Israeli Mossad pose as Americans to recruit Terrorists

BrownMeetPurple

Well-Known Member
Buried deep in the archives of America's intelligence services are a series of memos, written during the last years of President George W. Bush's administration, that describe how Israeli Mossad officers recruited operatives belonging to the terrorist group Jundallah by passing themselves off as American agents. According to two U.S. intelligence officials, the Israelis, flush with American dollars and toting U.S. passports, posed as CIA officers in recruiting Jundallah operatives -- what is commonly referred to as a "false flag" operation.


The memos, as described by the sources, one of whom has read them and another who is intimately familiar with the case, investigated and debunked reports from 2007 and 2008 accusing the CIA, at the direction of the White House, of covertly supporting Jundallah -- a Pakistan-based Sunni extremist organization. Jundallah, according to the U.S. government and published reports, is responsible for assassinating Iranian government officials and killing Iranian women and children.


But while the memos show that the United States had barred even the most incidental contact with Jundallah, according to both intelligence officers, the same was not true for Israel's Mossad. The memos also detail CIA field reports saying that Israel's recruiting activities occurred under the nose of U.S. intelligence officers, most notably in London, the capital of one of Israel's ostensible allies, where Mossad officers posing as CIA operatives met with Jundallah officials.


The officials did not know whether the Israeli program to recruit and use Jundallah is ongoing. Nevertheless, they were stunned by the brazenness of the Mossad's efforts.


"It's amazing what the Israelis thought they could get away with," the intelligence officer said. "Their recruitment activities were nearly in the open. They apparently didn't give a damn what we thought."


Interviews with six currently serving or recently retired intelligence officers over the last 18 months have helped to fill in the blanks of the Israeli false-flag operation. In addition to the two currently serving U.S. intelligence officers, the existence of the Israeli false-flag operation was confirmed to me by four retired intelligence officers who have served in the CIA or have monitored Israeli intelligence operations from senior positions inside the U.S. government.


The CIA and the White House were both asked for comment on this story. By the time this story went to press, they had not responded. The Israeli intelligence services -- the Mossad -- were also contacted, in writing and by telephone, but failed to respond. As a policy, Israel does not confirm or deny its involvement in intelligence operations.


There is no denying that there is a covert, bloody, and ongoing campaign aimed at stopping Iran's nuclear program, though no evidence has emerged connecting recent acts of sabotage and killings inside Iran to Jundallah. Many reports have cited Israel as the architect of this covert campaign, which claimed its latest victim on Jan. 11 when a motorcyclist in Tehran slipped a magnetic explosive device under the car of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a young Iranian nuclear scientist. The explosion killed Roshan, making him the fourth scientist assassinated in the past two years. The United States adamantly denies it is behind these killings.


According to one retired CIA officer, information about the false-flag operation was reported up the U.S. intelligence chain of command. It reached CIA Director of Operations Stephen Kappes, his deputy Michael Sulick, and the head of the Counterintelligence Center. All three of these officials are now retired. The Counterintelligence Center, according to its website, is tasked with investigating "threats posed by foreign intelligence services."


The report then made its way to the White House, according to the currently serving U.S. intelligence officer. The officer said that Bush "went absolutely ballistic" when briefed on its contents.


"The report sparked White House concerns that Israel's program was putting Americans at risk," the intelligence officer told me. "There's no question that the U.S. has cooperated with Israel in intelligence-gathering operations against the Iranians, but this was different. No matter what anyone thinks, we're not in the business of assassinating Iranian officials or killing Iranian civilians."


Israel's relationship with Jundallah continued to roil the Bush administration until the day it left office, this same intelligence officer noted. Israel's activities jeopardized the administration's fragile relationship with Pakistan, which was coming under intense pressure from Iran to crack down on Jundallah. It also undermined U.S. claims that it would never fight terror with terror, and invited attacks in kind on U.S. personnel.


"It's easy to understand why Bush was so angry," a former intelligence officer said. "After all, it's hard to engage with a foreign government if they're convinced you're killing their people. Once you start doing that, they feel they can do the same."


A senior administration official vowed to "take the gloves off" with Israel, according to a U.S. intelligence officer. But the United States did nothing -- a result that the officer attributed to "political and bureaucratic inertia."


"In the end," the officer noted, "it was just easier to do nothing than to, you know, rock the boat." Even so, at least for a short time, this same officer noted, the Mossad operation sparked a divisive debate among Bush's national security team, pitting those who wondered "just whose side these guys [in Israel] are on" against those who argued that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."


The debate over Jundallah was resolved only after Bush left office when, within his first weeks as president, Barack Obama drastically scaled back joint U.S.-Israel intelligence programs targeting Iran, according to multiple serving and retired officers.


The decision was controversial inside the CIA, where officials were forced to shut down "some key intelligence-gathering operations," a recently retired CIA officer confirmed. This action was followed in November 2010 by the State Department's addition of Jundallah to its list of foreign terrorist organizations -- a decision that one former CIA officer called "an absolute no-brainer."


Since Obama's initial order, U.S. intelligence services have received clearance to cooperate with Israel on a number of classified intelligence-gathering operations focused on Iran's nuclear program, according to a currently serving officer. These operations are highly technical in nature and do not involve covert actions targeting Iran's infrastructure or political or military leadership.


"We don't do bang and boom," a recently retired intelligence officer said. "And we don't do political assassinations."


Israel regularly proposes conducting covert operations targeting Iranians, but is just as regularly shut down, according to retired and current intelligence officers. "They come into the room and spread out their plans, and we just shake our heads," one highly placed intelligence source said, "and we say to them -- 'Don't even go there. The answer is no.'"


Unlike the Mujahedin-e Khalq, the controversial exiled Iranian terrorist group that seeks the overthrow of the Tehran regime and is supported by former leading U.S. policymakers, Jundallah is relatively unknown -- but just as violent. In May 2009, a Jundallah suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in Zahedan, the capital of Iran's southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province bordering Pakistan, during a *****e religious festival. The bombing killed 25 Iranians and wounded scores of others.


The attack enraged Tehran, which traced the perpetrators to a cell operating in Pakistan. The Iranian government notified the Pakistanis of the Jundallah threat and urged them to break up the movement's bases along the Iranian-Pakistani border. The Pakistanis reacted sluggishly in the border areas, feeding Tehran's suspicions that Jundallah was protected by Pakistan's intelligence services.


The 2009 attack was just one in a long line of terrorist attacks attributed to the organization. In August 2007, Jundallah kidnapped 21 Iranian truck drivers. In December 2008, it captured and executed 16 Iranian border guards -- the gruesome killings were filmed, in a stark echo of the decapitation of American businessman Nick Berg in Iraq at the hands of al Qaeda's Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. In July 2010, Jundallah conducted a twin suicide bombing in Zahedan outside a mosque, killing dozens of people, including members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.


The State Department aggressively denies that the U.S. government had or has any ties to Jundallah. "We have repeatedly stated, and reiterate again that the United States has not provided support to Jundallah," a spokesman wrote in an email to the Wall Street Journal, following Jundallah's designation as a terrorist organization. "The United States does not sponsor any form of terrorism. We will continue to work with the international community to curtail support for terrorist organizations and prevent violence against innocent civilians. We have also encouraged other governments to take comparable actions against Jundallah."


A spate of stories in 2007 and 2008, including a report by ABC News and a New Yorker article, suggested that the United States was offering covert support to Jundallah. The issue has now returned to the spotlight with the string of assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists and has outraged serving and retired intelligence officers who fear that Israeli operations are endangering American lives.


"This certainly isn't the first time this has happened, though it's the worst case I've heard of," former Centcom chief and retired Gen. Joe Hoar said of the Israeli operation upon being informed of it. "But while false-flag operations are hardly new, they're extremely dangerous. You're basically using your friendship with an ally for your own purposes. Israel is playing with fire. It gets us involved in their covert war, whether we want to be involved or not."


The Israeli operation left a number of recently retired CIA officers sputtering in frustration. "It's going to be pretty hard for the U.S. to distance itself from an Israeli attack on Iran with this kind of thing going on," one of them told me.


Jundallah head Abdolmalek Rigi was captured by Iran in February 2010. Although initial reports claimed that he was captured by the Iranians after taking a flight from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan, a retired intelligence officer with knowledge of the incident told me that Rigi was detained by Pakistani intelligence officers in Pakistan. The officer said that Rigi was turned over to the Iranians after the Pakistani government informed the United States that it planned to do so. The United States, this officer said, did not raise objections to the Pakistani decision.


Iran, meanwhile, has consistently claimed that Rigi was snatched from under the eyes of the CIA, which it alleges supported him. "It doesn't matter," the former intelligence officer said of Iran's charges. "It doesn't matter what they say. They know the truth."


Rigi was interrogated, tried, and convicted by the Iranians and hanged on June 20, 2010. Prior to his execution, Rigi claimed in an interview with Iranian media -- which has to be assumed was under duress -- that he had doubts about U.S. sponsorship of Jundallah. He recounted an alleged meeting with "NATO officials" in Morocco in 2007 that raised his suspicions. "When we thought about it we came to the conclusion that they are either Americans acting under NATO cover or Israelis," he said.


While many of the details of Israel's involvement with Jundallah are now known, many others still remain a mystery -- and are likely to remain so. The CIA memos of the incident have been "blue bordered," meaning that they were circulated to senior levels of the broader U.S. intelligence community as well as senior State Department officials.


What has become crystal clear, however, is the level of anger among senior intelligence officials about Israel's actions. "This was stupid and dangerous," the intelligence official who first told me about the operation said. "Israel is supposed to be working with us, not against us. If they want to shed blood, it would help a lot if it was their blood and not ours. You know, they're supposed to be a strategic asset. Well, guess what? There are a lot of people now, important people, who just don't think that's true."

False Flag - By Mark Perry | Foreign Policy
 

Harry Manback

Robot Extraordinaire
For the sake of "keeping it real" is Iran's becoming a nuclear power in anyone's best interest? I care less what guise they use to justify their means. If nothing else, you can't help but admire the Mossad's testicular fortitude. If anyone ever "kept it real" those folks do. How can you not respect a nation that is in essence, an island in a sea of hate, willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure the survival of it's people.

Poke
 

BrownMeetPurple

Well-Known Member
For the sake of "keeping it real" is Iran's becoming a nuclear power in anyone's best interest? I care less what guise they use to justify their means. If nothing else, you can't help but admire the Mossad's testicular fortitude. If anyone ever "kept it real" those folks do. How can you not respect a nation that is in essence, an island in a sea of hate, willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure the survival of it's people.

Poke

If I had a nickel....

I'm sure you agree that "whatever" can mean looting you for their pleasure.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
For the sake of "keeping it real" is Iran's becoming a nuclear power in anyone's best interest? I care less what guise they use to justify their means. If nothing else, you can't help but admire the Mossad's testicular fortitude. If anyone ever "kept it real" those folks do. How can you not respect a nation that is in essence, an island in a sea of hate, willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure the survival of it's people.

Poke
If you want to "make it real" give them 510 nuclear weapons and let them know that they have the responsibility of keeping them safe or they will be absolutly annihilated. Suggest also that we lose more nuclear weapons in a year than they possess.
 

Harry Manback

Robot Extraordinaire
If I had a nickel....

I'm sure you agree that "whatever" can mean looting you for their pleasure.

American Marines piss on the dead bodies of "enemy combatants", while I don't think that its the HUMAN thing to do, it's what combat does. It strips away humanity. I felt indifferent about it when I saw it on the news this week. **** happens when you unleash the dogs of war. Do you honestly believe that the Palestinians aren't guilty of the same? You didn't answer my original question, so I'll ask again. What good would it do the world, should Iran become a nuclear threat?
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
Because then we would deal with the world as it really is instead of the boogeyman world of "what if".
 

wkmac

Well-Known Member
American Marines piss on the dead bodies of "enemy combatants", while I don't think that its the HUMAN thing to do, it's what combat does. It strips away humanity. I felt indifferent about it when I saw it on the news this week. **** happens when you unleash the dogs of war. Do you honestly believe that the Palestinians aren't guilty of the same? You didn't answer my original question, so I'll ask again. What good would it do the world, should Iran become a nuclear threat?

Harry,

It might be worth your time to do some reading about a US gov't program called "Atom for Peace" and then take a look at a company by the name of American Machinery and Foundry in relationship to both the Iranian and Pakistani nuclear program. Also read about the difference of 3% processed uranium, 20% processed uranium and then what capacity centrifuge gas cascade one would need to process 90% weapons grade uranium. Why hasn't the media and our knowledgeable elected leaders explained these matters?

But then why hasn't the media also told the American public that our divine leaders including our peace President is considering a tactical nuke strike against Iran using the 480 kiloton B61 Mod 11 tactical nuke? And TOS wants to call everyone else a hypocrite and he voted for and still supports President Peace Prize. I guess no one here gives a GAWD DAMN that no evidence exists of an Iranian weapons program and our own Sec. of Defense has even admitted as much.

But then no one dares question our leaders who claim that Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz and yet anybody with a brain who looks at a map would quickly see if the Iranians commited such an act, their ability to move their own oil and natural gas in and out would also come to a grinding halt and do horrible damage to national economic life. But then that requires one to think in the first place and we Americans stopped such sillyness as that a long time ago!
 

av8torntn

Well-Known Member
But then no one dares question our leaders who claim that Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz and yet anybody with a brain who looks at a map would quickly see if the Iranians commited such an act, their ability to move their own oil and natural gas in and out would also come to a grinding halt and do horrible damage to national economic life. But then that requires one to think in the first place and we Americans stopped such sillyness as that a long time ago!

I fully understand where you are coming from but I always felt the suggestion was that Iran could close the strait not that I buy that either. To be fair I also do not buy into your suggestions that they are a peaceful people and would leave everyone alone if we left them alone. I also do not buy into the idea of a preemptive strike or even trade sanctions on the people of Iran which I would feel confident in saying that neither do you.

I guess no one here gives a GAWD DAMN that no evidence exists of an Iranian weapons program and our own Sec. of Defense has even admitted as much.

I do. I feel that your position is that it does not matter and my position is that it could matter but possibly couldn't. I know that seems to be a very odd position(I know laugh away I do take odd positions) but from my view we as a nation are fairly safe from an attack with origins Iranian in nature. As an isolationist it would not matter one way or the other which report you believed as they have no delivery system to attack this Country so that would end all discussions. We do however live in a world where our nation has entered into alliances with other nations. In the real world it matters to me if Iran is developing a nuclear weapon as I believe I and our nations should honor our commitments. The use of an Iranian nuclear weapon on Israel (or Iraq)will no doubt pull our nation into another war no matter whom the President is. I feel and this is my opinion based solely on my limited education and experience that given the correct opportunity and environment that not only would Iran attack Israel(and possibly Iraq) that Israel(and possibly Iraq) would attack Iran. If it takes our nation "puffing up our chests" to avoid war I see no real downside as we would be dragged in no matter what when it really comes down to it and war is something that should be avoided if reasonably possible.
 

BrownMeetPurple

Well-Known Member
American Marines piss on the dead bodies of "enemy combatants", while I don't think that its the HUMAN thing to do, it's what combat does. It strips away humanity. I felt indifferent about it when I saw it on the news this week. **** happens when you unleash the dogs of war. Do you honestly believe that the Palestinians aren't guilty of the same? You didn't answer my original question, so I'll ask again. What good would it do the world, should Iran become a nuclear threat?

We will not have that tiny country (with nukes) using American blood on Iran that's for sure. It will be an equal playing field then. No more hysteria.

And Palestinians do not have an army that can wage war..anyway..have no idea why you even brought up the pissing video.
 

BrownMeetPurple

Well-Known Member
I fully understand where you are coming from but I always felt the suggestion was that Iran could close the strait not that I buy that either. To be fair I also do not buy into your suggestions that they are a peaceful people and would leave everyone alone if we left them alone. I also do not buy into the idea of a preemptive strike or even trade sanctions on the people of Iran which I would feel confident in saying that neither do you.



I do. I feel that your position is that it does not matter and my position is that it could matter but possibly couldn't. I know that seems to be a very odd position(I know laugh away I do take odd positions) but from my view we as a nation are fairly safe from an attack with origins Iranian in nature. As an isolationist it would not matter one way or the other which report you believed as they have no delivery system to attack this Country so that would end all discussions. We do however live in a world where our nation has entered into alliances with other nations. In the real world it matters to me if Iran is developing a nuclear weapon as I believe I and our nations should honor our commitments. The use of an Iranian nuclear weapon on Israel (or Iraq)will no doubt pull our nation into another war no matter whom the President is. I feel and this is my opinion based solely on my limited education and experience that given the correct opportunity and environment that not only would Iran attack Israel(and possibly Iraq) that Israel(and possibly Iraq) would attack Iran. If it takes our nation "puffing up our chests" to avoid war I see no real downside as we would be dragged in no matter what when it really comes down to it and war is something that should be avoided if reasonably possible.


And Israel is not capable of handling its own problems, if indeed it is an issue? Remember this country receives billions maybe the highest aid amount and other hidden favours from USofA. Not to mention it is the only nuclear power in the middle east. Time has come now that America wakes up to this Israel-first policy.
 
Top