They reviewed the substantial progress that's been made in terms of halting the advance of Gaddafi's forces on Benghazi as well as the establishment of a no-fly zone," said White House spokesman Ben Rhodes. http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171235.html

Turkey blocks no-fly zone role for NATO as Erdogan says Turkey will "never point a gun at the Libyan people"

Turkey blocks no-fly zone role for NATO
France calls for non-NATO body to lead mission as Erdogan says Turkey will "never point a gun at the Libyan people".

Last Modified: 22 Mar 2011 23:47



France has proposed that a new political steering committee outside of NATO be responsible for overseeing military operations over Libya to enforce a UN-backed no-fly zone.
The announcement came after Turkey, a NATO member, warned on Tuesday that it could not agree to the military alliance taking over the enforcement of the no-fly zone if their mission went "outside the framework" of the UN decision.
Alain Juppe, the French foreign minister, said the new body would bring together foreign ministers from participating states, including Britain, France and the US, as well as the Arab League.

It is expected to meet in the coming days, either in Brussels, London or Paris.


Juppe said not all members of the military coalition are members of NATO so "this is therefore not a NATO operation".
However, he said the coalition would use NATO's "planning and intervention capabilities".
Laurence Lee, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Brussels, said: "You can either regard [the proposal] as another attempt by the French to outflank everybody else and stay ahead of the game, or, if you're more kind about it, an attempt by the French to display some sort of creativity and sensitivity in what is more or less unchartered territory.
"The reason why [the proposal] seems perhaps to have some traction is because NATO seems to find it so impossibly difficult at the moment to come to some sort of agreement between themselves as to the way forward."
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe...91487.html

US forces win hearts and minds by shooting at villagers welcoming them.

U.S. rescue chopper shoots six Libyan villagers as they welcome pilots of downed Air Force jet



By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:51 PM on 22nd March 2011

Six Libyan villagers are recovering in hospital after being shot by American soldiers coming in to rescue the U.S. pilots whose plane crash-landed in a field.
The helicopter strafed the ground as it landed in a field outside Benghazi beside the downed U.S. Air Force F-15E Eagle which ran into trouble during bombing raid last night.
And a handful of locals who had come to greet the pilots were hit - among them a young boy who may have to have a leg amputated because of injuries caused by a bullet wound.

Crashed: Onlookers surround the wreckage of a U.S Air Force F-15E fighter jet after it crashed near the eastern city of Benghazi

Ruins: The fighter jet crashed in Libya overnight after apparent mechanical failure. Both men ejected safely and escaped with only minor injuries






The first confirmed casualties of the allied operation, the Channel Four's International Editor Lindsey Hilsum confirmed the civilian casualties.
The crew of the fighter plane had enjoyed a miraculous escape after suffering suspected mechanical failure during the third night of air strikes on Colonel Gaddafi's military positions.
As one crew member was surrounded by locals, he held his arms out, calling 'okay, okay', according to the Evening Standard - but the grateful Libyans queued to thank him and give him juice.

Younis Amruni told the newspaper: 'I hugged him and said "Don't be scared, we are your friends". We are so grateful to these men who are protecting the skies.'
The plane, based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, had set off from Aviano in Italy but came down at Bu Mariem, some 24 miles east of Benghazi.
The jet's wreckage is set to be recovered or destroyed by the Americans, to prevent the plant coming into Gaddafi's hands, while the crew were seen by a doctor in the rebel stronghold before being taken to a U.S. ship.




Downed: F15E Eagle fighter jet, similar to that lost in Libya last night and anti-aircraft fire lighting up the night sky over Tripoli


The U.S. military confirmed an Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle crashed in Libya but it was not shot down, while Vince Crawley, a spokesman for the Africa Command, said both crew members ejected and sustained minor injuries.
Gauging the reaction of locals in the area, Hilsum said 'the local Libyans do not seem resentful, they still want the coalition forces to keep operating'.

The incident is an embarrassment all round for the coalition, which had been met by strong anti-aircraft fire over Tripoli last night.
However, the U.S. did managed to fire 20 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya in the past 12 hours, a military spokeswoman confirmed today.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...ilots.html

Meanwhile British chicken hawk offers to kill British people to help escalate the clusterfuck, though it is doing just fine as it is. Bonus points if they get to keep Gaddafi in place for a round 2 later.

Today, a British Government minister refused to rule out the deployment of ground troops in Libya.
Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey said there was a clear distinction between sending in a full-scale occupation force - which is banned under the terms of the United Nations mandate - and a more limited intervention.
He insisted the air strikes were aimed at military targets.
Asked on BBC Breakfast how long the conflict was likely to last, Mr Harvey answered: 'How long is a piece of string?'.





He then added: 'We don't know if this is going to result in a stalemate. We don't know if his capabilities are going to be degraded quickly. Ask me again in a week.'
He also accepted that Libya could be left with a stalemate in which left the country divided and Col Gaddafi still holding power in Tripoli.




Show of unity: Dr Liam Fox, Secretary of State for Defence, arrives in Downing Street today ahead of a Cabinet Meeting alongside General Sir David Richards

'That is one possible outcome,' he said.
'If it is, so be it, that wouldn't be desirable. But a stable outcome where they weren't killing each other would in a sense be one way of achieving the humanitarian objective.'
It was a stance echoed by the lead U.S. commander Army Gen. Carter Ham, who said it was possible that Gaddafi might manage to retain power.
'I don't think anyone would say that is ideal,' the general said, foreseeing a possible outcome that contrasts with his President's opinion that Gaddafi should be toppled.

Italy wavering again. As they do. Threaten withdrawal of air bases.

The coalition is finding it difficult however, to present a united front over the vexing question of who should continue to lead the operation.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini reiterated a warning today that Italy would take back control of airbases it has authorised for use by allies for operations over Libya unless a NATO coordination structure was agreed.
Italian officials have described the current three-way command structure involving France, Britain and the United States and the resulting bombing campaign as 'anarchic'.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also added to the calls for the operation to be handed over to NATO and said: 'For us it is essential the mission of the no fly zone is clearly defined, from the embargo to the protection of civilians.
'The operational command must pass to NATO or be coordinated differently from how it is at the moment.'
U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates has already said Britain or France could take charge of the air operation, or NATO could lead it, if sensitivities in the Arab League over working under NATO leadership were assuaged.

HAGUE: DESIRE FOR FREEDOM WILL SPREAD THROUGH AFRICA




William Hague today predicted other countries in Africa would see uprisings similar to those in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
The Foreign Secretary pulled no punches as he predicted the regimes in Zimbabwe and Ivory Coast might be undone by their unhappy peoples.

'Just as Gaddafi is an obstacle to the peaceful development of Libya, there are some others who stand in the way of a brighter future for their countries," Mr Hague said, citing Robert Mugabe and Laurent Gbagbo, who has clung on to power despite electoral defeat.

'The action we have taken in Libya, authorised by the United Nations Security Council, shows that the international community does take gross violations of human rights extremely seriously.'

Mr Hague, speaking at a conference of African leaders and businessmen in London, said the North African revolutions were the most significant political events of the 21st century so far.
'We are only in the early stages of what is happening in North Africa and the Middle East. It is already set to overtake the 2008 financial crisis and 9/11 as the most important development of the early 21st century, and is likely to bring some degree of political change in all countries in the Arab world.

'This is a historic shift of massive importance, presenting the international community as a whole with an immense opportunity.'


However, some analysts and NATO officials question whether France or Britain would be capable of coordinating a complex multinational air mission.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday that NATO should take charge of a no-fly zone, given its 'tried and tested machinery in command and control'.
However, France has raised the problem of the alliance's poor reputation in the Arab world as a result of the war in Afghanistan and the perception that NATO is dominated by the United States.
Senior French analyst Francois Heisbourg said the best outcome would be to have NATO handle military co-ordination but hand political decisions to an ad hoc council of states participating in the coalition, including Arab countries.
Germany, Turkey, the Arab League and the African Union have also come out against a NATO umbrella.
And Algeria called for an immediate end to Western military intervention in the neighbouring country, the state news agency reported.
'We judge this intervention to be disproportionate in relation to the objective set out by the United Nations Security Council resolution,' the APS news agency quoted Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci as saying. '(We demand) an immediate cessation of hostilities and foreign intervention.'
The situation is complicated by the Italian annoyance with the attitude of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who led the diplomatic drive for the Security Council resolution.
Gianpiero Cantoni, head of the Italian Senate's defence affairs committee, was quoted in the Corriere della Sera daily as saying that French policy appeared to be motivated by a desire to secure oil contracts with a future Libyan government, while Italy would have to face a potential flood of refugees.

All those billions in US military aid to Arab despots is finally paying dividends. Qatari planes run out of fuel.

Meanwhile, two Qatari fighter jets and a transport aircraft expected to participate in the no-fly zone over Libya left for Crete today after an unexpected hiccup.
The aircraft had to make an unscheduled refuelling stop in Cyprus but were initially denied permission to land.
It was only when the pilots of the two Mirage jets and a C-17 cargo plane said they were running out of fuel that they were allowed to touch down on Cypriot tarmac.
European and U.S. forces have sent warplanes against Libyan targets under a UN Security Council resolution authorising military action to protect civilians from leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces.
But Cyprus, which hosts two British bases, has said it does not want any involvement in military operations over Libya.
President Demetris Christofias said on Sunday that his government opposed any use of the British bases on the island to enforce the no-fly zone, but conceded it had no power to stop their involvement.
Two Qatari Mirage jet fighters are seen at the tarmac of the old Larnaca airport where they stopped for emergency refuelling on their way to a U.S. military base in Crete http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...ilots.html

[Magda Hassan]

The whole thing is such BS. We've seen it all before with the Kuwaiti babies thrown out of their incubators by Saddam Hussein's mad military and the dastardly Huns bayoneting Belgian babies.

The whole reason for the No Fly Zone was to stop the 'mad man' Gaddafi from bombing his own people. However, such an even has never happened. We now have to get our news about reality from Russia, what an irony, and the Russians say that there was no aerial bombardment of any part of Libya by Gaddafi or any other forces. They know this because of their satellites. They want this information known because they are against the NFZ.

If Gaddafi had really bombed his own people don't you think by now that we would have been bombarded on our own media screens with these images? But the tv screens screen this information out of the picture. Why? They don't exist because it never happened. It isn't on the western media because the media can't get hold of the commercial satellite images because it is not available. The US military have bought exclusive access to the images just like they did in Iraq and Afghanistan and now Libya. These images were not even brought to the UN to justify the NFZ. Even Colin Powell came up with a couple of ice cream trucks in the desert to justify the Iraqi WMDs.

At the time of the so called air attacks by Gaddafi's air force against civilians there were no foreign journalists in the country. They were conveniently covering the events in Tunisia and Egypt. The internet and Twitter and Facebook were blocked. So how did the information get out? The use of unsourced informants has been unusually widespread in promoting all sorts of allegations against Gaddafi. Second and third hand anonymous accounts. This sort of nonsense would normally never see the light of day in any newsroom. While not including Faux Ewes the rest of the media still cling to some sort of credibility and it seems unlikely they would be publishing and broadcasting unchecked sources. If the journalist themselves were not there to check they must be relying on some other 'trusted' source to verify the information. But these source don't want to be mentioned. It is almost certain that those unmentioned sources would have been people from the foreign policy and defense establishments of the U.S. and European countries, most likely foreign intelligence agency operatives functioning under diplomatic cover. These stories just wouldn't have gotten out without extra official Western help. We all know there were British SAS there. Who else was there?

Also when you do any research about the 'rebels' the Libyan Human Rights League keeps coming up. I'd like to more about them and who funds them etc.

More tail wagging the dog here:

[Magda Hassan]

GENERAL ISRAEL ZIV AND LIBYA - ANOTHER ISRAELI FIASCO
by Barry Chamish
March 21, 2011
If you're a leader who is looking for an expensive means of losing power, hire Maj. Gen. Israel Ziv at his firm Global CST and he'll arrange for your downfall. Just ask Libyan strongman Muamar Ghaddafi for a recommendation.

Quoting reliable Israeli sources Yediot Ahronot and Inyan Mercazi, I recently, if not proved then strongly contended, that a desperate Ghaddafi hired Ziv's Israeli firm to supply him with a mercenary force to defeat the rebels' ragtag army on the verge of ousting him from power. Permit me to reprint my claims:

With approval from the government in Tel
Aviv, an Israeli security firm is responsible for sending groups of African mercenaries to Libya
to fight the protestors who have been calling for the fall of the Gaddafi
regime for the last two weeks, reports Al Jazeera's website, citing a source in
the Israeli press. The journalist from Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot, who
prefers to remain anonymous, said that according to speculation in the security
sector, Israel looks at Libya from a strategic perspective and in terms of
security. The fall of Gaddafi would open the door for an Islamic regime in
Libya, according to speculation. In a meeting on February 18, Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defence
Minister Barak and Foreign Minister Lieberman decided to recruit African
mercenaries to fight alongside Gaddafi, according to the journalist. During the
meeting, they decided to let General Israel Ziv, the director of security firm
Global CST, which is active in many African countries, to make a group of
paramilitary mercenaries from Guinea, Nigeria, Central Africa, Mali, Senegal,
Darfur and Southern Sudan available to Abdullah Assinousi, one of the heads of
Libya's intelligence agency.

Since then, details of the plot have emerged from the dark. Attending the fateful Feb. 18 meeting were Netanyahu, Barak, Lieberman. They heard assessments from IDF intelligence chief Gen. Aviv Kochavi and Chairman of the Division of North Africa in the Foreign Ministry, Shalom Cohen, that if Ghaddafi falls, a radical Islamic regime would follow him. Based on this unlikely assessment, the Prime Minister decided, supposedly on behalf of the Israeli people, to bail out Libya's leader with a well trained and equipped army of African guns for hire. He contacted Gen. Ziv who arranged a meeting with Ghaddafi military representatives in the Chadian capital N'djamena. Joining them were two reps from the Israeli government, former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, and Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser. There, a deal between Israel and Libya was cut.

There should be no shock that Ghaddafi agreed. He had two choices; be overthrown or be saved by Israel. Naturally, he chose the latter even though the terms were tough. Global CST would supply tens of thousands of mercenaries for 5 billion American bucks. After they slaughtered the last of the rebels, Israel would be granted rights to explore and export Libyan oil hushhushedly and Gen. Ziv would be permitted to operate his army from Libyan soil to spread its unique talents at saving dictators throughout Africa.

Ghaddafi almost got his money's worth...and then a UN resolution and mostly an American force attacked Libya with bombs and missiles. Suddenly, Ghaddafi could and likely would lose. However, Ziv is not merely a maverick general:

http://nuestrosricos.blogspot.com/2008/0...mpart.html
General Ziv is on the payroll of Counterterrorism International and is member of the Task Force on Future Terrorism (FOTFF), created in June 2005 by the Office of Homeland Security of *Israel? No, of the USA.FOTFF operates under the orders of then-Secretary Michael Chertoff and Lee Hamilton.

And if Ghaddafi should lose, the thoughtful U.S. Ambassador to the Security Council has requested that the mercenaries intervening in Libya be exempt from prosecution under international law. And if recent history is any indication, Ghaddafi is guaranteed to get shafted. Let's look at the last five years of Ziv's career:

In 2006, Maj. Gen. Ziv, heartlessly crushed the Jews of Gush Katif:

[URL="http://www.unitedjerusalem.org/index2.asp?id=625472&Date=8/16/2005"] http://www.unitedjerusalem.org/index2.as...=8/16/2005
[/URL]

Col. Israel Ziv, a commander in Neve Dekalim, said about 500 to 600 families were left in the Gaza Strip, about one-third of the total population, and that he expected more to leave throughout the day. But thousands of pullout opponents who infiltrated Gaza in recent weeks also remained. Ziv said the army planned to clear out the southern half of Gush Katif, the main bloc of Gaza settlements, today.Amid anger among some settlers over the activities of outsiders who came to support them, Major-General Israel Ziv, operational commander of the general staff, said: "The outsiders have taken the locals hostage. I think that things will now move very fast."

When told that he would be moving fast against teenagers, his infamous reply was that he would take that into consideration but he had his "limits."

After leaving 8500 Gazan Jews homeless, Ziv set his eyes on the former Soviet nation of Georgia. He armed the country and convinced it to start a war with Russia. Needless to say, Russia crushed the Georgians and were plenty ticked off at Israel:

http://www.infolive.tv/en/infolive.tv-27...it-weapons
IDF reservists who helped to train Georgian troops said Sunday that they had been unable to contact soldiers who they trained up until a few months ago, but declared that the recent hostilities came as no surprise. Speaking to reporters, the reservists said the bases used to train the troops had been bombed by Russia even though they weren't located in the area where the battles are taking place. One reservists identified as L told Haaretz that he was hired by Global CST, owned by Maj. Gen. Israel Ziv, and Defense Shield, owned by Hirsch, about a year ago, right after he left the army. He had served as a combat officer in an elite unit, and he got the adventurous offer through his commanding officers. "It looked interesting. Relative to Israel, the money was excellent, too," he said.

After betraying fellow Jews and Georgians, Ziv turned his sights on Guinea in 2008, training the troops of dictator Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara. By the next year, the Israeli-trained troops turned their new rifles on a soccer crowd, killing 158. Ziv's benefactor, Camara, left Guinea for medical treatment in Morocco, and has not been permitted to return home.

Quoted Haaretz article and link removed on threat of libel proceedings by Moshe Khan Advocates, Tel-Aviv, Israel, representing Mr. Israel Ziv and Global CST according to their letter

And now, it's Ghaddafi's turn.
http://www.thebarrychamishwebsite.com/newsletters/ziv.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BarryChamish+(Barry+Chamish)

[Peter Lemkin]

Wilson joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1956. As a CIA agent, he spied on European unions before running shipping companies secretly owned by the agency. Over the next few years he arranged clandestine CIA arms shipments to Angola, Laos, Indonesia and the Congo.

In 1971, Wilson left the CIA to run shipping companies for a secret Navy intelligence organization called Task Force 157. This included a company based in Washington called World Marine Incorporated. Wilson used World Marine to carry out his own private business deals. In 1973 Wilson earned a $500,000 fee by delivering a spy ship to Iran under the cover of World Marine.

In 1973 Frank Nugan, an Australian lawyer, and Michael Hand, a former CIA contract operative, established the Nugan Hand Bank. Another key figure in this venture was Bernie Houghton, who was closely connected to CIA officials, Ted Shackley and Thomas G. Clines.

Nugan ran operations in Sydney whereas Hand established a branch in Hong Kong. This enabled Australian depositors to access a money-laundering facility for illegal transfers of Australian money to Hong Kong. According to Alfred W. McCoy, the "Hand-Houghton partnership led the bank's international division into new fields - drug finance, arms trading, and support work for CIA covert operations." Hand told friends "it was his ambition that Nugan Hand became banker for the CIA."

In 1974 the Nugan Hand Bank got involved in helping the CIA to take part in covert arms deals with contacts within Angola. It was at this time that Edwin Wilson became involved with the bank. Two CIA agents based in Indonesia, James Hawes and Robert Moore, called on Wilson at his World Marine offices to discuss "an African arms deal". Later, Bernie Houghton arrived from Sydney to place an order for 10 million rounds of ammunition and 3,000 weapons including machine guns. The following year Houghton asked Wilson to arrange for World Marine to purchase a high-technology spy ship. This ship was then sold to Iran.

By 1976 the Nugan-Hand Bank appeared to have become a CIA-fronted company. This is reflected in the type of people recruited to hold senior positions in the bank. For example, Rear-Admiral Earl P. Yates, the former Chief of Staff for Policy and Plans of the U.S. Pacific Command and a counter-insurgency specialist, became president of the company. Other appointments included William Colby, retired director of the CIA, General Leroy J. Manor, the former chief of staff of the U.S. Pacific Command and deputy director for counterinsurgency and special activities, General Edwin F. Black, former commander of U.S. forces in Thailand, Walter J. McDonald, retired CIA deputy director for economic research and Dale C. Holmgren, former chairman of the CIA's Civil Air Transport.

The investigative journalist, Jonathan Kwitny, became convinced that the Nugan Hand Bank had replaced the Castle Bank & Trust of Nassau, as the CIA's covert banker. Former CIA agent, Kevin P. Mulcahy later told the National Times newspaper "about the Agency's use of Nugan Hand for shifting money for various covert operations around the globe."

In February 1976, Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, the new head of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), discovered that Wilson was involved in some dubious undercover business deals. A few months later Wilson was asked to leave the ONI. Wilson continued to run the CIA-fronted companies he had established. The largest of these was Consultants International and over the next few years amassed a fortune of over $20 million. This enabled him to buy a 2,338-acre farm in Northern Virginia, where he often entertained his close friends, Ted Shackley and Thomas G. Clines.

Much of his money was made in the arms trade. His most important customer was Moammar Gaddafi, the dictator of Libya. Wilson later claimed that it was Ted Shackley who first suggested he should go to Libya. Wilson got contracts to sell Libya army uniforms, ammunition, explosive timers and 20 tons of C-4 plastic explosives.

In 1976 Wilson recruited Raphael Quintero to kill a Libyan dissident in Egypt. Quintero selected two brothers, Rafael and Raoul Villaverde, to carry out the killing. However, the contract was later cancelled.

One of the men Wilson employed was former CIA officer Kevin P. Mulcahy. He became concerned about Wilson's illegal activities and sent a message about them to the agency. Ted Shackley, Deputy Director of Operations, was initially able to block any internal investigation of Wilson. However, in April, 1977, the Washington Post, published an article on Wilson's activities stating that he may be getting support from "current CIA employees". Stansfield Turner, director of the CIA, ordered an investigation and discovered that both Shackley and Clines had close relationships with Wilson. As a result, Turner made sure that both men's careers came to an end in the CIA.

In 1978 Thomas G. Clines left the CIA. He now joined with Raphael Quintero and Ricardo Chavez (another former CIA operative) to establish API Distributors. According to David Corn (Blond Ghost) Wilson provided Clines with "half a million dollars to get his business empire going". In 1979 Clines established International Research and Trade Limited in Bermuda. Later that year he joined forces with Hussein Salem in providing U.S. military hardware to Egypt.

After leaving the CIA in September, 1979, Ted Shackley formed his own company, Research Associates International, which specialized in providing intelligence to business. He was also given consulting work with API Distributors, the company established by Thomas G. Clines, Raphael Quintero, and Ricardo Chavez.

In 1979 a gun that Wilson arranged to be delivered to the Libyan embassy in Bonn was used to kill a political dissident. Another dissident was murdered in Colorado by one of Wilson's men.

According to Alfred W. McCoy (The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade): "Throughout 1979 the Wilson network and the Nugan Hand Bank began to build a close commercial alliance in the netherworld of national security subcontracting". Ted Shackley and Thomas G. Clines were also drawn into a relationship with the Nugan Hand Bank. Michael Hand wrote to Shackley on 27th November, 1979, suggesting a business meeting. Hand's latter also referred to Bernie Houghton, who had worked for Shackley in Vietnam.

Michael Hand probably wanted to talk about Edwin Wilson. In 1979 a Washington grand jury began gathering incriminating evidence about his illegal arms sales. To avoid arrest he moved to London. In the winter of 1979, Wilson had a meeting with Bernie Houghton and Thomas G. Clines in Switzerland in an attempt to help him out of his difficulties. This included a non-delivery of 5,000 M16 automatic rifles. The three men discussed ways of using the Nugan Hand Bank to float a $22 million loan to finance the delivery. Hand was obviously concerned that if Wilson was arrested he might begin talking about his dealings with Nugan Hand.

Michael Hand also had talks with William Colby, the former director of the CIA. It is not known what was discussed at this meeting but Colby submitted a bill to Nugan Hand Bank for $45,684 for his legal advice.

On 27th January, 1980 Frank Nugan was found dead in his car. Bernie Houghton was in Switzerland at the time and he immediately rang his branch office in Saudi Arabia and ordered the staff to leave the country. Houghton also visited Edwin Wilson's office in Geneva and left a briefcase with bank documents for safekeeping. Soon afterwards, a witness saw Thomas G. Clines going through the briefcase at Wilson's office and remove papers that referred to him and General Richard Secord.

Two days after Nugan died, Michael Hand held a meeting of Nugan Hand Bank directors. He warned them that unless they did as they were told they could "finish up with concrete shoes" and would be "liable to find their wives being delivered to them in pieces".

According to one witness, Thomas G. Clines helped Bernie Houghton escape from Australia. Michael Hand also left the country accompanied by James Oswald Spencer, a man who served with Ted Shackley in Laos. The two men traveled to America via Fiji and Vancouver. Hand then disappeared and has never been seen again.

The Australian authorities were forced to investigate the bank. They discovered that Ricardo Chavez, the former CIA operative who was co-owner of API Distributors with Thomas G. Clines and Raphael Quintero, was attempting to take control of the bank. The Corporate Affairs Commission of New South Wales came to the conclusion that Chavez was working on behalf of Clines, Quintero and Wilson.

Wilson was eventually indicted by the Department of Justice. However, he had moved to Libya and Moammar Gaddafi refused to extradite him. Wilson feared for his safety and the prosecutors knew this and in 1982 they sent Ernest Keiser to convince him that he would be safe in the Dominican Republic. Wilson flew to the Caribbean but upon arrival was arrested and flown to New York.

While awaiting trial Wilson attempted to recruit a fellow prisoner to kill Lawrence Barcella, the federal prosecutor. The prisoner instead went to the authorities and they set Wilson up with an undercover agent. The agent taped Wilson hiring him to kill the prosecutors, six witnesses and his ex-wife.

In 1984 Wilson was found not guilty of trying to hire Raphael Quintero and other Cubans to kill a Libyan dissident. However, he was found guilty of exporting guns and conspiracy to murder and was sentenced to 52 years in prison.

Wilson claimed he had been framed and claimed that he was working on behalf of the CIA. He employed David Adler, a former CIA agent, as his lawyer. Adler eventually found evidence that Wilson was indeed working for the CIA after he retired from the agency. In October 2003 a Houston federal judge, Lynn Hughes, threw out Wilson's conviction in the C-4 explosives case, ruling that the prosecutors had "deliberately deceived the court" about Wilson's continuing CIA contacts, thus "double-crossing a part-time informal government agent."

Despite the decision of Lynn Hughes, Edwin P. Wilson was not released. Eric Margolis has described him as "America's Man in the Iron Mask". Margolis has always believed Wilson innocent and spoke to him many times in prison. "I was framed by the government," Wilson told Margolis, "they want me to disappear. I know too much."

Edwin P. Wilson was released from prison in 2004 and now lives with his brother in Washington State.

[Albert Doyle]

More unopposed state propaganda on MSNBC this morning. The US ambassador to Israel was on telling how Hamas targets Israeli civilians purposely and the Israeli's use careful humanitarian war strategy sensitive of civilian deaths. Funny, he must not have checked the statistics on that one.

Sounds like the British complaining of the cowardice of the American Revolutionary Army hiding behind trees in their "terrorist" insurrection.

We've come full circle and it figures that the one country in the world that still preserves a locked-in colonial era oppression of the local race is Israel back by the big democracy protectors who are shooting at arab civilians trying to assert their democracy. Most colonial situations around the world have been resolved long-ago with the indigenous people gaining independence. What one exception to that is backed by the great nation of independence with its freedom cruise missiles?

Major hypocrites...




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