I’m extremely curious as to what the redacted jewel was, but I’m way more interested in the illegal activities the CIA has engaged from 1973 to present. I have no doubt in my mind that they didn’t learn their lesson, other than to lie more effectively.
What I find interesting that is rarely discussed I guess outside of conspiracy wonk circles is that during this time of a ‘very different agency’ was when George HW Bush was most active in the CIA. After 1975 he went on to be the head of the CIA appointed by Ford to have a back room conflict with Carter who eventually removed him as head of the CIA, made an end run around Carter as it regards the Iran hostage crisis, got Reagan elected and then helped run foreign policy as Vice President for 8 years, to be elected President for four years, prosecuted one of the most effective foreign policies we’ve ever had, but lost the election because he did in fact raise taxes. After losing to Clinton his close relationship with Prince Bandar bin Sultan the Saudi Prince who was really close to the Bush’s and a member of the royal family of KSA, enabled him to play a big role in Saudi/American relations from the private sector, with two sons elected Governor of two key states, one being elected president as soon as Clinton left office.
I’m not saying that it’s some big secret that George HW Bush was our spook president, but I find it fascinating that a man intimately involved in the operations of the CIA from 1954 until 1977 only to have an even more powerful hand in CIA operations presided over a ‘very different agency’, than the one his Father helped found out of the OSS.
I don’t buy that it’s a ‘very different agency’. At least not that it’s not pulling shady stunts anymore. Grenada, Panama, Gulf War I, the Balkans, Afghanistan and Gulf War II all happened after 1975. There might be some procedural differences now that it’s gone from the cowboy outfit it was in the pioneer years during the Cold War, to a more genteel bureaucratic era, but they are still running games on third world countries.
That being said, he was my favorite President of all time, but I was the kid who grew up loving Darth Vader and Magneto rather than Luke and Professor X.
So, I wonder what the CIA is up to these days? is it possible that it is at work in iran, trying to topple Ahmadenijad as we speak? there were riots last night there, over the enaction of gasoline rationing!
Which leads me to suspect that the CIA is at work-portraying Iran as the 'axis of evil", ascribing great power to the Iranian military, and declaring them to be on the verge of nuking Israel.
When in reality, iran is broke, its people disaffected, and actually having to IMPORT gasoline! sounds like the giant has feet of clay!
Ralph, you do know WHY the Iranians need to import gasoline, right?
-Joe
Well, I know. What I don’t understand is Ahmadenijad’s move to preemptively ration gasoline. He doesn’t seem to have thought that one through. To make it work he would need to convince the people that the Great Satan is just about to impose sanctions on incoming petroleum products. Three hours warning wasn’t enough time, if it were possible at all. Iran is sitting on loads of oil and produces more than half of the gasoline it uses so blaming restrictions now in preparation for possible sanctions would be a hard sell, especially to a population that was not already on a war footing. It was a big enough misstep that the CIA could’ve been his advisors on it. They already have a terrific track record at feeling the pulse of the Iranian people. :rolleyes:
I was wondering that myself. They have their own oilfields. Don’t they have their own refineries?
As I understand it, the Iranian gov. subsidizes the price of gasoline (about $0.11/lter). This is costing the gov. of Iran >$5 billion/year, and because the local refineries are old and failing (no maintainence0, they have to import more than half of their gasoline. Plus, because of the artificially low price, iranians waste fuel.
So as i say, the CIA is trying to find reasons why the US should fight a war with IRAN-and none of it makes any sense. Iran’s government is so unpopular, it would not take much for it to fall. as for Iran attacking Israel-this is sheer fantasy!
So the warmongers in the CIA are going to have to work harder at this-the old “WMD” stuff won’t do for me!
It is much more expensive per barrel for Iran to pump oil. They are making a smaller margin on their product than most other countries even though they have such a high volume.
I think the CIA is stirring up trouble in Iran, but I bet it’s less than we think. Their operations in Iraq are probably the worst, where they are supplying weapons to Sunnis to fight Al Qaeda.
The CIA is currently operating in Paraguay around the Ciudad de Este area. Ciudad de Este is in part of a no man’s land that has no radar cover and is essentially an anarchic zone. It sits near one of the largest freshwater aquifers in the world. There is a large Lebanese population in Paraguay, and so the fear is Hizbollah, but Ciudad de Este is a major money laundering center for everything from Chinese software piracy to Colombian drug runners.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/HH03Aa01.html
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/HH04Aa01.html
This is a two part series by Pepe Escobar about Paraguay, Ciudad de Este and the Lebanese population there.
Latin America is the CIA’s playground.
I meant to imply CIA agents were actually trying to be helpful to Ahmadenijad in suggesting pre-emptive rationing. That’s the sort of dumb move they’d think was brilliant. Or maybe it was somebody the CIA trained who did it.
Sometimes I think the only reason we survived the Cold War was because the KGB was as incompetent as the CIA and that politicians on both sides knew they could safely ignore their spies. “Send them out of the country. Then if anybody gets killed it’ll be black, brown, or yellow people who can’t vote for us anyway.”
How credible is The Australian?
BrainGlutton It was called MKUltra and was investigated by the Rockefeller Commission in 1977.
I read an interesting theory that said that Charles Manson was a possible test subject as a juvenile.
I do find it dreadfully tiresome, luci. I appreciate the self-awareness.
You poor dear! Would it help if we all got together for a group hug?
Hmm . . . According to this, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were involved in the 1975 coverup of the 1953 murder of biowarfare scientist Frank Olson.
Of course they were. Bush the elder Rummy and Cheney were all Nixon’s droogs from back in the day. These are the guys that know if there are UFOs for real or not.