Raw Story/Associated Press
October 3, 2009
A mysterious, reportedly unregistered and almost entirely unknown private security firm by the name "American Police Force" is causing a stir in a small Montana town for apparently impersonating local police.
According to a local media report, APF representatives were recently seen in the tiny town of Hardin, Montana, driving black SUV's with a peculiar logo and, inexplicably, "City of Hardin Police Department" stamped on the door.
However, Hardin does not have a police force.
The town instead contracts with the Big Horn County Sheriff's Department for patrols, according to KULR 8 in Billings, Montana.
According to the news agency, APF was never given permission to assume policing duties. Instead, the firm -- which the Associated Press reported to be unregistered in government databases -- gained its contract with the town on the promise of bringing inmates to an unpopulated prison complex.
An image on KULR's Web site shows the insignia on the APF vehicles, which has caused some concern on the Internet as being of conspiratorial origin.
APF's coat of arms, a clearer version of which appeared on the group's Web site (which had been taken down at time of this writing but is viewable here), shows a double-headed eagle with a red shield and white cross borne on its breast.
The coat appears very similar to the insignia attributed to one Prince Aleksandar Karageorgevich, based on RAW STORY's analysis of images hosted by Burke's Peerage & Gentry International Register of Arms. The site notes the coat as hailing from the Royal crown of Serbia.
However, the significance or implied nationality of the insignia's crown could not immediately be identified.
The double-headed eagle itself has been used repeatedly throughout history by many cultures as a symbol of empire, dominance and power.
Hardin, home to about 3,400 people, is in the state’s poorest county. Its unoccupied, 460-bed prison cost $27 million to construct. The town made national headlines earlier this year when local officials pleaded to have Guantanamo Bay inmates sent to the jail.
Montana Democratic Senator Max Baucus and other Republican lawmakers have stood in the way of moving Guantanamo inmates stateside, claiming they would present an increased security risk. The political calculation has led the White House to caution that its promise to close the controversial facility in January may not materialize on schedule.
An Associated Press report on American Police Force, published Sept. 12, 2009, follows.
-- Stephen C. Webster
AP ENTERPRISE: Montana jail deal raises questions
AP ENTERPRISE: Questions emerge about company promising to bring inmates to small Montana town
MATTHEW BROWN
AP News
Sep 12, 2009 16:17 EST
The Two Rivers Detention Center was promoted as the largest economic development project in decades in the small town of Hardin when the jail was built two years ago. But it has been vacant ever since.
City officials have searched from Vermont to Alaska for inmate contracts to fill the jail, only to be turned down at every turn and see the bonds that financed its construction fall into default. They even floated the idea of housing prisoners from Guantanamo Bay at the jail.
So when Hardin officials announced this week that they had signed a deal with a California company to fill the empty jail, it was naturally a cause for celebration. Town officials talked about throwing a party to mark the occasion, their dreams of economic salvation a step closer to being realized.
But questions are emerging over the legitimacy of the company, American Police Force.
Government contract databases show no record of the company. Security industry representatives and federal officials said they had never heard of it. On its Web site, the company lists as its headquarters a building in Washington near the White House that holds "virtual offices." A spokeswoman for the building said American Police Force never completed its application to use the address.
And it's unclear where the company will get the inmates for the jail. Montana says it's not sending inmates to the jail, and neither are federal officials in the state.
An attorney for American Police Force, Maziar Mafi, describes the Santa Ana, Calif., company as a fledgling spin-off of a major security firm founded in 1984. But Mafi declined to name the parent firm or provide details on how the company will finance its jail operations.
"It will gradually be more clear as things go along," said Mafi, a personal injury and medical malpractice lawyer in Santa Ana who was only hired by American Police Force a month ago. "The nature of this entity is private security and for security purposes, as well as for the interest of their clientele, that's why they prefer not to be upfront."
On its elaborate Web site and in interviews with company representatives, American Police Force claims to sell assault rifles and other weapons in Afghanistan on behalf of the U.S. military while providing security, investigative work and other services to clients "in all 50 states and most countries."
The company also boasts to have "rapid response units awaiting our orders worldwide" and that it can field a battalion-sized team of special forces soldiers "within 72 hours."
Representatives of American Police Force said the company presently employs at least 16 and as many as 28 people in the United States and 1,600 contractors worldwide.
"APF plays a critical role in helping the U.S. government meet vital homeland security and national defense needs," the company says on its Web site. "Within the last 5 years the United States has been far and away our" number 1 client.
However, an Associated Press search of two comprehensive federal government contractor databases turned up no record of American Police Force.
Representatives of security trade groups said they had never heard of American Police Force, although they added secrecy was prevalent in the industry and it was possible the company had avoided the public limelight.
"They're really invisible," said Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president and counsel for the Professional Services Council. The group's members include major security contractors Triple Canopy, DynCorp and Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide.
"Even a single unclassified contract in the last couple of years should show up" in the federal database, Chvotkin added.
Spokesmen for the State Department and Defense Department said they could not immediately find any records of contracts with the company. The city has not released a copy of its agreement with American Police Force. But the deal as announced would be a sweet one for Hardin, a depressed rural town of 3,500 about 45 miles east of Billings.
The company is pledging to fill the 464-bed facility by early next year.
Hardin officials say the first payment on the contract is due Feb. 1 — regardless of whether any prisoners are in place. The city's economic development authority would get enough money to pay off the bondholders and receive $5 per prison a day.
American Police Force also is promising to invest $30 million in new projects for the city, including a military and law enforcement training center with a 250-bed dormitory and an expansion of the jail to 2,000 beds. The company says it will build a homeless shelter, offer free health care for city residents and even deliver meals to the needy.
Where the prisoners would come from is unclear. City officials said California was the most likely possibility, but a spokesman for that state's corrections system said there was no truth to the claim.
Federal prisoners also were mentioned by both American Police Force and the city. U.S. Marshal Dwight MacKay in Billings said he would have been notified if such a plan was pending.
"There's skepticism over whether this is a real thing," MacKay said.
Hardin officials said they were approached by American Police Force about six months ago, soon after the city made international news in its quest to become "America's Gitmo." American Police Force incorporated around the same time.
Albert Peterson, the city's school superintendent and vice president of the authority that built the jail, said the city was "guaranteed" the contract would be upheld.
"There's never a question in my mind after I've done my homework. It's legit," Peterson said of American Police Force. "We believe in each other."
The contract was still being reviewed by the city attorney, he said.
Peterson refused to answer when asked if he knew the name of American Police Force's parent firm. He said news coverage of the city's political tussles with the administration of Gov. Brian Schweitzer had left him suspicious of the press. The administration brought a court challenge over whether Hardin could take out-of-state inmates at the jail.
"If you're looking for the source of the money, you're not going to find it from me," Peterson said.
A member of the Texas consortium that developed the jail, Mike Harling, said he had "every reason to believe they'll be successful."
Mafi, the American Police Force attorney, said his company intends to reverse Hardin's recent problems with the jail and give the town an economic boost.
In Santa Ana, American Police Force occupies a single suite on the second floor of a two-story office building. During a visit to the location Thursday, a reporter for The Associated Press encountered a uniformed man behind a desk who would identify himself only as "Captain Michael."
The man declined to discuss basic details about the company and referred the reporter to the company's Web site. In a subsequent phone interview, he provided his surname but insisted it not be used because of security concerns. The man said he was a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Montenegro with decades of experience in military and law enforcement operations.
The man said his boss is a retired U.S. Army colonel named Richard Culver who is currently overseas. Culver's role with the company could not be immediately verified.
The company claim of a headquarters address is just up the street from the White House.
The K Street building houses "virtual offices," where clients pay to use the prestigious Pennsylvania Avenue address and gain access to onsite conference rooms but have no permanent presence.
"It lets small businesses get started up and have a professional front and not have a lot of a cash to do it," said Ashley Korner with Preferred Offices, which leases the location.
She said American Police Force's application to use the address was pending, but incomplete.
___
Associated Press Writer Amy Taxin contributed to this story from Santa Ana.
___
On the Net:
American Private Police Force: http://www.americanpolicegroup.com
03 October, 2009
Serbia to choose Kosovo over EU, FM.
Serbianna
3 October 2009
Serbia will decline to join the EU if it is told that it must recognize the unilaterally declared independence Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian separatists made, says Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic.
“If the present Serbian government faced a decision like that, it would have no choice but to give up on EU integration,” said Jeremic to the audience of students and faculty of Political Science.
Jeremic said that the issue of Kosovo’ status and Serbia’s EU membership are separate but warned that some in the EU want to merge the two and force Serbia to either recognize Kosovo as a state or let go of EU hopes.
“If we are not active, but also careful and cautious, we can end up getting ourselves in an impossible situation, to choose between Kosovo and Metohija and Europe,” Jeremic said.
The Minister said that Serbia’s EU integration are one of the main foreign policy objectives but so is preservation of Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
“If we get to the situation where we have to choose, then we have lost. But if we are in the losing situation, then we must choose Kosovo,” said Jeremic.
According to Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, Serbia’s membership in the EU would boost Serbia’s economic growth by 1.3% annually.
Serbia’s EU integration initiative, the SAA, is presently on hold because of the DUtch objections to Serbia’s inability to find and arrest General Ratko Mladic who is wanted by the war crimes court.
Hungary’s ambassador to Serbia, Imre Varga urged the EU nations to quickly ratify the SAA.
Serbia also got assurance from Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak that Slovakia does not recognize Kosovo and that nothing will change about its stand, because the government respects international legal principles.
In its latest session, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe did not discuss Kosovo’s status, reports the chief of Serbian delegation to the Council Dragoljub Micunovic.
“The question of status was not mentioned at all, because it is not within the competence of the Council of Europe, it is an issue for the International Court of Justice in the Hague,” Micunovic said.
He also pointed that a delegation of separatist ethnic Albanians met with Council of Europe’s Political Affairs Committee to debate institutional and legal issues in the province but the parliament was interested in the “catastrophic” human rights condition in Kosovo.
“They [separatists] talked about institutions, laws and what was adopted there, and the only topic we agreed to was the state of human rights in Kosovo,” Micunovic said.
Micunovic said that the issue of return of Serbs violently expelled by ethnic Albanians as well as justice and stability point to the lack of human rights in the province.
3 October 2009
Serbia will decline to join the EU if it is told that it must recognize the unilaterally declared independence Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian separatists made, says Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic.
“If the present Serbian government faced a decision like that, it would have no choice but to give up on EU integration,” said Jeremic to the audience of students and faculty of Political Science.
Jeremic said that the issue of Kosovo’ status and Serbia’s EU membership are separate but warned that some in the EU want to merge the two and force Serbia to either recognize Kosovo as a state or let go of EU hopes.
“If we are not active, but also careful and cautious, we can end up getting ourselves in an impossible situation, to choose between Kosovo and Metohija and Europe,” Jeremic said.
The Minister said that Serbia’s EU integration are one of the main foreign policy objectives but so is preservation of Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
“If we get to the situation where we have to choose, then we have lost. But if we are in the losing situation, then we must choose Kosovo,” said Jeremic.
According to Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, Serbia’s membership in the EU would boost Serbia’s economic growth by 1.3% annually.
Serbia’s EU integration initiative, the SAA, is presently on hold because of the DUtch objections to Serbia’s inability to find and arrest General Ratko Mladic who is wanted by the war crimes court.
Hungary’s ambassador to Serbia, Imre Varga urged the EU nations to quickly ratify the SAA.
Serbia also got assurance from Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak that Slovakia does not recognize Kosovo and that nothing will change about its stand, because the government respects international legal principles.
In its latest session, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe did not discuss Kosovo’s status, reports the chief of Serbian delegation to the Council Dragoljub Micunovic.
“The question of status was not mentioned at all, because it is not within the competence of the Council of Europe, it is an issue for the International Court of Justice in the Hague,” Micunovic said.
He also pointed that a delegation of separatist ethnic Albanians met with Council of Europe’s Political Affairs Committee to debate institutional and legal issues in the province but the parliament was interested in the “catastrophic” human rights condition in Kosovo.
“They [separatists] talked about institutions, laws and what was adopted there, and the only topic we agreed to was the state of human rights in Kosovo,” Micunovic said.
Micunovic said that the issue of return of Serbs violently expelled by ethnic Albanians as well as justice and stability point to the lack of human rights in the province.
01 October, 2009
CNOOC in Talks to Enter $5B Uganda Oil Project.
by Benoit Faucon and Nicholas Bariyo
Dow Jones Newswires
10/1/2009
URL: http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=80920
China state-owned CNOOC Ltd. has become the latest company to enter talks with Uganda over a large Tullow Oil PLC-led project, people familiar with the matter said this week.
CNOOC company representatives approached the Ugandan presidency in early September and held talks with officials at the state house, said an official in Uganda President Yoweri Museveni's office.
The news follows confirmation by Nigerian government officials that CNOOC had sought to enter Nigerian oil blocks underused by major international oil companies. CNOOC's interest in Tullow's Ugandan project shows China is also interested in expanding on the continent through partnerships with emerging African oil producers.
CNOOC is one of several companies expected to hold future talks with U.K. independent Tullow over its Uganda project, another person said. Spokespeople for CNOOC, Tullow and the Ugandan Energy Ministry declined to comment on CNOOC's interest.
Tullow has made large discoveries in blocks located in Eastern Uganda's Lake Albert region and has said it wants to "farm down" -- or sell a stake to finance the project -- to other partners. In an e-mail Tuesday to Dow Jones Newswires, Tullow's Uganda country manager Brian Glover said the company has kicked off the farm down process, starting by engaging in talks with Uganda's government.
"We don't want to confirm a short-list at this stage since we are at a sensitive point in the process, and will be engaging with government before approaching suitable partners," Glover said.
Glover wouldn't comment on the details of the ongoing talks with government, but a government official familiar with the situation said the government had insisted on a number of conditions, including allowing only investors with a good oil production track record to partner with Tullow Oil.
Commercial production will require a 1,300 kilometer export pipeline to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, and the government would also like the operators to build a local refinery. The pipeline and refinery, plus a share of the oil block costs, could represent an investment of $5 billion to $6 billion, industry experts said.
Apart from CNOOC, China National Petroleum Corp. and China PetroChemical Corp., also known as Sinopec, have been preselected for talks to enter the project, industry sources said. It's unclear whether the Chinese concerns will team up or compete.
China is facing opposition in other African countries over some oil acquisitions and criticism over its decision to bring its own labor and technical problems in its projects. An Ugandan official said the government isn't necessarily against Chinese companies but would make a comprehensive assessment before approving any venture.
Chinese companies will also face stiff competition from oil majors.
CNOOC's trip came on the heels of a visit in August by Eni SpA's Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni. Having ruled out an outright acquisition of Tullow, Eni is interested in buying stakes in its Ugandan oil blocks and teaming up to build the proposed pipeline and refinery, people familiar with the matter previously said.
Tullow would like to obtain more information on its Uganda reserves potential -- including through further drilling -- before it sells a stake to a partner, the person familiar with CNOOC's interest said.
Tullow confirmed in early September it had made the largest oil discovery yet in Uganda, an area where it already has found more than 700 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Dow Jones Newswires
10/1/2009
URL: http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=80920
China state-owned CNOOC Ltd. has become the latest company to enter talks with Uganda over a large Tullow Oil PLC-led project, people familiar with the matter said this week.
CNOOC company representatives approached the Ugandan presidency in early September and held talks with officials at the state house, said an official in Uganda President Yoweri Museveni's office.
The news follows confirmation by Nigerian government officials that CNOOC had sought to enter Nigerian oil blocks underused by major international oil companies. CNOOC's interest in Tullow's Ugandan project shows China is also interested in expanding on the continent through partnerships with emerging African oil producers.
CNOOC is one of several companies expected to hold future talks with U.K. independent Tullow over its Uganda project, another person said. Spokespeople for CNOOC, Tullow and the Ugandan Energy Ministry declined to comment on CNOOC's interest.
Tullow has made large discoveries in blocks located in Eastern Uganda's Lake Albert region and has said it wants to "farm down" -- or sell a stake to finance the project -- to other partners. In an e-mail Tuesday to Dow Jones Newswires, Tullow's Uganda country manager Brian Glover said the company has kicked off the farm down process, starting by engaging in talks with Uganda's government.
"We don't want to confirm a short-list at this stage since we are at a sensitive point in the process, and will be engaging with government before approaching suitable partners," Glover said.
Glover wouldn't comment on the details of the ongoing talks with government, but a government official familiar with the situation said the government had insisted on a number of conditions, including allowing only investors with a good oil production track record to partner with Tullow Oil.
Commercial production will require a 1,300 kilometer export pipeline to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, and the government would also like the operators to build a local refinery. The pipeline and refinery, plus a share of the oil block costs, could represent an investment of $5 billion to $6 billion, industry experts said.
Apart from CNOOC, China National Petroleum Corp. and China PetroChemical Corp., also known as Sinopec, have been preselected for talks to enter the project, industry sources said. It's unclear whether the Chinese concerns will team up or compete.
China is facing opposition in other African countries over some oil acquisitions and criticism over its decision to bring its own labor and technical problems in its projects. An Ugandan official said the government isn't necessarily against Chinese companies but would make a comprehensive assessment before approving any venture.
Chinese companies will also face stiff competition from oil majors.
CNOOC's trip came on the heels of a visit in August by Eni SpA's Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni. Having ruled out an outright acquisition of Tullow, Eni is interested in buying stakes in its Ugandan oil blocks and teaming up to build the proposed pipeline and refinery, people familiar with the matter previously said.
Tullow would like to obtain more information on its Uganda reserves potential -- including through further drilling -- before it sells a stake to a partner, the person familiar with CNOOC's interest said.
Tullow confirmed in early September it had made the largest oil discovery yet in Uganda, an area where it already has found more than 700 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Perenco Snaps Up Marathon Oil's Gabon Assets.
Perenco
10/1/2009
URL: http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=80915
Perenco has strengthened its position in Gabon with the acquisition of Marathon Oil Corporation's wholly owned subsidiary, Marathon Oil Gabon Limited, which holds a 56.25 percent working interest in three offshore production fields; the effective date of the transaction is January 1, 2009 with completion anticipated during the 4th quarter of 2009.
Perenco's acquisition of Marathon's stakes in the Tchatamba Marin, Tchatamba South and Tchatamba West fields will add approximately 15,000 bopd gross production to Perenco's current 50,000 bopd operated production in Gabon. Perenco will now be the operator at these fields, from where production is processed on a single facility at Tchatamba Marin, with processed oil being transported through a pipeline to a non-operated onshore facility.
Located 15 miles offshore and approximately 100 miles southeast of Port Gentil, the Tchatamba Marin Field was discovered in 1995 and began production in early 1998. The Tchatamba South and West fields were discovered in 1997 and came on stream in 1999 and 2000, respectively.
Gabon has been a key area for Perenco for a number of years and the acquisition of Marathon Oil's stake in these important fields further consolidates our position in the country. We look forward to continuing to develop these fields with the current employees and to remaining a committed partner to Gabon.
10/1/2009
URL: http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=80915
Perenco has strengthened its position in Gabon with the acquisition of Marathon Oil Corporation's wholly owned subsidiary, Marathon Oil Gabon Limited, which holds a 56.25 percent working interest in three offshore production fields; the effective date of the transaction is January 1, 2009 with completion anticipated during the 4th quarter of 2009.
Perenco's acquisition of Marathon's stakes in the Tchatamba Marin, Tchatamba South and Tchatamba West fields will add approximately 15,000 bopd gross production to Perenco's current 50,000 bopd operated production in Gabon. Perenco will now be the operator at these fields, from where production is processed on a single facility at Tchatamba Marin, with processed oil being transported through a pipeline to a non-operated onshore facility.
Located 15 miles offshore and approximately 100 miles southeast of Port Gentil, the Tchatamba Marin Field was discovered in 1995 and began production in early 1998. The Tchatamba South and West fields were discovered in 1997 and came on stream in 1999 and 2000, respectively.
Gabon has been a key area for Perenco for a number of years and the acquisition of Marathon Oil's stake in these important fields further consolidates our position in the country. We look forward to continuing to develop these fields with the current employees and to remaining a committed partner to Gabon.
'No credible evidence' of Iranian nuclear weapons, says UN inspector.
The Guardian
By Julian Borger and Richard Norton-Taylor
30 September 2009
The UN's chief weapons inspector, Mohamed ElBaradei, said today he had seen "no credible evidence" that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, rejecting British intelligence allegations that a weapons programme has been going on for at least four years.
The claims and counter-claims came on the eve of a potentially decisive meeting in Geneva between diplomats from six world powers and an Iranian delegation about Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Iran insists its programme is for peaceful purposes, and that there is nothing illegal about a uranium enrichment plant under construction near the city of Qom, the existence of which was revealed last week. Iranian leaders say they did not have to inform the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) until six months before the first uranium was processed.
But ElBaradei, the outgoing IAEA director general, publicly disagreed today, saying Iran had been under an obligation to tell the agency "on the day it was decided to construct the facility". He said the Iranian government was "on the wrong side of the law".
However, ElBaradei rejected British intelligence claims that Iran had reactivated its weapons programme at least four years ago. By making the claims the UK broke with the official US intelligence position that Iranian work on developing a warhead probably stopped in 2003. They said that even if there was a halt, as reported in a US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) two years ago, the programme restarted in late 2004 or early 2005.
British officials had been privately sceptical about the NIE finding since its publication in 2007, but this was the first time they had made detailed allegations about Iran's weapons programme.
BND, the German intelligence organisation, this year provided evidence in a court case saying it believed weapons work in Iran had continued after 2003. A leaked internal memo written by the IAEA also found that Iran probably had "sufficient information" to build a bomb, and that it had "probably tested" a high-explosive component of a nuclear warhead.
ElBaradei has angrily rejected claims from Israel, France and the US that he had suppressed the internal IAEA report, saying all relevant and confirmed information had been presented to member states.
Tomorrow's talks will take place in a secluded villa on the edge of Geneva. The Iranian delegation will be led by its chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, who at a similar meeting in Switzerland last year delivered a lecture more than two hours long about recent Iranian history and the global balance of power. But he refused to discuss Iran's nuclear programme.
Iranian officials say its programme remains non-negotiable, despite five UN security council resolutions calling for Iran to suspend enrichment. Western negotiators say they will push for a date for an IAEA inspection of the Qom uranium plant, and further concrete steps from the Iranian government to restore international confidence in the peaceful purpose of its programme. Failing that, multilateral talks will start on the imposition of more sanctions.
The Kremlin said today that the Russian position on sanctions would depend on the degree of Iranian cooperation with the IAEA. However, Russia and China are expected to resist the far-reaching measures aimed at Iran's energy sector being promoted by the US, Britain and France.
By Julian Borger and Richard Norton-Taylor
30 September 2009
The UN's chief weapons inspector, Mohamed ElBaradei, said today he had seen "no credible evidence" that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, rejecting British intelligence allegations that a weapons programme has been going on for at least four years.
The claims and counter-claims came on the eve of a potentially decisive meeting in Geneva between diplomats from six world powers and an Iranian delegation about Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Iran insists its programme is for peaceful purposes, and that there is nothing illegal about a uranium enrichment plant under construction near the city of Qom, the existence of which was revealed last week. Iranian leaders say they did not have to inform the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) until six months before the first uranium was processed.
But ElBaradei, the outgoing IAEA director general, publicly disagreed today, saying Iran had been under an obligation to tell the agency "on the day it was decided to construct the facility". He said the Iranian government was "on the wrong side of the law".
However, ElBaradei rejected British intelligence claims that Iran had reactivated its weapons programme at least four years ago. By making the claims the UK broke with the official US intelligence position that Iranian work on developing a warhead probably stopped in 2003. They said that even if there was a halt, as reported in a US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) two years ago, the programme restarted in late 2004 or early 2005.
British officials had been privately sceptical about the NIE finding since its publication in 2007, but this was the first time they had made detailed allegations about Iran's weapons programme.
BND, the German intelligence organisation, this year provided evidence in a court case saying it believed weapons work in Iran had continued after 2003. A leaked internal memo written by the IAEA also found that Iran probably had "sufficient information" to build a bomb, and that it had "probably tested" a high-explosive component of a nuclear warhead.
ElBaradei has angrily rejected claims from Israel, France and the US that he had suppressed the internal IAEA report, saying all relevant and confirmed information had been presented to member states.
Tomorrow's talks will take place in a secluded villa on the edge of Geneva. The Iranian delegation will be led by its chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, who at a similar meeting in Switzerland last year delivered a lecture more than two hours long about recent Iranian history and the global balance of power. But he refused to discuss Iran's nuclear programme.
Iranian officials say its programme remains non-negotiable, despite five UN security council resolutions calling for Iran to suspend enrichment. Western negotiators say they will push for a date for an IAEA inspection of the Qom uranium plant, and further concrete steps from the Iranian government to restore international confidence in the peaceful purpose of its programme. Failing that, multilateral talks will start on the imposition of more sanctions.
The Kremlin said today that the Russian position on sanctions would depend on the degree of Iranian cooperation with the IAEA. However, Russia and China are expected to resist the far-reaching measures aimed at Iran's energy sector being promoted by the US, Britain and France.
SFO seeks BAE prosecution over bribery.
The Guardian
David Leigh and Rob Evans
1 October 2009
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced this morning that it will seek to prosecute BAE over bribery allegations.
Britain's biggest arms firm is accused of corruptly paying out millions of pounds to win lucrative arms contracts from a number of countries, including Tanzania, the Czech Republic, Romania and South Africa.
The decision to prosecute was announced in a statement in which the SFO said it "intends to seek the attorney general's consent to prosecute BAE Systems for offences relating to overseas corruption and will prepare its papers to be submitted to the attorney when the SFO considers it is ready to proceed. This follows the investigation carried out by the SFO into business activities of BAE Systems in Africa and Eastern Europe."
The decision is being seen as a make or break move for the agency, which has spent the last six years, under two different directors, trying to resolve allegations against one of the world's most powerful arms companies.
The SFO must gain the formal consent of the attorney general, Lady Scotland, to press charges. This power is due to be abolished, but still exists.
The SFO's statement that, in effect, it is not yet ready to make a formal submission to the attorney leaves the door open for BAE to return to the negotiating table.
Pointedly, no further timetable was attached to the SFO statement, thus extending any deadline indefinitely and making the agency appear to back off from its bullish talk of "ultimatums".
In a statement, BAE insisted it had acted "responsibly" when dealing with the SFO.
"The company notes the announcement by the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and continues to expend considerable effort seeking to resolve, at the earliest opportunity, the historical matters under investigation by the SFO.
"BAE Systems has at all times acted responsibly in its dealings with the SFO, taking into account the interests of its shareholders and employees and the legal advice it has received."
It said that if a prosecution was launched, the company would "deal with any issues raised in those proceedings at the appropriate time and, if necessary, in court".
BAE was the biggest faller on the London stockmarket this morning, down nearly 5%, or 17p, to 332.2p.
The US justice department has been running a parallel investigation into BAE, which has a major US presence as an arms supplier to the Pentagon.
The Washington investigation has so far been without results, and this is the first occasion worldwide when BAE as a company has directly faced the prospect of prosecution.
In 2006 the SFO was forced to drop investigations into BAE's biggest arms deals in Saudi Arabia. Tony Blair, the then prime minister, in effect granted immunity to the Saudi ruling family.
This summers's secret negotiations with the UK arms giant on other outstanding cases broke down when it failed to meet last night's SFO deadline to make a deal or face the courts.
Behind the scenes, there has been a high-stakes poker game between BAE and the agency entrusted with eradicating foreign bribery, to see if a US-style plea bargain could be quietly negotiated.
Richard Alderman, the agency's director, was widely reported to be in a determined mood, but today's announcement in effect signals the failure so far of the SFO's preferred strategy of reaching an agreed settlement.
A prosecution against the finest lawyers BAE's money can buy, with its legal uncertainties, delays and expense is almost as unwelcome a prospect for the SFO as it is for BAE itself. But Alderman's personal credibility and that of the SFO are now on the line.
For the SFO, a key element of an acceptable settlement package is the payment of large financial penalties, possibly of more than £500m in the case of a company the size of BAE, according to sources close to the talks.
David Leigh and Rob Evans
1 October 2009
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced this morning that it will seek to prosecute BAE over bribery allegations.
Britain's biggest arms firm is accused of corruptly paying out millions of pounds to win lucrative arms contracts from a number of countries, including Tanzania, the Czech Republic, Romania and South Africa.
The decision to prosecute was announced in a statement in which the SFO said it "intends to seek the attorney general's consent to prosecute BAE Systems for offences relating to overseas corruption and will prepare its papers to be submitted to the attorney when the SFO considers it is ready to proceed. This follows the investigation carried out by the SFO into business activities of BAE Systems in Africa and Eastern Europe."
The decision is being seen as a make or break move for the agency, which has spent the last six years, under two different directors, trying to resolve allegations against one of the world's most powerful arms companies.
The SFO must gain the formal consent of the attorney general, Lady Scotland, to press charges. This power is due to be abolished, but still exists.
The SFO's statement that, in effect, it is not yet ready to make a formal submission to the attorney leaves the door open for BAE to return to the negotiating table.
Pointedly, no further timetable was attached to the SFO statement, thus extending any deadline indefinitely and making the agency appear to back off from its bullish talk of "ultimatums".
In a statement, BAE insisted it had acted "responsibly" when dealing with the SFO.
"The company notes the announcement by the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and continues to expend considerable effort seeking to resolve, at the earliest opportunity, the historical matters under investigation by the SFO.
"BAE Systems has at all times acted responsibly in its dealings with the SFO, taking into account the interests of its shareholders and employees and the legal advice it has received."
It said that if a prosecution was launched, the company would "deal with any issues raised in those proceedings at the appropriate time and, if necessary, in court".
BAE was the biggest faller on the London stockmarket this morning, down nearly 5%, or 17p, to 332.2p.
The US justice department has been running a parallel investigation into BAE, which has a major US presence as an arms supplier to the Pentagon.
The Washington investigation has so far been without results, and this is the first occasion worldwide when BAE as a company has directly faced the prospect of prosecution.
In 2006 the SFO was forced to drop investigations into BAE's biggest arms deals in Saudi Arabia. Tony Blair, the then prime minister, in effect granted immunity to the Saudi ruling family.
This summers's secret negotiations with the UK arms giant on other outstanding cases broke down when it failed to meet last night's SFO deadline to make a deal or face the courts.
Behind the scenes, there has been a high-stakes poker game between BAE and the agency entrusted with eradicating foreign bribery, to see if a US-style plea bargain could be quietly negotiated.
Richard Alderman, the agency's director, was widely reported to be in a determined mood, but today's announcement in effect signals the failure so far of the SFO's preferred strategy of reaching an agreed settlement.
A prosecution against the finest lawyers BAE's money can buy, with its legal uncertainties, delays and expense is almost as unwelcome a prospect for the SFO as it is for BAE itself. But Alderman's personal credibility and that of the SFO are now on the line.
For the SFO, a key element of an acceptable settlement package is the payment of large financial penalties, possibly of more than £500m in the case of a company the size of BAE, according to sources close to the talks.
US military carries out joint exercises in Africa.
AP News
Sep 30, 2009 11:42 EST
The U.S. military has begun an exercise in the African nation of Gabon with personnel from 25 African countries to improve command and control between forces for possible peacekeeping or anti-terrorism missions, a spokesman said Wednesday.
Some 200 personnel are participating in the Africa Endeavor exercise that tests abilities of African militaries to communicate with each other, Vince Crawley, a spokesman for U.S. Africa Command, told The Associated Press.
Africom, as the command is known, is sponsoring the exercise and much of the instruction is done by U.S. military personnel based in Europe and the United States, said Eric S. Elliott, another U.S. military spokesman.
"The overall objective is to achieve a level of communications interoperability and compatibility that will allow partner nations to successfully conduct future multinational operations," Elliott said.
Guinea was not participating, the spokesmen said.
Africom, which is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, was formally activated last October. Before then, U.S. military programs in Africa were split among three other commands.
Sep 30, 2009 11:42 EST
The U.S. military has begun an exercise in the African nation of Gabon with personnel from 25 African countries to improve command and control between forces for possible peacekeeping or anti-terrorism missions, a spokesman said Wednesday.
Some 200 personnel are participating in the Africa Endeavor exercise that tests abilities of African militaries to communicate with each other, Vince Crawley, a spokesman for U.S. Africa Command, told The Associated Press.
Africom, as the command is known, is sponsoring the exercise and much of the instruction is done by U.S. military personnel based in Europe and the United States, said Eric S. Elliott, another U.S. military spokesman.
"The overall objective is to achieve a level of communications interoperability and compatibility that will allow partner nations to successfully conduct future multinational operations," Elliott said.
Guinea was not participating, the spokesmen said.
Africom, which is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, was formally activated last October. Before then, U.S. military programs in Africa were split among three other commands.
30 September, 2009
GAO: Saudi individuals, groups backing extremists and terrorists.
RICHARD LARDNER
AP News
Sep 29, 2009 15:18 EST
Shortcomings in enforcement are allowing Saudi individuals and charitable organizations to steer financial support to Islamic extremists in Afghanistan and elsewhere, congressional investigators say.
Working with the United States, the government of Saudi Arabia has made progress in stemming the flow of money to al-Qaida and other groups within the country, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office released Tuesday. But there's been less headway in blocking Saudi bankrolling of terrorism and extremism beyond its borders, the report says.
There is no indication the Saudi government is providing funding for terrorism, investigators say.
Citing Treasury Department officials, investigators found that Saudi-based individuals are "a top source of funding for al-Qaida and associated terror groups, such as the Taliban." No estimated amounts of these contributions are provided.
Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, has said the Taliban militants are receiving more money from Persian Gulf donors than from Afghanistan's illegal drug trade.
Key Saudi enforcement agencies, especially the departments responsible for financial regulations, need more training and technical assistance to expand their capacity, the GAO says.
Another problem is the increasing use of couriers to carry cash across the border. This low-tech approach is an apparent response to Saudi Arabia's adoption of stricter rules on formal financial transactions.
The GAO report also says a program operated by the Saudi government to rehabilitate terrorism supporters looks promising, but more time is needed to know how successful it is.
The program is intended to reintegrate into society Saudis who have been arrested for supporting terrorism or extremism. More than 4,300 people have received psychological therapy and religious re-education through the initiative. The effort began in Saudi prisons in 2004, and in 2007 it was extended to halfway houses, called aftercare centers.
One aftercare center in Riyadh visited by GAO investigators had treated 250 people. As of March 2009, the unit had a recidivism rate of 20 percent. Most of those who had returned to supporting terrorism or extremism were former Guantanamo detainees, the Saudis told the GAO.
Despite the results at this one location, U.S. and Saudi officials say the program has produced positive overall results. But they also cautioned that recidivism rates for criminology programs are generally measured at five-year intervals and the Saudi program had been under way at aftercare centers for only two years.
U.S. officials have been pressing for nearly 100 detainees at Guantanamo from Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia, to go through the Saudi rehabilitation. The effort has stalled, however.
AP News
Sep 29, 2009 15:18 EST
Shortcomings in enforcement are allowing Saudi individuals and charitable organizations to steer financial support to Islamic extremists in Afghanistan and elsewhere, congressional investigators say.
Working with the United States, the government of Saudi Arabia has made progress in stemming the flow of money to al-Qaida and other groups within the country, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office released Tuesday. But there's been less headway in blocking Saudi bankrolling of terrorism and extremism beyond its borders, the report says.
There is no indication the Saudi government is providing funding for terrorism, investigators say.
Citing Treasury Department officials, investigators found that Saudi-based individuals are "a top source of funding for al-Qaida and associated terror groups, such as the Taliban." No estimated amounts of these contributions are provided.
Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, has said the Taliban militants are receiving more money from Persian Gulf donors than from Afghanistan's illegal drug trade.
Key Saudi enforcement agencies, especially the departments responsible for financial regulations, need more training and technical assistance to expand their capacity, the GAO says.
Another problem is the increasing use of couriers to carry cash across the border. This low-tech approach is an apparent response to Saudi Arabia's adoption of stricter rules on formal financial transactions.
The GAO report also says a program operated by the Saudi government to rehabilitate terrorism supporters looks promising, but more time is needed to know how successful it is.
The program is intended to reintegrate into society Saudis who have been arrested for supporting terrorism or extremism. More than 4,300 people have received psychological therapy and religious re-education through the initiative. The effort began in Saudi prisons in 2004, and in 2007 it was extended to halfway houses, called aftercare centers.
One aftercare center in Riyadh visited by GAO investigators had treated 250 people. As of March 2009, the unit had a recidivism rate of 20 percent. Most of those who had returned to supporting terrorism or extremism were former Guantanamo detainees, the Saudis told the GAO.
Despite the results at this one location, U.S. and Saudi officials say the program has produced positive overall results. But they also cautioned that recidivism rates for criminology programs are generally measured at five-year intervals and the Saudi program had been under way at aftercare centers for only two years.
U.S. officials have been pressing for nearly 100 detainees at Guantanamo from Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia, to go through the Saudi rehabilitation. The effort has stalled, however.
Pakistani Sub-committee formed to probe Blackwater presence in Islamabad.
Daily Times
30 September 2009
By Zulfiqar Ghuman
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights on Tuesday constituted a five-member sub-committee to probe the alleged operations of US security firm Blackwater USA in the country from the ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs.
The decision to constitute the sub-committee was taken after a majority of committee members expressed concerns over reports of Blackwater (Xe Worldwide) operations in Pakistan and the reported renting of a large number of houses in Islamabad by US citizens. The committee, chaired by Riaz Fatyana, met at Parliament House. When asked, Islamabad Inspector General (IG) Kaleem Imam said around 400 to 500 US citizens, who comprised the US embassy staff, were present in the Capital, but denied the presence of Blackwater USA in the country.
He said the US citizens included security officials, who were training local law enforcement personnel.
The committee also recommended the government constitute a special anti-terror force to fight militancy and terrorism, since the country’s army and police were not trained for this kind of fighting.
All provincial IGs as well as Railways and Motorway Police chiefs, provincial home secretaries and senior Interior Ministry officials were also present. The committee urged police chiefs to adopt a people-friendly attitude and to address their grievances. The committee also recommended the government hold specific training programmes for the police force to train them in human rights and modern investigation techniques.
30 September 2009
By Zulfiqar Ghuman
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights on Tuesday constituted a five-member sub-committee to probe the alleged operations of US security firm Blackwater USA in the country from the ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs.
The decision to constitute the sub-committee was taken after a majority of committee members expressed concerns over reports of Blackwater (Xe Worldwide) operations in Pakistan and the reported renting of a large number of houses in Islamabad by US citizens. The committee, chaired by Riaz Fatyana, met at Parliament House. When asked, Islamabad Inspector General (IG) Kaleem Imam said around 400 to 500 US citizens, who comprised the US embassy staff, were present in the Capital, but denied the presence of Blackwater USA in the country.
He said the US citizens included security officials, who were training local law enforcement personnel.
The committee also recommended the government constitute a special anti-terror force to fight militancy and terrorism, since the country’s army and police were not trained for this kind of fighting.
All provincial IGs as well as Railways and Motorway Police chiefs, provincial home secretaries and senior Interior Ministry officials were also present. The committee urged police chiefs to adopt a people-friendly attitude and to address their grievances. The committee also recommended the government hold specific training programmes for the police force to train them in human rights and modern investigation techniques.
29 September, 2009
Libyan Delegaton Makes Historic Visit to Africa Command.
US AFRICOM Public Affairs
28 September 2009
Editor's Note: The US can bash Libya all it wants to save face, but they have had longstanding and at times covert diplomatic and (later) military ties that extend back before Libya gave up its nuclear and WMD aspirations, despite the fact Libya is catering to both Russia and the US in order to act as a regional balancer and try and assert itself as a 'leader' in Africa.
A delegation of three senior Libyan military officers visited U.S. Africa Command headquarters as part of an orientation program to explain the command's mission, Sept. 21-24, 2009, as the two countries continue to build their military relationship.
The officers held meetings with senior staff members to discuss the command's programs and activities, met General William E. ward and his two deputies, and traveled to Ramstein Air Base to meet Major General Ron Ladnier, the U.S. Air Force Africa commander, and his staff.
The command hosts African military delegations frequently, but "certainly with regard to Libya, it is quite historic," said Kenneth Fidler, Africa Command Public Affairs Office, which hosted the Libyan team.
Two of the officers in the delegation write for the official magazine of the Libyan armed forces, called Al-Musallh. Colonel Mohamed Algale is the chief editor, and Colonel Abdelgane Mohamed is the space and aviation editor. The third member of the party, Colonel Mustafa Washahi, represented the Libyan Ministry of Defense.
Al-Musallh focuses on defense and strategy issues, not only within Libya and in Africa, but also internationally, and the editors were interested in learning more about Africa Command to support their reporting, Fidler said.
The delegation received in-depth briefings on the command, how it functions and works with African militaries, and how it coordinates and complements other U.S. government agencies' programs in Africa.
The team also conducted on-the-record interviews with Ward and his two deputies, Vice Admiral Robert Moeller and Ambassador J. Anthony Holmes.
Ward visited Libya twice this year, and met the Libyan leader, Colonel Moammar Gadhafi, in May.
"It was explained to him that we were there not to threaten the sovereignty of any nation; that we were there to work in close cooperation, but only among those things that the nations wanted us to do," Ward said of his meeting with Libya's leader. " ... it was about trying to enhance the stability and the security of the nations that we work with. We also discussed issues that concern security matters in Africa and how we look forward to working together in ways that help us achieve those common objectives for peace and stability."
The officers also toured AFN-Europe studios in Mannheim, Germany, and met with editors of the European Stars and Stripes in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
"They (Africa Command officials) clarified everything," Abdelgane said in an interview with AFN-Europe. "And they are making our mission easier ... to rise up the level of understanding between the militaries ... and to move for further cooperation to the benefit of both countries."
In January 2009, Libya and the United States signed a defense cooperation memorandum of understanding, which provides the framework for a military-to-military relationship and cooperation on programs of mutual interest.
After the signing of the MOU, a forum called the Council of Colonels met for the fourth time since 2007. These meetings set the tone for Libya-U.S. military relations and is the primary venue for discussing potential security cooperation opportunities, such as ship visits and information exchange programs.
In March, Libyan naval officers spent a day aboard the USS Eisenhower in the Mediterranean Sea to speak with crew members and watch flight deck operations. A U.S. Air Force team was invited in April 2009 to survey Libya's C-130 fleet and infrastructure. And in May, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell visited Tubruq, Libya, the first time a U.S. vessel has visited a Libyan port in nearly 40 years.
28 September 2009
Editor's Note: The US can bash Libya all it wants to save face, but they have had longstanding and at times covert diplomatic and (later) military ties that extend back before Libya gave up its nuclear and WMD aspirations, despite the fact Libya is catering to both Russia and the US in order to act as a regional balancer and try and assert itself as a 'leader' in Africa.
A delegation of three senior Libyan military officers visited U.S. Africa Command headquarters as part of an orientation program to explain the command's mission, Sept. 21-24, 2009, as the two countries continue to build their military relationship.
The officers held meetings with senior staff members to discuss the command's programs and activities, met General William E. ward and his two deputies, and traveled to Ramstein Air Base to meet Major General Ron Ladnier, the U.S. Air Force Africa commander, and his staff.
The command hosts African military delegations frequently, but "certainly with regard to Libya, it is quite historic," said Kenneth Fidler, Africa Command Public Affairs Office, which hosted the Libyan team.
Two of the officers in the delegation write for the official magazine of the Libyan armed forces, called Al-Musallh. Colonel Mohamed Algale is the chief editor, and Colonel Abdelgane Mohamed is the space and aviation editor. The third member of the party, Colonel Mustafa Washahi, represented the Libyan Ministry of Defense.
Al-Musallh focuses on defense and strategy issues, not only within Libya and in Africa, but also internationally, and the editors were interested in learning more about Africa Command to support their reporting, Fidler said.
The delegation received in-depth briefings on the command, how it functions and works with African militaries, and how it coordinates and complements other U.S. government agencies' programs in Africa.
The team also conducted on-the-record interviews with Ward and his two deputies, Vice Admiral Robert Moeller and Ambassador J. Anthony Holmes.
Ward visited Libya twice this year, and met the Libyan leader, Colonel Moammar Gadhafi, in May.
"It was explained to him that we were there not to threaten the sovereignty of any nation; that we were there to work in close cooperation, but only among those things that the nations wanted us to do," Ward said of his meeting with Libya's leader. " ... it was about trying to enhance the stability and the security of the nations that we work with. We also discussed issues that concern security matters in Africa and how we look forward to working together in ways that help us achieve those common objectives for peace and stability."
The officers also toured AFN-Europe studios in Mannheim, Germany, and met with editors of the European Stars and Stripes in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
"They (Africa Command officials) clarified everything," Abdelgane said in an interview with AFN-Europe. "And they are making our mission easier ... to rise up the level of understanding between the militaries ... and to move for further cooperation to the benefit of both countries."
In January 2009, Libya and the United States signed a defense cooperation memorandum of understanding, which provides the framework for a military-to-military relationship and cooperation on programs of mutual interest.
After the signing of the MOU, a forum called the Council of Colonels met for the fourth time since 2007. These meetings set the tone for Libya-U.S. military relations and is the primary venue for discussing potential security cooperation opportunities, such as ship visits and information exchange programs.
In March, Libyan naval officers spent a day aboard the USS Eisenhower in the Mediterranean Sea to speak with crew members and watch flight deck operations. A U.S. Air Force team was invited in April 2009 to survey Libya's C-130 fleet and infrastructure. And in May, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell visited Tubruq, Libya, the first time a U.S. vessel has visited a Libyan port in nearly 40 years.
AFRICOM Begins Training in Gabon.
VOA News
By Scott Stearns
29 September 2009
Members of the U.S. Africa Command are in Gabon for the start of a military communications exercise involving more than two dozen African armies.
AFRICOM'S Africa Endeavor program seeks to improve communications between African armies by establishing a network linking their command and control structures to better prepare for joint operations.
The exercise in Gabon runs through October 8 and involves nearly 30 African militaries along with delegations from the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States.
It is the third annual training exercise and field test of communications systems following earlier Africa Endeavor programs in South Africa and Nigeria.
Admiral Herve Namboundouani leads the organizing committee for this year's exercise.
Admiral Namboundouani says each nation has different equipment, so it is important to be able to work together and communicate with other forces in peacekeeping missions.
The Africa Endeavor program is meant to act as a catalyst for a coordinated response to African security challenges as the African Union develops standard practices and procedures for its Standby Force.
U.S. officials say information sharing is critical to improving cooperation in joint peacekeeping interventions and humanitarian assistance missions both inside and outside Africa.
The creation of AFRICOM during the Bush Administration was viewed with suspicion by some African governments wary of U.S. military bases in Africa in the thick of the fight against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The U.S. Africa Command took charge of an existing base in Djibouti as well as Defense Department personnel at embassies and diplomatic missions. But it has not opened any new bases and has kept its headquarters in Germany.
AFRICOM is responsible for U.S. military relations with all African nations except Egypt. The U.S. Central Command maintains its long-standing relationship with Egypt, but AFRICOM coordinates with the government in Cairo on issues of African security.
By Scott Stearns
29 September 2009
Members of the U.S. Africa Command are in Gabon for the start of a military communications exercise involving more than two dozen African armies.
AFRICOM'S Africa Endeavor program seeks to improve communications between African armies by establishing a network linking their command and control structures to better prepare for joint operations.
The exercise in Gabon runs through October 8 and involves nearly 30 African militaries along with delegations from the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States.
It is the third annual training exercise and field test of communications systems following earlier Africa Endeavor programs in South Africa and Nigeria.
Admiral Herve Namboundouani leads the organizing committee for this year's exercise.
Admiral Namboundouani says each nation has different equipment, so it is important to be able to work together and communicate with other forces in peacekeeping missions.
The Africa Endeavor program is meant to act as a catalyst for a coordinated response to African security challenges as the African Union develops standard practices and procedures for its Standby Force.
U.S. officials say information sharing is critical to improving cooperation in joint peacekeeping interventions and humanitarian assistance missions both inside and outside Africa.
The creation of AFRICOM during the Bush Administration was viewed with suspicion by some African governments wary of U.S. military bases in Africa in the thick of the fight against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The U.S. Africa Command took charge of an existing base in Djibouti as well as Defense Department personnel at embassies and diplomatic missions. But it has not opened any new bases and has kept its headquarters in Germany.
AFRICOM is responsible for U.S. military relations with all African nations except Egypt. The U.S. Central Command maintains its long-standing relationship with Egypt, but AFRICOM coordinates with the government in Cairo on issues of African security.
PRIEST MURDERED IN VILLAVICENCIO.
MISNA
29 September 2009
Don Óscar Cardozo, the priest at the church of San Luis MarÃa de Montfort in the ‘Popular’ suburb of Villavicencio, capital of Meta dept., was found murdered in his home. The corpse showed signs of asphyxiation. A group of parishioners is said to have found the body last Sunday night, having noted his absence during Sunday mass. So far no motives have been proffered for the murder of father Cardozo, who was also in charge of the radio station of the Villavicencio clerical community, ‘Eco Llanero Radio’. “We deeply abhor this act of violence which causes grief in the Catholic Church with the death of one of its ministers, which expresses the culture of violence that is developing in our region which does not spare the ministers of the Lord” proclaimed monsignor Oscar Urbina Ortega, archbishop of Villavicencio, quoted by the Colombian Episcopal Conference. “Faced before this fact that deeply saddens us, we affirm the inalienable value of life” proceeded to deliberate the bishop, not forgetting to express solidarity to father Oscar’s family and to his parishioners as well. The police is offering a 10 million pesos (about USD 4500) reward to anyone able to give useful information for the capture of those responsible.
29 September 2009
Don Óscar Cardozo, the priest at the church of San Luis MarÃa de Montfort in the ‘Popular’ suburb of Villavicencio, capital of Meta dept., was found murdered in his home. The corpse showed signs of asphyxiation. A group of parishioners is said to have found the body last Sunday night, having noted his absence during Sunday mass. So far no motives have been proffered for the murder of father Cardozo, who was also in charge of the radio station of the Villavicencio clerical community, ‘Eco Llanero Radio’. “We deeply abhor this act of violence which causes grief in the Catholic Church with the death of one of its ministers, which expresses the culture of violence that is developing in our region which does not spare the ministers of the Lord” proclaimed monsignor Oscar Urbina Ortega, archbishop of Villavicencio, quoted by the Colombian Episcopal Conference. “Faced before this fact that deeply saddens us, we affirm the inalienable value of life” proceeded to deliberate the bishop, not forgetting to express solidarity to father Oscar’s family and to his parishioners as well. The police is offering a 10 million pesos (about USD 4500) reward to anyone able to give useful information for the capture of those responsible.
Former FBI Agent Confirms: Bush State Official Was Target of 'Decade-Long' Espionage Probe.
The Brad Blog
By Brad Friedman
28 September 2009
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7439
Longtime counterintel official acknowledges evidence behind key aspect of allegations against Marc Grossman made by former FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds
Agency vet says investigation was 'buried and covered up,' calls for new investigation, 'accountability'...
George W. Bush's third-highest ranking State Department official, Marc Grossman, who became the Under Secretary of State after previously serving as Ambassador to Turkey, was targeted as part of a "decade-long investigation" by the FBI, according to an 18-year veteran manager of the agency's Counterintelligence and Counterespionage departments.
For still-unknown reasons, the investigation, which also involved a multitude of cases involving Israeli espionage, was ultimately "buried and covered up," according to the official.
The comment from the former FBI official John M. Cole, in response to recent, stunning disclosures made by former FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, helps to shore up a key aspect of her allegations. Cole is now calling for an investigation to help "bring about accountability" in the matter.
Edmonds' allegations of bribery, blackmail, and infiltration by foreign agents at the highest levels of the U.S. government were recently detailed in a remarkable cover story interview, as published last week by the American Conservative magazine.
"I read the recent cover story by The American Conservative magazine. I applaud their courage in publishing this significant interview," Cole says in his public response, as posted today at the AmCon website by interviewer and former CIA agent Philip Giraldi.
Cole then went on to verify his knowledge of the espionage investigation which, he says, included Grossman. Edmonds has long alleged he had been a key target in the agency's counterintelligence probe of the Turkish lobby and their relationship to current and former members of Congress and high-ranking officials in the Bush State and Defense Departments.
Cole also charges, in his brief comment, that the investigation was ultimately quashed by still-unnamed officials.
"I am fully aware of the FBI's decade-long investigation of the High-level State Department Official named in this article, Marc Grossman, which ultimately was buried and covered up," Cole notes, adding his call to re-open the matter. "It is long past time to investigate this case and bring about accountability."...
Grossman was specifically identified as a ring-leader in a very broad espionage scandal --- which includes the theft and sale of nuclear weapons technology to the foreign black market --- in a series of front-page exclusives by the UK Sunday Times in early 2008 (the stories can be found here, here and here). At the time, though the paper clearly identified the official in question, they didn't name him outright due to British libel laws. One of the co-authors of the series, Joe Lauria, has since confirmed the official in question was, indeed, Grossman.
The 2008 Sunday Times series detailed Edmonds' allegations that Bush's Under Secretary of State Grossman --- the third-highest ranking official in the State Department, after Colin Powell and Richard Armitage --- worked closely with both the Turks and Israel in obtaining and selling U.S. nuclear weapons technology on the worldwide black market, and that he had even tipped off Turkish diplomatic colleagues about the true identify of then-covert CIA operative Valerie Plame-Wilson's front company, Brewster Jennings, several years before the operation was named publicly by columnist Robert Novak.
Grossman, identified by the Times as "The senior official in the State Department [who] no longer works there," was quoted offering this non-denial denial of Edmonds' allegations in their report: "If you are calling me to say somebody said that I took money that's outrageous. ... I do not have anything to say about such stupid ridiculous things as this."
So far, Grossman has yet to respond to The BRAD BLOG's requests for comment as sent to his lobbying firm, The Cohen Group, where he now serves as Vice Chairman.
"Mastering the complex and often veiled dynamic where government, politics, media, and business intersect requires a rare combination of knowledge, skills and experience," the Cohen Group's website announces on their "Expertise" page. "Our Principals bring centuries of experience at the White House, the State Department, the Defense Department, and Congress."
Founded in 2001 by President Bill Clinton's former Republican Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, the page goes on to note: "The Cohen Group's reach extends internationally where our Principals have developed great expertise and relationships with key political, economic and business leaders and acquired valuable experience with the individuals and institutions that affect our clients' success abroad."
Grossman's "veiled dynamic" and "acquired valuable experience" with "key political, economic and business leaders" may well have been in play during the time he served as Under Secretary of State, according to the startling charges levied by the former FBI translator Edmonds.
In the American Conservative interview, she details a great many specifics about the way the she says the spy ring actually worked, and claims that Grossman was a key player who, at times, would receive bags of cash from foreign operatives. Here's some of the discussion pertaining to Grossman from the recent interview:
PHILIP GIRALDI: We were very interested to learn of your four-hour deposition in the case involving allegations that Congresswoman Jean Schmidt accepted money from the Turkish government in return for political favors. You provided many names and details for the first time on the record and swore an oath confirming that the deposition was true.
Basically, you map out a corruption scheme involving U.S. government employees and members of Congress and agents of foreign governments. These agents were able to obtain information that was either used directly by those foreign governments or sold to third parties, with the proceeds often used as bribes to breed further corruption. Let's start with the first government official you identified, Marc Grossman, then the third highest-ranking official at the State Department.
SIBEL EDMONDS: During my work with the FBI, one of the major operational files that I was transcribing and translating started in late 1996 and continued until 2002, when I left the Bureau. Because the FBI had had no Turkish translators, these files were archived, but were considered to be very important operations. As part of the background, I was briefed about why these operations had been initiated and who the targets were.
Grossman became a person of interest early on in the investigative file while he was the U.S. ambassador to Turkey [1994-97], when he became personally involved with operatives both from the Turkish government and from suspected criminal groups. He also had suspicious contact with a number of official and non-official Israelis. Grossman was removed from Turkey short of tour during a scandal referred to as "Susurluk" by the media. It involved a number of high-level criminals as well as senior army and intelligence officers with whom he had been in contact.
Another individual who was working for Grossman, Air Force Major Douglas Dickerson, was also removed from Turkey and sent to Germany. After he and his Turkish wife Can returned to the U.S., he went to work for Douglas Feith and she was hired as an FBI Turkish translator. My complaints about her connection to Turkish lobbying groups led to my eventual firing.
Grossman and Dickerson had to leave the country because a big investigation had started in Turkey. Special prosecutors were appointed, and the case was headlined in England, Germany, Italy, and in some of the Balkan countries because the criminal groups were found to be active in all those places. A leading figure in the scandal, Mehmet Eymür, led a major paramilitary group for the Turkish intelligence service. To keep him from testifying, Eymür was sent by the Turkish government to the United States, where he worked for eight months as head of intelligence at the Turkish Embassy in Washington. He later became a U.S. citizen and now lives in McLean, Virginia. The central figure in this scandal was Abdullah Catli. In 1989, while "most wanted" by Interpol, he came to the U.S., was granted residency, and settled in Chicago, where he continued to conduct his operations until 1996.
GIRALDI: So Grossman at this point comes back to the United States. He's rewarded with the third-highest position at the State Department, and he allegedly uses this position to do favors for "Turkish interests"-both for the Turkish government and for possible criminal interests. Sometimes, the two converge. The FBI is aware of his activities and is listening to his phone calls. When someone who is Turkish calls Grossman, the FBI monitors that individual's phone calls, and when the Turk calls a friend who is a Pakistani or an Egyptian or a Saudi, they monitor all those contacts, widening the net.
EDMONDS: Correct.
GIRALDI: And Grossman received money as a result. In one case, you said that a State Department colleague went to pick up a bag of money…
EDMONDS: $14,000
GIRALDI: What kind of information was Grossman giving to foreign countries? Did he give assistance to foreign individuals penetrating U.S. government labs and defense installations as has been reported? It's also been reported that he was the conduit to a group of congressmen who become, in a sense, the targets to be recruited as "agents of influence."
EDMONDS: Yes, that's correct. Grossman assisted his Turkish and Israeli contacts directly, and he also facilitated access to members of Congress who might be inclined to help for reasons of their own or could be bribed into cooperation.
...
GIRALDI: So the network starts with a person like Grossman in the State Department providing information that enables Turkish and Israeli intelligence officers to have access to people in Congress, who then provide classified information that winds up in the foreign embassies?
EDMONDS: Absolutely. And we also had Pentagon officials doing the same thing. We were looking at Richard Perle and Douglas Feith. They had a list of individuals in the Pentagon broken down by access to certain types of information. Some of them would be policy related, some of them would be weapons-technology related, some of them would be nuclear-related. Perle and Feith would provide the names of those Americans, officials in the Pentagon, to Grossman, together with highly sensitive personal information: this person is a closet gay; this person has a chronic gambling issue; this person is an alcoholic. The files on the American targets would contain things like the size of their mortgages or whether they were going through divorces. One Air Force major I remember was going through a really nasty divorce and a child custody fight. They detailed all different kinds of vulnerabilities.
Later on in the interview, Edmonds also claims that Grossman similarly "took care" of others, outside of the government, even, she says, contacts at the New York Times. "Grossman would brag, 'We just fax to our people at the New York Times. They print it under their names.'"
She later elaborated on that point to The BRAD BLOG, explaining that this "also happened with the Washington Post, but the New York Times was their primary one for this."
"Every time they wanted something on Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan, for example, they just faxed it over [to the Times], and it was run under their own guys' name, even though it was written by the State Department," she told us. "This was an ongoing operation, at least during a four year period of time" from 1997 to 2001."
There is much more on Grossman in the full AmCon interview, as well as in Edmonds' recent under-oath deposition given in early August, in the Schmidt v. Krikorian case now pending before the Ohio Election Commission. Her sworn deposition, both transcript and video, was published in full by The BRAD BLOG here.
Previously, Edmonds had been twice-gagged by the Bush Justice Department's use of the draconian, so-called "State Secrets Privilege", after she was fired by the FBI when she alerted superiors about a co-worker in her department who had been a member of one of the Turkish organizations being targeted by the FBI's counterintelligence probe in the Turkish division.
Following the dismissal, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), then senior members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote letters on her behalf to the DoJ, seeking an investigation into her allegations.
The DoJ's Inspector General would ultimate release a de-classified version of his report finding a number of Edmonds' allegations to be "credible," "serious," and "warrant[ing] a thorough and careful review by the FBI."
In 2002, during a CBS 60 Minutes report on the Edmonds case, Grassley was asked about Edmonds' credibility, and responds by saying: "Absolutely, she's credible...And the reason I feel she's very credible is because people within the FBI have corroborated a lot of her story."
While we don't know if Cole was one of those "within the FBI" who "corroborated a lot of" Edmonds story at the time to Grassley and Leahy, but he has certainly done so today.
Unfortunately, neither 60 Minutes, nor any other major corporate U.S. media outlet, has bothered to cover Edmonds' allegations now that she is much more free to speak, since the Obama Administration chose not to invoke the "State Secrets Privilege" prior to her 8/8/09 deposition which allowed her to begin sharing the full breadth of her extraordinary allegations publicly for the first time.
By Brad Friedman
28 September 2009
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7439
Longtime counterintel official acknowledges evidence behind key aspect of allegations against Marc Grossman made by former FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds
Agency vet says investigation was 'buried and covered up,' calls for new investigation, 'accountability'...
George W. Bush's third-highest ranking State Department official, Marc Grossman, who became the Under Secretary of State after previously serving as Ambassador to Turkey, was targeted as part of a "decade-long investigation" by the FBI, according to an 18-year veteran manager of the agency's Counterintelligence and Counterespionage departments.
For still-unknown reasons, the investigation, which also involved a multitude of cases involving Israeli espionage, was ultimately "buried and covered up," according to the official.
The comment from the former FBI official John M. Cole, in response to recent, stunning disclosures made by former FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, helps to shore up a key aspect of her allegations. Cole is now calling for an investigation to help "bring about accountability" in the matter.
Edmonds' allegations of bribery, blackmail, and infiltration by foreign agents at the highest levels of the U.S. government were recently detailed in a remarkable cover story interview, as published last week by the American Conservative magazine.
"I read the recent cover story by The American Conservative magazine. I applaud their courage in publishing this significant interview," Cole says in his public response, as posted today at the AmCon website by interviewer and former CIA agent Philip Giraldi.
Cole then went on to verify his knowledge of the espionage investigation which, he says, included Grossman. Edmonds has long alleged he had been a key target in the agency's counterintelligence probe of the Turkish lobby and their relationship to current and former members of Congress and high-ranking officials in the Bush State and Defense Departments.
Cole also charges, in his brief comment, that the investigation was ultimately quashed by still-unnamed officials.
"I am fully aware of the FBI's decade-long investigation of the High-level State Department Official named in this article, Marc Grossman, which ultimately was buried and covered up," Cole notes, adding his call to re-open the matter. "It is long past time to investigate this case and bring about accountability."...
Grossman was specifically identified as a ring-leader in a very broad espionage scandal --- which includes the theft and sale of nuclear weapons technology to the foreign black market --- in a series of front-page exclusives by the UK Sunday Times in early 2008 (the stories can be found here, here and here). At the time, though the paper clearly identified the official in question, they didn't name him outright due to British libel laws. One of the co-authors of the series, Joe Lauria, has since confirmed the official in question was, indeed, Grossman.
The 2008 Sunday Times series detailed Edmonds' allegations that Bush's Under Secretary of State Grossman --- the third-highest ranking official in the State Department, after Colin Powell and Richard Armitage --- worked closely with both the Turks and Israel in obtaining and selling U.S. nuclear weapons technology on the worldwide black market, and that he had even tipped off Turkish diplomatic colleagues about the true identify of then-covert CIA operative Valerie Plame-Wilson's front company, Brewster Jennings, several years before the operation was named publicly by columnist Robert Novak.
Grossman, identified by the Times as "The senior official in the State Department [who] no longer works there," was quoted offering this non-denial denial of Edmonds' allegations in their report: "If you are calling me to say somebody said that I took money that's outrageous. ... I do not have anything to say about such stupid ridiculous things as this."
So far, Grossman has yet to respond to The BRAD BLOG's requests for comment as sent to his lobbying firm, The Cohen Group, where he now serves as Vice Chairman.
"Mastering the complex and often veiled dynamic where government, politics, media, and business intersect requires a rare combination of knowledge, skills and experience," the Cohen Group's website announces on their "Expertise" page. "Our Principals bring centuries of experience at the White House, the State Department, the Defense Department, and Congress."
Founded in 2001 by President Bill Clinton's former Republican Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, the page goes on to note: "The Cohen Group's reach extends internationally where our Principals have developed great expertise and relationships with key political, economic and business leaders and acquired valuable experience with the individuals and institutions that affect our clients' success abroad."
Grossman's "veiled dynamic" and "acquired valuable experience" with "key political, economic and business leaders" may well have been in play during the time he served as Under Secretary of State, according to the startling charges levied by the former FBI translator Edmonds.
In the American Conservative interview, she details a great many specifics about the way the she says the spy ring actually worked, and claims that Grossman was a key player who, at times, would receive bags of cash from foreign operatives. Here's some of the discussion pertaining to Grossman from the recent interview:
PHILIP GIRALDI: We were very interested to learn of your four-hour deposition in the case involving allegations that Congresswoman Jean Schmidt accepted money from the Turkish government in return for political favors. You provided many names and details for the first time on the record and swore an oath confirming that the deposition was true.
Basically, you map out a corruption scheme involving U.S. government employees and members of Congress and agents of foreign governments. These agents were able to obtain information that was either used directly by those foreign governments or sold to third parties, with the proceeds often used as bribes to breed further corruption. Let's start with the first government official you identified, Marc Grossman, then the third highest-ranking official at the State Department.
SIBEL EDMONDS: During my work with the FBI, one of the major operational files that I was transcribing and translating started in late 1996 and continued until 2002, when I left the Bureau. Because the FBI had had no Turkish translators, these files were archived, but were considered to be very important operations. As part of the background, I was briefed about why these operations had been initiated and who the targets were.
Grossman became a person of interest early on in the investigative file while he was the U.S. ambassador to Turkey [1994-97], when he became personally involved with operatives both from the Turkish government and from suspected criminal groups. He also had suspicious contact with a number of official and non-official Israelis. Grossman was removed from Turkey short of tour during a scandal referred to as "Susurluk" by the media. It involved a number of high-level criminals as well as senior army and intelligence officers with whom he had been in contact.
Another individual who was working for Grossman, Air Force Major Douglas Dickerson, was also removed from Turkey and sent to Germany. After he and his Turkish wife Can returned to the U.S., he went to work for Douglas Feith and she was hired as an FBI Turkish translator. My complaints about her connection to Turkish lobbying groups led to my eventual firing.
Grossman and Dickerson had to leave the country because a big investigation had started in Turkey. Special prosecutors were appointed, and the case was headlined in England, Germany, Italy, and in some of the Balkan countries because the criminal groups were found to be active in all those places. A leading figure in the scandal, Mehmet Eymür, led a major paramilitary group for the Turkish intelligence service. To keep him from testifying, Eymür was sent by the Turkish government to the United States, where he worked for eight months as head of intelligence at the Turkish Embassy in Washington. He later became a U.S. citizen and now lives in McLean, Virginia. The central figure in this scandal was Abdullah Catli. In 1989, while "most wanted" by Interpol, he came to the U.S., was granted residency, and settled in Chicago, where he continued to conduct his operations until 1996.
GIRALDI: So Grossman at this point comes back to the United States. He's rewarded with the third-highest position at the State Department, and he allegedly uses this position to do favors for "Turkish interests"-both for the Turkish government and for possible criminal interests. Sometimes, the two converge. The FBI is aware of his activities and is listening to his phone calls. When someone who is Turkish calls Grossman, the FBI monitors that individual's phone calls, and when the Turk calls a friend who is a Pakistani or an Egyptian or a Saudi, they monitor all those contacts, widening the net.
EDMONDS: Correct.
GIRALDI: And Grossman received money as a result. In one case, you said that a State Department colleague went to pick up a bag of money…
EDMONDS: $14,000
GIRALDI: What kind of information was Grossman giving to foreign countries? Did he give assistance to foreign individuals penetrating U.S. government labs and defense installations as has been reported? It's also been reported that he was the conduit to a group of congressmen who become, in a sense, the targets to be recruited as "agents of influence."
EDMONDS: Yes, that's correct. Grossman assisted his Turkish and Israeli contacts directly, and he also facilitated access to members of Congress who might be inclined to help for reasons of their own or could be bribed into cooperation.
...
GIRALDI: So the network starts with a person like Grossman in the State Department providing information that enables Turkish and Israeli intelligence officers to have access to people in Congress, who then provide classified information that winds up in the foreign embassies?
EDMONDS: Absolutely. And we also had Pentagon officials doing the same thing. We were looking at Richard Perle and Douglas Feith. They had a list of individuals in the Pentagon broken down by access to certain types of information. Some of them would be policy related, some of them would be weapons-technology related, some of them would be nuclear-related. Perle and Feith would provide the names of those Americans, officials in the Pentagon, to Grossman, together with highly sensitive personal information: this person is a closet gay; this person has a chronic gambling issue; this person is an alcoholic. The files on the American targets would contain things like the size of their mortgages or whether they were going through divorces. One Air Force major I remember was going through a really nasty divorce and a child custody fight. They detailed all different kinds of vulnerabilities.
Later on in the interview, Edmonds also claims that Grossman similarly "took care" of others, outside of the government, even, she says, contacts at the New York Times. "Grossman would brag, 'We just fax to our people at the New York Times. They print it under their names.'"
She later elaborated on that point to The BRAD BLOG, explaining that this "also happened with the Washington Post, but the New York Times was their primary one for this."
"Every time they wanted something on Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan, for example, they just faxed it over [to the Times], and it was run under their own guys' name, even though it was written by the State Department," she told us. "This was an ongoing operation, at least during a four year period of time" from 1997 to 2001."
There is much more on Grossman in the full AmCon interview, as well as in Edmonds' recent under-oath deposition given in early August, in the Schmidt v. Krikorian case now pending before the Ohio Election Commission. Her sworn deposition, both transcript and video, was published in full by The BRAD BLOG here.
Previously, Edmonds had been twice-gagged by the Bush Justice Department's use of the draconian, so-called "State Secrets Privilege", after she was fired by the FBI when she alerted superiors about a co-worker in her department who had been a member of one of the Turkish organizations being targeted by the FBI's counterintelligence probe in the Turkish division.
Following the dismissal, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), then senior members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote letters on her behalf to the DoJ, seeking an investigation into her allegations.
The DoJ's Inspector General would ultimate release a de-classified version of his report finding a number of Edmonds' allegations to be "credible," "serious," and "warrant[ing] a thorough and careful review by the FBI."
In 2002, during a CBS 60 Minutes report on the Edmonds case, Grassley was asked about Edmonds' credibility, and responds by saying: "Absolutely, she's credible...And the reason I feel she's very credible is because people within the FBI have corroborated a lot of her story."
While we don't know if Cole was one of those "within the FBI" who "corroborated a lot of" Edmonds story at the time to Grassley and Leahy, but he has certainly done so today.
Unfortunately, neither 60 Minutes, nor any other major corporate U.S. media outlet, has bothered to cover Edmonds' allegations now that she is much more free to speak, since the Obama Administration chose not to invoke the "State Secrets Privilege" prior to her 8/8/09 deposition which allowed her to begin sharing the full breadth of her extraordinary allegations publicly for the first time.
Panama agrees to host two U.S. naval bases.
28 September 2009
FOCUS News Agency
Panama will sign before October 2009 a treaty with the United States on the opening of two U.S. naval bases on its territory, a senior Panamanian government official said on Sunday, RIA Novosti reported.
According to Panama's La Prensa newspaper, a preliminary agreement was reached between Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during recent talks in New York.
"The U.S. and Panama will sign before October 30 an agreement on the deployment of two naval bases on the pacific coast of our country to fight international drug-trafficking," said Minister of Government and Justice Jose Raul Mulino.
"One of the bases will be located in Bahia Pina...450 kilometers [280 miles] east of the capital, Panama City, and another one - in Punta Coca about 350 km [217 miles] west of the capital," Mulino added.
The U.S. government will also allocate additional USD 7 million to Panama this year for the fight against organized crime and illicit drug trade.
According to Panamanian intelligence, there are over 2,000 hideouts on the Pacific coast of Panama, which international drug cartels use as transshipment bases for narcotics shipped from South America to the United States.
All U.S. bases in Panama were closed and U.S. military forces left the country at the end of 1999 in accordance with the Panama Canal treaties.
FOCUS News Agency
Panama will sign before October 2009 a treaty with the United States on the opening of two U.S. naval bases on its territory, a senior Panamanian government official said on Sunday, RIA Novosti reported.
According to Panama's La Prensa newspaper, a preliminary agreement was reached between Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during recent talks in New York.
"The U.S. and Panama will sign before October 30 an agreement on the deployment of two naval bases on the pacific coast of our country to fight international drug-trafficking," said Minister of Government and Justice Jose Raul Mulino.
"One of the bases will be located in Bahia Pina...450 kilometers [280 miles] east of the capital, Panama City, and another one - in Punta Coca about 350 km [217 miles] west of the capital," Mulino added.
The U.S. government will also allocate additional USD 7 million to Panama this year for the fight against organized crime and illicit drug trade.
According to Panamanian intelligence, there are over 2,000 hideouts on the Pacific coast of Panama, which international drug cartels use as transshipment bases for narcotics shipped from South America to the United States.
All U.S. bases in Panama were closed and U.S. military forces left the country at the end of 1999 in accordance with the Panama Canal treaties.
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