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Brit Hume, host   "It has been more than 16 years since a civilian working for the Navy was charged with passing secrets to Israel. Jonathan Pollard pled guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage and is serving a life sentence. At first, Israeli leaders claimed Pollard was part of a rogue operation, but later took responsibility for his work. Fox News has learned some U.S. investigators believe Israelis again are very much engaged in spying in & on the U.S., who may have known things they didn't tell us before 9.11.01. Fox News correspondent Carl Cameron has details in the first of a four-part series. (begin videotape)

A Budget truck was pulled over in Oak Harbor WA last Tuesday near the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station and found to have traces of TNT on the gearshift and traces of RDX plastic explosive on the steering wheel, Fox News has learned. Traces of explosives were also found on one of the truck's 2 occupants. The FBI, INS, BATF, and local police are all investigating.
Govt officials said the roadside stop was so close to the naval air station that military personnel took part in the initial arrest and naval intelligence has also been involved in the subsequent investigation. Shortly after midnight 5.7.02 federal officials say local police pulled the vehicle over for speeding. Documents read to Fox News indicate that the driver & passenger told local police they were delivering furniture from California but that authorities doubted the story because of the early morning hour. A bomb-sniffing dog first detected explosives on one of the men and inside the truck. High-tech equipt was used later to confirm the presence of TNT & RDX plastic explosive.

Documents read to Fox News indicate that both driver & passenger were Israeli nationals. Investigators say a roadside check of the national database of immigration records indicated that one of the men had not entered the country legally, and the other was in violation of his visa. Both men were taken into custody for immigration violations. At 7:30 that morning local police were notified that the BATF & FBI had tested the truck and found traces of explosives on the steering wheel & gear shift.
Officials say no other charges of been filed against the driver & passenger and an investigation is ongoing. Authorities say records for the Budget truck do not indicate any recent rental for the purposes of transporting explosives, which would require special permits.

Amdocs profit rises, guides down for year
4.23.02   Reuters

Los Angeles   Telecomm software & services company Amdocs Ltd. Tue. reported fiscal Q2 results in line with analysts' expectations but gave guidance for year below expectations because of weak telecom marketplace. The Israeli-U.S. co. reported $26.4 million net profit, 12¢ per share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $15.4 million, or 7¢ per share. Excluding acquisition-related costs, co. posted pro-forma $82.9 million profit at 37¢ per share. Av. broker est. surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call was pro-forma 37¢ profit per share.
[ Nearly doubled earnings after 9.11.01 & Jenin but still managed to fleece investors 3 to 1 while domestic majors had record milestone losses. ]

$455.2 million Q2 revenue compared with $372.3 million same period last year. Co. expects FY2002 $1.73 billion revenue and pro-forma earnings $1.40 per share. First Call est. for year was earnings of $1.50 per share on revenue of $1.85 billion.
"This reflects more prolonged & deeper market deterioration than originally anticipated," Amdocs CEO Avi Naor said in statement. Co. also said it was expanding share repurchase plan by addtl 20 million shares. Amdocs shares closed down 2.9% at $22.30 on NYSE. 52-week high $66.55, 52-week low is $20.56.

Launch of Israel's TecSAR satellite
2.13.08   Yiftah Shapir INSS

Israeli TecSAR satellite was launched 1.21.08 by an Indian Polar Space Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C10 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at the Sriharikota range in south-east India. It entered orbit about 80 minutes after launch. Less than two weeks later, on January 31st, it sent its first images. The photographs, which were taken at night in stormy weather, were said by Israel Aerospace Industry personnel to be of exceptional quality.
TecSAR was built by IAI's Mabat space facility and it carries components from Elta and other Israeli companies (Rafael, Tadiran, Spectralink and Rokar). It joins other IAI surveillance satellites already in space: the Ofeq-7 launched June 2007 and Eros-B launched April 2006.

However, TecSAR is unique in several respects. First of all, it uses Synthetic Aperture Radar technology (SAR) to provide images of the earth's surface. Since the images are generated by radar rather than by visible light, it can perform at night as well as during daytime and it can see through clouds.
The satellite's operational specifications are classified but it can reportedly provide high-resolution images sufficient for military intelligence needs. The satellite can operate in a number of modes, including wide area scans, and provide both strip and point coverage. Each mode naturally provides a different degree of resolution. Aiming can be done by electronic steering of the radar beam or by physical steering of the satellite itself.
These capabilities have been packed into a relatively small package. TecSAR weighs about 300 kilograms, of which only 100 are payload. The low mass allows for operational agility which means that operators can redirect its antenna from one target to another very quickly.

Another unusual feature was the choice of launch vehicle. Until now, Israel has preferred to launch its Ofeq-series surveillance satellites by itself, using the Shavit satellite launcher. That entailed a number of benefits. First of all, there was the advantage of independence from any foreign participation. Independent launch capability, especially in time of crisis when Israel might be subjected to an embargo, could turn out to be vital.
Secondly, a satellite launch capability is an important element of Israel's deterrent power, since it can always be translated into a surface-to-surface missile capability. Indeed, foreign analysts have long assessed that the Shavit can also carry a one-ton warhead over a range of 4000 kilometers. Thirdly, satellite launch capability is a major component of Israel's image as a leading technological power in the world, because very few states have such a capability.

However, the use of the Shavit also involved some drawbacks. The most important was the constraint on possible satellite orbits. Any launch from Israeli territory must be directed westwards, towards the sea, in order to prevent the launcher's first stages (or the satellite itself, in case of a malfunction) from falling on populated areas or on foreign territory. A westward launch, i.e., against the direction of the earth's rotation, seriously restricts the weight of the satellite that the launch vehicle can carry.
In the past, Israel also experienced several failures, most recent example being the attempted Ofeq-6 launch in March 2004, though it should be noted that such failures are not rare in the launch industry and a failure rate of several percent is considered almost standard.
In such cases, security links and the operational experience of another partner can allow alternative launches when needed. Israel has used foreign commercial rockets in the past for a variety of reasons. Its Amos communications satellites were all launched by commercial boosters because Israel has neither the capability nor the geographic location needed to put communications satellites into space. (Communications satellites are placed in geosynchronous orbit at a fixed point over the equator and are much heavier than the Ofeq surveillance satellites.)
Moreover, the Eros-series commercial imagery satellites, similar to the Ofeq series, were also sent into orbit by commercial launchers. (The two EROS satellites used Russian commercial launchers to reach near-polar orbits that permit almost global coverage.)

The TecSAR represents the first Israeli use of the Indian PSLV launcher, which makes possible an orbit that could not be reached from Israel: altitude 450-580 kilometers, with an inclination of 41 degrees. As a result, TecSAR cruises from west to east, unlike all the surveillance satellites launched from Israel itself.
For the Indians, this launch was an important step in introducing the PSLV into the commercial launcher market. The PSLV was inaugurated in 1994 and has now had 11 successful launches, although the first commercially significant launch took place only in April 2007. It is noteworthy that because of strong domestic opposition in India to excessively close security cooperation with Israel, the Indians stressed the purely commercial character of the launch.

TecSAR undoubtedly constitutes a technological breakthrough for Israel's defense industry. It is an advanced satellite with few competitors in the world. It is unique in its capabilities and in its size (similar American surveillance satellites are much heavier). For the defense establishment in Israel, it provides coverage of the whole of the Middle East.
Together with the Ofeq-7, the TecSAR will make possible a larger number of "visits" to points of interest at any given time and will permit night-time and all-weather coverage.

IPO of wiretapping firm Verint Systems set
4.22.02   Reuters ¹

Wash.D.C.   Verint Systems Inc., whose wiretapping software enables law enforcement agencies to scan the Internet, telephone calls and other forms of communication, said on Monday it plans an initial public offering of 4.5 million common shares. The unit of U.S.-Israeli communication system developer Comverse Technology Inc. said in SEC filing it expects shares to sell for $16 to $18 each. It was not immediately known when Verint will debut, but it has applied for NASDAQ listing under the symbol "VRNT"

Comverse, which will own 79.5% when the IPO is completed, was down 69¢, or more than 5%, at $12.55 morning Nasdaq trade. Woodbury NY based Verint is selling 4.4 million shares in the IPO while AKR Enterprises LLC of Glen Burnie, MD, is selling 136,985 shares. Verint predicted it will net about $67.5 million in proceeds, which it plans to use to finance growth, for working capital and general corporate purposes. The money may also be used to repay bank debt and for acquisitions or other investments.
The company will have about 23.4 million shares outstanding, giving it a potential market value of $374 million to $421 million. Managing the IPO are Lehman Brothers, Salomon Smith Barney, Robertson Stephens, UBS Warburg and U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, which have option to buy 675,000 extra shares to cover any overallotments.

Comverse posts Q4 loss
3.12.02   Jim Christie Reuters

Average analyst expectation per Thomson Financial/First Call research firm survey for the Israeli-U.S. company was 6¢ a share posted earnings, individual est. ranging 5¢ to 6¢ a share. Q4 sales fell 24% to $265 million from $346.6 million year ago; co. expects Q1 sales to fall to around $220 million, resulting in Q1 6¢ a share loss.   [cf. prev. article for truth],  
Comverse chair & CEO Kobi Alexander stressed same basic notion to analysts during conf.call, citing continuing "recession" in global capital spending in the telecom industry. Comverse limited its guidance to current Q1 because "visibility has deteriorated," but added it expects return to profitability by end of current FY. Alexander said Comverse is well positioned to seize opportunities as economy rebounds and had about $1.4 billion in cash & cash equivalents as of 1.23.02. Co. may make small acquisitions for cash, he added.

Co. short-term guidance sent shares tumbling. Comverse shares closed $15.85, down 21¢, or 1.3%, and fell to $13.96 in after-market trade on Instinet. Analysts expected Comverse's sales would stay flat in the short term and expected co. to not provide outlook beyond next 2 quarters, reflecting the difficulty in determining when telecom markets will rebound. "We're bouncing along the bottom," said Raymond James & Assoc. Inc. analyst Mike Latimore "Q1 & Q2 will not be inflection points."

That was driven home Tue. after cell-phone maker Nokia warned of weak sales and telecom equipt maker Lucent Technologies Inc. lowered sales forecast, said WR Hambrecht & Co. analyst Peter Friedland. Comverse's guidance of likely lower sales and loss for current quarter is result of uneven ordering by customers, Friedland noted. "Hope had been $265 million (in Q4 sales) would be a bottom because co. said it had seen a stabilizing backlog," he said. "Backlog looked good at the beginning of the year so some carriers were spending some money, but more recently building that pipeline tailed off, so carriers stopped making commitments," Friedland added.

How Americans are blackmailed by Israel ¹
2.24.02   Alexander James Arab News   abridged

… The Israeli spy news story first broke regarding the existence of a system to tap into any phone in America built into the surveillance system used by law enforcement authorities. However after reporting it, Fox News spiked the story from its website. Several cases were cited where investigations ranging from drug running & money laundering to 9.11.01 had been compromised by leaks from the company that operated the phone taps as well as phone data from an associated co. that handles billing services for almost every phone in America.
… The focus of the article was a single question: Could Israel be blackmailing the entire US govt & media?

Amdocs, Inc. which subcontracts billing & directory services for phone companies around the world, incl 90% of American phone companies, is owned by Israeli interests. Yet another company, Comverse Infosys, is suspected of having built a "back door" into equipt permanently installed into the phone system that allows instant eavesdropping by law enforcement agencies on any phone in America.
As reported by Fox News, Israeli co. Amdocs was implicated in the leaking of police phone data that resulted in the collapse of an investigation into a massive drug & credit card fraud operation with Israeli connections. In a telling repeat of the Los Angeles drug case, investigators looking into the attacks on the World Trade Center are again reporting that confidential telephone information is again being leaked in a manner that is interfering with the investigations. Again, Amdocs was implicated.

The Ken Starr report on Whitewater describes how Bill Clinton warned Monica Lewinsky that a foreign govt was tapping their phone calls, phone taps or bugs built right into the phone system. …
2 Mossad agents were arrested with dynamite inside the Mexican Congress. A Mexican newspaper carried the story of the arrested Mossad agents on front page. The Mexican govt was persuaded to release the 2 men without trial.

Israel receives a hugely disproportionate share of U.S. foreign aid, about $5 billion a year.
  [ A needlessly conservative figure that fails to include military "loans" to a highly debt laden nation as well as gifts of large quantities of sophisticated munitions. In the past decade. the total U.S. charity to Israel is between $10 & $14 billion annually. ]
A large segment of the US population questions the sending of so much money to such a small population while so many people remain homeless on our own streets. But somehow, Congress is "persuaded" to keep sending more cash each & every year.
… Sharon faces war crimes trial. Israel is in violation of the Geneva Accords. The UN accuses Israel of using torture on children.

… in a corrupt society only the corrupt can reach the heights of power, and they all have secrets to hide. They are all vulnerable to blackmail. Amdocs & Comverse Infosys are the most powerful tools a blackmailer could ever hope for. If we elect a govt of criminals, we elect govt subject to blackmail.

update: Just announced that Israeli "spy-phone" co. Comverse Infosys is now buying into the Instant Messaging business through Odigo, largest Instant Messaging co.
  [ Misnomer. Odigo perhaps may be largest co. primarily or exclusively engaged in IM, but it is far from largest co. to do so. ]
Odigo is Israeli-owned co. whose employees received 2 hour advance warning 9.11.01 to leave their offices near WTC.

from Odigo web site
. Gabriel Matsliach, Ph. D, chief technology officer at Odigo, has overall responsibility for Odigo's R&D activities. One of the founding members of Odigo, Dr. Matsliach holds Ph.D in computer science from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, and has over 12 years of experience in leading & managing software development projects.
Previous to his position with Odigo, Dr. Matsliach worked at Amdocs, leading telecommunication software co., where he led the development of cutting edge technologies and their deployment to mobile operators in Europe & N.America. In 1998 he was awarded the "Prime Minister's Award for Software Development".

The spies who came in from the art sale
3.13.02   John Sugg Creative Loafing

Atlanta   … major international espionage saga roots in Atlanta. … haven't read about it in Atlanta Journal-Constitution even though that paper's Washington bureau last week reported the seething scandal. … CNN CEO Walter Issacson says it would be "perverse" to televise Afghan babies killed by U.S. bombs, … ignoring sacred cows. … In 1999, word began spreading among intelligence agencies about bands of Israeli "students" doing strange things, such as popping up around federal buildings & military establishments marketing artwork. According to intelligence sources, low-level alerts began being flashed around to offices of the FBI, DEA, federal prosecutors and others. By March 2001, counterintelligence officials had issued a bulletin to be on the watch for Israelis masquerading as "art students."
At same time, American intelligence services were increasingly worried by the dominance of many highly sensitive areas of telecommunications by Israeli companies. Comverse Infosys (now called Verint) provides U.S. lawmen with computer equipment for wiretapping. Speculation is that "catch gates" in the system allowed listeners to be listened to. Other software called Amdocs provided extensive records of virtually all calls placed by the 25 largest U.S. telephone companies.

Often the Israeli "students" sold their artwork on street locations near federal buildings. In one incident in Atlanta, they showed up outside an unlisted FBI office and began taking photos, according to sources. Agents collared them and sent them on their way. Also in our town, a DEA agent recalled seeing the "students" selling art around his offices. Later, when he spied the same artwork (Chinese made, as it turned out) at the Mall of Georgia, he became suspicious. DEA is the lead U.S. agency in monitoring money laundering which explains spy's interest. Similarly, a former federal prosecutor was visited at his home by the Israeli "art salesmen" and, according to sources, concluded that, wow, this was exactly what the alerts had been about.

Then came 9.11.01 … media went out to a four-martini lunch … commendable exceptions. One is Carl Cameron, Fox News. 12.12.02, Cameron broke spy story. He said at the time: " … more than 60 Israelis have been arrested or detained, either under the new PATRIOT anti-terrorism law, or for immigration violations. A handful of active Israeli military were among those detained, according to investigators, who say some of the detainees also failed polygraph questions when asked about alleged surveillance activities against & in U.S." … Fox also reported Israeli "students" "targeted & penetrated" U.S. military bases. … Others at Fox confirm there was intense pressure on the network by pro-Israeli lobbying groups, such as the Anti-Defamation League and the misnamed Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting (CAMERA). …

French Web-based service, Intelligence Online, obtained same 61-pg June 2001 federal report Cameron had. The website reported that 120 Israelis had by now been detained or deported by U.S. authorities. … The Oklahoman reported last week that 10 months ago 4 Israelis peddling artwork (but carrying military IDs) were detained near Tinker AFB OK. Le Monde in Paris recounted 6 intercepted "students" had cell phones purchased by an Israeli vice consul in U.S. Sources told CL that many of the phones had a walkie-talkie feature that was virtually impossible to intercept.
Intelligence Online connected many dots, naming which Israelis were employed by the tech companies, and what military specialties they had ("special forces," "intelligence officer," "explosive ordnance/combat engineer," "electronic intercept operator", even "son of Israeli army general"). Many of the apparent operatives had set up shop at addresses only stones' throws from Arabs in San Diego, Little Rock, Irving, Texas, and in South Florida, esp. in FL, where 10 of 19 9.11.01 terrorists lived. French report bolsters speculation Israelis might have gained advanced knowledge of the attack and not passed on that critical intelligence to U.S.

Bush administration shills were quick to try to spin the story. Justice Dept spokeswoman Susan Dryden, called Intelligence Online report "urban myth," and other federal flaks trumpeted that no Israeli had been charged with or deported for spying. … Israeli Embassy spokesman Mark Reguev derided Intelligence Online report as "nonsense." Israel in the past has stridently denied wrongdoing until long after the truth was obvious. Israel claimed Jonathan Pollard … wasn't an agent. Israel stubbornly contended its 1967 attack on the USS Liberty, in which 35 American sailors were killed, was an accident, lie exposed in recent reports incl one that aired last fall on History Channel. Recent authoritative book, Body of Secrets , by James Bamford, concludes that National Security Agency officials "were virtually unanimous in their belief that the attack was deliberate."

Following U.S. denials of recent spy story, Intelligence Online editor Guillaume Dasquie threatened to post the sensitive report online. He commented: "The document we have in our possession details not only the identities of the members of this network, but also their activities in the Israeli army, and even their serial numbers in the intelligence services, their passport numbers and their validity, and their visas and their validity." There's more to this story but you might have to move to Paris to read it.

Fox News has learned that one group of Israelis, spotted in N.Carolina recently, is suspected of keeping an apartment in California to spy on a group of Arabs who the U.S. is also investigating for links to terrorism.

Numerous classified documents obtained by Fox News indicate that even prior to 9.11.01, as many as 140 other Israelis had been detained or arrested in a secretive & sprawling investigation into suspected espionage by Israelis in the U.S.

Investigators from numerous govt agencies are part of a working group that's been compiling evidence since the mid '90s. These documents detail hundreds of incidents in cities & towns across the country that investigators say, "may well be an organized intelligence gathering activity." The first part of the investigation focuses on Israelis who say they are art students from the Univ. of Jerusalem & Bazala Academy. They repeatedly made contact with U.S. govt personnel, the report says, by saying they wanted to sell cheap art or handiwork.
Documents say they, "targeted & penetrated military bases." The DEA, FBI and dozens of govt facilities, and even secret offices & unlisted private homes of law enforcement & intelligence personnel. The majority of those questioned, "stated they served in military intelligence, electronic surveillance intercept and or explosive ordinance units."

Another part of the investigation has resulted in the detention & arrests of dozens of Israelis at American mall kiosks, where they've been selling toys called Puzzle Car & Zoom Copter. Investigators suspect a front. Shortly after NYTimes & Wash.Post reported the Israeli detentions last months, the carts began vanishing. Zoom Copter's Web page says, "We are aware of the situation caused by thousands of mall carts being closed at the last minute. This in no way reflects the quality of the toy or its salability. The problem lies in the operators' business policies."

Why would Israelis spy in & on the U.S.? GAO investigation referred to Israel as country A and said, "According to a U.S. intelligence agency, the govt of country A conducts the most aggressive espionage operations against the U.S. of any U.S. ally." A defense intelligence report said Israel has a voracious appetite for information and said, "the Israelis are motivated by strong survival instincts which dictate every possible facet of their political & economical policies. It aggressively collects military & industrial technology and the U.S. is a high priority target." The document concludes: "Israel possesses the resources & technical capability to achieve its collection objectives." (end video clip)

A spokesman for the Israeli embassy here in Washington issued a denial saying that any suggestion that Israelis are spying in or on the U.S. is "simply not true." There are other things to consider. And in the days ahead, we'll take a look at the U.S. phone system and law enforcement's methods for wiretaps. And an investigation that both have been compromised by our friends overseas.

Hume   Carl, what about this question of advanced knowledge of what was going to happen on 9/11? How clear are investigators that some Israeli agents may have known something?
Cameron   It's very explosive information, obviously, and there's a great deal of evidence that they say they have collected, none of it necessarily conclusive. It's more when they put it all together. A bigger question, they say, is how could they not have know? Almost a direct quote.

Hume   Going into the fact that they were spying on some Arabs, right?
Cameron   Correct.
Hume   All right, Carl, thanks very much.

Part 2

Cameron (voice-over)   Fox News has learned that some American terrorist investigators fear certain suspects in the 9.11.01 attacks may have managed to stay ahead of them, by knowing who & when investigators are calling on the telephone. How? By obtaining & analyzing data that's generated every time someone in the U.S. makes a call.

Unidentified female   What city and state, please?
Cameron   Here's how the system works. Most directory assistance calls, and virtually all call records & billing in the U.S. are done for the phone companies by Amdocs Ltd., an Israeli-based private telecommunications company. Amdocs has contracts with the 25 biggest phone companies in America, and more worldwide. The White House & other secure govt phone lines are protected, but it is virtually impossible to make a call on normal phones without generating an Amdocs record of it.
In recent years, the FBI & other govt agencies have investigated Amdocs more than once. The firm has repeatedly & adamantly denied any security breaches or wrongdoing. But sources tell Fox News that in 1999, the super secret National Security Agency, headquartered in northern Maryland, issued what's called a Top Secret sensitive compartmentalized information report, TS/SCI, warning that records of calls in the U.S. were getting into foreign hands, in Israel, in particular.

Investigators don't believe calls are being listened to, but the data about who is calling whom & when is plenty valuable in itself. An internal Amdocs memo to senior co. executives suggests just how Amdocs generated call records could be used. "Widespread data mining techniques & algorithms … combining both the properties of the customer (e.g., credit rating) and properties of the specific 'behavior.'" Specific behavior, such as who the customers are calling.

The Amdocs memo says the system should be used to prevent phone fraud. But U.S. counterintelligence analysts say it could also be used to spy through the phone system. Fox News has learned that the NSA has held numerous classified conferences to warn the FBI & CIA how Amdocs records could be used.
At one NSA briefing, a diagram by the Argon national lab was used to show that if the phone records are not secure, major security breaches are possible. Another briefing document said, "It has become increasingly apparent that systems & networks are vulnerable. Such crimes always involve unauthorized persons, or persons who exceed their authorization … citing on exploitable vulnerabilities."

Those vulnerabilities are growing, because according to another briefing, the U.S. relies too much on foreign companies like Amdocs for high-tech equipt & software. "Many factors have led to increased dependence on code developed overseas. … We buy rather than train or develop solutions." U.S. intelligence does not believe the Israeli govt is involved in a misuse of information, and Amdocs insists that its data is secure. What U.S. govt officials are worried about, however, is the possibility that Amdocs data could get into the wrong hands, particularly organized crime. And that would not be the first time such a thing has happened.

Fox News has documents of a 1997 drug trafficking case in Los Angeles, in which telephone information, the type that Amdocs collects, was used to "completely compromise the communications of the FBI, the Secret Service, the DEA and the LAPD." We'll have that and a lot more in the days ahead, Brit.

Hume   Carl, I want to take you back to your report last night on those 60 Israelis who were detained in the anti-terror investigation, and the suspicion that some investigators have that they may have picked up information on the 9.11.01attacks ahead of time and not passed it on. There was a report, you'll recall, that the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, did indeed send representatives to the U.S. to warn, just before 9.11.01, that a major terrorist attack was imminent. How does that leave room for the lack of a warning?

Cameron   I remember the report, Brit. We did it first internationally right here on your show on the 14th. What investigators are saying is that that warning from the Mossad was nonspecific & general, and they believe that it may have had something to do with the desire to protect what are called sources & methods in the intelligence community. The suspicion being, perhaps those sources & methods were taking place right here in the U.S.
The question came up in select intelligence committee on Capitol Hill today. They intend to look into what we reported last night, and specifically that possibility, Brit.

Hume   So in other words, the problem wasn't lack of a warning, the problem was lack of useful details?
Cameron   Quantity of information.
Hume   All right, Carl, thank you very much.

Part 3

Cameron (voice-over)   The company is Comverse Infosys, a subsidiary of an Israeli-run private telecommunications firm, with offices throughout the U.S. It provides wiretapping equipt for law enforcement. Here's how wiretapping works in the U.S.
[ Comverse is Israeli firm with U.S. identity while Infosys is the 2nd largest software firm in India to whom Israelis farm out drugde work software development and who typically puts app hackers on site at customer location, hence identity duality of wiretap maker.
Who hates Arabs & Muslims almost as much as jews but Indians? Brilliant, or merely standard industry practice. ]

Every time you make a call, it passes through the nation's elaborate network of switchers & routers run by the phone companies. Custom computers & software, made by companies like Comverse, are tied into that network to intercept, record and store the wiretapped calls, and at the same time transmit them to investigators. The manufacturers have continuing access to the computers so they can service them and keep them free of glitches. This process was authorized by the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA. Sr govt officials have now told Fox News that while CALEA made wiretapping easier, it has led to a system that is seriously vulnerable to compromise, and may have undermined the whole wiretapping system.

Indeed, Fox News has learned that Atty Gen. Ashcroft & FBI Dir. Robert Mueller were both warned 10.18.01 in a hand-delivered letter from 15 local, state and federal law enforcement officials, who complained that "law enforcement's current electronic surveillance capabilities are less effective today than they were at the time CALEA was enacted." Congress insists the equipt it installs is secure. But the complaint about this system is that the wiretap computer programs made by Comverse have, in effect, a back door through which wiretaps themselves can be intercepted by unauthorized parties.

Adding to the suspicions is the fact that in Israel, Comverse works closely with the Israeli govt, and under special programs, gets reimbursed for up to 50% of its research & development costs by the Israeli Ministry of Industry & Trade. But investigators within the DEA, INS and FBI have all told Fox News that to pursue or even suggest Israeli spying through Comverse is considered career suicide. And sources say that while various FBI inquiries into Comverse have been conducted over the years, they've been halted before the actual equipt has ever been thoroughly tested for leaks. A 1999 FCC document indicates several govt agencies expressed deep concerns that too many unauthorized non-law enforcement personnel can access the wiretap system. And the FBI's own nondescript office in Chantilly, VA that actually oversees the CALEA wiretapping program, is among the most agitated about the threat.

But there is a bitter turf war internally at FBI. The FBI's office in Quantico, VA has jurisdiction over awarding contracts & buying intercept equipt. For years, they've thrown much of the business to Comverse. A handful of former U.S. law enforcement officials involved in awarding Comverse govt contracts over the years now work for the company. Numerous sources say some of those individuals were asked to leave govt service under what knowledgeable sources call "troublesome circumstances" that remain under administrative review within the Justice Dept. (end videotape)
And what troubles investigators most, particularly in NY, in the counter terrorism investigation of the World Trade Ctr attack, is that on a number of cases, suspects that they had sought to wiretap & survey immediately changed their telecommunications processes. They started acting much differently as soon as those supposedly secret wiretaps went into place, Brit.

Hume   Carl, is there any reason to suspect in this instance that the Israeli govt is involved?
Cameron   No, there's not. But there are growing instincts in an awful lot of law enforcement officials in a variety of agencies who suspect that it had begun compiling evidence, and a highly classified investigation into that possibility, Brit.
Hume   All right, Carl. Thanks very much.

Part 4

Cameron (voice-over)   Los Angeles, 1997, a major local, state and federal drug investigating sours. The suspects: Israeli organized crime with operations in New York, Miami, Las Vegas, Canada, Israel and Egypt. The allegations: cocaine & ecstasy trafficking, and sophisticated white-collar credit card & computer fraud.
The problem: according to classified law enforcement documents obtained by Fox News, the bad guys had the cops' beepers, cell phones, even home phones under surveillance. Some who did get caught admitted to having hundreds of numbers and using them to avoid arrest. "This compromised law enforcement communications between LAPD detectives & other assigned law enforcement officers working various aspects of the case. The organization discovered communications between organized crime intelligence division detectives, the FBI and the Secret Service."

Shock spread from the DEA to the FBI in Washington, and then the CIA. An investigation of the problem, according to law enforcement documents, concluded, "The organization has apparent extensive access to database systems to identify pertinent personal & biographical information." When investigators tried to find out where the information might have come from, they looked at Amdocs, a publicly traded firm based in Israel. Amdocs generates billing data for virtually every call in America, and they do credit checks. The company denies any leaks, but investigators still fear that the firm's data is getting into the wrong hands.

When investigators checked their own wiretapping system for leaks, they grew concerned about potential vulnerabilities in the computers that intercept, record and store the wiretapped calls. A main contractor is Comverse Infosys, which works closely with the Israeli govt, and under a special grant program, is reimbursed for up to 50% of its research & development costs by Israel's Ministry of Industry & Trade. Asked this week about another sprawling investigation and the detention of 60 Israeli since 9.11.01, the Bush administration treated the questions like hot potatoes.

Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary   "I would just refer you to Justice Dept with that. I'm not familiar with the report."
Colin Powell, Sec.State   "I'm aware that some Israeli citizens have been detained. With respect to why they're being detained and the other aspects of your question, whether it's because they're in intelligence services, or what they were doing, I will defer to the Dept of Justice and the FBI to answer that."   (end videotape)

Snow   Carl, we've heard the comments from Ari Fleischer & Colin Powell. What are officials saying behind the scenes?
Cameron   Well, there's real pandemonium described at the FBI, the DEA and the INS. A lot of these problems have been well known to some investigators, many of who have contributed to the reporting on this story. And what they say is happening is supervisors & management are now going back to collect much of the information, because there's tremendous pressure from the top levels of all of those agencies to find out exactly what's going on.

At the DEA & the FBI, already a variety of administration reviews are under way, in addition to the investigation of the phenomenon. They want to find out how it is all this has come out, as well as be very careful because of the explosive nature and very political ramifications of the story itself, Tony.

Israel denies spying on American allies
8.28.04   Jeffrey Heller Reuters, Joanne Morrison Reuters

Jerusalem   Israel denied Saturday spying on its main ally, the U.S., responding to suspicions a Pentagon analyst passed secret papers to the Jewish state about one of its most bitter enemies, Iran. U.S. govt sources said Friday the FBI was investigating an analyst connected to DefSec Rumsfeld's office on suspicion he gave classified documents to Israel via AIPAC, the powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington. The sources declined to identify the suspect and said no one had been arrested and no charges brought.
In brief statement, U.S. Defense Dept said it had been cooperating on the matter with Justice Dept for some time and understood the investigation was limited in scope. Wash.Post & NY Times quoted the Pentagon as ..."The investigation involves a single individual at Defense Dept at the desk officer level who was not in a position to have significant influence over U.S. policy," the papers quoted the statement as saying.

Israeli officials insisted Israel had not spied on U.S. since being caught red-handed 2 decades ago in an espionage scandal involving U.S. Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard, arrested in 1985 outside the Israeli embassy. "We deny carrying out any intelligence activity. It is a strange story," said a sr Israeli govt official, who declined to be identified. "Israel, for many years, has not carried out intelligence activity in U.S. "
Israeli parliament's Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee chair Yuval Steinitz said Israel made a "firm decision" 20 years ago, after Pollard's arrest, not to spy on Washington again. "I have a lot of confidence in U.S. investigation authorities and therefore I am completely confident that at the end of the day it will be confirmed that there is no Israeli involvement in such a case," he said.
An Israeli Embassy spokesman in the U.S. capital called the allegations "completely false & outrageous." AIPAC described the suspicions as "baseless and false." "We take our responsibilities as American citizens seriously. We would not condone or tolerate for a second any violation of U.S. law or interests," AIPAC said in a statement.

PM Ariel Sharon has frequently highlighted his warm relations with President Bush and has visited the White House 9 times since taking office. A senior Sharon aide meets often with U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
But the case of Pollard, an American Jew granted Israeli citizenship in 1995, 8 years after he began serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison for spying for Israel, is still an irritant in relations between the 2 countries. According to CBS, which first reported the FBI investigation, one of the documents passed to Israel was a draft presidential directive on U.S. policy toward Iran, placed by Bush in an "axis of evil" along with pre-war Iraq & N.Korea.

U.S. & Israeli officials accuse Iran of developing nuclear weapons, a charge it denies. Since its 1979 Islamic revolution Iran has refused to recognize Israel's right to exist. Iranian officials have made a point of highlighting the Islamic state's military capabilities in recent weeks in response to some media reports that Israeli or U.S. war planes could try to destroy Iranian nuclear facilities in air strikes. Iran said last week it had carried out a successful test firing of an upgraded version of its Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile. Military experts said the unmodified Shahab-3 was already capable of striking Israel or U.S. bases in the Gulf.

Inquiry into classified papers runs deeper
8.29.04   Warren P. Strobel Knight Ridder

Wash.D.C.   An FBI probe into the handling of highly classified material by Pentagon civilians is broader than previously reported, and goes well beyond allegations that a single midlevel analyst gave a top-secret Iran policy document to Israel, three sources familiar with the investigation said yesterday. The probe, which has been going on for more than 2 years, also has focused on other civilians in the secretary of defense's office, said the sources, who spoke on condition they not be identified but who have firsthand knowledge of the subject.

In addition, one said, FBI investigators in recent weeks have conducted interviews to determine whether Pentagon officials gave highly classified U.S. intelligence to a leading Iraqi exile group, the Iraqi National Congress, which may in turn have passed it on to Iran. INC leader Ahmad Chalabi has denied his group was involved in any wrongdoing.
Linkage, if any, between the two leak investigations remains unclear.
But they both center on office of Defense Undersecretary Douglas Feith, #3 Pentagon official. Feith's office, which oversees policy matters, has been the source of numerous controversies over the past 3 years. His office had close ties to Chalabi and was responsible for postwar Iraq planning that the administration has acknowledged was inadequate. Before the war, Feith & his aides pushed the now-discredited theory that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was in league with al-Qaeda.

No one is known to have been charged with any wrongdoing in the current investigation. Officials cautioned that it could result in charges of mishandling classified information rather than the more serious charge of espionage. Israeli govt yesterday strenuously denied it had spied on U.S., its main benefactor on the global scene.
American Israel Public Affairs Committee, powerful pro-Israel lobby that top officials said is suspected of serving as a conduit to Israel for the midlevel analyst, also has denied any wrongdoing. Analyst Larry Franklin works for Feith deputy, William Luti, and served as an important, albeit low-profile, adviser on Iran issues to Feith & Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
Former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst Franklin, who lives in West Virginia, could not be reached for comment yesterday. Investigators are said to be looking at whether Franklin acted with authorization from his superiors, one official said.

2 sources disclosed yesterday that the information believed to have been passed to Israel was the draft of a top-secret presidential order on Iran policy, known as a National Security Presidential Directive. Because of disagreements over Iran policy among President Bush's advisers, the document is not believed to have been completed.
Having a draft of the document, which some Pentagon officials may have believed was insufficiently tough toward Iran, would have allowed Israel to influence U.S. policy while it was still being made. Iran is among Israel's main security concerns.

Two or three AIPAC staff members have been interviewed in connection with the case. In a prepared statement, AIPAC said any allegation of criminal conduct was "false and baseless." It is "cooperating fully" with investigators, AIPAC's statement said.
Israeli officials insisted they stopped spying on the United States after the exposure of Jonathan Pollard, who was arrested in 1985 and sentenced to life in prison for spying for Israel.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan declined to discuss the continuing investigation.
In a statement issued late Friday, the Pentagon said it "has been cooperating with Justice Dept on this matter for an extended period of time. It is the DoD understanding that the investigation within the DOD is limited in its scope."

But other sources said the FBI investigation is more wide-ranging than initial news reports suggested. They said it has involved interviews of current and former officials at the White House, Pentagon and State Dept. Investigators have asked about the security practices of several other Defense Dept civilians, they said.
Franklin's name surfaced in news reports last year when it became known that he and another Pentagon MidEast specialist, Harold Rhode, met in late 2001 with Manucher Ghorbanifar, an Iranian arms merchant who played a role in the 1980s Iran-contra scandal.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said publicly last year that nothing came of the meeting, which reportedly was brokered by former National Security Council official Michael Ledeen. Rhode could not be reached for comment yesterday.

… 61-page DEA task-force report that contained the details about this spy ring was first revealed in detail on 3.4.02 by Intelligence Online (IO), respected Internet news service based in Paris, France, elaboration in some respects on earlier findings by Carl Cameron of Fox News. The IO story was picked up by leading French daily Le Monde, and, in some respects, by the Associated Press, but was just as quickly dropped.
Referring to the reports, the March 15 issue of Forward, old respected Jewish newspaper in America, commented that: "Despite angry denials by Israel & its American supporters, reports that Israel was conducting spying activities in U.S. may have a grain of truth, the Forward has learned." Forward commented smugly that: "Both French & Fox reports were dismissed by Israel & its supporters and received limited coverage in the American media."
LeMonde & Fox (as well as IO) suggested the likelihood that these Israeli operatives were spying on Arab terrorist cells operating in U.S. and almost certainly had advance knowledge about 9.11.01. AP was careful not to mention any of this aspect of the story.

British intelligence & military analysis publication Jane's Information Group noted the peculiar absence of reporting in the American media on the "explosive story" of the huge network of Israeli spies that made headlines around the world: …
Reports of Israeli "art students" calling on DEA employees across the country began as early as January 2000 and continued through June 2001.
What is not clear is what the ring of more than 120 agents was up to and why some Israelis linked to the attacks in NY & Wash.D.C. were allowed to flee or were sent back to Israel after 9.11.01 on visa violations, rather than being charged & prosecuted.

The "art students" are reported to be active agents in electronic surveillance units of the Israeli military. The Israelis covered the country in "organized" teams of eight to 10 people, with each group having a team leader. The DEA document lists the Israelis' military and intelligence specialties as "special forces," "intelligence officer," "demolition/explosive ordnance specialist," "bodyguard to head of Israeli army," "electronic intercept operator," and "son of a 2 star (Israeli) army general."
… Comverse Infosys (now called Verint) … relationship of these companies to detained Israelis is detailed in the 60-page document. The DEA document reveals that many of the Israeli operatives had addresses in San Diego CA, Little Rock AR, Irving TX and south Florida very close to the homes of Arabs suspected of 9.11.01 involvement.

Alleged hijacker, Mohammad Atta, lived at 3389 Sheridan St. in Hollywood, FL, while a few blocks away, at 4220 Sheridan, a group of the Israelis resided. Especially in Florida, where 10 of the 19 alleged 9.11.01 terrorists lived, revelations about the Israeli activities bolster speculation that the Israelis had advance knowledge but did not pass intelligence on to the U.S.
Justice Dept official briefed on an ongoing multi-agency task force investigating the Israeli spy ring was quoted by newsweekly Insight as having said: "We think there is something quite sinister here but are unable at this time to put our finger on it."
Another law-enforcement official said: "The higher-ups don't want to deal with this and neither does the FBI because it involves Israel."

DEA report found that several military bases also had experienced unauthorized entries by the Israelis incl 2 bases from which Stealth aircraft and other secret military units operate. Unauthorized photographing of military sites and civilian industrial complexes, such as petroleum-storage facilities, also was reported, the document confirms. In great detail, the DEA document contains "scores of encounters" between federal agents & Israeli agents posing as art students.
The seemingly innocuous cover was used to gain access to sensitive U.S. offices and military installations, such as MacDill AFB March 2001, and Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City one month later, where "a special alert" was issued because of the aggressive Israeli agents. Tinker houses AWACS surveillance planes and repairs B-1 bombers. The Oklahoman, prompted by the French revelations, recently reported that 10 months ago 4 of the Israeli agents carrying military IDs were detained at Tinker AFB.

In virtually every incident reported by the DEA field-offices the Israelis used the same methods: Israelis would attempt to enter secure buildings, take photographs, follow federal agents when they left buildings, show up at their homes and circle their neighborhoods, visiting their houses and then departing. At a DEA agent's house in Chicago, Israelis were so aggressive the police were called.
One report, titled "Suspicious Activities Involving Israeli Art Students at DEA Facilities," lists more than 180 documented-incident cases. "The nature of the individuals' conduct, combined with intelligence information and historical information regarding past incidents involving Israeli organized crime, leads IS [DEA's Internal Security division] to believe the incidents may well be an organized intelligence-gathering activity," said one classified document quoted by Insight.

"This is very odd behavior under any situation," says a DEA official who had heard but not yet seen the reports until Insight shared them. "The patterns are clear and they pose a significant danger to our officers in the field." Guillaume Dasquie, of IO, told American Free Press that he had acquired solid evidence of the authenticity of the DEA document, and would reveal new evidence to counter claims made by Justice Dept of Justice that there had been "no case of Israeli espionage" in U.S. and that the matter was "an urban myth."
The Israeli spy ring was "examined at the highest levels of the Bush administration," according to Dasquie. On March 13, IO was informed by an official at Justice Dept that the report had been handed over to the department's Joint Terrorism Task Force. The same day, at a DEA press conference, agency's administrator Asa Hutchinson said that he had passed the document along to "other agencies" working on the matter.

On March 14, IO said it has a copy of a memorandum dated March 4 and signed by asst atty general for admin Robert Diegelman, . The memo was addressed to officials in charge of the Justice Dept's information systems. It called on them to forbid information system access to all non-U.S. citizens and no longer use foreign-supplied computer & communication gear.
The memo referred to a warning entitled Justice Dept Order 2640.2D Information Technology Security and sent out on last July 12 which cautioned against using information technology sold by foreign firms. The warning of July 12 confirmed that the DEA's report was a security concern at the highest level.

The DEA task force issued an initial report in June of last year that listed the names of 125 Israeli nationals and described their activities in U.S.. The document suggests that the ring had infiltrated federal buildings, according to IO, and that Israeli computer companies sell equipt to U.S. govt depts.
The DEA purchased $25 million worth of interception equipt from a number of Israeli companies named in the Sept. 1997 report. An AP report from Washington on March 9 confirmed that the DEA document had been the joint work of a task force. The AP report confirmed that several of the Israelis had never enrolled in the art colleges they claimed to attend in Israel.

In addition, IO reported: "We've also obtained an internal document from the US Coast Guard, an Intelligence Bulletin dated 1.17.02. Reserved for security bosses in America's biggest companies, the bulletin regularly tracks all attempts to penetrate protected sites recorded by the US Coast Guard."
According to IO: The Jan. 17 issue described the case of a man and woman "of MidEast origin" taking pictures of a refinery. When questioned they said they were "art students" even though they were able to discuss technical details concerning refineries. Other cases of suspicious activity were also recorded.

AttyGeneral Ashcroft spokesman initially attempted to dismiss the story as an "urban myth." However, the NY based Forward effectively exposed Ashcroft's prevarication when it admitted on March 15:
In March 2001, the federal National Counter intelligence Executive issued a warning urging employees to report all contact with people describing themselves as Israeli art students. It said some had gone to private residences of sr U.S. officials under the guise of selling art.

"These individuals have been described as aggressive," the warning said. However, the warning added that there may be 2 groups involved, one with an "apparently legitimate money-making goal while the second, perhaps a non- Israeli group, may have ties to a Middle Eastern Islamic fundamentalist group."
… Attempting to put a positive spin on the revelations, Forward contends that tensions between U.S. and Israel arise not from the fact that U.S. believed the Israelis were spying on Americans, but because the Israelis had failed to advise U.S. that they were engaged in spying against Arabs on American soil.

Wash.D.C.   The FBI has, for the past 2 years, been investigating whether classified intelligence has been passed to Israel by AIPAC. The Franklingate scandal was merely a sideshow, sr US officials & other sources told the Wash. Post. The counterintelligence probe, which is different from a criminal investigation, focuses on a possible transfer of intelligence more extensive than whether Franklin passed on a draft presidential directive on US policy toward Iran, the sources said.
FBI is examining whether highly classified material from the National Security Agency, which conducts electronic intercepts of communications, was also forwarded to Israel, they said. A sr official told the paper that National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and her deputy Stephen J. Hadley have known of the investigation since it has begun.

Investigation of Franklin is coincidental to the broader FBI counterintelligence probe, which was already long underway when Franklin came to the attention of investigators, U.S. officials and sources said. On Tuesday, Franklin was seen for the first time since the affair was published, while he arrived at a lecture held at Sheppard University, where he has been teaching history for the past 5 years.
Last night it was reported that 2 AIPAC employees suspected of involvement in the affair were Steven Rozen, who is in charge of foreign affairs in the committee, and Keith Weisman, an expert of Iran. NY Times has reported that veteran AIPAC worker Rozen is considered a brilliant, energetic and one of the people that have the most influence in the organization. He is also known to have a wide spectrum of contacts in Washington.
Weisman, who is not as senior as Rozen, is thought to be a thorough & reliable analyst who has a vast knowledge of MidEastern affairs. Officials said both are cooperating with authorities.

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Ben Caspit seems to think that AIPAC gives a damn about Israel. If he applied his usual skills investigating AIPAC, he would not discuss AIPAC and Israel in the same breath. It is an American operation concerned only about power for AIPAC. AIPAC got involved with this operation to flex its muscles. It does not care about the damage done to Israel because it doesn't much care about Israel. I don't think Israeli reporters undestand Washington. AIPAC is in it for itself.

AIPAC   Ari Rabinowitz, Brooklyn NY 8.30.04




The neocon clique in the Bush administration lacks any oversight and is out of control as it pursues its private agenda of toppling various governments. It trumped up the "information" Bush offered as a pretext for invading Iraq. Next it wants to destroy Iran. If these people thought passing documents to Israel would advance their agenda, of course they'd do it. But it's not about what's good for Israel, and at least Israel was smart enough not to play along with them.

It's all about the neocons   C., Chicago 8.30.04

"Franklingate" espionage scandal is beginning to look like a surfeit of hype forced into bed with a paucity of fact. A sr administration official told the press that this does not look like a case of spying. "From what we know, Larry Franklin looks more like an incompetent fool way out of his depth than a spy. He apparently passed on some papers to Israel without realizing the ramifications of his actions".
The source added that both Israel & U.S. regularly exchange sensitive information. "At most Larry Franklin is guilty of poor judgment in determining what he should or should not share with Israel".
Another sr source said that Israel did not need Franklin's information. Israel's contacts with high-level officials are such that a phone call to the US would have been sufficient to elicit the information.

A sr Jewish source told Maariv this looks more like a case driven by domestic political agenda than any real security concerns. "The fact that this affair became public 2 days before the GOP convention is probably not a coincidence. We know there are lots of people out there who have an agenda to discredit the neo-conservatives, irrespective of the facts", he said. He also mentioned the possibility of inter-turf scuffling between various US govt intelligence and security agencies as a possible contributing factor.

Israeli diplomat denies any improper behavior   Spy scandal sputtering out, looks like a surfeit of hype forced into bed with a paucity of fact.
8.30.04   B.Kaspit & M.Fox Maariv

#2 diplomat at Israeli embassy in Washington Naor Gilon categorically denies any allegations of wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior. "My hands are clean. I have nothing to hide, all my activities are well within the parameters of accepted diplomatic norms and procedure". Gilon has been named as having met with Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin who is suspected of handing over classified documents to Israel.
However, in an interview with Maariv, Gilon, who last night flew back to the US after celebrating his son's Bar Mitzvah, expressed concern that the new affair would hamper his ability to work in Washington. "Everyone would think twice now before talking to me", he says.
The Israeli ambassador to Washington, Dani Ayalon, has given him complete support. "He deserves a medal of excellence. He has great working relationships, and has done nothing in any way improper or under the table", the ambassador said.

According to Israeli officials, Gilon did not take any documents from Franklin but only carried out talks according to diplomatic guidelines. On Saturday it was reported that a FBI surveillance team spotted Franklin with a member of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC and a diplomat from the Israeli embassy in Washington.
Meanwhile, Newsweek magazine is reporting that for about a month Franklin has been cooperating with the FBI and even admitted to have worked with an Israeli contact. According to the FBI, Franklin attempted to deliver the Israeli diplomat a document regarding Iran, but the Israeli was "smart enough" not to take it.
"Investigators are not clear on exactly what Franklin allegedly delivered to the Israelis", the magazine states. During his interrogation, Franklin stressed that none of his Pentagon superiors knew of his activity. Sr Pentagon officials say that Franklin wasn't in a position that would have enabled him to affect US policy.

Newsweek adds that Franklin likely handed over to Israel documents without being aware of the severity of his acts. A sr Defense Dept official, who has knowledge of the investigation, told L..A. Times that he is doubtful the case would evolve into espionage charges, and added, "From what I can see, the man looks more like an idiot than a spy, he seems to have taken stupid & ill advised actions without realizing the potential repercussions".
The source added that both Israel & the US regularly exchange sensitive information. "At most Larry Franklin is guilty of poor judgment in determining what information should or should not be shared with Israel".
Another sr source said that Israel did not need Franklin's information. Israel's contacts with high-level officials are such that a phone call to the US would have been sufficient to elicit the information.

… In the past several days, the investigation has been spreading to other US officials. According to the NY Times, FBI agents wanted to question 2 sr Defense Dept officials: Defense Deputy Sec. Paul Wolfowitz & under secretary of defense for policy Douglas Feith. It is unclear, however, if the bureau had indeed questioned the two.

Wash D.C.   A Maryland scientist who worked for the Defense Dept, a White House space council and other agencies was arrested Monday on charges of attempting to pass along classified information to an undercover FBI agent he believed was an Israeli intelligence officer.
Stewart David Nozette, 52, of Chevy Chase, was charged in a criminal complaint with attempting to communicate, deliver and transmit classified information, the Justice Department said. The complaint does not allege that the govt of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf violated U.S. law.

In Jerusalem, where the story broke late at night, Israeli govt officials had no immediate comment. Nozette was arrested by FBI agents. He is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Washington on Tuesday. Law-enforcement officials said Nozette did not immediately have a lawyer.
In an affidavit supporting the complaint, FBI agent Leslie Martell said that on 9.3.09, Nozette received a telephone call from an individual purporting to be an Israeli intelligence officer. The caller was an undercover FBI agent. Nozette agreed to meet with the agent later that day at a hotel in Washington and in the subsequent meeting the two discussed Nozette's willingness to work for Israeli intelligence, the affidavit said.

Nozette allegedly informed the agent that he had, in the past, held top security clearances and had access to U.S. satellite information, the affidavit said. Nozette also allegedly said that he would be willing to answer questions about this information in exchange for money.

Mr. Eisenberg, who pioneered Israel's trade relations with China, was to have returned to Tel Aviv next week to host a meeting with the Chinese minister of transport and other senior Chinese officials. Mr. Eisenberg reportedly was born in Munich. In 1939 he fled Nazi persecution of the Jews for Shanghai and later Japan. He married the daughter of a Japanese artist and opened a diamond factory in Japan. He is credited with recognizing early on that Japan had a need for iron ore, and finding a way to import it from South America. As he began to amass riches, Eisenberg decided to move his family back to Israel so they could be closer to their roots.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday called Mr. Eisenberg one of Israel's dearest citizens, and one of its leading industrialists, saying he contributed a great deal to the country's economy and to its international ties, the radio said. A spokesman said the funeral would be held in Israel early next week.

Missiles highlight German trade with Israel
1.18.03   Roger Boyes Times London

German Patriots, two systems comprising 128 missiles, are also said to be on loan for 2 years. Defence sources confirm that Israeli technicians have been in Germany for several months of operational training. Germany's strict arms export laws forbid weapons sales to areas of tension, but the Patriot deal is likely to be approved by the National Security Council because the missiles are defensive. The Israeli requests state that the missiles would be used to protect cities.
Even during 1991 Gulf War, Germany declared its readiness to supply Patriots, but Israel had favoured a more advanced U.S. version of the system. Iraq fired 41 Scuds on Israel and the Patriots were largely regarded as a failure.

Cairo   Listening to Pres.GWBush demand democratic elections & transparent govt for the Palestinians, an Egyptian engineer, Mady Abu Elela, said he wondered where those all-American values had been 2 years ago when he tried to form a political party here. His idea, for an Islamic-based party with a moderate approach, was quickly discarded by the govt of President Hosni Mubarak. But as far as Elela can remember, neither the U.S. nor any other Western country challenged the fairness of a system in which those who hold power dictate who can compete against them.
Bush may have discovered a need to upset the ruling order in the Palestinian Authority in hopes of quelling what he views as terrorism, Elela noted. But American leaders have been much more hesitant to apply the same standards in such allied countries as Egypt & Saudi Arabia, where govts rule beyond the reach of any electorate.

Bush's speech, meant to define a new path toward renewed peace discussions between Palestinians & Israelis, cut a paradoxical trail in a region that, save for Israel and, to some extent, Lebanon, has no multiparty democracy of the sort Bush seems to envision as an alternative to Yasser Arafat's Palestinian leadership. Saudi Arabia's ruling royal family, now among those trying to put the best face on Bush's initiative, has suddenly become a fan of electoral politics. "When the elections happen in the Palestinian territories it is the Palestinians themselves who will choose their leader in a democratic fashion," said Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al Faisal, Wednesday in Jidda. "We wish that the Palestinians had held elections much earlier."
Saudi Arabia, however, has never held an election. It is a monarchy governed by a clique of brothers who are not accountable in any formal way for their performance. With approximately 4,000 troops stationed there, U.S. has a long history of close relations with Saudi Arabia, based on military cooperation & the oil industry.

Egypt, meanwhile, which has jailed pro-democracy & other activists for accepting foreign donations, has said it is ready to intervene and help restructure Palestinian institutions. In Jordan, which has postponed parliamentary elections in order to avoid gains by Islamic candidates, King Abdullah II welcomed Bush's speech. "I am all for new elections and reforming the Palestinian Authority," said sociology prof. Saad Eddin Ibrahim who was convicted & imprisoned here last year on charges that his pro-democracy activities damaged state security. "But I am not for putting demands in advance," he said, in a reference to Bush's demand that Arafat must go before the U.S. will recognize Palestinian statehood. "'It is a contradiction, and it makes the speech a bit cynical. Democracy is democracy. You don't put conditions."

Democratic reform is a sensitive issue in the Arab world, challenging a long-established order that puts the head of state beyond accountability. After 9.11.01, citizens & commentators often said they were angry over how the U.S. seemed to make democracy an issue only with its antagonists, while largely allowing its allies a free hand in suppressing democratic development. Although Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt have been criticized in annual State Dept reports on human rights, they never seemed to be subjected to the same presidential spotlight as countries like Iran & Iraq.
The equation seemed clear: A billion-dollar aid recipient & peace partner like Egypt is treated one way; an old ally of the Soviet Union like Syria, still technically at war with Israel, is treated another. The Bush speech was particularly annoying, said one Lebanese analyst, in light of what has happened throughout much of the rest of the world in the last 20 years, as democracy swept away govts from rightist Latin America autocracies to totalitarian former Soviet bloc states. The only place it seemed not to reach, said Farid Khazen, a political scientist, was into the Arab world.
"There is no No. 2 in the Palestinian Authority. There is no No. 2 in Egypt, no No. 2 in Syria. There is no No. 2 in the entire Arab world," Khazen said, speaking of the unchallenged authority & lack of competition for leadership in the Arab states. "The U.S. has always backed authoritarian regimes and been very comfortable dealing with these regimes."

More Saudi funds return home
9.9.02   BBC

The data comes as the US Treasury listed another prominent Saudi businessman to its list of sponsors of terrorism and ordered his US assets frozen. Wa'el Hamza Julaidan, who the US alleges is an associate of Osama bin Laden, is well-known as charity worker who has run the Rabita Trust Islamic charity since February 2000. "Those who make this accusation should provide convincing evidence," Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif said about the asset freeze. The oil-rich kingdom is the main US ally in the Gulf but Washington has identified 15 of the 19 suicide hijackers in last year's 11 September attacks as Saudis.
Saudi Arabia has more than 230 non-profit-making societies which raise about $270m annually for charitable work. Many Saudi charities have been active in Afghanistan for more than two decades, which put them under US suspicion of funding al-Qaeda.

Saudi gas deal 'at breaking point'
9.9.02   BBC

Conflict between de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah & foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on one hand, and princes connected to the state oil co. Aramco on the other, has meant that in the past the companies have been offered unfavourable terms. Now, Reuters quotes govt sources as saying, new concessions are on the table, relating to the return on investment and the expansion of exploration rights. "This is a starting point which hopefully will put the govt on the road to final agreement," the source told Reuters.
The companies, however, remain cautious as to whether the new terms will make any difference. "The concessions are worth considering," one executive told Reuters, "but we need some time to run all the scenarios before we respond by early October as per (Prince Saud's) request."

The deal was meant to mark a new era in MidEast energy business. Since Aramco was nationalised in the 1970s and outside companies have been barred from the so-called "upstream" part of the business: the discovery & extraction of hydrocarbons. Instead, they have been limited to refining then transporting oil & gas. Pressure from Aramco to guard its monopoly is therefore intense.
Increasingly uncomfortable relationship between Saudi Arabia & the US since 9.11.01 added to the complications, bringing the internal politics of the kingdom into sharp relief.

Senator: Saudis must do more
11.25.02   CNN

Lieberman, D-CT and other prominent senators said the report raises hard questions about Saudi cooperation with the war on terrorism. They said Saudi officials have failed to crack down on funding that goes to terrorists and fuels Islamic radicalism. "The Saudi-American relationship is at a crisis stage," Lieberman said. "They've been good allies, and they've depended on us to protect them, and we've depended on them for military locations and oil."
But the Saudis must do more to clamp down on support for al Qaeda among their citizens, he said. Lieberman also called Saudi reluctance to allow U.S. forces to use bases on its territory in a possible military confrontation with Iraq "unacceptable." "President Bush has taken a lot of abuse in the last 2 years because of the connections of this administration with Saudi Arabia," he said. "I think it's time for the president to blow the whistle and remember what he said after 9.11.01; you're either with us or you're with the terrorists."

Outgoing Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Sen. Joseph Biden told CNN that Saudi officials have not been "nearly conscientious enough" in determining where its citizens' charitable contributions end up. In an appearance on CNN's "Late Edition," the Delaware Democrat said the Saudis cannot continue to defuse domestic opposition by supporting Islamic movements even as they resist democratic reforms. "They're finding out now that a significant portion of those people to whom they dole these things out are not good people, they're bad people. They mean them harm and they mean us harm," he said.
Republicans too lambasted the second-largest supplier of crude oil to the U.S.. "The list goes on & on of Saudi failures, and their central role that they have played in one way or another in this rise of Islamic fundamentalism all over the world," said Sen. John McCain, R-AZ on ABC's "This Week." Support for such groups has proved to be a "Faustian bargain" that may one day bring down the House of Saud, he said. "Like any other Faustian bargain, it comes time to pay up," he said. "Unless the Saudis change this, then I believe they will meet the fate of the Shah of Iran."

Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi was driven from power in 1979 and replaced by an Islamic fundamentalist regime led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The funds questioned by the congressional committee originated with Princess Haifa al Faisal, wife of Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi ambassador to the U.S. But sources told CNN there was no proof the Saudi govt intentionally funded terror activities against the U.S.
Adel al-Jubeir, an aide to Crown Prince Abdullah on international affairs, said Saudi officials cooperated with a U.S. investigation into the matter 6 months ago and believed the case was closed. He said the princess was unaware the money would end up going to people linked to al Qaeda. "Al Qaeda's objective is to come after Saudi Arabia as much as the U.S., and the last thing we would do is to fund people who want to murder us," al-Jubeir told CNN. "What you have here is a situation that is being exaggerated for political purposes, and the evidence does just not bear this out."

Al-Jubeir said the princess gave money to the family of Osama Basnan to help defray medical expenses. The princess, daughter of the late King Faisal, has a long list of charitable contributions she makes to Saudis in the U.S., The Washington Post quoted Saudi officials as saying. Basnan, a student in California at the time, was a friend of Omar Al Bayoumi, who gave a party and helped al Midhar and al Hazmi with rent payments when they arrived in San Diego in 2000, according to the Post. "But under no circumstance did any money go from Princess Haifa to Mr. Basnan or to Bayoumi," al-Jubeir told ABC. Al-Jubeir said the FBI questioned both men and released them after charging them with visa violations. They are now back in Saudi Arabia, the FBI said.
"Do you think for a moment that if these people had given money to terrorists the FBI would have let them go?" he asked.   [ yes. ]

U.S.-Saudi ties date to the 1930s. Washington has kept troops & aircraft in the desert kingdom since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, but the Saudis have balked at allowing U.S. forces to launch a possible attack on Iraq from Saudi territory, though al-Jubeir said no final decision has been made. The stationing of U.S. troops in the ancestral home of Islam upset Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, whose al Qaeda network killed more than 3,000 people in the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. Of the 19 suicide hijackers in those attacks, 15 were from Saudi Arabia.
Senate Intelligence Committee ranking GOP Sen. Richard Shelby described Saudi Arabia as a "transactional" ally. "I would like for them to be our ally, but you can't have it both ways," Shelby, R-AL told NBC's "Meet the Press." "You can't finance terrorists, you can't finance charities that you have reason to believe that will finance terrorism around the world and even abet it, and say, 'Oh, we're great friends of the U.S..'"
But Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-NE said U.S. officials must "look at the big picture here." "The Saudis have been an important ally to the U.S. over the years," said Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Hagel. "They will continue to play a critical role here in the Middle East, and we'll find out what we need to find out."

FBI probes possible Saudi, 9.11.01 money ties
11.23.02   John King CNN

… Newsweek magazine report provides more details.
Michael Isikoff, who wrote the article, said on CNN's "NewsNight" that one of the students helped the hijackers get an apartment, paid their rent and introduced them around the Muslim community in San Diego, CA. Law enforcement sources told Newsweek the FBI has uncovered financial records showing that the family of San Diego student Omar Al Bayoumi, began receiving payments amounting to about $3,500 a month in early 2000.

According to Newsweek's sources, the money came from an account at Riggs Bank in Washington in Princess Haifa Al-Faisal's name. She is the daughter of the late King Faisal. After Al Bayoumi left the U.S. in July 2001, similar payments were being made to another San Diego student, Osama Basnan, Newsweek reported. According to the magazine's report, Al Bayoumi & Basnan befriended 2 men who hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 and crashed it into the Pentagon, Khalid Almidhar & Nawaf Alhazmi.

Isikoff said the timing of the Riggs Bank payments, which began just a couple months after they arrived in U.S., raised questions about whether Saudi govt money found its way to the two hijackers. "There has been no explanation for why such a high-ranking official, or the wife of such a high-ranking official, would route money to a seeming nobody in San Diego," he said. However, the magazine said it is unclear whether any of the money transferred through the Riggs account ever reached the hijackers.

U.S. troops kill 13, wound 75 in Iraq protest
4.30.03   Ellen Knickmeyer AP

[ U.S. military exiting for Qatar leaves expatriate ghettos in Saudi to fend for themselves ]

Saudi Arabia acknowledges security gaps
5.14.03   Adnan Malik AP

He said the perpetrators "will regret what they have done because they have turned this country into one fist aimed at putting an end to this heinous wound in the body of this nation so that it won't return.'' Nonessential U.S. diplomats were ordered out and other Westerners made plans to leave Wed. after the coordinated attacks linked to al-Qaida,terror group linked to the Saudi attacks & 9.11.01, had railed against foreign troops in Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest Muslim shrines. 15 of 19 9.11.01 hijackers were Saudis.
Saudis said nearly 200 people were wounded, most not seriously, 40 of those believed to be Americans. Monday's attacks came as U.S. announced plans to pull out most of the 5,000 troops it had based in Saudi Arabia by autumn. Despite hope the pullout would lessen tension, U.S. & Saudi officials had been on the alert for attacks.

U.S. Amb. Robert Jordan said U.S. sought futilely to get security tightened around Western residential compounds in Riyadh before Monday night's attacks. "As soon as we learned of this particular threat information, we contacted Saudi govt,'' Jordan said on CBS' "The Early Show.'' "We continue to work with the Saudis on this, but they did not, as of the time of this tragic event, provide the additional security we requested.''
For example, Saudi officials may have provided extra police patrols for a day or two, but then pulled them, U.S. Embassy consular official John Burgess told AP. Saud acknowledged "there was news coming from everywhere that they were planning a major attack. We had established a committee with U.S. to see what we could do, both of us, in order to prevent this attack from happening,'' he said on NBC"s "Today'' show. "We came indeed very close to doing that, but unfortunately they were able to do their damage.''

Pres. GWBush spoke to Saudi crown prince Abdullah by telephone on Tuesday night, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said. Admin officials said Abdullah pledged to capture those responsible and, noting Saudi lives were lost as well, said the 2 govts should work closely together on the investigation.
Bush has called the attacks "despicable,'' saying: "U.S. will find the killers, and they will learn the meaning of American justice.'' 28 yr old tennis instructor Mike Thomas from Wales who visited one of the targeted compounds Wed. to check on his students, said he was "very angry & very hurt. I can't live here anymore. Those people who have done this believe in nothing but hatred,'' he said.

69 yr old American John Phinney, who lived in Saudi Arabia for 25 years, said he will probably stay. Phinney, whose children live in Florida, works for Lockheed-Martin, training Saudi military personnel in aircraft maintenance. "Lockheed has given us the option to leave, but the majority of us are going to stay,'' Phinney told The Daytona Beach FL News-Journal. "You choose your way of life. I can stay or go back to Florida. I think I will continue on.''
Another American resident of one of the targeted compounds said the attackers succeeded in instilling fear but said he did not plan to leave. "We want to promote U.S. business & trade, so we want to look out for U.S. interests, … these attacks were obviously done to undermine those things,'' said the 48-year-old Bob from Joplin MO. "It is perceived that we have done good business here in the past and that these guys (Saudis) are under attack and certainly we are not going to just turn tail around and abandon them.''

Saudi Arabia has a large population of expatriate workers, incl about 35,000 Americans and about 30,000 Britons, to help run its oil industry and develop its infrastructure. Britain advised its citizens not to travel to Saudi Arabia unless absolutely necessary. In a statement, the Foreign Office said there remained a "high threat'' of further strikes and warned of the possibility of chemical & biological attacks. British Airways said Wednesday it was canceling overnight stays in Saudi Arabia for crew on flights to the country.
State Dept directive ordered nonessential diplomats & family members out of Saudi Arabia. Echoing 5.1.03 travel warning, statement recommended private U.S. citizens in Saudi Arabia consider departing and Americans defer nonessential travel there. "U.S. citizens are reminded of increased security concerns and potential of further terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia,'' it said.

U.S. Embassy in Riyadh was closed for security reasons Wed. About 2,000 Saudi civil defense workers searched for evidence of the attackers' identities & methods Wednesday. Investigators wearing surgical gloves checked the rubble at the al-Hamra compound in northeastern Riyadh. A car-bomb left a crater 20 ft wide & 3 ft deep.
Saudi govt has said the attacks are connected to the 19 al-Qaida operatives who engaged in a gunfight with police in Riyadh 5.6.03. The 19 escaped, but one surrendered later. Interior Minister Prince Nayef said the 19 are believed to take orders directly from Saudi-born al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Nayef was quoted as saying he did not rule out more attacks. "This is life, and incidents occur in every country; we are in a period of anxiety & terror acts. The kingdom is one of the countries being targeted,'' he told the Saudi newspaper Okaz.

Saudi Interior Ministry Wed. provided this breakdown on the deaths: 7 Americans, 7 Saudis, 3 Filipinos, 2 Jordanians, one each from Australia, Britain, Ireland, Lebanon and Switzerland and one whose nationality had not been determined. In addition 9 attackers died, it said.
An accurate count was complicated by the fact that some of the dead held more than one citizenship.

Yemen hands over al Qaeda suspect to Saudi Arabia   9.17.03   Reuters

Riyadh   Yemen handed a suspected al Qaeda member and 7 other wanted Saudis over to Saudi Arabia Wednesday in the latest extradition between the countries, both of which are battling militants, the SPA news agency said. It quoted a Saudi Interior Ministry official as saying that Bandar al-Ghamdi, sought by Riyadh as one of 19 suspected al Qaeda militants planning attacks in the kingdom, was among 8 extradited on security & criminal charges.
The list of 19 wanted militants was issued a few days before suicide bombings in Riyadh May 2003 which killed 35 people, incl 9 Americans and were blamed on Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. Ghamdi's wife and newborn son were also handed over.

The Saudi authorities also received the bodies of 2 wanted Saudis, the agency added without giving details. Riyadh intensified its crackdown on Muslim militants after the May bombings, leading to bloody clashes between police & militants and the arrest of more than 200 suspects, incl on the wanted list.
Saudi Arabia & Yemen have boosted security cooperation in fighting Islamic militants and smuggling of goods & arms through their remote borders. The 2 have suffered a spate of attacks in the past year, which were largely blamed on al Qaeda, and have handed over other suspected militants in recent months. Last month, Yemen said that Saudi Arabia handed over 4 suspected militants, including 2 men suspected of links to a 2002 attack on a French supertanker off the coast of Yemen.

Saudi policeman, 3 militants dead in shootout
9.23.03   Reuters

Riyadh   At least one Saudi policeman & 3 militants were killed Tuesday in a shootout at a hospital compound in the south of the kingdom, the latest in a series of clashes involving suspected al Qaeda members.
An Interior Ministry statement read out on state TV said 5 militants were involved in the incident, in which 4 other policemen were slightly wounded, in Jizan province near the border with Yemen. … The poor mountainous Jizan province is a stronghold for Islamist militants and is also notorious for arms smuggling. Jizan is home to some of the 15 Saudi 9.11.01 hijackers …

Donald Rumsfeld has announced that he wants to suppress the special report on Saudi Arabia initiated & paid for by the Defense Dept. It has always been a guideline of GOP administrations, starting Nixon, to suppress truth about Saudi Arabia. This new study actually states Saudi Arabia is the "kernel of evil," that the Saudi govt has supported terrorism at all levels since the 1970s, and that the U.S. has been aware of this but because of a mutually beneficial relationship has refused to do anything about it. This new study states that Saudi Arabia funds most of the terrorist groups in the MidEast and as the MidEast's major oil producer, it has a vested interest in maintaining perpetual tension in the MidEast. Rumsfeld pointed out that if suddenly there were peace (if American peace initiatives were successful) it would knock $10 off the price of a barrel of oil.
You would take out the "uncertainty premium" out of a barrel of oil; Saudi Arabia certainly doesn't want that, considering Saudi royal family misspent or misappropriated a great deal of Saudi oil revenues over the years. Saudi Arabia currently finds itself in a deficit position because Saudi govt so corrupted processes regarding oil revenues.

GOP administrations have collateral interest in oil price remaining high because so much GOP money comes from domestic oil co. that need $20 per barrel price of crude or better to make profit. $17 a barrel would choke off GOP money. I was surprised about Rumsfeld's admission of truth, when he pointed to the report and said that the Saudi regime has taken advantage of the American taxpayers. We have militarily supported Saudi Arabia. We have extended our defense shield to Saudi Arabia. At the same time, Saudi Arabia continues to finance terrorism. Rumsfeld's statement in effect makes it open season on the Saudis.
The study points out the entire concept of 1973 Nixon-Kissinger accord with the Saudis, which encouraged them & other MidEast oil producers incl Iraq to sextuple the price of a barrel of oil under the idea of petro-dollar recycling by purchasing high tech weapons systems through US defense contractors in order to become first world nations in terms of their military capability, ever mindful that defense contractor profits are the most lucrative source of GOP revenue, oil & gas second.

Nixon-Kissinger policy two fold agenda, to jack up oil price & recycle petro-dollars into enormous defense spending meant purchase orders from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq to US defense contractors enriched the GOP. Is Rumsfeld is publicly abandoning this policy? Rumsfeld was actually critical of the policy. If current US policy toward Saudi Arabia to protect & coddle and lie for Saudi Arabia, is no longer continued, then likely U.S. peace initiatives may actually have a chance in the region, finally instill some stability in the region, in which case the price of oil is going to fall.
On a global level, this policy would increase political volatility & military instability within the MidEast region (that is what the Nixon- Kissinger policy called for) as well as the purposeful increase of tensions in the region in order to enrich the GOP …   conclusion

Bush to host Saudi ambassador
8.27.02   Leigh Strope AP

Earlier this month, 700 relatives of 9.11.01 victims filed suit against the Saudi & Sudanese govts and some institutions claiming that they helped finance Osama bin Laden's network and the terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York City, Washington and Pennsylvania. The lawsuit was filed a week after Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said the U.S. would not have access to Saudi facilities for an attack on Iraq. He also affirmed the kingdom's opposition to an incursion.
Visits by foreign leaders to Crawford are considered diplomatic plums and are usually reserved for officials of the most senior level. Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited there and Chinese President Jiang Zemin is due in late Oct. The invitation to Prince Bandar has less to do with his rank than with the personal relationship he has had with the Bush family, incl the former president, during his nearly 19 years as ambassador. He is by far the longest serving ambassador in Washington.

Prince Bandar was with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah when he visited Bush at the ranch in April. Prince Bandar was to be accompanied Tue. by his family, which was to have lunch at the ranch following morning discussions with Bush. A tour of the grounds also was likely. Fleischer characterized the meeting as a warm visit by 2 old friends rather than an intense diplomatic session. He said the meeting would be heavy on spontaneity and light on carefully prepared presentations. "The president enjoys his time with Prince Bandar,'' Fleischer said. "He's a very affable fellow, very good humor, speaks English better than most Americans.''
Fifteen of the 19 9.11.01 hijackers were Saudis but the Bush administration never has held the Saudi govt responsible. However, some members of Congress are not sure about Saudi reliability in the terrorism war. A 7 member House delegation will leave for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to seek clarification of the monarchy's antiterrorism policies. The Bush administration insists that Saudi Arabia is a valuable ally in the war on terrorism. Saudi Arabia also is playing a lead role in efforts to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian settlement and is assisting Washington with promoting reform within the Palestinian Authority, officials say. The Saudis appear intent on trying to create a favorable atmosphere for the talks. They announced Monday the arrest of alleged al-Qaida sympathizers, including 11 Saudis accused of plotting to shoot down a U.S. military plane.

Bush confronts Saudi prince on Iraq
8.27.02   Ron Fournier AP

Crawford, TX   Pres.GWBush confronted Saudi Arabia's top diplomat Tuesday over Iraq and other issues chilling relations between the uneasy allies, calling Saddam Hussein "a menace to the world.'' In hour long session with Saudi amb. Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Bush expressed exasperation with the kingdom for failing to meet its commitment to provide financial assistance to the new govt in Afghanistan. Bush also cited "crying humanitarian concerns'' as he accused the kingdom of dragging its feet in response to children abducted from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia.
The president did not sway Bandar on Iraq; U.S. officials said the Saudis still oppose potential military action against the Iraqi president. Just hours before the meeting, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's foreign policy adviser said U.N. inspectors can contain any threat posed by Saddam "without firing a single bullet. There is no country I know of supporting the use of force in Iraq at this time,'' Adel el-Jubeir said in an AP interview in Washington. "Your allies in Europe don't. Your allies in the Middle East don't.''
Still, Bush aides cast the meeting as a positive development after weeks of tension between the U.S. administration and the Saudis.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the meeting was "a social visit, as well as a business visit'' that incl a grilled chicken & biscuits lunch and a coveted tour of Bush's 1,600-acre ranch. Father of 8, Bandar brought his family, incl one child who attends nearby Baylor University. "They discussed a variety of issues, including prospects of enhancing peace in the Middle East.

They discussed the war on terrorism and Saudi Arabia's cooperation in the war,'' Fleischer said.
U.S. needs Saudi oil and a moderate Arab ally in the Middle East, but there are major sticking points in the relationship, incl the kingdom's opposition to war against Iraq, its weak human rights record and links to extremism and perhaps even terrorism. The Saudis, in turn, bristle at suggestions that the govt is responsible for the fact that 15 of the 19 9.11.01 hijackers were Saudis. A lawsuit filed by family members of 9.11.01 victims fueled perceptions in Saudi Arabia that the relationship is not valued by Americans. Saudis were particularly upset by a private defense analyst's recommendations to a Pentagon advisory board that the ally be given an ultimatum to stop supporting terrorism or face retaliation. Bush telephoned Crown Prince Abdullah on Monday to assure him the recommendation did not reflect his views.

As for Iraq, Bush told Bandar he had not decided whether to U.S. military force, and promised to consult with the Saudis. "The president made very clear again that he believes that Saddam Hussein is a menace to world peace, a menace to regional peace,'' Fleischer said. A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that while opposing military action, Bandar expressed more sympathy with the U.S. position than Saudis generally do in public. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who sent his own troops against Iraq a decade ago as part of the U.S.-led Gulf War coalition, said Tuesday that if the U.S. hits Iraq, no Arab ruler would be able "to curb popular sentiments. There might be repercussions and we fear a state of disorder and chaos.''
In Washington, State Dept spokesman Richard Boucher said the U.S had solid relations with Saudi Arabia, but said "We don't necessarily agree on every issue.'' One example: child abduction cases; Saudi courts almost always favor Saudi fathers in child custody cases involving non-Saudi mothers. Bush specifically raised the case of Amjad Radwam, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen not allowed to leave Saudi Arabia with her mother, Monica Stowers, in 1985. Conservatives have been pressuring Bush to do more for Stowers and mothers like her. "Not enough progress has been made, because people who should be allowed to come back to the U.S. have not been able to,'' Fleischer said.

The U.S. has a long list of complaints against the kingdom.

•   Saudis frustrated the American investigation into the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing of U.S. military personnel. Some U.S. officials believe the kingdom was hiding evidence of Iranian involvement
•   Saudis beheaded suspects in the Nov. 1995 bombing of the U.S. mission to the Saudi National Guard in Riyadh before the FBI could question them.
•   Saudi Arabia is biggest financial supporter of madrassahs, radicalizing Islamic schools that U.S. officials believe foment anti-American sentiments.
•   Saudi charities provide a breeding ground for radicals, and are suspected of having direct connections to terrorists.

Dubai   Saudi Arabia Monday dismissed as lies charges that it financed 9.11.01 hijackers, and some newspapers said the allegations were a desperate attempt by U.S. hawks to get Saudi support for a possible war against Iraq. The U.S. Congress has launched an inquiry into a possible money trail from the Saudi govt to 2 of the 19 hijackers involved in the 2001 attacks, threatening to put a further strain on ties between the two allies.

"These are nothing but lies and baseless words," Interior Minister Prince Nayef said in comments carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. He said it was normal for Saudis to offer financial support to fellow nationals living abroad. "If they are going to make an accusation of every assistance extended by one Saudi to another, then there is a problem and this should not be the case."
A slew of anti-Saudi comments in the U.S., after 15 Saudis were named among the hijackers, and Washington's perceived pro-Israel bias have raised Saudi ire and sparked rare calls in the kingdom to review ties with its key Western ally. Some U.S. politicians have called for similar action by Washington, particularly after a report for the Defense Dept called the kingdom an enemy and funder of terrorism.

"Under the current strategy to hit Iraq, suspicions and accusations are being used by American foxes to ... pressure the kingdom to directly enter a war," the popular daily al-Riyadh said in an editorial. "Despite our commitment to being a friend to America, we refuse to be blackmailed," it said. Saudi newspapers usually reflect govt thinking. Riyadh has publicly opposed military action against Iraq and has yet to decide whether to let the U.S. use its facilities in a possible attack to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.
"The campaign is a political one which clearly aims to blackmail Saudi Arabia, distort its reputation and try to influence its positions and turn others against it," said an editorial in the daily al-Watan. "The latest campaign by the Zionist lobby in America will fail and will not affect the kingdom or its stances and will not affect the strength of ties with the U.S.," it added.

The charges, first published by Newsweek magazine, are that Saudi money reached the hijackers, possibly via 2 Saudi students living in the U.S. who had obtained it from an account in the name of Princess Haifa al-Faisal, the wife of the Saudi ambassador to Washington.
Adel al-Jubeir, an aide to the kingdom's de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah, said there was no evidence the Saudi govt sent money to the hijackers and that his country was mercilessly pursuing al Qaeda, which is blamed for the attacks. He told CNN the Saudis had thought the money trail issue was closed, and its revival by the U.S. Congress "leads me to believe that the people who are behind this are more interested in scoring political brownie points than arriving at the truth."
Al-Nadwa newspaper said the allegations were part of a ploy by the "Zionist lobby" to harm relations between the U.S. & Saudi, world's largest oil exporter. The daily al-Riyadh said the campaign was the first step toward "severing ties with Muslims and waging a long war which places the 2 sides in a cycle of confrontation which does not benefit anybody."

Saudis link al-Qaida team to attacks
5.13.03   Adnan Malik AP

Riyadh   Saudi authorities linked a 19-member al-Qaida team Tuesday to 4 separate attacks on eve of a visit by U.S. Sec.State Powell, three, Courdoval, Jedawal, and The Hamra, in eastern Riyadh suburb Garnata 5.12.03 and 4th explosion Tue. morning in Riyadh outside joint Saudi-U.S. venture Saudi Maintenance Co. Multiple, simultaneous car bombings at 3 foreign compounds in the capital killed at least 30 people, incl 8 Americans. … FBI said it would send agents to join the investigation. Though no one claimed responsibility for the attacks, Sec.State Powell, who arrived in Saudi Arabia for an official visit hours after the blasts, said they had "the fingerprints of al-Qaida."

Saudi authorities made a direct connection between the attacks & 5.6.03 gunfight between police & 19 al-Qaida operatives in the same part of Riyadh where the bombings occurred. "The only information we have is that some of them were members of the group that was sought a few days ago, the 19 fellows whose pictures came out in the press," Saudi ambassador to Britain Prince Turki al-Faisal, former Saudi intelligence chief, said in London.

The 19 escaped. Among them were 17 Saudis, a Yemeni, and an Iraqi with Kuwaiti & Canadian citizenship. … Authorities confiscated their cache of hand grenades, 5 suitcases of explosives, rifles and ammunition, as well as computers, communications equipt and cash. At that time, Nayef said al-Qaida was "weak & almost nonexistent."
… Monday night, it took the bombers 30 seconds to a minute to get through an iron gate, drive up to the building and detonate explosives, said a sr administration official on plane w/ Sec.State Powell. After killing sentries, bombers pushed the button that opened the iron gate to the compound. "They had to know where the switches were," said the official, suggesting the terrorists had inside information. The al-Hamra, Jadawal and Vinnell compounds, all within 10 miles of each other in northeastern Riyadh, the last 2 a half-mile apart, house business executives, oil industry professionals and teachers.

Behind their 20-foot walls women need not wear enveloping robes, American & European children ride bikes in the street, backyard barbecues are common and houses are decorated for Christmas & Halloween. At around 11:30 p.m. Monday, witnesses reported, there was gunfire and a series of explosions. "I thought the door was going to come off its hinges," said French executive Patrick Amour who lives a quarter-mile from al- Hamra. Amour said he heard 3 explosions: One loud one from al-Hamra and others more faintly from the 2 other compounds. They "went off within 3 seconds, less than 3 seconds, as if it were an echo," he said.
The blasts were "absolutely terrifying," Scottish survivor John Gardiner told BBC. "All the doors came in, the external doors, the internal doors, all the windows, and the next thing I knew I was lying on my back in shattered glass," he said.

It was not clear how many cars were used. A guard at one of the housing compounds told al-Watan newspaper that 7 cars exploded there, all apparently carrying suicide bombers. Facades of 5 & 4 story buildings were sheared off, revealing apartment interiors, their contents swept out by the blasts. … Several cars & 6 or 7 single-family homes within 50 yards of the blast were destroyed. Debris, shredded, charred shreds of cars and furniture, melted patio chairs, uprooted palm trees, was scattered another 25 or 30 yards.
In TV address to his people, crown prince Abdullah, quoting from the Quran, said "hellfire" awaits the attackers. 7 Saudis were listed among the dead, incl Mohammed Abdullah al-Blaihed, son of Riyadh's deputy governor Abdullah al-Blaihed. The elder al-Blaihed owned the al-Hamra compound.
… 7 American victims lived in a single, 4 story building. … 70 Americans who worked for the Vinnell Corp., VA co. w/ contract to train Saudi military & civilian officials, lived there; by chance, 50 were away on a training exercise.

7 Americans were among the more than 200 killed last Oct. in twin bombings in Bali, Indonesia. Counterterrorism official in Washington said information from the past 2 weeks indicated al-Qaida had been planning a strike in Saudi Arabia. Earlier this month, State Dept advised Americans to avoid travel to Saudi Arabia … In a series of e-mails Saturday & Sunday, a man who said he was the head of an al-Qaida training camp, Abu Mohammed Al-Ablaj, or Mullah Seif el Din, told the Arabic weekly Al Majalla that the group was planning an attack in the Persian Gulf using weapons & ammunition stored there. The operative is also known as Abu Bakr, and his real name is Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi al-Ghamdi, U.S. officials said. He is a Saudi who is active in al- Qaida's operations in that country.

After the seizure of the weapons cache in Riyadh. interior minister Nayef, … told al-Watan that one suspect surrendered in connection with the weapons, it was unclear when, and was being interrogated about Monday's explosions. So far he had offered "limited information," Nayef said.
Saudi officials almost immediately gave the FBI team permission to participate in the investigation into the bombings. But there has been friction between Saudi & American law enforcement. In aftermath of 1996 Khobar Tower bombings that killed 19 U.S. servicemen, Saudi police would not allow FBI agents to interrogate suspects.
State Dept officials said the American school in Riyadh would be closed and advised Americans to remain at home. Britain advised its citizens not to travel to Saudi Arabia unless absolutely necessary. …
[ Demolishing ghetto housing in Gaza is Israeli democracy; in Riyadh, it is terrorism ]

Report is wary of Saudi actions   U.S. officials fear Riyadh gave hijackers financial, logistic aid. Lawmakers urge more facts be made public
7.25.03   Josh Meyer L.A. Times

Wash.DC   Top U.S. officials believe Saudi govt not only thwarted their efforts to prevent rise of al Qaeda & stop terrorist attacks, but also gave Saudi-born 9.11.01 hijackers financial & logistic support, according to a congressional report released 7.24.03.
Those suspicions prompted several lawmakers to demand Bush admin aggressively investigate Saudi actions before & after 9.11.01, in part by making public large sections of the report that pertain to Riyadh but remain classified. Passages incl a 28-page section, detail whether one of America's most reluctant allies in war on terrorism was implicated in the attacks, according to U.S. officials familiar with the full report.

Joint House-Senate committee investigating the attacks found no "smoking gun" showing Saudi officials knowingly did anything to help the 19 hijackers, 15 of whom were young Saudi militants, one of those officials said. But the committee, known as the "joint inquiry," developed "information suggesting specific sources of foreign support for some 9.11.01 hijackers while they were in U.S." At least one of those sources, the officials confirmed, was the govt of Saudi Arabia.
When testifying behind closed doors last summer, neither CIA nor FBI officials were able to tell committee members "definitively the extent of such support for the hijackers globally or within U.S. , or the extent to which such support, if it exists, is knowing or inadvertent in nature."

The report added that the intelligence agencies had recently strengthened efforts to unravel the money trail, "at least in part due to the joint inquiry's focus on this issue. In the view of the joint inquiry, this gap in U.S. intelligence coverage is unacceptable, given magnitude & immediacy of potential risk to U.S. national security," the report continued. "The intelligence community needs to address this area of concern as aggressively and as quickly as possible."
  [ Increasing national security policy & procedure means more rogue monsters to demonize, not more peace. Legislation & enforcement are only effective when they stop munitions distribution. ]
FBI & CIA officials said Thursday they're heeding the committee's request. But several sr U.S. counterterrorism officials cautioned that, despite the inquiry's concerns, they have seen no evidence to indicate that Saudi officials did anything intentionally to help the hijackers.

Former Clinton & Bush Sr. counterterrorism national coordinator Richard Clarke cautioned "against saying there is a witting Saudi govt connection."
  [ 9.11.01 is late stage blowback from BCCI, which investigation proved in open court Saudi intelligence dir. was central banker for Islamic terrorism. ]

"I think the Saudi govt was throwing around a lot of money to dubious organizations without trying to determine who was asking for it, and that a lot of the money got to Al Qaeda", incl some operatives in U.S. said Clark, who left the Bush administration this year. Saudi amb. to U.S. Prince Bandar bin Sultan sharply criticized the report, saying that the "28 blanked-out pages are being used by some to malign our country and our people."
"Rumors, innuendos and untruths have become, when it comes to the kingdom, the order of the day," Bandar said in a statement. "The idea that the Saudi govt funded, organized or even knew about 9.11.01 is malicious & blatantly false. Al Qaeda is a cult that is seeking to destroy Saudi Arabia as well as U.S.," Bandar said. "By what logic would we support a cult that is trying to kill us? Why would we aid criminals when we were working with the U.S. to find & arrest them?"
  [ Deflecting questions easily answered: Because dynastic plutocrats gain more from treason than civic duty, as w/ Bush family through mutual broker Carlyle Group. Manufactured demons divert public policy from pursuit of economic justice to munitons procurement that's much more lucrative & easier to administer. ]

"It is my belief that the reason a classified section that allegedly deals with foreign govts is absent from the report is most likely because the information contained in it could not be substantiated. Saudi Arabia has nothing to hide. We can deal with questions in public, but we cannot respond to blank pages." The report's unclassified portion does not mention payments by Bandar's wife to a Saudi woman the FBI believes ended up in bank accounts of at least one hijacker.
The nearly 900 pg report was based on the interviews of hundreds of U.S. & foreign officials and a review of hundreds of thousands of FBI & CIA files. The report showed in years before 2001 attacks, the FBI, CIA and other U.S. officials came to believe Saudi govt would not help in war on al Qaeda & founder Osama bin Laden, Saudi national & heir to one of Saudi's richest construction dynasties.

"According to one U.S. govt official, it was clear from about 1996 Saudi govt would not cooperate with the U.S. on matters relating to Osama bin Laden," the report said. Another U.S. official told investigators that "obtaining Saudi cooperation was unrealistic because Saudi assistance to the U.S. govt on this matter is contrary to Saudi national interests." A third high-level U.S. govt officer "cited greater Saudi cooperation when asked how 9.11.01 might have been prevented," the congressional report said.
Asked why he believed that, the officer in May 2001 replied the U.S. govt learned that an "individual in Saudi Arabia was in contact with a senior al Qaeda operative and was most likely aware of an upcoming Al Qaeda operation." But, as is the case in many other passages in the report, the details explaining how the Saudis did not cooperate remains classified despite a 7 month campaign by congressional investigators & others to have them made public.

Thursday a bipartisan group of lawmakers called for the declassification of the report so the role of Saudi Arabia can be explored. "For whatever reason, there is an attempt here to conceal evidence that implicates the Saudi regime in tragedy that claimed over 3,000 Americans lives and put hundreds of thousands of troops in harm's way by leading us into 2 wars," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer D-NY.
Former Senate intelligence committee ranking minority member Sen. Richard C. Shelby R-AL said in an interview that he has read the entire report and feels the classified parts should be made public. "This might be embarrassing information" to the Saudi govt, Shelby said on NBC's "Today" show, "but I don't believe it meets the test of real classification."

The declassified report goes into detail about the much-publicized relationship between a San Diego man named Omar al Bayoumi and 2 Saudi hijackers he befriended in L.A., persuaded to move to San Diego then provided with financial support and a network of friends & helpers. Al Bayoumi was probably an intelligence agent for Saudi Arabia or another foreign power, according to one of the FBI's best sources, something Saudi officials flatly denied. Bayoumi, who lives in Riyadh, could not be reached for comment.
"Declassifying this [report] is particularly important now that we hear in January 2000 an alleged Saudi agent [Bayoumi] had a meeting at the Saudi consulate in L.A. then went directly to a restaurant to meet 2 hijackers," said Rep. Eliot L. Engel D-NY. "It is time to lift the veil of secrecy involving possible Saudi complicity."
U.S. officials said it could take years to determine whether any Saudi officials or operatives did …

Saudis say lifestyle was under scrutiny
11.13.03   AP

Choice of target in the attack, which hit mostly Arabs & Muslims, baffled many in the region. It may be indication al-Qaida's rage is directed as much at Muslims seen as having slipped from the religion's true path as at Western "infidels". Muhaya was typical of compounds housing members of the large contingent of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia: a place where non-Saudis and even some Saudis could escape rules banning alcohol and mixing of men & women in public and requiring women to cloak & veil themselves when outside their homes.
Muhaya had a coffee shop where men & women sat together chatting over water pipes and watching foreign movies & other entertainment on a big screen television. It was next to a pool where women swam in bikinis. Agents of Saudi religious police, the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue & Prevention of Vice, roam Saudi streets and shopping malls berating or even manhandling those who violate the social code. Its chief holds rank of Cabinet minister in a kingdom where the royal family retains power in part with the support of conservative religious authorities.

Some Saudis chafe at the religious restrictions. Saturday's bombings & similar attacks in Riyadh in May have sparked debate about whether the strict form of Islam preached in Saudi Arabia fosters intolerance & extremism. 7 bearded, robed religious police officers visited the Muhaya compound 3 months ago, saying they had reports of an "un-Islamic" party being held there, residents told AP Wednesday. The religious police scuffled with compound guards who barred their entry until the compound owner arrived.
During the delay, residents of both sexes slipped out of the complex coffee shop. The religious police eventually were allowed in and headed straight for the coffee shop. They left after finding it closed.