Finally we are starting to see articles outlining the actual reality of the issues behind the congressional declassification request, and the challenges for President Trump. Last week we outlined “The Classification Conundrum“, it is complex. If you have reviewed the prior outline today’s expanded and specific follow-up will make more sense.
The congressional request is for President Trump to declassify and release the Carter Page FISA applications (including specifically pages 10-12 and 17-34 and relevant footnotes), all of the Bruce Ohr 302s and other relevant documents, including exculpatory evidence regarding Carter Page and others, that were presented to the Gang of Eight, but not presented to the FISA Court.
There are officials within the executive branch who are against the declassification because there is an inherent risk for two agencies: The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Their self-serving anti-declassification position is bolstered by the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel (OLC); and conniving tricks previously played by internal usurpers within the DOJ Special Counsel “small group”.
First, within a Daily Caller article, which nibbles around the edges, you will note the following current state of the issues:
[Daily Caller] White House lawyers are actively reviewing controversial FBI and Department of Justice documents relating to the 2016 presidential campaign for possible declassification, multiple sources with knowledge tell The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The review process is being led by Emmet Flood of the White House Counsel’s office at the urging of an insistent president, two sources with knowledge of the process told TheDCNF. A source close to the president noted that Flood and his colleagues within the counsel’s office are generally opposed to declassification, out of the concern for the precedent it would set as well as any unintended consequences of making the information public.
Sources cautioned that declassification could occur as soon as this week, though the uncertainty reflects the nature of the review process itself. (read more)
Emmet Flood was the most likely replacement for outgoing White House Chief Legal Counsel Don McGahn. The reason why McGahn is not leading the effort is because he has a conflict of interest.
The scheme team of Mueller’s crew is conniving and smart; When they called McGhan as a witness for their investigation they created a situation where the White House counsels office became witnesses. McGahn was forced to recuse his office from having anything to do with the Robert Mueller probe. The probe was/is against the office of the President.
WASHINGTON – White House counsel Don McGahn recused his entire staff last summer from working on the Russia investigation because many of his office’s lawyers played significant roles in key episodes at the center of the probe, former White House attorney Ty Cobb said on Wednesday.
McGahn made the decision to halt his staff’s interactions with Special Counsel Robert Mueller because many of his own attorneys “had been significant participants” surrounding the firings of national security adviser Michael Flynn and FBI Director James Comey, Cobb said. (read more)
At the time, June 13th, 2018, the revelation of the entire office recusal by McGahn was relatively unnoticed because the very next day, June 14th, the IG report on the FBI was released. All attention went toward the IG report and the FBI.
Remember, Jeff Sessions is recused and sitting on the sidelines. He is of no help to President Trump in matters surrounding the Russia probe, or the 2016 election. The current declassification request surrounds actions directly relating to the 2016 campaign and the fraudulent, perhaps illegal, conduct by the former FBI and DOJ. So Sessions is useless…. period. There’s no help possible from the Attorney General.
“Stop waiting for me, I’M RECUSED” !!
In the current scenario the legislative branch is asking for President Trump to declassify information that is in his interests. However, within the executive branch declassification is adverse to the interests of the OLC, DOJ (Rosenstein) and FBI (Wray). In essence it’s the executive branch that’s “framing the President”; and the legislative branch trying to defend him.
There are two sets of contracting interests within the executive branch. The president wants declassification and yet some officials within the executive branch do not. Hence the conundrum. President Trump is insisting upon Emmet Flood of the White House Counsel’s office, to execute the declassification request.
At issue within the counsel’s office is whether to wholesale declassify documents related to former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page and DOJ official Bruce Ohr or partially redact information to protect sources and methods, two sources familiar with the process said. A source directly familiar with the process said he is certain some declassification action will occur within the coming weeks.
Rumblings and excitement over prospective declassification have reached a fever pitch in recent days among allies of the president.
A group of conservative House Republicans held a press conference Thursday calling on Trump to declassify and release the documents, which they claim show widespread reliance on politically motivated opposition research in obtaining Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants on Page.
“We are confident that the FISA application will prove that the highest levels of the DOJ and FBI failed to provide the FISA court with critically important information when they requested a warrant to spy on Carter Page,” New York Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin said at the press conference. (DC Link)
It is in the interests of the DC administrative state for President Trump to be removed from office or at least stop his agenda. The legislative branch is attempting to help President Trump. That’s why there is a stall tactic being deployed to block President Trump. All DC activity is to remove the legislative branch defense mechanism and re-take the house in the mid-terms. That’s why everything is on hold. E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.
The DOJ Office of Legal Counsel is part of the administrative state and seem to be aligned in opposition. Additionally, there are legal voices within the executive branch opposed to the president taking action against the advice of his own executive branch officers:
The legislative branch, via Mark Meadows, is trying to provide support to bolster the position of President Trump against adverse interests within his own administration. The concern of the White House counsel is establishing a precedent: (1) for declassification of information to the benefit of the President (political/legal); and (2) for thinning the walls between two branches of government (executive and legislative).
From the WH counsels office there are some legitimate concerns surrounding executive power. From their position they don’t want to establish a precedent; however, it’s not really a precedent inasmuch as it appears to be is more of a first-deployment of already existing executive authority. The President holds unilateral executive power constitutionally, but no prior President has used that power for declassification of intelligence, against the advice of his own cabinet, that is seemingly self-interested.
If Rosenstein/Wray refuse to unredact and declassify “sources and methods”, and President Trump demands “sources and methods” be declassified, this would be a first.
Arguably the sunlight will exonerate President Trump, so the argument goes that all ends justify the means. Additionally, from Trump’s perspective if no-one in the executive has anything to hide, then declassification is no risk. However, WH legal counselors worry about what happens when Democrats control the House and make similar declassification demands of the executive in the future; or if the executive is held by opposition and uses declassification to target their political opposition. [I know, the irony!]
It is an unusual scenario because for the first time in modern history a President appears to be willing to give away a little power to the requests of the people’s house, rather than assemble more power for the executive.
Within the Rosenstein/Wray issue their recalcitrance also points to the underlying corrupt officials who remain embedded in the institutions. Specifically for FBI Director Wray, it is becoming clear the purpose of re-hiring Chief Counsel Dana Boente was to have a person familiar with the prior corruption to help navigate these explosive minefields. Boente was inside the DOJ-National Security Division, when the 2017 activity to remove President Trump was still ongoing.
The DC bureaucracy (DOJ-OLC and Mueller crew) appears to have decided a good strategy is to run out the clock to the 2018 mid-terms. So they are in a delay mode.
Again, the legal details of declassification are available HERE. The motive for the FBI and DOJ to refuse the “sources and methods” declassification request is outlined HERE.
The executive branch is in a squabble against itself due to malfeasance inside its law enforcement arm. It has been framing the President for crimes that Congress suspects he didn’t commit.
It’s the executive branch that’s “framing the President”; and the legislative branch trying to defend him.
Now, Just Hit Play:
*Reminder: 37 states have early voting anywhere from 2 weeks to 40 days before election day.
To honor the memory of those lost on September 11th/12th 2012:
The Benghazi Brief
The “Benghazi Brief” remains the most controversial research report we have ever produced. The brief contains over two years of research and hundreds of very specific factual citations supporting it. Four years after it was originally written, and not a single aspect outlined within the brief has ever been identified as inaccurate.
We know from the Bret Baier interview with Hillary Clinton that she was physically located at her 7th floor office in Washington DC on the night of the attack 9/11/12.
A “fire” which preceded an unfortunate slip and fall for the Secretary, resulting in a concussion, which led to the discovery of a blood clot, that ultimately delayed her congressional testimony before a Senate Hearing into the events of the night in question.
We know the Libyan uprising began on February 10th of 2011, and we also know that sometime around the end of February 2011 President Obama signed a presidential directive authorizing the State Dept and CIA to begin a covert operation to arm the Libyan “rebels”.
We also know of a Second Presidential Finding Memo authorizing additional CIA covert action in 2012, this time in Syria. However, unlike the 2011 Libyan operation we do not know the operational name of the second action in 2012 (Syria).
We know the Libyan “rebels” were positioned in two strategic places. Benghazi, and the port city of Darnah, both located in Northeastern Libya.
We know this 2011 Libyan covert operation came to be known as “Operation Zero Footprint“. We know Secretary Clinton and CIA head Panetta were the primary sponsors for the joint State Dept./CIA approach; and we know that specifically because of a U.N. Security Council resolution (unattended by Ambassador Susan Rice) the operation fell under the military command authority of NATO not (important to repeat), NOT, the U.S. Military.
We know by the time operation “Zero Footprint” began, AFRICOM commander General Carter Ham was removed from OPSEC oversight in the Libyan campaign and NATO commander Admiral James G. Stavridis was in charge.
Stavridis was the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) at the time of the Libyan uprising. He retired as SACEUR in 2013
In 2011, 57-year-old Stavridis was the perfect pick for NATO Libyan intervention considering he is the son of Turkish immigrants. Turkey played a key role in what might be the most politically dangerous aspect of the events to the White House once the goals changed to redirection of the weapons from Operation Zero Footprint.
We know Operation Zero Footprint was the covert transfer of weapons from the U.S to the Libyan “rebels”. We also know the operation avoided the concerns with congressional funding, and potential for public scrutiny, through financing by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
We also know that officials within the government of Qatar served as the intermediaries for the actual transfer of the weapons, thereby removing the footprint of the U.S. intervention.
We know the entire operation was coordinated and controlled by the State Department and CIA. We also know (from the Senate Foreign Relations Benghazi hearings) that “Zero Footprint” was unknown to the 2011 Pentagon and/or DoD commanders who would have been tasked with any military response to the 9/11/12 attack – namely AFRICOM General Carter Ham.
However, it would be implausible to think that then Defense Secretary Bob Gates or Joint Chiefs Chair Admiral McMullen were completely unaware of the operation. Even today, despite the numerous hearings and reports, this aspect remains murky.
Both Defense Secretary Gates and Joint Chiefs Chair McMullen were in place when Operation Zero Footprint began. However, both retired from their jobs in Sept of 2011, and were replaced by Leon Panetta and Martin Dempsey respectively.
Leon Panetta was CIA Director at the beginning of Operation Zero Footprint (March 2011) and was replaced by CIA Director David Petraeus in the fall of 2011 as Panetta replaced Bob Gates and became Secretary of Defense.
However, Panetta (now as Def Sec) and JC Martin Dempsey were the two who initially briefed President Obama on the night of Sept 11th 2012. This is an important fact to remember – because of his previous CIA role in constructing Zero Footprint, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta definitely had knowledge of the intents of the joint State Dept/CIA mission in Benghazi, Martin Dempsey may not have.
We know the White House appears to have followed “The Intelligence Oversight Act of 1980” in informing the congressional “Gang of Eight” of Zero Footprint.
The Gang of Eight in 2011 would have included: Speaker – John Boehner, Minority Leader – Nancy Pelosi; House Permanent Select Committee on Intel Chairman – Mike Rogers, and his Democrat counterpart Charles Ruppersberger; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid; along with Senate Intel Chair Diane Feinstein and her Republican counterpart, Saxby Chambliss.
From Hillary interviews we also know the White House liaison for Secretary Clinton and CIA Director Leon Panetta during Operation Zero Footprintwas National Security Advisor To the President, Tom Donilon.
With this information we can assemble a cast of people “IN THE KNOW” of Operation Zero Footprint on two specific date blocks. March 2011 through Pre 9/11/12 attack – and – Post 9/11/12 attack forward.
March 2011 through Pre 9/11/12 attack: Who knew of Operation “Zero Footprint”?:
President Obama and Vice President Biden (both Dems)
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Dem)
CIA Director Leon Panetta (March 2011 – June 2011)
*CIA Director General David Petraeus (?) (Sept 2011 – Nov 2012)
NATO Commander, James G Stavridis
White House National Security Advisor Tom Donilon (Dem)
White House National Security Spox Tommy Vietor (Donilon aide)
White House National Security Advisor John Brennan (Dem)
Speaker of the House John Boehner (Rep)
Minority Leader – Nancy Pelosi (Dem)
House Permanent Select Committee on Intel Chairman – Mike Rogers (Rep)
Minority House Intel Committee – Charles Ruppersberger (Dem)
[State Dept] U.S. Libyan Ambassador – Chris Stevens
[State Dept] U.S. Asst Secretary of State – Andrew Shapiro
[State Dept] Senior Head of U.S. Weapons Office – Mark Adams
Along with whomever inside each nation’s state government that was involved in either the finance (UAE), or the logistics (Qatar). [and later, 2012 Turkey]
Obviously the “know” crowd would include the ultimate end destination users, “The Libyan Rebel Commanders”:
Rebel Leader (Islamic Fighting Group) Abu Sufian Ibriham Ahmed Hamuda Bin Qumu – Darnah Brigade – Ansar Al Sharia
Rebel Leader (Islamic Fighting Group) Abu Khattala – Commander of an Islamist militia group called the Abu Obaida bin Jarrah Brigade (17th Feb Brigade) Benghazi – Ansar Al Sharia
*NOTE* Both of these individuals were labeled as officially recognized State Dept. terrorists in December of 2013. Khattala recently having been arrested.
In addition, the “political face” of the Libyan Transitional Government Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel Jalil, should also be included in this list of people who knew of operation Zero Footprint while it was underway.
Justice Abdel Jalil served as the international face of, and spokesperson for, “the rebels” in 2011/12. He worked closely with Chris Stevens and highly visibly with Secretary Hillary Clinton – However, in my opinion – after extensive research- Jalil was a total patsy. He was paid well to present a comfortable face of the movement, but once Gaddaffi was killed Jalil was quickly dispatched.
This Brings us to who knew about “Operation Zero Footprint” post Benghazi 9/11/12 attack:
To wit you can easily add:
CIA Director General David Petraeus
Adjunct, and Interim, CIA Director – Mike Morrell
U.S. Attorney General – Eric Holder
President Obama Advisor and now Chief of Staff – Denis McDonough
President Obama Advisor and now Treasury Sec – Jack Lew
President Obama Advisor and now National Security Advisor – Tony Blinkin
Former UN Ambassador and now Senior Nat Sec Advisor – Susan Rice
Chief White House Communications Director – Ben Rhodes
Focusing on the post 9/11/12 team for a moment:
This photo, that looks like one of those royalty free photos was taken on 9/11/12 at 1:28am Benghazi time. [7:28pm DC] Following a one hour phone call between POTUS, V-Potus, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Jack Lew (far right) was Obama’s Chief of Staff. Donilon and McDonough had just left Tommy Vietor in the situation room to update POTUS in the Oval Office. POTUS and VPOTUS had just hung up the phone.
We know McDonough and Donilon were in the immediate loop on the night of 9/11/12 because they were photographed updating President Obama at 7:30pm in the Oval Office along with a curious Jack Lew who was Chief of Staff at the time.In addition we know from former White House National Security spokesperson Tommy “dude” Vietor, that President Obama was not in the situation room where Vietor and his boss Tom Donilon were keeping up on events.
Here’s where it gets interesting:
Leon Panetta was the CIA Director when Operation Zero Footprint was authorized and began, but he left the CIA about 4 months later (June 30th, 2011) and was replaced by General David Petraeus (August/Sept 2011).
[*Note* it is important to remember when the 2nd authorized CIA program began in 2012 for Syria Petraeus would have been included]
Under this principle you can see that General Petraeus had ZERO liability for the origin of the Benghazi weapons deals – it was a joint State Dept/CIA program already being conducted when Petraeus arrived. If it blew up, it was not his political problem – THIS MADE PETRAEUS A RISK.
We know that during the summer of 2012 “a whistleblower” popped up and gave House Republican Leader Eric Cantor a tip about CIA Director General Petraeus being in an extramarital affair with a reporter named Paula Broadwell; along with rumors Petraeus may have shared classified information with Broadwell during pillow talk etc.
However, we also know that neither Holder nor Mueller (nor Cantor) informed anyone in congress this investigation of Petraeus was taking place. That investigation included Broadwell turning over her computer to the FBI in the same summer, and later a search of her home which did reveal confidential information supposedly leaked from Petraeus.
Sometime in October of 2012 Director of National Intelligence James Clapper had a conversation with Petraeus urging him to leave.
Immediately after the election of 2012 CIA Director David Petraeus resigned (Nov 9th) and interim CIA Director Mike Morrel took over. This is why Petraeus never testified to the Senate, and Morrel took his place.
We also know this timely switch was beneficial to both the Clinton and Obama camps because Morrel was more politically connected to them than Petraeus.
Given the risks of exposure to both “Operation Zero Footprint”, and worse, the buy-back/redirection to Syria, it’s understandable the risk to Clinton that Petraeus carried. However, Petraeus was not of any risk himself; maybe Leon Panetta would be, but not Petraeus – who, it’s important to add, came from the Defense Department to the office of CIA.
Petraeus’s replacement, interim CIA Director Mike Morrel, and White House Communications Director Ben Rhodes, were the two men who constructed the infamous “Susan Rice” talking points.
After Morrel testified to congress about the CIA involvement around Benghazi, and the issues of terrorism vs. Islamic movie (happy squirrel chase) etc. Morrel was replaced at the CIA by John Brennan.
We know that both Hillary Clinton and CBS immediately hired Mike Morrel. CBS News President David Rhodes -who hired Morrel- is the brother of the White House’s Ben Rhodes; who Morrel coordinated the Clinton friendly, albeit controversial, talking points with.
While it may seem suspect to jump to conclusions, the fact that Eric Holder did not inform either Intelligence Committee of the FBI Petraeus investigation -which is generally standard procedure- lends plausible suspicion to an outline that the events were used as leverage to remove Petraeus; and all of the subsequent risk he represented.
If you accept that Petraeus’s knowledge of, but non-involvement in, “Operation Zero Footprint” represented a potential risk to Hillary and Obama; you’d have to admit that Mike Morrel was by far the more White House friendly person talking about the CIA involvement around the joint State Dept/CIA Benghazi objectives.
Also, it would be disingenuous to ignore the fact Morrel’s loyalty therein was rewarded financially.
Lastly, one of the more slippery people to pin down on the Benghazi attack, and subsequent issues, has been Leon Panetta. If you think about Panetta’s role in the origin of Operation Zero Footprint his comment avoidance makes perfect sense.
Trey Gowdy needs to subpoena Panetta for the Special Committee.
OK, sorry that was more than a moment – but was needed.
Now back to Libya 2011/2012 and the Rift Between State/CIA and DoD/Pentagon over the arming of the “Rebels”. THIS IS REALLY QUITE IMPORTANT because it explains how far out Hillary Clinton had put herself in this covert op “Zero Footprint”.
A few reminder articles will outline and refresh why the White House kept DoD and The Pentagon at arms length throughout their covert operation:
[…] defense leaders in Washington [March 2011] slammed the brakes on the extent of US help to the rebels. Top officials said that some country other than the US should perform any future training and equipping of the Libyan opposition groups. Under withering congressional probing and criticism of what was described as an ill-defined mission to aid a rebel force that officials know little about, Robert Gates, the US defense secretary, sketched out a largely limited role for the US military going forward.
Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told members of the House Armed Services panel that many other countries have the ability to train and support the rebels. “My view would be, if there is going to be that kind of assistance to the opposition, there are plenty of sources for it other than the United States,” said Gates. “Somebody else should do that.” Gates and Mullen told Congress that future US participation will be limited and will not involve an active role in airstrikes as time goes on. (link)
From a New York Times article about the same hearing -AND- the discussion of the CIA involvement. Again, remember this is 2011 – you have Secretary Gates, Joint Chiefs Mullen, and CIA Director Panetta:
2011 […] Gates and Mullen were testifying before the House and Senate Armed Services Committees in the wake of revelations that small teams of CIA operatives are working in Libya. Gates declined to comment on the CIA activities in Libya. US officials have acknowledged that the CIA has sent small teams of operatives into Libya and helped rescue a crew member of a US fighter jet that crashed.
The CIA’s precise role in Libya is not clear. Intelligence experts said the CIA would have sent officials to make contact with the opposition and assess the strength and needs of the rebel forces in the event Barack Obama, the US president, decided to arm them. (link)
In hindsight we are now fully aware that unknown to both Mullen and Gates -at the time they were speaking- was President Obama having authorized Operation Zero Footprint several weeks earlier, and Panetta carrying it out.
The State Dept (Hillary) and CIA (Panetta) were now in the execution mode of the covert op.
We now know against the March/April 2011 backdrop of growing information about al-Qaeda’s presence within the rebel units – there was a genuine difference of opinion on whether even getting involved was a good idea.
The Defense Department (Gates, Mullen) was saying no, the State Department (Clinton, Rice), was saying yes.
Remember too, this covert operation was going to require NATO Admiral James Stavridis to allow the weapons into Libya. So lets look at what he was quoted saying around the same timeframe as Mullen and Gates, *knowing Stavridis was one of the actual key figures to make the weapons delivery possible*:
2011 – […] Now, as the White House and NATO continue to debate the possible ramifications of arming the Libyan opposition, the Haqqani network-linked Afghan commander says Libyan al Qaeda affiliates seem to be more “enthusiastic” about the war against Gaddafi every day.
And from what the Afghan Taliban commander has seen, there appears to be more than “flickers” of al Qaeda’s presence in Libya, the description given by NATO commander Admiral James Stavridis. (link)
There is Stavridis playing down the possibility of al-Qaeda ideology within the make-up of the Islamic Fighting Group – which is important because by the time this quote was attributed Stavridis was already part of the team coordinating the shipments.
Also, remember R2P? This March/April 2011 time frame is when “Responsibility To Protect” came up as a justification for our engagement. Samantha Power, Susan Rice, Hillary Clinton all wanting to fully support “the rebels”.
Ultimately Obama/Jarrett (The White House) agreed with Hillary Inc (State Dept); hence “Zero Footprint” got the nod – well, let’s be really accurate: it “sort of” got the nod.
Think about it. President Obama authorized arming the Libyan rebels, but the covert nature of Zero Footprint actually reflects the political filter through which all Obama White House decisions are made. A White House team that always looks for an escape hatch in case any decision is ever publicly wrong.
If the rebels were al-Qaeda, the covert op lends plausible deniability.
Isn’t it strange how in 2014 hindsight you can clearly see exactly what we now know as the “Benghazi narrative”; the use of their exact escape hatch because they were al-Qaeda, and it did go horribly and publicly wrong.
Operation Zero Footprint Becomes Political and Legal Risk
It should be noted, and actually emphasized, that Operation Zero Footprint, at least in 2011, was not illegal. Indeed, all indicators are that President Obama followed his constitutional responsibility as he carried out his executive authority.
We know in late February 2011 President Obama signed a Presidential Finding Memo authorizing the State Department and CIA to engage in actions within Libya to identify a course of action.
We know in March 2011 when Hillary Clinton (State Dept) and Leon Panetta (CIA) constructed “Operation Zero Footprint” that President Obama approved the covert action and then informed the Gang of Eight of the weapons transfer operation.
Both of those known facts speak well to the Executive Office following a legally outlined process. This does not, however, dismiss the concern, which became the reality, that the action itself was terribly flawed and horridly imprudent.
During March, April and May 2011 there was enough intelligence information flowing to the White House informing them of exactly who would be the beneficiaries of U.S. Libyan involvement and specifically providing weapons. It did not take long to identify the Benghazi and Darnah “rebels” were actually affiliates of al-Qaeda.
While no-one reporting in 2011 was aware of Operation Zero Footprint, there were literally hundreds of media reports showcasing the ideology of the Libyan “rebel” uprising. Indeed there were numerous reports in mainstream media outlets of al-Qaeda fighters (numerous factions) flowing to Libya to oust their life-long nemesis, Gaddaffi.
From a policy standpoint it will have to be left up to historians to pore over the facts and ultimately decide what was *this* White House goal in the entire region.
Ben Ali removal -Tunisia- seemed OK to the administration, Obama and Clinton.
Hosni Mubarak removal -Egypt- seemed even more ok to Obama and Clinton.
Both of the above were viewed as potential sources for favorable policy outcomes. Indeed the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt -and election of President Morsi- did not seem to be a concern for the White House.
However, when you get to Gaddaffi’s removal -Libya- you see a serious split between ideologies within the U.S. political class as Obama/Clinton actually pushed the outcome. The U.S. defense department saying they were apprehensive about this outcome, and Obama/Clinton going “all in” for Gaddaffi ouster with French President Sarkozy.
The same interventionist Obama/Clinton motivation was evident with Syria’s Assad as yet another uprising surfaced in yet another Mid-East nation – again in March/April 2011.
We know on October 20th 2011 Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddaffi was finally captured, then killed by “the rebels”.
From the standpoint of “regime change” operation Zero Footprint was a success.
The Libyan Transitional National Council was now in control. Well, maybe in charge, or, well, sort of.
The TNC (pictured below 4 days later) may have been the face of Libya the Obama/Clinton team wanted to portray. But they were merely just that, a face.
We know Eastern Libya was then (2011), and is now (2016), a hotbed of radical Islam controlled by the Libyan Islamic Fighting Groups, the very people who benefited from the arms that were part of Zero Footprint.
We know by the Fall/Winter of 2011 the U.S. State Dept and CIA were joined and trying to re-secure the same weapons they provided in the Spring/Summer.
“Assistant Secretary of State Andrew J. Shapiro raised the American desire to arrange a purchase program in a meeting this month with Libya’s new defense minister, according to American officials familiar with the proposal.
The United States has committed $40 million to secure Libya’s arms stockpiles, much of it to prevent the spread of Manpads. No budget has been designed for a purchase program, and the price to be paid for each missile and its components has not been determined, the official said. (link)
We know from a speech delivered by Asst. Secretary of State Shapiro in Feb of 2012 the actual program to recapture the Zero Footprint weapons began in August of 2011 about two months before Gaddaffi was killed:
“Once the stalemate broke and the fighting rapidly shifted in the TNC’s [Libyan Transitional National Council] favor in August, we immediately deployed a State Department expert from the MANPADS Task Force to Benghazi.
Mark Adams, who you will hear from shortly on the panel, is the head of our MANPADS Task Force and spent considerable time on the ground in Libya.
[… ] The initial primary objective was to reach an agreement with the TNC to set up a MANPADS control and destruction program that would enable us to set up what we call our Phase I efforts.
Phase I entailed an effort to rapidly survey, secure, and disable loose MANPADS across the country. To accomplish this, we immediately deployed our Quick Reaction Force, which are teams made up of civilian technical specialists.”
We know those “civilian technical specialists”, being talked about in August 2011, were contractors, CIA contractors, hired by the State Department to recapture the weapons – some of which they provided as a specific consequence of Operation Zero Footprint.
If the story ended there it would be bad enough. A flawed policy, a secret mission arm the Libyan “rebels” without a great deal of thinking through the longer term consequences. A flawed policy with political consequences.
But when you think about the larger picture you understand why the details of the covert weapons operation Zero Footprint were so tightly guarded among select members of Congress (the Gang of Eight), the CIA (Panetta), the State Department (Clinton) and the White House (Donilon).
Each of them was trying to manage a covert operation that would expose a U.S. policy decision to arm al-Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist militias.
But that’s only “IF” the story ended there, in Libya, at the end of 2011 into the beginning of 2012. It didn’t, the decisions got worse – much worse.
The uprising in Syria was only a few months behind the uprising in Libya. Arguably if the timing were reversed you could ponder that Assad would have met Gaddaffi’s fate, and Gaddaffi would be as alive today as President Assad.
Whichever rebel group got the attention of the R2P crowd was sure to be the first to get assistance. The Obama R2P Doctrine is so tenuous, and so lacking in political principle, it’s subject to change based on the political whims of capitol hill at any given moment.
The Libyan “rebels” got all the weaponry love – the Syrian “rebels”, not-so-much. At least in 2011; by mid 2012 that sentiment appears to have changed.
Enter Hillary Clinton. As she reiterated vehemently to Greta Van Sustern during a recent interview, it was Hillary who wanted to help the Syrian rebels when no-one else wanted to assist them. Secretary Hillary Clinton wanted early and direct interventionist action in Syria to topple Assad just like Gaddaffi.
Obviously consequences from the first covert weapons mission in Libya made a stark case for not repeating it in Syria. Another huge factor against helping the FSA was Israel. Ultimately Israel could not afford to be put into such a risky position if Syrian rebel forces were given arms that ultimately might be used against them.
Additionally, you would think there’s no way congress, in an election year, would approve of funding Syrian rebels against the possibility of it hurting Israel; And the White House was not about to do a known and official covert operation which had a great potential to go sideways, and become far too politically dangerous. 2012 was an election year.
But they did.
Who wanted to aid Syria more? President Obama or Hillary Clinton? That is a question for later year historians. Regardless of how the idea came up, we know a decision was made to do it, and to do it covertly.
Arming the Benghazi Darnah rebels was, well, stupid. It was actually stupid, and politically stupid, but it was not illegal.
Arming jihadist fighters in Syria likewise ended up being stupid but by all appearances NOT illegal.
In August 2012, one month before the attack on the Benghazi Compound, the following Reuters article appeared. This is how we find out about the SECOND presidential finding memo which again authorized covert CIA involvement, this time in Syria:
WASHINGTON, Aug 1 [2012] (Reuters) – President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, U.S. sources familiar with the matter said.
Obama’s order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence “finding,” broadly permits the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad.
This and other developments signal a shift toward growing, albeit still circumscribed, support for Assad’s armed opponents – a shift that intensified following last month’s failure of the U.N. Security Council to agree on tougher sanctions against the Damascus government.
The White House is for now apparently stopping short of giving the rebels lethal weapons, even as some U.S. allies do just that.
But U.S. and European officials have said that there have been noticeable improvements in the coherence and effectiveness of Syrian rebel groups in the past few weeks. That represents a significant change in assessments of the rebels by Western officials, who previously characterized Assad’s opponents as a disorganized, almost chaotic, rabble.
Precisely when Obama signed the secret intelligence authorization, an action not previously reported, could not be determined.
The full extent of clandestine support that agencies like the CIA might be providing also is unclear.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor declined comment.
‘NERVE CENTER’
A U.S. government source acknowledged that under provisions of the presidential finding, the United States was collaborating with a secret command center operated by Turkey and its allies.
Last week, Reuters reported that, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Turkey had established a secret base near the Syrian border to help direct vital military and communications support to Assad’s opponents.
This “nerve center” is in Adana, a city in southern Turkey about 60 miles (100 km) from the Syrian border, which is also home to Incirlik, a U.S. air base where U.S. military and intelligence agencies maintain a substantial presence.
Turkey’s moderate Islamist government has been demanding Assad’s departure with growing vehemence. Turkish authorities are said by current and former U.S. government officials to be increasingly involved in providing Syrian rebels with training and possibly equipment.
European government sources said wealthy families in Saudi Arabia and Qatar were providing significant financing to the rebels. Senior officials of the Saudi and Qatari governments have publicly called for Assad’s departure.
On Tuesday, NBC News reported that the Free Syrian Army had obtained nearly two dozen surface-to-air missiles, weapons that could be used against Assad’s helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Syrian government armed forces have employed such air power more extensively in recent days.
NBC said the shoulder-fired missiles, also known as MANPADs, had been delivered to the rebels via Turkey.
On Wednesday, however, Bassam al-Dada, a political adviser to the Free Syrian Army, denied the NBC report, telling the Arabic-language TV network Al-Arabiya that the group had “not obtained any such weapons at all.” U.S. government sources said they could not confirm the MANPADs deliveries, but could not rule them out either.
Current and former U.S. and European officials previously said that weapons supplies, which were being organized and financed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, were largely limited to guns and a limited number of anti-tank weapons, such as bazookas.
Indications are that U.S. agencies have not been involved in providing weapons to Assad’s opponents. In order to do so, Obama would have to approve a supplement, known as a “memorandum of notification, to his initial broad intelligence finding.
Further such memoranda would have to be signed by Obama to authorize other specific clandestine operations to support Syrian rebels.
Reuters first reported last week that the White House had crafted a directive authorizing greater U.S. covert assistance to Syrian rebels. It was unclear at that time whether Obama had signed it. (read more)
Note how the FSA says they didn’t get missiles, and yet missiles were shipped. This is important against the backdrop of the reality the extreme elements we now call ISIS were operating in Syria and openly laughing at our inability to identify them:
“NO ISLAM WITHOUT JIHAD” – members of the Free Syrian Army. Abu Khuder and his men fight for al-Qaida. They call themselves the ghuraba’a, or “strangers”, after a famous jihadi poem celebrating Osama bin Laden’s time with his followers in the Afghan mountains, and they are one of a number of jihadi organisations establishing a foothold in the east of the country now that the conflict in Syria has stretched well into its second bloody year.
They try to hide their presence. “Some people are worried about carrying the [black] flags,” said Abu Khuder. “They fear America will come and fight us. So we fight in secret. Why give Bashar and the west a pretext?” But their existence is common knowledge in Mohassen. Even passers-by joke with the men about car bombs and IEDs.
(JULY 2012) As they stood outside the commandeered government building in the town of Mohassen, it was hard to distinguish Abu Khuder’s men from any other brigade in the Syrian civil war, in their combat fatigues, T-shirts and beards.
But these were not average members of the Free Syrian Army. Abu Khuder and his men fight for al-Qaida. They call themselves the ghuraba’a, or “strangers”, after a famous jihadi poem celebrating Osama bin Laden’s time with his followers in the Afghan mountains, and they are one of a number of jihadi organisations establishing a foothold in the east of the country now that the conflict in Syria has stretched well into its second bloody year.
They try to hide their presence. “Some people are worried about carrying the [black] flags,” said Abu Khuder. “They fear America will come and fight us. So we fight in secret. Why give Bashar and the west a pretext?” But their existence is common knowledge in Mohassen. Even passers-by joke with the men about car bombs and IEDs.
According to Abu Khuder, his men are working closely with the military council that commands the Free Syrian Army brigades in the region. “We meet almost every day,” he said. “We have clear instructions from our [al-Qaida] leadership that if the FSA need our help we should give it. We help them with IEDs and car bombs. Our main talent is in the bombing operations.” Abu Khuder’s men had a lot of experience in bomb-making from Iraq and elsewhere, he added.
[…] Abu Khuder split with the FSA and pledged allegiance to al-Qaida’s organisation in Syria, the Jabhat al Nusra or Solidarity Front. He let his beard grow and adopted the religious rhetoric of a jihadi, becoming a commander of one their battalions.
“The Free Syrian Army has no rules and no military or religious order. Everything happens chaotically,” he said. “Al-Qaida has a law that no one, not even the emir, can break.
“The FSA lacks the ability to plan and lacks military experience. That is what [al-Qaida] can bring. They have an organisation that all countries have acknowledged.
“In the beginning there were very few. Now, mashallah, there are immigrants joining us and bringing their experience,” he told the gathered people. “Men from Yemen, Saudi, Iraq and Jordan. Yemenis are the best in their religion and discipline and the Iraqis are the worst in everything – even in religion.”
At this, one man in the room – an activist in his mid-30s who did not want to be named – said: “So what are you trying to do, Abu Khuder? Are you going to start cutting off hands and make us like Saudi? Is this why we are fighting a revolution?”
“[Al-Qaida’s] goal is establishing an Islamic state and not a Syrian state,” he replied. “Those who fear the organisation fear the implementation of Allah’s jurisdiction. If you don’t commit sins there is nothing to fear.” (link – more)
Against the backdrop of ISIL 2014 does this Sound familiar ?
We know the basic set up to arm the Syrian rebellion was generally not too complex.
Turkey would be used as the distribution hub, and the U.S. had Sunni friends in Saudi Arabia, and Qatar -who were more than willing to see Assad removed- and financially assist in arming the Syrians without too great a concern for what could happen to Israel.
For Obama/Clinton to get weapons to the Syrians, against the shadow of Operation Zero Footprint, without going extensively through congress, could be done covertly and easily. Either ship weapons just like Operation Zero Footprint, Saudi ==> Qatar ==> Turkey ==> Syria, OR, buy back the weapons already floating around from Operation Zero Footprint and redirect them to Syria through Turkey.
OR both.
The Saudis would be a willing financier if the State Dept needed additional money to facilitate the transfers.
We know Ambassador Chris Stevens set up a formal U.S. Embassy consulate in Tripoli around May 26th of 2012; and we know the State Dept and CIA set up their joint operations in Benghazi around the same time. We also now know this is around the EXACT time of the second Presidential CIA Directive.
Looking at the historical timeline, and knowing the contacts developed, gives a great perspective into what would have spurred the CIA/State Department to set up a more expansive presence and operation in the coastal region of Eastern Libya May/June 2012.
The official U.S. State Dept Libyan presence was vacated on Feb 25th of 2011 when the embassy personnel were evacuated. Stevens was re-establishing the diplomatic office and acting as Ambassador to Libya during the 2012 reconstruction phase.
What we did not know at the time was that Chris Stevens was also acting as the facilitator for U.S. arms shipments OUT OF LIBYA, through Turkish diplomatic couriers and into Syria. While coordinating a second covert action to arm the Syrian resistance.
A very strong argument can easily be made that Chris Stevens was a CIA operative inside the State Department. Many people within the State Department are CIA personnel using the State Dept as part of their visible cover.
In Eastern Libya June, July, August 2012 – Obviously the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, Ansar Al Sharia, aka 17th Feb Brigade, and all of their commanders knew of the U.S. Benghazi weapons programs. Both the 2011 distribution, and the 2012 repurchase.
Considering the redeployment to Syria – for the most part the Benghazi and Darnah brigades would have been in alignment with their Jihadist brethren in Syria being the beneficiaries of any additional shipments.
But there was in 2011/2012 – as noted in the above articles – an ideological rift between the newly emboldened Muslim Brotherhood and the ‘more initially moderate’ Free Syrian Army (FSA). As the Libyan conflict rolled on through the summer of 2011 more al-Qaeda elements flocked from other engagements into the Syrian fight. Moderates were replaced by extremists.
By the time of the second presidential directive, as Hillary and Chris Stevens were working on support for Syria, Summer 2012, the radical Syrian opposition was embedded inside the FSA. Arguably in hindsight they were the majority element.
The Syrian opposition had three al-Qaida arms operating within it. Including one that also operated in Libya:
Jund al-Sham, which is made up of al-Qaida militants who are Syrian, Palestinian and Lebanese;
Jund al-Islam, which in recent years merged with Ansar al-Islam, an extremist group of Sunni Iraqis operating under the al-Qaida banner and operating in Yemen and Libya;
Jund Ansar al-Allah, an al-Qaida group based in Gaza linked to Palestinian camps in Lebanon and Syria.
It would be into this eclectic mix of Jihadist ideologues, which later became ISIL, that any diverted U.S. arms would flow. It’s no wonder that Senator John McCain was so confused when he was calling them “moderates” in 2012/2013. Almost no-one knew the severe elements in Syria would rise to the surface and become the modern ISIS now capturing all of the global attention.
And…. If you just realized…. Yes, ISIS or ISIL currently on the march in Iraq, came from Syria, fought in Syria and more than likely was armed by the U.S. inside Syria and Turkey.
They were more likely trained, in Adana, a city in southern Turkey about 60 miles (100 km) from the Syrian border, which is also home to Incirlik, a U.S. air base where U.S. military and intelligence agencies maintain a substantial presence; by the same CIA operatives used by the State Dept to send Syria weapons from Benghazi and Darnah back in Libya.
If Operation Zero Footprint in Libya was stupid, arming the Syrian branches of al-Qaeda two years after the FSA was thoroughly corrupted by al-Qaeda, is infinite degrees beyond stupid.
But that’s hindsight for ya….. or as Secretary Clinton would say “Whether they were, … at this point, what difference does it make?”
By June of 2012 the New York Times was reporting that the CIA is operating a secret arms transfer program to Syria that sounded exactly like the re-diversion plan Clinton developed with Panetta/Petraeus.
According to the Times suddenly, there is: “…an influx of weapons and ammunition to the rebels.”
We know on September 5th 2012 – A Libyan flagged ship called Al Entisar (“The Victory”) docks in the Turkish port of Iskenderun. It is carrying 400 tons of cargo including many weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles (MANPADS) destined for Syrian rebels 35 miles away from Iskenderun.
In response to the Times of London report, and in a generally dismissed part of her congressional testimony, Senator Rand Paul asked outgoing Secretary Hillary Clinton a very specific question – (See @2:20 of this video and pay attention to the “duping delight”):
Which would bring us to a series of now reconcilable questions surrounding the joint State Dept. and CIA Benghazi Mission.
The entire weapons operation 2011 was labeled “Operation Zero Footprint”. The intent is outlined in the operational title – to leave no visible record of U.S. involvement in arming the Libyan “rebels”. No visible footprint.
We know from congressional inquiry Ambassador Chris Stevens had asked for more security in the months prior to Sept. 11th 2012. Requests sent to the State Dept that were denied.
We also know that NO MARINE DETACHMENT was ever put in place to defend the Benghazi Mission.
We also know the Benghazi Mission was initially, and mistakenly by media, called “a consulate”, or a “consulate outpost”. But there was no State Dept record of any consulate office in Benghazi.
All of these seeming contradictions can be reconciled with the simple understanding that this “Mission” in 2011 was unofficial. Remember the goal – No visible footprint.
We also know the Second Operation, in 2012, to arm the Syrians’ was also covert – No visible footprint.
Why were security requests denied? Remember the goal – No visible footprint.
We know from General Carter Ham (AFRICOM Commander now retired) the Department of Defense was not even aware the State Dept was operating a mission in Benghazi during 2012. Remember the goal – No visible footprint.
How could Hillary Clinton, Charlene Lamb, or Patrick Kennedy approve or request a marine security detachment knowing the entire mission around both Benghazi operations was covert?
Such a request would have traveled outside the small group of State/CIA insiders. The request would have gone to DoD. Short answer, they couldn’t.
Hence the disconnect between what seemed to be obvious and/or simple questions and the inability to accurately discuss in the public venues of congressional inquiry.
To the public Chris Stevens was a U.S. ambassador, a diplomat. To the folks inside the State Dept and CIA, Chris Stevens was a U.S. Ambassador, AND a CIA operative coordinating covert arms sales.
In 2011 those arms shipments were to aid the Libyan rebels, in 2012 those same arms were redirected to aid the Syrian rebels.
Even after death the public face of Chris Stevens, the official role, was the only role able to be discussed. The covert, or unofficial role, was not. Again, we see the disconnect between inquiry that could be answered, and inquiry that could not be answered. Many irreconcilables surface because of this intelligence role – even through today.
The second role of Stevens, the covert and CIA aspect, still causes problems for people trying to understand the “why not” questions. The broader public asking why have we not seen, or heard from the survivors of the attacks?
The short answer is:
we have not heard from the survivors – but the intelligence community has.
Twice some of the survivors have given testimony to congress. The problem for the public is that those hearings are closed door, classified, intelligence hearings – led by then Chairman Mike Rogers and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Again, go back to the beginning of Operation Zero Footprint and you see the congressional Intelligence Gang of Eight were fully aware of the intents.
The Gang of Eight in 2011 / 2012 was: House Speaker – John Boehner, Minority Leader – Nancy Pelosi; House Permanent Select Committee on Intel Chairman – Mike Rogers, and his Democrat counterpart Charles Ruppersberger; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid; along with Senate Intel Chair Diane Feinstein and her Republican counterpart, Saxby Chambliss.
Why was Speaker Boehner reluctant to establish a Select Committee on Benghazi ?
Simple, again he is one of the Gang of Eight – and he was briefed on both operations. How is he going to call for a select committee to investigate when he knows the substance of the committee investigation is classified under national security. Such a committee would not, because it could not, deliver what the public was requesting, sunlight.
The only reason Trey Gowdy was finally assigned the task of a Select Committee, was simply because the public lies of the White House and administration were contradicting themselves. More trumpet, more noise, was needed to cloud the stark reality that both political parties held oversight over the entire Benghazi debacle.
The White House “talking points“, which was/is a ridiculous squirrel hunt, were created to reconcile the problem faced when unable to discuss a covert operation.
It is far easier to look at the reality of the problem faced by the White House and CIA than any nefarious intention.
Unfortunately for the administration, or for any administration, they are not that good at controlling facts when questions that cannot be answered publicly are asked publicly.
Team Obama was so committed to keeping the covert operation “Zero Footprint” a secret (because of the political embarrassment from factually arming al Qaeda) that the cover story they manufactured (on the fly) was fraught with contradictions.
How could President Obama dispatch help to the Benghazi team, when DoD was not even aware of it’s existence? Sending help would have compromised OpSec, Operational Security.
The dispatch of F.E.S.T. would lead to increased knowledge of a covert operation.
Hopefully you are beginning to see the root of the contradictions. Once you understand the truth of what was going on within the back story – there’s almost nothing left which would dangle as an unanswered question. It all reconciles.
Back to the FALL of 2012 – On September 5th/6th 2012 the Turkish vessel “Al Entisar” docked in the Turkish port of Iskenderun. 400 tons of serious cargo including weapons destined for Syrian “rebels”.
In the U.S. that September 5th night former President Bill Clinton was introducing Candidate Barack Obama at the DNC convention in Charlotte North Carolina. In Afghanistan that night something happened that had already become a serious concern for the operatives within “Operation Zero Footprint”.
At the exact time Clinton was speaking in North Carolina, halfway around the world in Afghanistan Army Chief Warrant Officers Thalia S. Ramirez, 28, of San Antonio and Jose L. Montenegro Jr., 31, of San Juan, in the Rio Grande Valley, were killed while flying an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, a Defense Department news release stated.
On September 5th 2012 – A U.S. organized ship loaded with weapons including missiles was offloading at a Turkish port. Bill Clinton was introducing Barack Obama, and the first black female combat pilot was shot down and killed by a shoulder fired missile in Afghanistan.
The relationship between the three events reflects the absolute political fear that revolved around Operation Zero Footprint.
The CIA and Intelligence community had stated earlier the biggest concern anyone held about arming the Libyan Rebels was the possibility those weapons might leave the Libyan conflict and travel to other locations where they would be used against our own soldiers. More and more evidence of this happening was growing.
In 2011 a total of four air assets were destroyed by enemy fire in Afghanistan. Two of those helicopters happened at the same time in August 2011 when we lost the Navy Seal unit that killed Osama Bin Laden. 22 Americans killed.
We had been in close quarter full combat operations in Afghanistan for 10 years, and we never had a problem with close air support. We had never faced the concern of our enemy having MANPADS.
From 2002 through 2010 Combat Operations saw zero occurrences of SAMS, Stingers, or MANPADS in general.
Within months after delivering weapons to the Benghazi and Darnah rebels (May, June and July 2011) we began facing MANPADS in Afghanistan.
Four instances in late in 2011 including the 22 lives lost in what came to be known as Operation “Extortion 17”.
A combined patrol discovered a weapons cache containing three shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missiles, three anti-tank mines, 423 RPGs, 118,600 7.62 mm rounds, 30 rifles and other ordnance in the Tarin Kot district of Uruzgan province. The cache’s contents were destroyed. (link)
By September 5th 2012 in the preceding nine months we had lost 11 helicopters to shoulder fired missiles in Afghanistan. The following headline hit the media:
One of the incidents revealed details of what was being faced. The July 25th 2012 downing of a CH-47 which was found to have been hit with a “new generation” stinger missile. The risks were no longer mere worries, they were real:
[O]n July 25, 2012, Taliban fighters in Kunar province successfully targeted a US Army CH-47 helicopter with a new generation Stinger missile.
They thought they had a surefire kill. But instead of bursting into flames, the Chinook just disappeared into the darkness as the American pilot recovered control of the aircraft and brought it to the ground in a hard landing.
The assault team jumped out the open doors and ran clear in case it exploded. Less than 30 seconds later, the Taliban gunner and his comrade erupted into flames as an American gunship overhead locked onto their position and opened fire.
The next day, an explosive ordnance disposal team arrived to pick through the wreckage and found unexploded pieces of a missile casing that could only belong to a Stinger missile.
Lodged in the right nacelle, they found one fragment that contained an entire serial number.
The investigation took time. Arms were twisted, noses put out of joint. But when the results came back, they were stunning: The Stinger tracked back to a lot that had been signed out by the CIA recently, not during the anti-Soviet jihad.
Reports of the Stinger reached the highest echelons of the US command in Afghanistan and became a source of intense speculation, but no action.
Everyone knew the war was winding down. Revealing that the Taliban had US-made Stingers risked demoralizing coalition troops. Because there were no coalition casualties, government officials made no public announcement of the attack.
My sources in the US Special Operations community believe the Stinger fired against the Chinook was part of the same lot the CIA turned over to the Qataris in early 2011, weapons Hillary Rodham Clinton’s State Department intended for anti-Khadafy forces in Libya.
They believe the Qataris delivered between 50 and 60 of those same Stingers to the Taliban in early 2012, and an additional 200 SA-24 Igla-S surface-to-air missiles. (link)
In Afghanistan the DoD field response was immediate; all Close Air Support was cancelled.
The White House had a problem – “Operation Zero Footprint” missiles were now being used against us, but DoD didn’t know the origin because the Defense Department did not know about Zero Footprint, the State Department and CIA did.
The killing of Army Chief Warrant Officers Thalia S. Ramirez, 28, and Jose L. Montenegro Jr., 31, might not have been the final straw – but their September 5th 2012 deaths coincided with an absolute change in direction.
While the ISIS-minded Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and the Free Syrian Army were arguing over who gets what from aboard the Turkish vessel, back in Benghazi, Libya it was obvious the ideology of the Syrian factions were too extreme and the CIA could no longer control who would use such weapons.
God forbid DoD ground commanders in Afghanistan find out the MANPADS they were facing originated by our covert efforts in Libya.
Tayyip Erdogan – Turkey, David Cameron – U.K.
Strangely one must give credit to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. As unbelievable as it might sound he was the lone Islamic voice in March 2011 saying “don’t arm the Benghazi rebels“:
March 2011 – Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, has said he does not support the idea of arming Libyan rebels fighting to oust Muammar Gaddafi from power.
Speaking at a joint news conference with David Cameron, the British prime minister, in London, Erdogan said: “Doing that would create a different situation in Libya and we do not find it appropriate to do that.”
Erdogan also said that that sending weapons to Libya could feed terrorism, saying such weapons shipments “could also create an environment which could be conducive to terrorism”. (read more)
Erdogan and U.S. Defense Secretary Bob Gates were of the same mindset.
“My view would be, if there is going to be that kind of assistance to the opposition, there are plenty of sources for it other than the United States,” said Gates. “Somebody else should do that.” (link)
However, for Syria in 2012 Erdogan had a divergent opinion. He was all for arming the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda. This article, again from August 2012 – one month prior to the attack against Chris Stevens, outlines the goal of both Erdogan and President Obama:
(August 2012) President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone Monday “to coordinate efforts to accelerate a political transition in Syria,” the White House said.
This “would include the departure of (Syrian leader) Bashar Assad and be responsive to the legitimate demands of the Syrian people,” the statement said.
Obama and Erdogan shared their concerns over the Syrian regime’s crackdown on opposition “and the deteriorating humanitarian conditions throughout Syria as a result of the regime’s atrocities.”
Both [Obama and Erodgan] promised to coordinate efforts to help the growing numbers of Syrians displaced by the violence within Syria or forced to flee over the border to take refuse in Turkey or other nations in the region.
The statement said US and Turkish teams “would remain in close contact on ways that Turkey and the United States can work together to promote a democratic transition in Syria.” (link)
Alas, given the backstory of DoD not wanting to arm the rebels, and given the unintended consequences of 2011/2012 from Operation Zero Footprint, and given an upcoming election in November 2012, you can see why in post September 11 of 2012 the Obama administration would want to discontinue this operation and throw a bag over the events of the past 17 months.
Perhaps following the fiasco at the Port of Iskenderun a week earlier, Turkish Diplomat Consul General Ali Sait Akin arrives at the Benghazi Mission on Sept 11th 2012 to talk about the ongoing efforts to support Syria.
Perhaps, the conversation was about the increasing risk of arming a rising group of radicals against the backdrop of MANPADS being used against U.S. forces in other fields of combat.
Regardless of motivation Ali Sait Akin and Stevens were most certainly discussing the current situation with Turkey suffering the consequences and pushing a greater sense of urgency.
Indeed Turkey’s border region was filled with historic numbers of Syrian refugees fleeing the fighting which was completely out of control. The Scale of the crisis was staggering and out of control. Over 500,000 Syrians were now seeking shelter in Turkey.
Meanwhile the ideology of the radical elements controlling the arms shipments was openly becoming a danger to the entire region, and especially U.S. interests beyond Syria.
This would have put Stevens (U.S.) and Akin (Turkey) as opposing ends of the issue.
What we now know as ISIS – originated inside this group of Zero Footprint recipients, and Erdogan, a Muslim Brotherhood supporter, wanted to see Assad removed at any cost.
The rabid ideologues (now known as ISIS-2014) were quickly evolving into a risk for the region. The U.S. policy team would have viewed the risk far differently than Turkey.
As the New York Times reported in an Oct. 14 2012 article, “Most of the arms shipped at the behest of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to supply Syrian rebel groups fighting the government of Bashar Assad are going to hard-line Islamic jihadists, and not the more secular opposition groups that the West wants to bolster.”
We can only imagine the conversation within the Benghazi compound as both Ali Sait Akin and Chris Stevens parted ways for the final time on September 11th 2012.
Outside the compound walls, the 17th Feb Brigade – Ansar Al Sharia – were also assembled to deliver their final goodbyes.
The Turkish delegation was able to navigate the roadblocks without issue. And within 30 minutes of Consul Akin leaving the venue, Ansar Al Sharia executed their attack.
The Benghazi and Darnah Brigades already knew the compound inside and out, as well as the CIA ANNEX compound, a kilometer away, which contained four warehouse type buildings used by the CIA during the collection, distribution and delivery of Zero Footprint’s objectives over the past 17 months.
In June of 2009 the primary Benghazi Mission compound looked like this:
In March of 2011, when Operation Zero Footprint began, the Tactical Operations Command building (TOC) was added and it looked like this:
.
In December of 2005 the area which became the CIA Annex compound held two buildings:
.
In 2009 two more buildings were added bringing the total to FOUR:
.
By the time the CIA took over 2011, and when the compound came under mortar fire 2012, it looked like this:
Author’s notes:
The primary reason for outlining this brief is to deliver a greater understanding of why things happened the way they did in the post 9/11/12 attack media frenzy.
If you understand what took place from March 2011 through the night of the attack itself all of the contradictions reconcile, and most of the questions become answered.
Factually, I would challenge anyone who reads this brief to actually have a question left unanswered.
The events of the attack itself are gut wrenching and troubling. Our brave operations folks had to fight their way out of a situation where they literally were on their own due to the political risks inherent in carrying out their objectives.
However, they knew they were beyond the wire, they knew they were covert – they knew there was no manner, method or possibility of protection…. And this is the point everyone seems to miss:
THEY HAD TO KNOW THE DoD WAS IN THE DARK ABOUT THEIR ACTIVITY. There was NOTHING the Pentagon could have done to help them. Those people inside the Eastern Libya City of Benghazi, operating on behalf of the administration, were, for all intents and purposes, GHOSTS. They did not “technically” exist.
Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the mission they were tasked to carry out, there is no doubt they worked honorably to serve their nation. Ultimately the leadership within the State Department, The CIA, and the White House are responsible for the outcomes of policy.
Our hope is that this outline will stimulate journalists to question those who were at the heart of these two operations. Ultimately the Trey Gowdy select committee will find there is no venue to discuss intelligence operations with public sunlight. While both Zero Footprint in 2011, and the Unnamed CIA operation in 2012 were flawed policy – they were not necessarily illegal.
There is a matter of an unidentified State Dept $6 billion contractor fund missing from Hillary’s term as Secretary of State; that might bear investigation. However, beyond those smaller questions there is little if anything to gain.
FUBAR.
~ Sundance
Common Questions: The AFTERMATH – “The Cairo Protest VS The Benghazi Attack”
Here is where people get confused – because the U.S. State department wanted people to get confused.
On 9/11/12 the State Department was originally trying to deflect attention away from the Cairo Embassy Protest.
CNN correspondent Nick Robertson interviewed Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Al Zawahiri on the morning of the planned Cairo protest 9/11/12. Zawahiri and team told Robertson they were rallying and protesting for the release of the Blind Sheik.
The protest turned violent and the U.S. Embassy was overrun by extremists who eventually hoisted the black flag of al-Qaeda within the compound.
The State Dept was trying desperately to cover their ass and frame the narrative so the optics of the al-Qaeda onslaught to the Embassy could be controlled.
To hide the intentions of the protesting mob (release of the Blind Sheik) the U.S. State Department fell back on a story about the Mohammed video – which they found out about two days earlier.
Against the backdrop of an upcoming election, and with Republicans beating up Democrats over the short-sighted foreign policy, the State Dept did not want the Muhammed Al Zawahiri narrative. The compound being overrun was a political embarrassment so they used the silly video to explain the protest:
(Remember this is all early in the day – prior to the Benghazi attack)
However, Mitt Romney jumped on this State Dept. Press Release to make the case that the U.S. appeared weak and apologetic. It created an immediate stir.
Unknown at the time was an UNRELATED attack was taking place at the Benghazi compound. The attack at Benghazi Libya had nothing to do with the protests at the Cairo embassy.
However, once the Benghazi attack took place, the State Dept needed a cover story which would sell to the U.S. electorate to explain the Benghazi issues. What Hillary and team did was sell/use the Cairo story as an explanation for Benghazi.
This is how the U-Tube video came into play.
The U-Tube video had nothing to do with the Cairo Embassy Protest.
The U-Tube video had nothing to do with the Benghazi attack.
Nothing about the U-Tube story was correct. It was all manufactured excuse-making, strategically put into the media cycle to protect the administration from the reality of flawed policy.
The U-Tube video had nothing to do with the Embassy protest in Cairo, nor the Benghazi attack in Libya. By now I think everyone would concur, albeit the media never went back to the Cairo motive to discuss because it became a secondary issue.
Did the Muslim Brotherhood leadership in Cairo, or specifically Muhammed Al Zawahiri, coordinate in some way with Ansar al Sharia in Libya, specifically on 9/11/12?
That’s a good question – unfortunately however, it’s a question without a factual answer. I don’t know; and an argument can be made that given all of the players and the influx of their communication it’s quite possible there was some coordination of effort.
What is factually certain is any communication they did have had nothing to do with a ridiculous U-Tube video.
The Cairo protest was 100% certain to be about the release of the Blind Sheik.
Was the Benghazi attack related in some effort to gain a hostage (Chris Stevens) as leverage toward that Al Zawahiri effort? Possible. I’ve seen that argument made, but have not been able to definitively connect the two.
It is a hard question to answer because the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood, Muhammed Al Zawahiri (the brother of al-Qaeda’s #1 Ayman Al Zawahiri), and the leadership of Ansar Al Sharia were not necessarily telling the foot soldiers the plans or larger objectives.
We do, however, believe the answer, if known, would be known by Fattah el-Sisi in Egypt and his team of military and intelligence people. The most reasonable approach is to listen to the Egyptian intelligence leadership on this point.
However, in the years between the attack (2012) and today (2016) the U.S. political relationship with Egypt has completely collapsed. When you consider what Fattah al Sisi might know about the Benghazi cover-up, you discover another motive behind the horrendous diplomatic relationship the White House has with Egypt since the forced removal of Mohamed Morsi.
The last thing President Obama wants would be to see Western/U.S. journalists talking to al Sisi; and Obama most certainly wouldn’t want Sisi on U.S. soil as some political delegation.
…. Which also takes a person to accept that Egypt (Sisi) and Jordan (Abdullah), are now very close with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Much closer than they have ever been historically. That relationship also carries the very real potential to explain why there is additional vitriol between Clinton and Obama toward Putin.
Putin could very well be in possession of all the information about everything outlined above. AND be very smug in his knowledge that at any time he could use this information to leverage Clinton and/or any of the characters that surround Clinton who participated in the Libyan and Syrian operations.
Joe diGenova called in to WMAL for a conversation about the latest developments in the Robert Mueller investigation. Within the interview Mr. diGenova drops some rather interesting information from his own contacts and perspectives.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson revealed an explosive email last night revealing that a senior Google executive deployed the company’s resources to increase voter turnout in ways she believed would help Clinton win the election.
While we now have people chanting to impeach Trump under the 25th Amendment, we also have a true Treasonous Constitutional Crisis of UNELECTED bureaucrats working to undermine an ELECTED official by the people. Regardless of the issue in play, which they refuse to describe as in the OP_ED, this is a major Constitutional Crisis that is brewing and it is all being orchestrated for the upcoming November elections. The whisper’s Behind the Curtain is actually loud and clear. The Democrats BELIEVE that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was elected because the bulk of the have-nots want more socialism and for government to increase taxes dramatically on the “rich” and corporations.
Article 3, Section 3 – Treason Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
I find it unbelievable that you have the Speaker of the House saying he sees nothing to investigate. Lyndsey Grahm has changed his tune on Trump but he is saying this is not treason against the country just disloyal workers. We do NOT know the motives of these people in the White House if they are being paid to undermine the government by domestic or foreign powers or are they doing this and have been paid in a desperate act to swing the November elections. There is no possible way to know if this is a plot against the country without an investigation.
The US Constitution Article II, Section I, Clause 6 actually made it clear that the death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers of the office of the Presidency meant that he would be replaced by the Vice President. In 1967, this clause was partially superseded by the 25th Amendment.
The 25th Amendment, proposed by Congress was ratified by the states in the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. I believe it gained support because there was a sense that a conspiracy had been really implement Behind the Curtain. This Amendment provided for the procedures necessary to replace the president or vice president in the event of death, removal, resignation, or incapacitation. The Watergate scandal of the 1970s saw the application of these procedures, first when Gerald Ford replaced Spiro Agnew as vice president, and then again when Ford replaced Richard Nixon as president. It also came into play when Nelson Rockefeller filled the resulting vacancy to become the vice president.
While they are trying to claim Trump has acted irrationally, listen to the litany. They acknowledge Trump has made significant important changes in taxes, strengthen the military, and reduced waste. The allegations merely say he accomplished this inspire of his personality. What is really telling in that they paint him as warming to Putin and turning his back on traditional allies? Once again, they seem to be scared to death that the truth about the US interference in the Russian 2000 election is what resulted in Yeltsin turning to Putin. Just look at the timeline.
July 1998, Republic Bank alerted authorities about unusually large wire transfers coming through its coffers from Russia.
July 25th, 1998 Yeltsin appointed Putin as Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the primary intelligence agency and the successor to the KGB.
August 9th, 1999, Putin was appointed one of three First Deputy Prime Ministers, and later on, that same day he was appointed acting Prime Minister. It was that same day that Putin agreed to run for the presidency.
August 16th, 1999 the State Duma approved Putin’s appointment as Prime Minister. There were opponents who fought hard to prevent Putin’s emergence as a potential successor. Putin had not been formally associated with any party.
August 20th, 1999 Wall Street Journal reports Bank of New York Investigation. They wrote: “It was in late August when the suspicious transfers at Bank of New York were brought to the attention of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation by Republic National Bank of New York, a unit of Republic New York Corp., according to people familiar with the matter. ”
August 27th, 1999 Republic National Bank takes our funds, I demand to fly to Geneva to speak to Safra when the head of the bank George Wendler says he is “only the messenger.” This is when I was told Safra fled Geneva and went to Monaco “for security reasons.”
December 3rd, 1999 Edmond Safra dies in Monaco all his bodyguards were given the night off.
December 31st, 1999, Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and, according to the Constitution of Russia, Putin became Acting President of the Russian Federation. Putin also passed that same day the decree made it a law that Yeltsin cannot be charged with corruption which is obvious that there was a problem with the whole Bank of New York and IMF missing funds incident.
January 25th, 2000; Putin consent to compromise with Duma that Yeltsin can be prosecuted for any serious crimes committed in office with a vote of 275 to 139 on second reading. Yet, Putin would never prosecute Yeltsin.
Amendment XXV
Section 1.
In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2.
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
Section 3.
Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
Section 4.
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
QUESTION: I noticed your chart on the third party activity. Do you find that it does not matter what data series you are looking at the patterns are always the same?
Thank you for your brilliant education
WH
ANSWER: That is an absolutely correct statement. What you are looking at be it politics or markets, the way in where we respond to each is the same. People act like herds of animals and we move instinctively according to everything and everyone around us.
Without investigating the past there is no possible way we will ever understand the correct question to ask. People get all emotional about Trump. They just hate his guts and if he fell to the ground on fire, they would not even piss on him until he was dead. You just mention his name to some of these people and they will call you a racist. The very same identical response was hurled at anyone in Britain who voted for BREXIT. They were calling them racist there too. A friend of mine there told his wife and children not to discuss BREXIT with anyone because of this same sort of hatred that was emerging in Britain.
From a purely technical perspective VOID of political affiliation, emotion or hatred, Trump is what we classify as a FALSE MOVE. He is the calm before the storm. He has tried to reverse the course of the nation lowering taxes and trying hard negotiations on trade to restore the manufacturing jobs to Americans. What I mean by saying he is the CALM BEFORE the storm will invoke hate mail from those you hate him. But look at this chart. The market will ALWAYS make a correction in the opposite direction of the major trend. Trump in this context is a correction within the decline and fall of Western society, but he will not reverse the trend.
This is what unbiased research reveals. Markets and politics will ALWAYS move counter-trend first and then resume the major trend. Trump was a reflection of the rising discontent with the system as a whole. It was Trump v career politicians. Those who just hate Trump are stupid for they do not understand what is in motion here. They want things to resume without Trump and that trend leads to the collapse of the nation. That statement does not mean that Trump can even reverse the trend. That too is foolish to expect. He has created a small correction for now. It will not last and one way or the other the major trend will resume. I personally do not like that realization. But this is not about my opinion, wishes, or dreams. My clients do not want my OPINION, but what does the computer show. Plain and simple. Trump is just the correction and the trend will resume to our political disintegration.
And as to those who ask if I would ever consider the job, my answer remains NO WAY!!!!!! They would assassinate me anyway before my hand hit the book. The best I can hope for is to contribute after the crash and burn.
We MUST be on guard for at the very least, our models show that there is no way government is going to survive. This strongly suggests that our model, which also shows a dramatic rise in share market prices, will enter a Vertical Market which is the most difficult to trade because of the collapse in confidence. Venezuela is a living example of what happens in the share market with the collapse in confidence in government. Trump is only the counter-trend move. There has to be a larger number of people who can’t wait to have a party when he is thrown out of office. They are only cheering for the demise of our country and are too biased to ever open their eyes.
As details and documents are pried from the grip of FBI officials intent on hiding the institutional malfeasance, one corrupt issue has become increasingly clear. The FBI and DOJ intentionally leaked information to the media and then cited the subsequent media reports for their ongoing investigative purposes.
Within this circular approach journalists became “sources” and media reports became “methods”. Thus, the FBI and DOJ are desperate to protect “sources and methods” because behind the familiar catch-phrase is an outline of procedural corruption. ie: “by the book“.
Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC) is one of the congressional investigators who, with greater document release, is beginning to outline this approach.
In a letter today to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (full pdf below) Mr. Meadows points to new discoveries of how FBI Lawyer Lisa Page and FBI Agent Peter Strzok were using leaks to the media in April 2017 to further the aim of eliminating President Trump.
April 10, 2017: (former FBI Special Agent) Peter Strzok contacts (former FBI Attorney) Lisa Page to discuss a “media leak strategy.” Specifically, the text says: “I had literally just gone to find this phone to tell you I want to talk to you about media leak strategy with DOJ before you go.”
April 12, 2017: Peter Strzok congratulates Lisa Page on a job well done while referring to two derogatory articles about Carter Page. In the text, Strzok warns Page two articles are coming out, one which is “worse” than the other about Lisa’s “namesake”.” Strzok added: “Well done, Page.”
Keep in mind, in the background – March 17th, 2017: the Security Director of the Senate Intelligence Committee (SSCI), James Wolfe, had leaked the first 83 page FISA application on Carter Page to his journalist girlfriend Ali Watkins. [Go Deep] Ms. Watkins then began reporting on elements within the application that applied to Carter Page. This seeded the media for subsequent stories.
You’ll note the citation for the Washington Post article contained in the Meadows letter is THIS ONE – April 11th, 2017 – With a familiar set of authors:
Journalist Devlin Barrett was a frequent recipient of leaks from FBI Attorney Lisa Page and FBI Agent Peter Strzok. [Go Deep] The leaks were used to shape a narrative that was favorable to the objectives of the FBI and were in line with the dictates of Ms. Page boss, Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe.
McCabe was fired from the FBI for lying to internal investigators about his involvement with leaks. [Possible criminal indictment pending] It is reasonably assumed that Lisa Page and Andrew McCabe gave statements about the leaks that conflicted with each other.
The pattern here is remarkably familiar in all aspects of the 2015, 2016 and 2017 FBI and DOJ operations against President Trump. The media were collaborating with corrupt officials to both frame a narrative and simultaneously provide material for use in ongoing corrupt FBI and DOJ investigations; including, ultimately, Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Many sources for FBI investigative reports are actually media articles that were written based on leaks from the FBI investigators. This is one of the reasons the media are dug-in to a position of alignment with the corrupt DOJ and FBI officials. [Go Deep] Inasmuch as the truth is adverse to the interests of the corrupt officials, so too is that same truth toxic to the media corporations who engaged in the collaboration.
Additionally, many of the journalists who keep showing up amid the population of this ongoing story are likely connected to the Fusion-GPS network. This creates even more motive for ongoing media obfuscation.
Lastly, within the final paragraph of the letter, Mark Meadows mentions Mike Kortan. Mike Kortan was the former FBI Asst. Director of Public Affairs. [Go Deep] “Mike” Kortan is mentioned often in the Page/Strzok messages.
Jim Baker (FBI Chief Legal Counsel); Trisha Beth Anderson (FBI/DOJ Office of Legal Counsel), Dave Laufman (DOJ-National Security Division); and Mike Kortan (FBI Press Office)
QUESTION: With Bob Woodward joining the plot to overthrow Trump, do you think he can survive?
KA
ANSWER: No. Woodward says he recorded all his interviews. I do not see him as just making this up with a personal opinion. That does not say what he has been told is true. It is unlikely that what Woodward was told the truth or that this is not somehow connected to other efforts and is wholly independent. Woodward may be a pawn in a larger game here to overthrow Trump. As said before, the prevailing view behind the curtain was that Kennedy was assassinated by the CIA because he would not authorize a Vietnam War. When the Soviet Union fell, files became available. A memo from December 1st, 1966 reported that they believed there was a plot to assassinate Kennedy from within the U.S. government. Many people saw the Warren Report as a cover-up. To remove Trump, I seriously doubt they would take that approach. That means the only way to remove Trump is to discredit him to such an extent that they can somehow justify invoking the 25th Amendment for they might not be able to even prove a case in a public trial in the Senate for impeachment given that Trump would probably press all the way.
If we assume what Woodward was told was exaggeration or lies to turn him into an unwitting pawn in this chess game, then with the New York Times publishing the anonymous Op_Ed (Extremely unusual), seems to be connecting the dots that there is really a very serious coup to overthrow Trump taking place behind the curtain. Perhaps they will try to put together a case that he should just resign or be replaced under the 25th Amendment since there is no proof of a conspiracy with Putin.
The Kennedy assassination cleared the way for the Vietnam War. Is the Deep State trying so hard to remove Trump to launch a war with Russia? That is appearing more and more the drive behind this strange internal coup against Trump. You have to also understand that Trump is an outsider, but the people who took positions in the White House were career bureaucrats. I even knew some who went for interviews for key roles so I am not making speculation or an opinion. I even spoke to people who were interviewed to work in the White House.
We have not seen such political intrigue since the Civil War. Ironically, despite calling Trump a racist, the only President who inspired such violence and hatred on the same level as Trump was Abraham Lincoln who was not merely an outsider, but he was someone intent on changing the economic structure of government. Lincoln also faced a deep swamp of political intrigue and corruption and plots to assassinate him.
The issues between Trump and Lincoln are not the same on the surface. Of there will immediate be people that get angry at that statement and say Lincon was the emancipator. For the slogans. You need to pick up the rug and look closer. Did the South just want to oppress blacks or was there money at stake? What is the same between Trump and Lincoln is that both wanted to change the system for different reasons.
There is nothing that Trump has done that would threaten national security. This plot against Trump in part is about keeping the trade agreements in place for you will find too many hidden links to people who like things as they are. There are American manufacturers who do not want to bring jobs back because of pensions and healthcare benefits are far too disruptive and costly. This contributes to the trend for replacing pension hungry union workers with robots.
In the case of Lincoln, there were so many death threats against him they stopped counting. Ending slavery would ALSO drive the cost of labor higher in the South. The security concerns with Lincoln led to the hiring of a detective who could pose as a Southerner to infiltrate the conspiracy that was developing to kill Lincoln before he was sworn in on his way to Washington. That man was Allan Pinkerton who wrote that “opposition to Mr. Loncoln’s inauguration was most violent and bitter.” The South looked at ending slavery from an economic perspective not so different than companies who do not want to bring overseas jobs back to America for similar reasons today.
In Brazil, the man leading the Pools they call the Trump of Brazil. They just attempted an assassination to stop him from changing the system. Jair Bolsonaro will survive, but he was the leading candidate in Brazil’s presidential elections. He was stabbed during a campaign rally last week. There are many people who are beginning to emerge around the world who have been inspired by Trump to upset the establisment. Taking down Trump may also have an important message to others who think they can change the system.
I do not know how, but it seems I strangely end up knowing so many people in all the key places. Trump would not agree to such a move to wage war on Russia. The meeting of Trump Jr with the Russians at Trump Tower was a rouse promising dirt on Hillary. The main purpose was to inform Trump that there were Americans who interfered in the Russian 2000 elections and tried to blackmail Yeltsin after convincing him to steal money from the IMF loans.
The New York Times reported: “Prosecutors with the United States attorneys’ offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn noted that the money laundering scheme at the Bank of New York involved unlicensed transmissions of about $7 billion that originated in Russia, passed through American accounts, and then moved into other accounts worldwide.” They further reported that the money was the result of “possible corruption among Russia’s business elite and officials of the Kremlin.” (NY Times,
Now, to further all of these coincidences, one of the lawyers involved in the Trump Tower meeting was Scott Balber, who also worked on my case. Who was the US Attorney on my case? James Comey. Now to really make it interesting, during April 2000 there was a Reverse Proffer session between me and the prosecutor Richard Owens. Owens had the audacity to say we know you didn’t steal any money but we won’t drop the charges. We will release you if you just plead to a conspiracy with Edmond Safra. Since the only way to get $1 billion out of a bank is to write a check or wire the money out, I said no shit!. I then said there was no way I would agree to say I was in league with a conspiracy with Safra and the New York bankers. I laid the whole thing out about the attempt to blackmail Yeltsin and why they could not get past the Miniter of Interior of Russia to trace the money. I said absolutely no way I would put my family at risk saying I had anything to do with Safra. They would not go to trial fearing what I knew and they would not drop the charges and admit they made a mistake. So until I got into the Supreme Court, it became just a Mexican standoff.
CNN had even confirmed that the money was stolen from the IMF and later that was completely dropped and they pretended the money was a ransom for a Russian businessman.
Everyone is supposed to be entitled to a FAIR and PUBLIC Trial. Judge Lawrence McKenna was doing his best to protect me. The government went to the Chief Judge and had him order to take my case away from Judge McKenna and handed it to Judge John F. Keenan. I am supposed to have the right to object which I was denied. Then the government sealed my docket sheet so neither I nor the public will ever know what they said even as late as 2013. I can only suspect that they pulled the National Security card out because they could never allow me to get on the stand and reveal the entire Russian connection. What is on this blog is not the mainstream press. When it makes the nightly news, then you have the Senate investigations.
Now if you really think everything is a coincidence, I do not know what to say. Trump clearly knew what took place in 2000 because he was briefed. This is why the Deep State is so desperate to drive him from office. Trump stood there and knew what Putin wanted. There was no surprise. Look at Trump’s face when Putin asks to interrogate Americans. Then the Senate strangely passes a unanimous (98-0) resolution that Putin cannot interrogate any American. CNN spins this as Trump supports Putin. So is the glass half full or half empty? Why can Mueller demand to question Russians but somehow Russians are so dishonest they cannot question Americans? What are they hiding? Very Strange.
The resolution was brought by three Democratic Senators: Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, New Jersey’s Bob Menendez, and Hawaii’s Brian Schatz. Who was President in 2000 when this manipulation into the Russian elections was staged? Bill Clinton. Putin also named besides Bill Browder, Ambassador Michael Anthony McFaul to Russia who served as the United States Ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014 during the Obama Administration. Very curious that Chuck Schumer would rally to protect anything from the Democrats. If the Democrats were hacked by the Russians, there are no allegations that the Russians altered any email or manufactured any of the information that came out. Did Chuck Schumer organize this resolution to prevent any evidence that Democratic Administrations attempted to interfere in Russian elections? If there is nothing to hide, then let Putin question and return Mueller gets to question Russians. Why the smoke-screen?
Now watch Browder the night before the Putin meeting. Why did Fox even ask him to be on to comment about a President meeting with Putin? Why is Browder trying to keep the negative image of Russia? He knew what Putin would ask for to interrogate him? There have been those who alleged that it was Browder who had Magnitsky killed in a Russian prison because he would give Putin the evidence of who was behind the plot to blackmail Yeltsin. Some have alleged that Browder agreed to work with the CIA to avoid tax charges. Nobody seems to know the truth behind that curtain. Why would Browder go on TV as a “FORMER” American who resigned his American Citizenship to avoid taxes appear to speak out against a US president meeting with Putin when he is no longer an American, to begin with?
Trump is being driven from office because he is an outsider, but he seems to stand in the way of a higher agenda as did Kennedy and Vietnam. Between the New York Times OP_ED and Woodward’s book, it seems that the bureaucrats are out to drive Trump from office using the discredited strategy rather than a fake assassination that nobody really believes. Interesting food for thought. I suppose we will see if they remove Trump and we suddenly go to war. Yes, they are working night and day to drive Trump from office. This is why I am deeply concerned about what comes AFTER Trump. There are way too many people working together from every possible angle to remove him from office. They get the fools to cheer but they may be crying later. There is an agenda here that is not exposed and the press will never protect the people or the nation
Three hours after Ronan Farrow in The New Yorker outlined another six women coming forward with harassment claims against the embattled chief executive of CBS, bringing the total number of accusers to twelve, CBS unofficially reports a deal reached with CEO Leslie Moonves and his exit from the media company. An official announcement is expected on Monday.
The CBS Corporation was already in litigation over control of the organization with the controlling shareholder Shari Redstone. The new allegations of sexual misconduct presented today by the New Yorker appear to have spurred a settlement of the already existing lawsuit. The terms of the settlement are reported to be announced on Monday.
CBS CEO Moonves accused of sexual misconduct by more women in New Yorker story https://reut.rs/2MWMdvz
CBS CEO Moonves accused of sexual misconduct by more women in New…
Six additional women have raised assault and harassment claims against CBS Corp Chief Executive Leslie Moonves in a media report published Sunday.
reuters.com
Reuters Top News
✔@Reuters
CBS settles lawsuit over company control; Moonves to resign: sources https://reut.rs/2QhVRGX
CBS settles lawsuit over company control; Moonves to resign: sources
CBS Corp has reached a deal to settle litigation over the control of the company with its controlling shareholder Shari Redstone and National Amusements Inc in a deal expected to be announced as…
reuters.co
Fox News
✔@FoxNews
BREAKING: CBS CEO Les Moonves to resign after sexual misconduct claims, sources say. https://fxn.ws/2CCxgdm
CBS CEO Les Moonves to step down amid sexual misconduct allegations
CBS Chief Executive Les Moonves will step down from his position amid a series of sexual misconduct complaints by at least 12 female accusers.
foxnews.com
Brian Stelter
✔@brianstelter
Moonves may still make $100 million PLUS on the way out the door. But different sources are saying different things about that. The CBS board still has two law firms looking into his alleged misconduct…
Bob Goodlatte is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; and also the lead chairman (w/ Gowdy) of the joint House Oversight and Judiciary Committee that is conducting the interviews of witnesses for the investigation into corruption by the FBI and DOJ. The joint committee has interviewed: Bill Priestap, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page and Bruce Ohr; no transcripts released (likely to avoid coordinated testimony).
In this morning’s interview with Maria Bartiromo Chairman Goodlatte discusses the need to interview Nellie Ohr and Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson voluntarily or by subpoena. Again, note the oft-repeated “sources and methods” declassification issue.
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Think about it. What were the sources/methods for the Steele Dossier? What were the sources/methods for the FISA application? It’s the sources and methods that were/are corrupt. Declassification is futile without un-redacting the sources and methods.
I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America
![This photo was taken at 1:28am Benghazi time. [7:28pm DC] Following a one hour phone call between POTUS, V-Potus, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu](https://theconservativetreehouse.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/white-house-9-11-12-donilon-mcdonough.jpg)
At the exact time Clinton was speaking in North Carolina, halfway around the world in Afghanistan Army Chief Warrant Officers 
Centinel2012 