Exclusive: Montreal police may hope to just nail the "torch," the culprit who hurled a fire-bomb into the home of ex-Israeli spy Ari Ben-Menashe. But to solve the mystery, they may have to delve into Ben-Menashe's complex intelligence ties, including his hostile relations with his old superiors in Israel, writes Robert Parry.
By Robert Parry
Montreal police are providing few details about their investigation into last Sunday night's fire-bombing of an upscale home belonging to ex-Israeli intelligence officer Ari Ben-Menashe, as authorities sift through both the evidence collected from the ashes and the wide array of possible suspects.
Indeed, when I spoke with a police spokesman on Friday, all he offered was an outdated statement from Monday about the city assessing the risk of the gutted structure before collecting evidence. However, by Friday, the building had been taken down; the arson squad had scoured the wreckage for residue of the bomb's accelerant; Ben-Menashe had been allowed to pick through the ashes looking for any personal items that might have survived; and the wreckage had been hauled away in dumpsters.
Ex-Israeli intelligence officer Ari Ben-Menashe standing before the wreckage of his destroyed home in Montreal on Dec. 5, 2012. (Photo by Robert Parry)
This past week in interviews with me as he worked to rebuild his life, Ben-Menashe, 61, was reluctant to finger any specific suspect, but suggested that the attack may have originated with the Israeli government, which has viewed its former intelligence officer over the past two decades as something between an irritant and a threat.
And, it appears that Ben-Menashe has risen again on the Israeli government's list of concerns. If the bomb had not dramatically disrupted his life on Sunday night, he was planning to fly to Washington on Monday and accompany a senior Israeli intelligence figure to an interview with me.
The bombing not only prevented Ben-Menashe from making the trip, but he said it unnerved the other intelligence official who concluded that the attack was meant as a message from Israeli authorities to stay silent about the historical events that he was expected to discuss.
The fire also destroyed many of Ben-Menashe's documents, his home computer and his personal records, including his old and current passports which provided something of a chronology of his decades traveling the globe.
So, if the Israelis were behind the attack, they would have accomplished many of their goals: intimidating Ben-Menashe, shutting down possible new disclosures of Israeli misconduct from the other intelligence veteran, and destroying records that would have helped Ben-Menashe prove whatever statements he might make. An Almost Vanunu
In May 1991, Israel made a stab at capturing their rogue agent when Ben-Menashe was scheduled to fly from Australia to Washington to provide testimony to the U.S. Congress about national security scandals that implicated top Israeli officials and senior Republicans, including then-President George H.W. Bush.
Shortly before Ben-Menashe's trip, a U.S. intelligence source tipped me off to a plan in which U.S. authorities would deny Ben-Menashe entrance at Los Angeles and then put him aboard a flight to Israel where he would have stood trial for exposing state secrets.
After getting the tip, I contacted congressional investigators who planned to question Ben-Menashe. One later called me back and said the Bush-41 administration was balking at giving a guarantee of safe passage for Ben-Menashe to Washington. It was suggested that I contact him and recommend that he delay his flight, which I did.
When I reached him in Australia, he was just about to leave for the airport, but agreed to postpone his flight until he got an all-clear from the congressional investigators, who finally received a promise from the Bush-41 administration that they would not deport Ben-Menashe to Israel. Ben-Menashe then flew to Washington.
Years later, Ben-Menashe told me that an old friend in Israeli intelligence confirmed the existence of the plan to deport him to Israel (much as was done to whistleblower Mordecai Vanunu in 1986 after he exposed the existence of Israel's secret nuclear arsenal). Ben-Menashe said his old intelligence friend also relayed that there was active consideration of a back-up plan to simply kill Ben-Menashe as an enemy of the state.
Instead, Israel settled on a public relations campaign to destroy Ben-Menashe's credibility by providing derogatory information to American journalists with close ties to Israeli intelligence. That campaign proved remarkably effective even as many of Ben-Menashe's factual claims checked out or at least were not disproven. [For details, see Robert Parry's America's Stolen Narrative.]
Ben-Menashe also could be his own worst enemy, often compounding his media problem by treating journalists in a high-handed manner, either due to his suspicions of them or his arrogance.
In the 1990s, Ben-Menashe gradually rebuilt his life in Canada, marrying a Canadian woman and becoming a citizen. But he also surrounded his far-flung business activities in secrecy and got involved with some controversial international figures, such as Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe.
In recent years, Ben-Menashe has conducted his international consulting business at Dicksen and Madson in a wide variety of global hotspots, including conflict zones such as Mali, Sudan and Congo. He also has maintained ties to various intelligence services which are eager to receive his briefings about areas where traditional diplomats and even spies are hesitant to go.
Because of those complex business dealings and the international intrigue that has surrounded them, the Israeli government is only one of many possible suspects in last Sunday's fire-bombing. Any number of Ben-Menashe's enemies might have had motive to fire-bomb his house and send him fleeing into the night.
Ari Ben-Menashe gazing upon the wreckage of his house in Montreal on Dec. 6, 2012. (Photo by Robert Parry)
A Top Israeli Agent
During the 1980s, Ben-Menashe was something of a star intelligence officer for Israel assigned to a special unit of Israeli military intelligence. An Iraqi Jew born in Iran and an emigre to Israel as a teenager, Ben-Menashe was a young operative who assisted in rebuilding Israel's strategic ties to Iran after the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Traveling the world, Ben-Menashe brokered Israeli-sponsored arms sales to Iran during its war with Iraq in the 1980s and handled sensitive assignments including efforts to counter U.S.-supported military shipments to Iraq. He turned up as a shadowy figure on the fringes of the Iran-Contra scandal, which is where I first heard about him as I was covering that story for the Associated Press and Newsweek.
But I never could track him down until late 1989 when he was arrested in the United States on charges of selling military aircraft to Iran. Confined to the federal prison in Lower Manhattan, he consented to an interview and I flew from Washington to New York to speak with him.
During that prison interview, Ben-Menashe offered me startling new information about the Iran-Contra scandal, which I thought that I knew quite well. However, my first task was to verify who this brash Israeli was. Initially, the Israeli government dismissed him as an "impostor." However, I was able to obtain official Israeli letters of reference describing his decade-long work for the External Relations Department of the Israel Defence Forces.
Confronted with that evidence, Israeli officials changed their story, admitting that Ben-Menashe indeed had worked for a branch of the IDF's military intelligence but labeling him "a low-level translator." But the letters described Ben-Menashe's service in "key positions" and said he handled "complex and sensitive assignments."
Despite this evidence that Israeli officials had first lied and then retreated to a new cover story the Bush-41 administration and the Israeli government managed to galvanize friendly journalists who went out of their way to discredit Ben-Menashe as a compulsive liar. [For details about one of the key denouncers of Ben-Menashe, see Consortiumnews.com's "Unmasking October Surprise Debunker'".]
In fall 1990, Ben-Menashe convinced a New York jury that he indeed had been working on official Israeli business in his transactions with Iran and he was acquitted of all charges. After that, Ben-Menashe continued to provide testimony about secret dealings involving Republicans and the Israeli government. He gave information to investigative journalist Seymour Hersh about Israel's top-secret nuclear program and identified British media mogul Robert Maxwell as an Israeli spy.
Perhaps Ben-Menashe's most controversial claim was that he and other Israeli intelligence officers had assisted the Republicans in brokering a deal with Iran's Islamic regime of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1980 to hold 52 American hostages until after the U.S. election to ensure President Jimmy Carter's defeat. As a result of this so-called October Surprise caper, the hostages were not released until Jan. 20, 1981, immediately after Ronald Reagan was sworn in as U.S. President, Ben-Menashe said.
Yet, if the American public ever came to believe that the Israeli government had manipulated the outcome of a U.S. presidential election to put in a favored candidate that could have severely damaged Israel's crucial alliance with the United States. So, for both the Israelis and the Republicans, the goal of destroying or silencing Ben-Menashe became an important priority.
After achieving success in marginalizing Ben-Menashe by 1993 at least in the eyes of the Washington Establishment the Israelis seemed to view him as a declining threat, best left alone. He was able to pick up the pieces of his life, creating a second act as an international political consultant and businessman arranging sales of grain.
But his renewed efforts to finally prove the truthfulness of his earlier claims, especially regarding the October Surprise charges, may have suddenly elevated him again on Israel's threat chart.
Though the Montreal police are understandably hesitant to climb down the rabbit hole into Ben-Menashe's mysterious world of espionage and historical mysteries, they may ultimately have no choice. Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his new book, America's Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com). http://consortiumnews.com/2012/12/08/who...hes-house/
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
By Sean Malloy Can Ari Ben-Menashe be believed? Just when you begin to think he can't, the powers that be become very nervous at the prospect of revealing evidence that would confirm or contradict his stories.
His claim that the Israeli government had paid "an Australian political party" $8.5 million to turn a blind eye to arms shipments to Iran channelled through Western Australia in 1987 was firmly denied by all possible candidates. But if Ben-Menashe is simply a liar or a madman, why is the Australian government so anxious to get him out of the country?
In December, his Australian visitor's visa (due to expire in April) was cancelled after his allegations of Australian involvement in arms deals were publicised.
Ben-Menashe appealed. Last month, the Department of Immigration backed down backed down rather than obey a Federal Court order to disclose the information justifying the cancellation.
He had earlier applied for refugee status and been turned down.
Ben-Menashe, currently residing in Sydney, agreed to be interviewed by Green Left.
An Israeli military intelligence officer from 1977, Ben-Menashe says he was sacked in 1987 for leaking the Iran-contra story on behalf of "half" of the Israeli government.
Despite that blot on his record, he was employed later that year (by the same "half" of the government) as an intelligence consultant to Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, a position he held until 1989.
In 1989 he was arrested in the United States for smuggling Lockheed C-130 transport planes to Iran.
"I was on a vacation", says Ben-Menashe. "It was the only time I went to the United States without a diplomatic passport. I was in Los Angeles for a few days on my way to Sydney for two weeks; I never made it to Sydney."
Although acquitted, Ben-Menashe did not return to his job. His successful defence was that the arms deals had been approved by the Israeli and US governments.
"They wouldn't let me back in Israel because I defended myself on trial, and they didn't like what I had to say in court.
"While I was being held I was approached to plead guilty and go away. I didn't agree. In my mind I had no alternative but to speak up, to talk.
"On November 28, 1990, I was acquitted of all charges on the basis that I did not deny anything ... we proved it [the arms deal] was authorised at the political level, meaning the vice-president of the minister of Israel."
In an interview on the SBS television program Dateline, aired last year, Ben-Menashe said that US armaments bound for Iran were shipped through Fremantle between March and June 1987.
He claimed that Australian politicians and security people knew of the shipments and that a donation of $8.5 million dollars was made by the Israeli government to an Australian political party.
He told Green Left that "the Australian government does not really have a main role in these arms deals, but some arms were parked here or facilitated in Western Australia".
Ben-Menashe also backs other claims about Israeli and US arms dealing, particularly with Iran.
After the 1979 revolution in Iran, the new government inherited a US$17 billion dollar arsenal that had been purchased by the shah from the United States. The Iranian government needed spare parts for the US equipment. In September 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, setting off the first gulf war. This multiplied Iran's need for arms.
Israel resumed arms trading with Iran in the early '80s, seeing the greatest threat to itself in an Iraq occupying the oilfields of southern Iran.
Washington's concerns were different. In November 1979, 52 US embassy employees were taken hostage by the Iranians, and held throughout 1980 a US presidential election year. President Jimmy Carter wanted US allies to boycott arms deals with Iran while negotiations continued over the hostages.
In the negotiations, Carter promised to release some of the weapons ordered from the US by the shah in exchange for the release of hostages.
Ben-Menashe backs a persistent claim now being investigated by a Congressional committee to which he testified in December that the Israelis, in collaboration with the Reagan-Bush election campaign, undermined Carter's position by selling US arms and spare parts through Israel to Iran.
In exchange, the Iranians agreed to release the hostages after the US presidential elections in 1980. The hostage crisis was prolonged by the Reagan-Bush campaign in order to discredit the Carter administration. (The hostages were released as soon as Reagan was inaugurated.)
Appearing less plausible are Ben-Menashe's claims that Israel also conducted arms deals with revolutionaries in Nicaragua and El Salvador although it is not totally excluded that the Israelis might do so for their own reasons (and profits) if they thought it could be concealed from Washington.
"Central America is a different story", says Ben-Menashe. "The relationship with the right wing governments in the '70s was quite strong, but Israel also kept a covert relationship with the Sandinistas and the FMLN in El Salvador.
"During the '80s an unofficial group was selling arms to the contras. to all kinds of right-wing groups, but there was an intelligence relationship with the Sandinistas and there were arms brokered by the Israelis from Yugoslavia and Poland to the Sandinistas."
Israeli-South African cooperation is an open secret, but Ben-Menashe adds some details. "There was a very close relationship with South Africa, there still is, but in 1988 there was a break, not a formal, open break but there was a break, between the two countries over the fact that the South Africans, with the blessing of Americans, were supplying the Iraqis with weapons, together with the Chileans. In early '89 the South Africans pulled out of this deal, so the relationship with Israel came back together.
"There was also a nuclear relationship between Israel and South Africa from the early '70s. They would provide the money and the metals and Israel the technology."
Information supplied by Ben-Menashe was used in a controversial book, The Samson Option: Israel, America and the Bomb, written by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh.
The book focusses on Israel's development of nuclear weapons, the theft of US military data used to aim nuclear missiles and the revelations of Israeli nuclear technician, Mordechai Vanunu, who is currently serving an 18-year solitary confinement sentence in Israel for revealing Israel's nuclear capability.
The Samson Option also touches on the role of Robert Maxwell in the kidnapping of Mordechai Vanunu after Vanunu approached the London Daily Mirror about his story.
After Maxwell's death last November, Seymour Hersh and Ben-Menashe told more about Israel's relationship with Maxwell and the foreign editor of the Daily Mirror, Nick Davies.
"Davies was a full-blown Israeli agent who was running arms", Ben-Menashe told Green Left. "He was involved in the arms sales to Iran.
"Maxwell was very close to the Israeli prime minister's office. His company was facilitating the sale of arms through their relationship with the east bloc."
Ben-Menashe has just finished writing his own book. "It basically covers 10 years of history about the relationship between the United States and Israel and other Middle East countries", he says.
Media scepticism about Ben-Menashe's assertions speculates that he is picking up on established facts, telling half truths or guessing. In response, Ben-Menashe points to recent editions of the Israeli publication Davar which ran articles supporting his statements.
"There are two sides to this story and I'm hoping that the truth does come out", he said. And the question remains: why is the federal government so anxious to get him out of the country?
From GLW issue 42
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
By his own account, Israeli intelligence officer Ari Ben-Menashe runs a covert Israeli arms network, primarily supplying weapons to the Islamic fundamentalist regime in Iran for use in the Iran-Iraq War. Huge profits are made. "At various times the fund reached peaks of more than $1 billion," he later explains in his book, Profits of War. "At its height it stood at $1.8 billion.… Between 1984 and 1989 no less than $160 million was funneled to [Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak] Shamir's [Likud] faction." He also says that the money helped finance the intelligence community's "black" operations including "Israeli-controlled Palestinian terrorists' who would commit crimes in the name of the Palestinian revolution but were actually pulling them off, usually unwittingly, as part of the Israeli propaganda machine." The Israeli government will later deny that Menashe had any association with their intelligence services. But faced with evidence, the government will change its story, alleging that he was only a low-level translator who had taken to freelancing arms deals. However, Ben-Menashe is able to produce strong evidence to support his version of events and his 1991 trial in New York will culminate in his acquittal on the grounds that the jury disbelieves the Israeli government's denials. [BEN-MENASHE, 1992, PP. 120; CONSORTIUM NEWS, 1997; COLL, 2004, PP. 120] Entity Tags: Yitzhak Shamir, Ari Ben Menashe [B]Timeline Tags: [URL="http://www.historycommons.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=western_support_for_islamic_militancy_tmln"]Alleged Use of False Flag Attacks
[/URL][/B]http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp...en_menashe
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
Unit 5/108 Days Road
Grange 4051
Queensland
11th July 2001
Ms Bev Forbes
Secretary
Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Dear Ms Forbes
Submission to the Electoral Funding and Disclosure Inquiry
I refer to your advertisement inviting submissions to the Inquiry into the Electoral
Funding of Political Parties, with a closing date of 3rd August 2001.
This submission outlines information relating to allegations of major impropriety
involving electoral funding and disclosure. The key allegation is that in 1987 a US$6
million donation was made to the Labor Party by a company controlled by the CIA.
The donation allegedly was in return for the use of Australian soil to illegally transfer
arms from the US to Iran as part of what became known as the Iran-Contra Affair'.
I believe that there is adequate evidence to warrant close scrutiny of whether this
donation was made and what the circumstances surrounding it were. If such a large
foreign donation can be made for allegedly corrupt purposes and remain undisclosed
and undetected, then this exposes a major defect in Australia's political donations
disclosure laws and their enforcement.
In short, the Australian Government at that time is alleged to have assisted the US
Government in actions that were found to be illegal in the USA, and a payoff for that
assistance allegedly went to the political party that then formed government. If the
donation was an inducement or a reward for the Government's complicity in illegal
arms trading, then serious questions arise as to the adequacy of the auditing regime
governing political donations.
Ari Ben-Menashe
These allegations originated from claims made by Ari Ben-Menashe. Ben-Menashe is
a former Israeli military intelligence officer. I have flown to Canada to interview Mr
Ben-Menashe on behalf of my newspaper and have several tapes recording his
allegations. He remains available to discuss his experiences. In his book Profits of
War (see Appendices), he claims:
"In February 1987 a "contribution" was made to the West Australian Labor Party by
our US counterparts in the CIA. In gratitude for the use of Australian soil for the
transfer of arms to Iran, Richard Babayan, a contract operative for the CIA, received a
cheque for $6 million US from Earl Brian, who was acting on behalf of Hadron1, a
CIA "cut-out". Babayan travelled to Perth and stayed at the home of Yosef Goldberg,
an Australian businessman of Israeli origin who was well connected to Israeli
intelligence and to the local Labor Party headed by Brian Burke, then premier of
Western Australia. Babayan handed the cheque to Goldberg, who in turn gave it to
Alan Bond in his role as the guardian of the John Curtin Foundation funds. This
money was passed on by one of Robert Maxwell's companies in Australia to be held
by the Pergamon Press Trust Fund in Moscow. Babayan later corroborated the details
of this operation in a sworn affidavit."
The publishers of Ben-Menashe's book have confirmed that they hold an affidavit
from Babyan supporting Ben-Menashe's account of his role in the making of the
donation.
In my taped interview with Ben-Menashe he elaborates on the detail of these events.
He is adamant that senior members of the ALP at that time knew about this payment.
He claims that Prime Minister Hawke was aware of it, but was at pains to say that
Treasurer Keating did not. No mention was made about whether or not the Minister
for Defence, Mr Beazley, knew of the payment.
Ben-Menashe also suggests that a bribe was involved.
It is a fact that arms were transferred through concealed routes from the USA to Iran.
As a close ally of the USA, it is quite plausible that Australia was part of one of those
routes. Ben-Menashe claims that payoffs and bribes were a routine part of these
illegal arms deals throughout the world, and in that respect there was nothing unique
about the payment to the Labor Party.
US$ 6 million from the CIA to the ALP
Hadron Inc is a US company with ties to the CIA.
Hadron Inc's Earl Brian gives $6 million cheque to Richard Babayan, a
contract operative for the CIA.
Babayan gives cheque to Yosef Goldberg, an Australian businessman of
Israeli origin well connected to Israeli intelligence and the ALP.
Goldberg gives cheque to Alan Bond in his capacity as guardian of the ALP's
John Curtin Foundation fund-raising entity.
1 Hadron Inc. is a US company
The Credibility of Ari Ben-Menashe
Given the seriousness of Ben-Menashe's allegations, it would be in the interests of
those affected to attack his credibility. Many claim that he was simply a low-level
translator.
Attached to this submission are four letters of reference regarding Ben-Menashe from
officials in the Israel Defence Forces, including Colonel Arieh Shur, then Chief of
External Relations. These letters confirm that Ben-Menashe occupied key positions'
in the Israel Defence Forces External Relations Department.
When Ben-Menashe applied for asylum in Australia, the Department of Immigration,
Local Government and Ethnic Affairs ("DILGEA") was provided with an affidavit,
sworn before a US attorney on May 24 1991, which detailed his intelligence record.
Ben-Menashe was subpoenaed by the US Congress to give evidence against CIA
Director Bush and President Reagan over the Iran Contra affair. I have spoken to the
Special Prosecutor who took Ben-Menashe's claims very seriously. More recently
Ben-Menashe has given evidence to the United Kingdom Parliament.
I spent some time with Ben-Menashe and taped several interviews with him. He has
detailed knowledge regarding the illegal shipment of arms to Iran. In many cases I
have independently obtained information that is consistent with information he has
provided. It leads me to the conclusion he is both truthful and credible.
Further Lines of Inquiry
As a starting point, there are several people from whom the Committee may wish to
seek further information.
Ari Ben Menashe is still available and willing to talk to an inquiry.
Andrew Palmer and Chris Rowe, lawyers in Perth, were investigators for the WA
Royal Commission into the Commercial Activities of Government and Other Matters
and may be able to offer some assistance. They interviewed Ben-Menashe and
undertook some preliminary investigations but were later instructed that the matter
was not within their terms of reference and were ordered to discontinue the line of
inquiry. Documents obtained under FOI show that DILGEA was aware of Ben-
Menashe's desire to appear before the Royal Commission. He was forced to leave the
country before he was able to do so. I would be happy to elaborate on the
questionable circumstances surrounding his removal if the Committee so desires.
The investigators prepared a report for the WA Department of Public Prosecutions, in
which Ben-Menashe was mentioned. It is suggested that the Committee request the
West Australian Director of Public Prosecutions to provide this document (or
relevant extracts) to the Committee.
The Committee may also seek further information from those allegedly involved in
the making of the donation:
Richard Babayan, the CIA operative (now living in Paris), has already sworn an
affidavit supporting Ben-Menashe's account and confirming his own role in making
the donation.
Yosef Goldberg (believed to be in Sydney), Earl Brian (in jail for fraud) and
Alan Bond (now in London) were also alleged to be involved in the transaction.
Ben-Menashe also claims that Bob Hawke knew of the donation.
Darryn Jenkins was at the time the Collector of Customs for WA.
He was interviewed as part of the attached Sydney Morning Herald article and
conceded it would be possible for arms to be brought into Western Australia under a
false description. I have located Mr Jenkins in Zambia, but he is reluctant to discuss
anything to do with alleged arms shipments through Western Australia.
Finally, I have considerable information relating to this affair and would be happy to
assist the Committee in any way possible.
The allegations outlined in this submission are of the most serious nature. It is alleged
that a major political party accepted a very considerable sum of money either in return
for or in appreciation of the participation by the Australian Government in illegal
arms trading.
If true these allegations demonstrate the need to ensure that an effective accountability
regime is in place regarding political donations, particularly those from foreign
shores. The Parliament must ensure that no organisation or foreign government can
influence our government's policies by corrupting our political parties.
Yours sincerely
Marshall Wilson http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&...rTcI45NeGQ
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
Special Report: Two decades ago, the U.S. and Israeli governments reached around the world to silence an ex-Israeli intelligence officer who was exposing sensitive secrets. The goal was to discredit, if not capture, Ari Ben-Menashe much the way Israel went after nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, reports Marshall Wilson.
By Marshall Wilson
On an overcast morning on April 18, 1991, a man carrying an Israeli passport but fearful of return to his homeland stepped tentatively from Qantas Flight 12 into the international arrival hall of Kingsford-Smith airport in Sydney, Australia.
Even to a frequent flyer like Ari Ben-Menashe, holder of Israeli passport number 4426553 issued in Jerusalem in September 1989, the journey from Los Angeles had been long and stressful. A Jew born in Iran, he had emigrated to Israel as a teenager and become a citizen of the Hebrew state before serving in Israeli military and intelligence units.
Quote:US$ 6 million from the CIA to the ALP
Hadron Inc is a US company with ties to the CIA.
Hadron Inc's Earl Brian gives $6 million cheque to Richard Babayan, a
contract operative for the CIA.
Babayan gives cheque to Yosef Goldberg, an Australian businessman of
Israeli origin well connected to Israeli intelligence and the ALP.
Goldberg gives cheque to Alan Bond in his capacity as guardian of the ALP's
John Curtin Foundation fund-raising entity.
1 Hadron Inc. is a US company
This of course is also PROMIS and Casolaro's Octopus.
"It means this War was never political at all, the politics was all theatre, all just to keep the people distracted...."
"Proverbs for Paranoids 4: You hide, They seek."
"They are in Love. Fuck the War." Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
"Ccollanan Pachacamac ricuy auccacunac yahuarniy hichascancuta." The last words of the last Inka, Tupac Amaru, led to the gallows by men of god & dogs of war
The usual treatment/retribution for 'whistleblowers' and truth-tellers. Thanks for the information.
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
![[Image: IMG_1517-300x225.jpg]](http://consortiumnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/IMG_1517.jpg)
Ex-Israeli intelligence officer Ari Ben-Menashe standing before the wreckage of his destroyed home in Montreal on Dec. 5, 2012. (Photo by Robert Parry)![[Image: IMG_15321-225x300.jpg]](http://consortiumnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/IMG_15321.jpg)
Ari Ben-Menashe gazing upon the wreckage of his house in Montreal on Dec. 6, 2012. (Photo by Robert Parry)![[Image: edit.png]](http://www.historycommons.org/pics/icons/edit.png){kind=icon}
