How Obama Manipulated Sensitive Secret Intelligence For Political Gain

Guy Taylor and Dan Boylan at the Washington Times offers a piece on the Obama administration’s manipulation of classified information for political gain.

They wanted him dead.

For years, a clandestine U.S. intelligence team had tracked a man they knew was high in the leadership of al Qaeda — an operative some believed had a hand in plotting the gruesome 2009 suicide attack in Afghanistan that killed seven CIA officers.

Their pursuit was personal, and by early 2014, according to a source directly involved in the operation, the agency had the target under tight drone surveillance. “We literally had a bead on this guy’s head and just needed authorization from Washington to pull the trigger,” said the source.

Then something unexpected happened. While agents waited for the green light, the al Qaeda operative’s name, as well as information about the CIA’s classified surveillance and plan to kill him in Pakistan, suddenly appeared in the U.S. press.

Abdullah al-Shami, it turned out, was an American citizen, and President Obama and his national security advisers were torn over whether the benefits of killing him would outweigh the political and civil liberties backlash that was sure to follow.

In interviews with several current and former officials, the al-Shami case was cited as an example of what critics say was the Obama White House’s troublesome tendency to mishandle some of the nation’s most delicate intelligence — especially regarding the Middle East — by leaking classified information in an attempt to sway public opinion on sensitive matters.

By the end of Mr. Obama’s second term, according to sources who spoke anonymously with The Washington Times, the practices of leaking, ignoring and twisting intelligence for political gain were ingrained in how the administration conducted national security policy.

Those criticisms have resurfaced in the debate over whether overall intelligence fumbling by the Obama White House in its final months may have amplified the damage wrought by suspected Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election last year.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/dec/21/barack-obama-used-classified-intelligence-leaks-po/ 

Attorney General Sessions Reiterates Support Of DEA Efforts To Investigate Hezbollah’s Drug Trafficking And Related Activities And Orders Review Of Prior DEA Investigations

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions today directed a review of the handling of Project Cassandra, a law enforcement initiative targeting Hezbollah’s drug trafficking and related operations in the United States and abroad, to evaluate allegations that certain matters were not properly prosecuted and to ensure all matters are appropriately handled.

“Protecting our citizens from terrorist organizations and combatting the devastating drug crisis gripping our nation are two of the Justice Department’s top priorities,” said Attorney General Sessions. “Operations designed to investigate and prosecute terrorist organizations that are also fueling that drug crisis must be paramount in this administration.  The DEA has worked tirelessly on this front. I am committed to giving our hard working and dedicated DEA agents all the tools that they need to allow them to shut down these drug rings.

“While I am hopeful that there were no barriers constructed by the last administration to allowing DEA agents to fully bring all appropriate cases under Project Cassandra, this is a significant issue for the protection of Americans. We will review these matters and give full support to investigations of violent drug trafficking organizations

“The Department of Justice is absolutely committed to investigating and prosecuting international drug trafficking organizations and with the assistance of our DEA and FBI agents we will leave no stone unturned as we work to making America safer.” 

On This Day In History The Terrorist Carlos The Jackal Atacked OPEC Headquarters

As History.com notes, on this day in 1975 the terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal (seen in the above and below photos) led a raid on OPEC.

In Vienna, Austria, Carlos the Jackal leads a raid on a meeting of oil ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). German and Arab terrorists stormed in with machine guns, killed three people, and took 63 people hostage, including 11 OPEC ministers. Calling his group the “Arm of the Arab Revolution,” Carlos demanded that an anti-Israeli political statement be broadcast over radio, and that a bus and jet be provided for the terrorists and their hostages. Austrian authorities complied, and all the hostages were released in Algeria unharmed.

You can read the rest of the pice via the below link:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/carlos-the-jackal-attacks-opec-headquarters?cmpid=email-hist-tdih-2017-1221-12212017&om_rid=de5e4076c942a595dbda53f758321d197499484f6d117f61b6ac5c08e0d6f0aa&om_mid=288273119&kx_EmailCampaignID=17473&kx_EmailCampaignName=email-hist-tdih-2017-1221-12212017&kx_EmailRecipientID=de5e4076c942a595dbda53f758321d197499484f6d117f61b6ac5c08e0d6f0aa 

You can also read more about Carlos the Jackal via the below link:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/6/jailed-jackal-to-go-on-trial-again-in-deadly-attac/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS

And you can read an earlier post on Ramirez via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2010/01/youre-terrorist-murderer-in-prison-for.html

Note: Ramirez was given the name “Carlos the Jackal” by reporters after French police found a paperback copy of Frederick Forsyth’s classic thriller The Day of the Jackal in his abandoned apartment.  

Two Defendants Plead Guilty In Multimillion Dollar Prize Promotion Scams Targeting Elderly Victims

The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:

Two individuals who ran multimillion dollar prize promotion scams entered guilty pleas Dec. 12 in federal court in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Department of Justice announced.

Glen Burke, 57, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty to contempt and conspiracy charges arising from his operation of two predatory schemes that defrauded thousands of victims, many of whom were elderly, out of more than $20 million.  Burke conducted those fraudulent campaigns in violation of a 1998 court order obtained by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) permanently banning him from telemarketing and making misrepresentations to consumers.  A co-defendant, Michael Rossi, 52, also of Las Vegas, also pleaded guilty in connection with one of Burke’s schemes.

“The Department of Justice is determined to punish the perpetrators of fraudulent schemes that exploit consumers, especially those that target the elderly or vulnerable,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “We will work with our partners at the FTC and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to eradicate schemes that harm the elderly wherever we find them.”

Burke pleaded guilty to contempt for violating the court order prohibiting him from making misrepresentations to consumers.  That charge stemmed from Burke running a mass-mailing operation that misled consumers into believing that they had won large cash prizes, often millions of dollars. Burke specifically mailed consumers solicitations that used fake names and, in many cases, looked like they came from law firms or financial institutions, advising consumers to pay a fee – usually $20 to $30 –to claim their promised winnings.  Once consumers paid, however, Burke never sent any consumer a promised prize.

Burke, along with Rossi, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud for running a fraudulent telemarketing operation.  Telemarketers working for Burke and Rossi falsely told victims that they had won one of five valuable prizes, typically: a Chevy Camaro; a Boston Whaler boat; a diamond-and-sapphire bracelet; $3,000 cash; or a cruise that could be exchanged for $2,300.  To claim the prize, consumers were told to pay hundreds, or in some cases thousands, of dollars.  Once they paid, victims received a nearly worthless piece of costume jewelry or nothing at all.

Sentencing is scheduled on March 12, 2018.  Under the contempt statute, Burke could be sentenced to any term of imprisonment and fine.  Under the conspiracy statute, Burke and Rossi face a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  The court has the discretion to impose a lower sentence.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Readler commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and thanked the FTC for its valuable assistance.  The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Timothy Finley and Daniel Zytnick of the Consumer Protection Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Dickinson of the District of Nevada.

Goulden: 'The Ghost: The Secret Life Of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton' Is A Sorry Excuse Of An Investigative Book

Veteran journalist and author Joseph Goulden offers a negative review of Jefferson Morley's The Ghost: The Secret Life CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton in the Washington Times.. 

As a holiday gift, permit me to save you 28 bucks and however much time you might waste on the sorriest excuse for an investigative book that has ever crossed this desk.

Jefferson Morley sets out to prove that James J. Angleton (seen in the below photo), the longtime — and controversial — head of counterintelligence for the Central Intelligence Agency — was guilty of a medley of sins, including complicity in the murder of President Kennedy.

His “research” consists chiefly of sweeping up every bit of anti-Angleton dung he could in previous books. The more damning the allegation — and the more ridiculous — the better.

One must blink at some of Mr. Morley’s outlandish claims. An example: that Angleton had a homosexual relationship with Kim Philby (seen in the below photo), the British intelligence officer who also spied for the Soviet Union.

To be sure, the two men knew one another: Angleton was Philby’s liaison for CIA when the latter was assigned to Washington. They had many a chat over a bottle and lunch.

Mr. Morley’s evidence? A comment made by another officer to another author of another book. No substance is visible, just a suspicion. No matter; such is enough for the likes of a “historian” such as Mr. Morley.

To be sure, Philby’s treachery damaged Angleton. He spent his last years searching for “moles” in the CIA, an ill-guided effort that smeared many innocent people. He eventually was fired.

But Mr. Morley has little favorable to say about a career that began in the OSS and had a number of high spots. Brief mention is made of his acquisition of the famed “Stalin speech” in which successor Nikita Khrushchev shook communism to its core.

Why such a book? Mr. Morley is prominent in a claque of deniers who have spent decades trying to prove that someone other than Lee Harvey Oswald (seen in the below photo) killed Kennedy.

Their campaign even reaches the White House. Donald Trump’s intimate friend Roger Stone published a book in 2014 blaming Lyndon Johnson for the murder.

But the main target has been — and will be for eternity, it appears — the Central Intelligence Agency.

For the media, CIA is an easy target. Journalists love writing about “CIA murder plots” against foreign leaders, ignoring the fact that orders came from the White House.

Too, a deceased target can do nothing to rebut outlandish lies. For that matter, even living officers have trouble gaining redress from courts that hold them to be “public figures.”

Enter the deniers and their politics. A strong element among the deniers, like Mr. Morley, are on the far-left of the political spectrum. Hence, they are incapable of fingering a leftist for the most outrageous crime in American history.

Thus their need for a scapegoat, and the utility of Angleton. As Mr. Morley writes, carefully casting his accusation in the form of a question, “Was Angleton running Oswald as part of a plot to assassinate President Kennedy? He certainly had the knowledge and ability to do so.”

You can read the rest of the review via the below link:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/dec/19/book-review-the-ghost-the-secret-life-of-cia-spyma/   

How Trump Can Repair The Damage From Obama's Narcoterror Fail

Jonathan Schancer at the New York Post offers a piece on how President Trump can repair the damage the Obama administration caused by derailing a major DEA operation so they could have their Iran nuclear deal.

The Obama White House systematically dismantled a top-secret government initiative called Project Cassandra, which was designed to target Hezbollah’s $1 billion in annual drug proceeds. The gripping story, by Politico’s Josh Meyer, lays bare the details of the Lebanese terrorist group’s cocaine and crime schemes, and suggests Obama allowed the activities to continue so as to not upset Iran, Hezbollah’s patron, amidst nuclear negotiations.

Put aside for a moment that Obama may have provided a glide path to a terror group’s drug activities so he could pursue a deeply flawed nuclear deal that only paused Iran’s march to the bomb, yet yielded this state sponsor of terrorism some $150 billion. We’re now faced with the urgent challenge of trying to rebuild a government bureaucracy that was gutted.

Here’s what needs to happen.

First, President Trump has yet to choose a new chief for the Drug Enforcement Administration. This is an urgent need. And as my colleague Emanuele Ottolenghi noted last month in The Hill, the new pick must appreciate “the growing convergence between transnational organized crime and terrorist groups like Hezbollah.”

Once the right person is in place, we need to revitalize the agency. Yes, that means more money and jumpstarting the interagency task force that fights narco-terrorism abroad.

But perhaps more important, we need to clarify the DEA’s mission. This crucial component of the bureaucracy needs to focus less on domestic gangs (let law enforcement do that) and get back to the business of fighting our drug wars abroad — where they can actually be won.

From there, the Treasury Department needs to swing into action. Hezbollah is already sanctioned under our terrorism program. But it must be named as a Transnational Criminal Organization and slapped with a Kingpin Act designation. This will give our economic-warfare fighters additional tools to target the group for its drug and other criminal enterprises.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://nypost.com/2017/12/18/how-trump-can-repair-the-damage-from-obamas-narcoterror-fail/

You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine piece on the DEA’s fight against narco terrorists, drug lords and death merchants via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2012/05/narco-terrorists-drug-lords-and-death.html 

The Secret Backstory Of How Obama Let Hezbollah Off The Hook: An ambitious U.S. Task Force Targeting Hezbollah's Billion-Dollar Criminal Enterprise Ran Headlong Into The White House's Desire For A Nuclear Deal With Iran.

Josh Meyer at POLITICO offers a piece on how the Obama administration killed a major DEA operation against the Hezbollah terrorist group, who are major drug traffickers, so Obama could get his Iran nuclear deal (and to his mind, his august place in history).

In its determination to secure a nuclear deal with Iran, the Obama administration derailed an ambitious law enforcement campaign targeting drug trafficking by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, even as it was funneling cocaine into the United States, according to a POLITICO investigation.

The campaign, dubbed Project Cassandra, was launched in 2008 after the Drug Enforcement Administration amassed evidence that Hezbollah had transformed itself from a Middle East-focused military and political organization into an international crime syndicate that some investigators believed was collecting $1 billion a year from drug and weapons trafficking, money laundering and other criminal activities.

Over the next eight years, agents working out of a top-secret DEA facility in Chantilly, Virginia, used wiretaps, undercover operations and informants to map Hezbollah’s illicit networks, with the help of 30 U.S. and foreign security agencies.

They followed cocaine shipments, some from Latin America to West Africa and on to Europe and the Middle East, and others through Venezuela and Mexico to the United States. They tracked the river of dirty cash as it was laundered by, among other tactics, buying American used cars and shipping them to Africa. And with the help of some key cooperating witnesses, the agents traced the conspiracy, they believed, to the innermost circle of Hezbollah and its state sponsors in Iran.

They followed cocaine shipments, tracked a river of dirty cash, and traced what they believed to be the innermost circle of Hezbollah and its state sponsors in Iran.

But as Project Cassandra reached higher into the hierarchy of the conspiracy, Obama administration officials threw an increasingly insurmountable series of roadblocks in its way, according to interviews with dozens of participants who in many cases spoke for the first time about events shrouded in secrecy, and a review of government documents and court records. When Project Cassandra leaders sought approval for some significant investigations, prosecutions, arrests and financial sanctions, officials at the Justice and Treasury departments delayed, hindered or rejected their requests.

The Justice Department declined requests by Project Cassandra and other authorities to file criminal charges against major players such as Hezbollah’s high-profile envoy to Iran, a Lebanese bank that allegedly laundered billions in alleged drug profits, and a central player in a U.S.-based cell of the Iranian paramilitary Quds force. And the State Department rejected requests to lure high-value targets to countries where they could be arrested.

The money, allegedly laundered through the Lebanese Canadian Bank and two exchange houses, involved approximately 30 U.S. car buyers.

“This was a policy decision, it was a systematic decision,” said David Asher

Veteran U.S. illicit finance expert sent from Pentagon to Project Cassandra to attack the alleged Hezbollah criminal enterprise., who helped establish and oversee Project Cassandra as a Defense Department illicit finance analyst. “They serially ripped apart this entire effort that was very well supported and resourced, and it was done from the top down.”

The untold story of Project Cassandra illustrates the immense difficulty in mapping and countering illicit networks in an age where global terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime have merged, but also the extent to which competing agendas among government agencies — and shifting priorities at the highest levels — can set back years of progress.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.politico.com/interactives/2017/obama-hezbollah-drug-trafficking-investigation/