Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Wikileaks a part of the net revolution
The internet revolution is upon us, whether the old fuddy duddies like it or no, writes
John Naughton, a columnist for the Guardian.
Naughton avers:
'"Never waste a good crisis" used to be the catchphrase of the Obama team in the runup to the presidential election. In that spirit, let us see what we can learn from official reactions to the WikiLeaks revelations.
'The most obvious lesson is that it represents the first really sustained confrontation between the established order and the culture of the internet. There have been skirmishes before, but this is the real thing.
'And as the backlash unfolds – first with deniable attacks on internet service providers hosting WikiLeaks, later with companies like Amazon and eBay and PayPal suddenly "discovering" that their terms and conditions preclude them from offering services to WikiLeaks, and then with the US government attempting to intimidate Columbia students posting updates about WikiLeaks on Facebook – the intolerance of the old order is emerging from the rosy mist in which it has hitherto been obscured. The response has been vicious, co-ordinated and potentially comprehensive, and it contains hard lessons for everyone who cares about democracy and about the future of the net.
'There is a delicious irony in the fact that it is now the so-called liberal democracies that are clamouring to shut WikiLeaks down.'
More at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/dec/06/western-democracies-must-live-with-leaks
A ringing endorsement of Wikileaks by Evan Hansen is found at Threat Level http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/12/wikileaks-editorial/#more-21432
A group of Internet activists calling themselves Operation Payback have taken credit for shutting down the website of a bank that earlier Monday froze funds belonging to WikiLeaks.
Announcing its successful hack on a Twitter account, the group declared, "We will fire at anyone that tries to censor WikiLeaks."
Earlier in the day, Swiss bank PostFinance issued a statement announcing that it had frozen 31,000 euro ($41,000 US) in an account set up as a legal defense fund for Assange.
Of the account closure, Wikileaks said in a statement, "One of the most fascinating aspects of the Cablegate exposure is how it is throwing into relief the power dynamics between supposedly independent states like Switzerland, Sweden and Australia."
True, the entire system is rigged to "get" a journalist who has been branded not legitimate.
What is amazing is that, on balance, the cache of secret and confidential cables is good for Obama and Clinton. Much of the stuff is tame, and that which is a bit eyebrow raising does little to harm America's image -- at least among Americans.
What the control freaks are freaking about is not the content but the fact that their control of information has been challenged and their fear that they may lose control of their precious system of falsehoods and deceptions used to justify venal, criminal abuse of power.
An example of a tame cable is one by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton instructing diplomats on how to respond to press inquiries concerning NATO contingency plans for protecting the Baltic states. Yes, the Russians can use the cable to make some noise, but its contents just aren't all that unsettling.
On the other hand, it is true that by having a large cache of cables, it is possible to recognize patterns that point to major trouble points, as the New York Times has been demonstrating.
Most of those cables haven't been release and Assange has warned that the U.S. campaign against him and his press organization will not prevent more bombshell disclosures.
American ugliness is spotlighted by the Guardian which interprets secret cables to show that Americans, irked at the decision to release the Libyan accused as the Lockerbie bomber, paid back the British by refusing a deal to permit an Asperger's syndrome patient to serve his sentence in Britain after he hacked into U.S. defense computers looking for UFO information.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/30/wikileaks-cables-gary-mckinnon-gordon-brown?DCMP=EMC-thewrap08
At any rate, here is the Clinton cable on the Baltics:
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 007810
SIPDIS
EO 12958 DECL: 01/22/2020
TAGS MARR, MCAP, NATO, PREL, EN, LG, LH, PL
SUBJECT: EXPANSION OF EAGLE GUARDIAN TO INCLUDE BALTIC
ALLIES
REF: A. USNATO 35 B. 09 STATE 127892
Classified By: EUR PDAS Nancy McEldowney for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
¶1. (U) This is an action cable. Please see paragraphs 3-4.
¶2. (S) Summary and Action Request. On January 22 NATO Allies agreed in the Military Committee to expand the NATO Contingency Plan for Poland, EAGLE GUARDIAN, to include the defense and reinforcement of the Baltic States. Posts in Allied capitals should be prepared to explain, as necessary, U.S. support for this approach and how it fits within our broader vision for NATO contingency planning, as well as how to respond to media inquiries on the matter. Posts are asked to draw on the points below, as necessary, in discussions on this issue. End Summary and Action Request.
¶3. (C) Posts need not engage host government officials proactively on NATO contingency planning at this time, but are encouraged to use the points below as the basis for discussions on the matter as needed.
(S/REL NATO) CONTINGENCY POINTS (FOR USE AT POST,S DISCRETION)
-- The United States believes that NATO - as a matter of course - should conduct appropriate contingency planning for the possible defense of Allied territory and populations.
-- As President Obama said in Prague: “We must work together as NATO members so that we have contingency plans in place to deal with new threats, wherever they may come from.”
-- The U.S. welcomes the decision to expand EAGLE GUARDIAN to include the defense of the Baltic states, and sees it as a logical military extension of the existing contingency plan that fits well within the existing scenario.
-- We see the expansion of EAGLE GUARDIAN as a step toward the possible expansion of NATO’s other existing country-specific contingency plans into regional plans. This is the first step in a multi-stage process to develop a complete set of appropriate contingency plans for the full range of possible threats - both regional and functional - as soon as possible. At the same time, we believe contingency planning is only one element of NATO’s Article 5 preparedness.
(S/REL NATO) POINTS ABOUT PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF PLANS (FOR USE AT POST’S DISCRETION)
-- The United States believes strongly that such planning should not be discussed publicly. These military plans are classified at the NATO SECRET level.
-- The Alliance has many public diplomacy tools at its disposal. Contingency planning is not one of them. What we should do is explore other public steps for demonstrating the vitality of Article 5, such as exercises, defense investment, and partnerships.
-- Public discussion of contingency plans undermines their military value, giving insight into NATO’s planning processes. This weakens the security of all Allies.
-- A public discussion of contingency planning would also likely lead to an unnecessary increase in NATO-Russia tensions, something we should try to avoid as we work to improve practical cooperation in areas of common NATO-Russia interest.
-- We hope that we can count on your support in keeping discussions on NATO contingency planning out of the public domain.
-- We should work together to develop strategies - to include activities such as exercises, defense investment, and partnerships - for demonstrating to our publics that Article 5’s value ultimately lies in NATO’s capabilities and deterrence, rather than specific planning.
¶4. (C) Washington strongly believes that the details of NATO,s contingency plans should remain in confidential channels. However, recent press coverage of NATO decisions regarding possible contingency planning options for the Baltic region may lead to additional media inquiries. If necessary, posts may use the points below in responding to
STATE 00007810 002 OF 002
public queries.
(U) PUBLIC/PRESS INQUIRIES -- IF ASKED:
-- NATO does not discuss specific plans.
-- As a matter of course, however, NATO engages in planning in order to be as prepared as possible for whatever situations might arise, particularly as relates to its ability to carrying out its Article 5 commitments.
-- Plans are not static. NATO is constantly reviewing and revising its plans.
-- NATO planning is an internal process designed to make the Alliance as prepared as possible for future contingencies. It is not “aimed” at any other country.
-- President Obama acknowledged this when he said at Prague that “We must work together as NATO members so that we have contingency plans in place to deal with new threats, wherever they may come from.” CLINTON
John Naughton, a columnist for the Guardian.
Naughton avers:
'"Never waste a good crisis" used to be the catchphrase of the Obama team in the runup to the presidential election. In that spirit, let us see what we can learn from official reactions to the WikiLeaks revelations.
'The most obvious lesson is that it represents the first really sustained confrontation between the established order and the culture of the internet. There have been skirmishes before, but this is the real thing.
'And as the backlash unfolds – first with deniable attacks on internet service providers hosting WikiLeaks, later with companies like Amazon and eBay and PayPal suddenly "discovering" that their terms and conditions preclude them from offering services to WikiLeaks, and then with the US government attempting to intimidate Columbia students posting updates about WikiLeaks on Facebook – the intolerance of the old order is emerging from the rosy mist in which it has hitherto been obscured. The response has been vicious, co-ordinated and potentially comprehensive, and it contains hard lessons for everyone who cares about democracy and about the future of the net.
'There is a delicious irony in the fact that it is now the so-called liberal democracies that are clamouring to shut WikiLeaks down.'
More at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/dec/06/western-democracies-must-live-with-leaks
A ringing endorsement of Wikileaks by Evan Hansen is found at Threat Level http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/12/wikileaks-editorial/#more-21432
A group of Internet activists calling themselves Operation Payback have taken credit for shutting down the website of a bank that earlier Monday froze funds belonging to WikiLeaks.
Announcing its successful hack on a Twitter account, the group declared, "We will fire at anyone that tries to censor WikiLeaks."
Earlier in the day, Swiss bank PostFinance issued a statement announcing that it had frozen 31,000 euro ($41,000 US) in an account set up as a legal defense fund for Assange.
Of the account closure, Wikileaks said in a statement, "One of the most fascinating aspects of the Cablegate exposure is how it is throwing into relief the power dynamics between supposedly independent states like Switzerland, Sweden and Australia."True, the entire system is rigged to "get" a journalist who has been branded not legitimate.
What is amazing is that, on balance, the cache of secret and confidential cables is good for Obama and Clinton. Much of the stuff is tame, and that which is a bit eyebrow raising does little to harm America's image -- at least among Americans.
What the control freaks are freaking about is not the content but the fact that their control of information has been challenged and their fear that they may lose control of their precious system of falsehoods and deceptions used to justify venal, criminal abuse of power.
An example of a tame cable is one by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton instructing diplomats on how to respond to press inquiries concerning NATO contingency plans for protecting the Baltic states. Yes, the Russians can use the cable to make some noise, but its contents just aren't all that unsettling.
On the other hand, it is true that by having a large cache of cables, it is possible to recognize patterns that point to major trouble points, as the New York Times has been demonstrating.
Most of those cables haven't been release and Assange has warned that the U.S. campaign against him and his press organization will not prevent more bombshell disclosures.
American ugliness is spotlighted by the Guardian which interprets secret cables to show that Americans, irked at the decision to release the Libyan accused as the Lockerbie bomber, paid back the British by refusing a deal to permit an Asperger's syndrome patient to serve his sentence in Britain after he hacked into U.S. defense computers looking for UFO information.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/30/wikileaks-cables-gary-mckinnon-gordon-brown?DCMP=EMC-thewrap08
At any rate, here is the Clinton cable on the Baltics:
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 007810
SIPDIS
EO 12958 DECL: 01/22/2020
TAGS MARR, MCAP, NATO, PREL, EN, LG, LH, PL
SUBJECT: EXPANSION OF EAGLE GUARDIAN TO INCLUDE BALTIC
ALLIES
REF: A. USNATO 35 B. 09 STATE 127892
Classified By: EUR PDAS Nancy McEldowney for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
¶1. (U) This is an action cable. Please see paragraphs 3-4.
¶2. (S) Summary and Action Request. On January 22 NATO Allies agreed in the Military Committee to expand the NATO Contingency Plan for Poland, EAGLE GUARDIAN, to include the defense and reinforcement of the Baltic States. Posts in Allied capitals should be prepared to explain, as necessary, U.S. support for this approach and how it fits within our broader vision for NATO contingency planning, as well as how to respond to media inquiries on the matter. Posts are asked to draw on the points below, as necessary, in discussions on this issue. End Summary and Action Request.
¶3. (C) Posts need not engage host government officials proactively on NATO contingency planning at this time, but are encouraged to use the points below as the basis for discussions on the matter as needed.
(S/REL NATO) CONTINGENCY POINTS (FOR USE AT POST,S DISCRETION)
-- The United States believes that NATO - as a matter of course - should conduct appropriate contingency planning for the possible defense of Allied territory and populations.
-- As President Obama said in Prague: “We must work together as NATO members so that we have contingency plans in place to deal with new threats, wherever they may come from.”
-- The U.S. welcomes the decision to expand EAGLE GUARDIAN to include the defense of the Baltic states, and sees it as a logical military extension of the existing contingency plan that fits well within the existing scenario.
-- We see the expansion of EAGLE GUARDIAN as a step toward the possible expansion of NATO’s other existing country-specific contingency plans into regional plans. This is the first step in a multi-stage process to develop a complete set of appropriate contingency plans for the full range of possible threats - both regional and functional - as soon as possible. At the same time, we believe contingency planning is only one element of NATO’s Article 5 preparedness.
(S/REL NATO) POINTS ABOUT PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF PLANS (FOR USE AT POST’S DISCRETION)
-- The United States believes strongly that such planning should not be discussed publicly. These military plans are classified at the NATO SECRET level.
-- The Alliance has many public diplomacy tools at its disposal. Contingency planning is not one of them. What we should do is explore other public steps for demonstrating the vitality of Article 5, such as exercises, defense investment, and partnerships.
-- Public discussion of contingency plans undermines their military value, giving insight into NATO’s planning processes. This weakens the security of all Allies.
-- A public discussion of contingency planning would also likely lead to an unnecessary increase in NATO-Russia tensions, something we should try to avoid as we work to improve practical cooperation in areas of common NATO-Russia interest.
-- We hope that we can count on your support in keeping discussions on NATO contingency planning out of the public domain.
-- We should work together to develop strategies - to include activities such as exercises, defense investment, and partnerships - for demonstrating to our publics that Article 5’s value ultimately lies in NATO’s capabilities and deterrence, rather than specific planning.
¶4. (C) Washington strongly believes that the details of NATO,s contingency plans should remain in confidential channels. However, recent press coverage of NATO decisions regarding possible contingency planning options for the Baltic region may lead to additional media inquiries. If necessary, posts may use the points below in responding to
STATE 00007810 002 OF 002
public queries.
(U) PUBLIC/PRESS INQUIRIES -- IF ASKED:
-- NATO does not discuss specific plans.
-- As a matter of course, however, NATO engages in planning in order to be as prepared as possible for whatever situations might arise, particularly as relates to its ability to carrying out its Article 5 commitments.
-- Plans are not static. NATO is constantly reviewing and revising its plans.
-- NATO planning is an internal process designed to make the Alliance as prepared as possible for future contingencies. It is not “aimed” at any other country.
-- President Obama acknowledged this when he said at Prague that “We must work together as NATO members so that we have contingency plans in place to deal with new threats, wherever they may come from.” CLINTON
Monday, December 6, 2010
Wikileaks clash echoes 'Pentagon Papers'
Ever heard of the Pentagon Papers? That affair strongly parallels the Wikileaks matter.
When Daniel Ellsberg passed a massive cache of secret war records to the New York Times and the Washington Post, the newspapers went public with the disturbing disclosure that the American people had been deceived about the Vietnam war. There was a giant credibility gap between what they were told and what was really believed by their government.
President Richard Nixon was indignant and the newspapers were ordered to cease publication. The Supreme Court however recognized the right of the papers to publish without prior restraint. The Pentagon trove was then published in its entirety in book form.
How do the Wikileaks releases differ from the Pentagon Papers release? Under the U.S. Constitution, Wikileaks is, just as Wikileaks organizer Julian Assange says, a news organization, or member of the press. Wikileaks is publishing material that was passed to it by a leaker. Wikileaks has done nothing that the Times didn't do in the Pentagon Papers case (and isn't doing now). It makes no difference that Wikileaks does not originate in America. Dessimination in America is protected by the First Amendment.
But, there is a tremendous effort to demonize Assange and knock him out. Why? Well, of course, the 'system' people rightly perceive that Wikileaks is a threat to their political power. It's harder to lie, cover up and spin-doctor in the presence of such a media force. The other reason is that the system people think they may get away with "getting" Assange. Notice they aren't thinking about "getting" the publishers of the New York Times, the Guardian or other papers. In Nixon's day, there was no serious consideration given to "getting" the Post's Katie Graham or the Times' Punch Sulzberger.
Assange makes the info control freaks snarl and spit not solely because of his press actions, but because he's not playing their game, he's not a member of their club. And worst, he runs a not-for-profit activist press organization, which
means, in their eyes, that he's not respectable.
Assange has broken no American law, and yet it is apparent that the State Dept. is pressuring foreign governments to have him arrested on Swedish sex charges. The fact that the United States is so interested in the arrest of a person for something that allegedly occurred in Sweden gives rise to the suspicion that American agents had something to do with making the charges happen, along with prompting Interpol to issue a "red notice."
Responding to signs that Assange and Wikileaks might seek refuge in Switzerland, Donald S. Beyer Jr., the U.S. ambassador to that country, warned in the weekly magazine NZZ am Sonntag that the Swiss “should very carefully consider whether to provide shelter to someone who is on the run from the law."
Another issue was summed up in a New York Post headline that includes the words "brave new digital age." New telecommunications media, such as the internet and smartphones, are revolutionizing the world's social and political fabric. But many an old fogie is uncomfortable with this revolutionary new age. They've lost their bearings. These floundering fogies grew up in the era of newsprint and haven't got the hang of the way things are changing. Many of old politicos hand their blackberrys to their aides to handle for them.
Rupert Murdoch's pundits have been among the loudest howling for Assange's head. Murdoch might remember that he was once an aggressive Australian who was despised as not representing the "legitimate" (or system) news media.
The State Dept. has ordered its employees not to read the Wikileaks cables. This comes on the heels of the State Dept.'s official global crusade against censorship, particularly of the internet. The State Dept. will be happy to know that the Reds have barred Chinese from reading the Wikileaks cables.
Even more disgusting is the caution expressed to Columbia students that downloading of the Wikileaks files could damage their careers! I suppose the fear is that U.S. spooks are keeping track of who is reading Wikileaks and, like the old East German Stasi and others of that breed, will blackball people for having done something politically incorrect.
Cryptome is carrying a discussion of the Wikileaks affair:
http://www.cryptome.org/
Iran is waging a powerful political war, not only in Afghanistan as previously reported, but in Iraq, according to another secret cable. Iran's efforts present a very difficult politico-military problem for President Obama, who is attempting to stabilize the situations in those nations without a major loss of strategic position for the United States.
Here is the cable:
When Daniel Ellsberg passed a massive cache of secret war records to the New York Times and the Washington Post, the newspapers went public with the disturbing disclosure that the American people had been deceived about the Vietnam war. There was a giant credibility gap between what they were told and what was really believed by their government.
President Richard Nixon was indignant and the newspapers were ordered to cease publication. The Supreme Court however recognized the right of the papers to publish without prior restraint. The Pentagon trove was then published in its entirety in book form.
How do the Wikileaks releases differ from the Pentagon Papers release? Under the U.S. Constitution, Wikileaks is, just as Wikileaks organizer Julian Assange says, a news organization, or member of the press. Wikileaks is publishing material that was passed to it by a leaker. Wikileaks has done nothing that the Times didn't do in the Pentagon Papers case (and isn't doing now). It makes no difference that Wikileaks does not originate in America. Dessimination in America is protected by the First Amendment.
But, there is a tremendous effort to demonize Assange and knock him out. Why? Well, of course, the 'system' people rightly perceive that Wikileaks is a threat to their political power. It's harder to lie, cover up and spin-doctor in the presence of such a media force. The other reason is that the system people think they may get away with "getting" Assange. Notice they aren't thinking about "getting" the publishers of the New York Times, the Guardian or other papers. In Nixon's day, there was no serious consideration given to "getting" the Post's Katie Graham or the Times' Punch Sulzberger.
Assange makes the info control freaks snarl and spit not solely because of his press actions, but because he's not playing their game, he's not a member of their club. And worst, he runs a not-for-profit activist press organization, which
means, in their eyes, that he's not respectable.
Assange has broken no American law, and yet it is apparent that the State Dept. is pressuring foreign governments to have him arrested on Swedish sex charges. The fact that the United States is so interested in the arrest of a person for something that allegedly occurred in Sweden gives rise to the suspicion that American agents had something to do with making the charges happen, along with prompting Interpol to issue a "red notice."
Responding to signs that Assange and Wikileaks might seek refuge in Switzerland, Donald S. Beyer Jr., the U.S. ambassador to that country, warned in the weekly magazine NZZ am Sonntag that the Swiss “should very carefully consider whether to provide shelter to someone who is on the run from the law."
Another issue was summed up in a New York Post headline that includes the words "brave new digital age." New telecommunications media, such as the internet and smartphones, are revolutionizing the world's social and political fabric. But many an old fogie is uncomfortable with this revolutionary new age. They've lost their bearings. These floundering fogies grew up in the era of newsprint and haven't got the hang of the way things are changing. Many of old politicos hand their blackberrys to their aides to handle for them.
Rupert Murdoch's pundits have been among the loudest howling for Assange's head. Murdoch might remember that he was once an aggressive Australian who was despised as not representing the "legitimate" (or system) news media.
The State Dept. has ordered its employees not to read the Wikileaks cables. This comes on the heels of the State Dept.'s official global crusade against censorship, particularly of the internet. The State Dept. will be happy to know that the Reds have barred Chinese from reading the Wikileaks cables.
Even more disgusting is the caution expressed to Columbia students that downloading of the Wikileaks files could damage their careers! I suppose the fear is that U.S. spooks are keeping track of who is reading Wikileaks and, like the old East German Stasi and others of that breed, will blackball people for having done something politically incorrect.
Cryptome is carrying a discussion of the Wikileaks affair:
http://www.cryptome.org/
Iran is waging a powerful political war, not only in Afghanistan as previously reported, but in Iraq, according to another secret cable. Iran's efforts present a very difficult politico-military problem for President Obama, who is attempting to stabilize the situations in those nations without a major loss of strategic position for the United States.
Here is the cable:
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/24/2029
TAGS: PREL ECON ENRG EPET IR IZ SY
SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER ACCUSES IRAN OF TRYING TO
DESTABILIZE IRAQ
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Hill for reasons 1.5 b,d
SUBJ: Prime Minister Accuses Iran of Trying to Destabilize
Iraq
¶1. (S) In a September 22 meeting, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki told the Ambassador that Iran is intervening
increasingly boldly in the Iraqi political process in a bid
to "control the COR" (the Council of Representatives, the
Iraqi Parliament). Iran has not discarded use of military
means to attain its objectives, Maliki said, but for now it
is focusing on political means. If Iran does not succeed in
influencing the upcoming Iraqi national elections, Maliki
said, he expects to see them return to military actions.
Maliki said that the Iranian initiative was thwarted -- dealt
a "fatal blow" -- by Dawa's refusal to join the Shi,a
alliance being forged for the elections (the Iraqi National
Alliance). Iran, he said, is trying to rally the Shi'a to
counter the "Saudi project" to align the Sunni states. But
if Dawa had joined the Shi'a alliance, he said, that "could
have led to sectarian strife."
¶2. (S) Maliki said that Iran is using the Saudi efforts as
pretext to continue its intervention in Iraq. On September
21, for example, the Saudis sponsored a meeting in Amman at
which at least ten senior Iraqi Sunnis attended, including
Rafi al-Issawi. While in Washington, Maliki said, he asked
POTUS to intervene with Saudi Arabia to ask them to stop
their efforts at rallying the Sunni, in part precisely to
avoid inflaming sectarianism and to deny Iran that pretext
for similarly seeking to rally the Shi,a. Maliki's concerns
in this regard have not abated, he said. He chose not to
press this issue again with VPOTUS during his September 18
visit to Baghdad because he felt he had expressed his
concerns once and it was not necessary to continue to raise
the same issue.
¶3. (S) Turning to the Mujahedin el Khalkh (MEK), the
Ambassador urged Maliki not to take any provocative actions
prior to the elections. Maliki took this point on board, but
replied by asking what outcome the USG sees, and how long
this situation can go on. Ambassador stressed that a.) the
situation "won't go on forever," b.) the USG has sent a
"stern message" to the MEK that they must deal directly with
the GOI, not the USG, and c.) the U.S. base near the MEK camp
will eventually be closing. The USG has urged the Europeans
to take a similar stance, and is seeking greater United
Nations involvement in treating the MEK as refugees. Maliki
replied that the GOI "has to do something" so that it can say
it has started the process. Otherwise, he said, this issue
will be used against him in the elections. In Maliki's view,
"whoever wants to return to their country can do so." The
rest, he said, should be relocated away from the Iranian
border, to protect them and Iraq from Iranian pressure.
Iran, Maliki said, at one time was even contemplating a
long-range missile strike on the camp, and even today is
considering filing a case against Iraq for "harboring a
terrorist organization." The GOI must try to relocate "at
least 1,000" members before the end of the year, Maliki said,
returning to his theme that the GOI must do something prior
to the elections. Ambassador emphasized that any attempt to
forcibly remove members could lead to bloodshed and crisis,
and again urged Maliki not to do so. Maliki said he felt
most members would willingly relocate. Only the leadership
of the group objects, and they are "criminals."
¶4. (S) Comment: Maliki,s comments regarding Iranian
Q4. (S) Comment: Maliki,s comments regarding Iranian
involvement in internal Iraqi affairs are the strongest we
have heard. The Shi,a alliance INA is under considerable
pressure from the Iranians to persuade or even threaten
Maliki,s Dawa party to join the alliance, but on terms
unfavorable or unsatisfactory to either Dawa or Maliki. He
anticipates that if he pursues his non-sectarian State of Law
alliance, he will encounter not only stiff resistance from
the INA but also heavy and active opposition from the
Iranians. Regarding MEK, while it appears that the GOI will
not move immediately after Ramadan against the camp,s
residents, the eventual transfer operation will likely occur
before the end of the year. We will continue to advocate
patience, direct GOI-MEK negotiation for a peaceful transfer
and involvement of an international organization. End
Comment.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Cable: Iran moles operate in Afghan parliament
Iranian moles are influencing Afghanistan's lawmakers and may have compromised
the parliament's cyber network, a U.S. official warned Washington last year in a secret
cable released by Wikileaks.
http://213.251.145.96/
Charge d'Affaires Christopher Dell, though cautious of "conspiracy theories," was alarmed that the
United States faced covert action by Iranian agents, hampering its war to curb the Taliban and wipe
out al Qaeda.
In another Wikileaks development, PayPal has severed its relationship with the organization, thus
hindering the organization's on-line fund-raising. The blog Threat Assessment had this comment:
'PayPal’s public statement doesn’t detail the “illegal activity” WikiLeaks promotes, but presumably it’s the leaking of classified information. Sometimes such leaks are indeed illegal. And sometimes classified leaks — legal or not — reveal warrantless wiretapping of Americans, secret CIA prison networks,and massive government waste hidden in black budgets. The reasoning PayPal offers for its newfound intolerance for WikiLeaks would seem to apply equally well to the New York Times and the Washington Post.'
Excellent Guardian editorial at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/04/us-embassy-cables-wikileaks.
Sylvia Kauffman, managing editor of Le Monde, defended the paper's decision to publish excerpts of Wikileaks documents.
"These documents, whose authenticity has not been denied, have been leaked by a source within the U.S. administration," she said.
"Every day, sources within government or business give media information that was not intended to be made public. It is the role and responsibility of the media to judge these "leaks" -- as to reliability, newsworthiness and what is responsible to disseminate. And that's exactly what we do. "
French officials pushed to bar the French public from access to Wikileaks following disclosures that deeply embarrassed French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Wikileaks emulators sprouting up? At least one such emulator may be Al Akhbar, a Lebanese newspaper that backs the Shiite militant group Hezbollah. It posted more than 180 classified U.S. cables on its web site, according to published reports.
The Atlantic's Max Fisher wrote, "When I asked about the origins of the cables, Al Akhbar executive editor Khaled Saghieh replied, 'We are not in a position to disclose information about who we received these documents from, as the source requested strict anonymity. We have reasons to trust this source.' But whoever that source was, the mere fact that he, she, or they requested anonymity suggests it was not Wikileaks. After all, the group has openly disclosed and actively promoted its role in every one of it leaks. When I pointed this out to Saghieh, he refused to confirm or deny Wikileaks' involvement."
Here is Dell's cable:
S E C R E T KABUL 000495 NOFORN SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION EO 12958 DECL: 03/04/2019 TAGS PREL, PGOV, AF, IR SUBJECT: IRANIAN INFLUENCE AT PARLIAMENT Classified By: CDA Christopher Dell for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (S/NF) SUMMARY.
Iranian government officials routinely encourage Parliament to support anti-Coalition policies and to raise anti-American talking points during debates. Pro-Western MPs say colleagues with close Iranian contacts accept money or political support to promote Iran’s political agenda. Some staff members believe Iranian intelligence officials have infiltrated the Parliament’s legal and information technology support offices, compromising the professional staff’s legal advice and the legislature’s electronic communications. Allegations are difficult to verify and may be inspired more by conspiracy theories and inter-ethnic rivalries than actual facts. However, the number of MPs willing to tell us of first-hand encounters with Iranian agents appears to confirm a dedicated effort by Iran to influence Afghan attitudes toward Coalition forces and other issues. End Summary.
Iranian Embassy Relations with Parliament----------- ¶2. (S/NF) Iranian Embassy officials exploit contacts with a number of Afghan politicians to influence Parliament’s agenda. Many MPs accuse Hazaras, who like Iran’s leaders are mostly Shia Muslims, of having the closest ties with Iran. Moderate Hazaras insist Iranian outreach influences only conservative Hazaras, many of whom received religious educations or lived in Iran while in exile. MPs single out Sayed Hussein Alemi Balkhi (Kabul), Ahmad Ali Jebraili (Herat), and Ustad Mohammad Akbari (Bamyan) as the Hazara MPs who receive the most support from Iran. The Iranian Embassy has also cultivated deep relations with members of opposition groups (including the United Front), Tajik Sayeds, and MPs from Herat and other western provinces.
¶3. (S/NF) Iranian Embassy officers frequently visit Parliament, but rarely sit in the public gallery and usually avoid high-traffic morning hours, according to Parliament watchers. After Iranian-influence allegations exploded a few years ago, the Iranian Embassy began hosting MPs more often at off-site meetings, where other MPs suspect payments are delivered in exchange for commitments to advocate Iranian policies.
¶4. (S/NF) According to several contacts, Iran’s top policy goals in Parliament are: increasing criticism of civilian casualty incidents caused by Coalition forces, encouraging the Afghan Parliament to “legalize” foreign forces, advocating rights for Shia (including a separate judicial system), promoting “Persian culture,” and limiting Western support to Afghan media. These subjects often dominate parliamentary debates, even when not on the official agenda. Iranian Official Hands Over Talking Points to Deputy Speaker-----------
¶5. (S/NF) Lower House Deputy Speaker Mirwais Yaseni (Nangarhar, Pashtun) told PolOff an Iranian intelligence officer visited his office in mid-February, coinciding with the visit of Iran’s vice president to Kabul, to pressure him to allow a debate on the status of Coalition forces that would push other scheduled items from the 2/17 agenda (Speaker Yunus Qanooni was out of town, leaving Yaseni to chair the session). The intelligence officer offered to provide “support” to Yaseni if he cooperated. Yaseni declined, only to face the wrath of MPs Balkhi and Akbari, who raised the issue during debate on another item. When Yaseni suggested the MPs wait for a better time to discuss foreign forces, Balkhi accused the deputy speaker of “betraying his country” and being a Western puppet. Yaseni said Balkhi’s and Akbari’s remarks were identical to the talking points provided to him by the Iranian official earlier that day.
¶6. (S/NF) Other MPs have described similar interactions with Iranians they believe to be embassy-based intelligence officers. Some believe Iranian officers work in conjunction with Karzai’s Palace staff to stir up heated reactions from MPs following civilian casualty incidents. Pro-Western MPs worry that Iran exploits such incidents to decrease public support for Coalition troop presence. The Iranian Embassy plays a lower-key role on social issues, paying MPs to support Persian cultural programs and oppose Western countries’ support to local media. Despite Iran’s ambitious lobbying efforts, there are limits to MPs’ willingness to toe the Iranian line. A Lower House debate last November on water rights quickly struck a nationalistic tone, with several MPs accusing Iran of “stealing Afghanistan’s water.” No MP spoke up to disagree. Suspicions With Staff, Too----------
¶7. (S/NF) Parliamentary staffers believe the Iranian Embassy has planted moles in Parliament’s legal and information technology offices. An employee in the Lower House’s legal affairs and research office told PolOff last fall that his new supervisor was editing the staffer’s responses to questions from MPs to reflect Iran-friendly interpretations of Afghan law. Lower House Secretary General Gulam Hassan Gran has repeatedly complained to PolOff that most IT staffers have been trained in Iran and pass electronic communications to the Iranian Embassy. As a result, Gran and other Pashtun staff refuse to use Parliament’s email system. Gran’s deputy keeps a list of MPs who criticize the U.S. and analyzes trends in anti-U.S. rhetoric. Comment----------
¶8. (S/NF) If Iranian efforts to influence MPs are as dedicated as some believe, it means the Iranian government has successfully identified and exploited Parliament’s greatest strength: the bully pulpit. The four-year-old Parliament has often struggled to find its role and usually comes out on the losing end in battles with the judicial and executive branches. Still, MPs have been quick learners when it comes to using the media to draw attention to their causes, even if their views are at times incoherent or serve no other purpose than to bad-mouth the government or political rivals. Iran has deftly taken note, forgoing attempts to influence actual legislation and instead exploiting MPs’ proclivity for media coverage. By strong-arming MPs to incorporate Iranian talking points into their public statements, Iran has opened a potential channel to influence public and elite opinion against U.S. goals and policies for Afghanistan. At a minimum, Iranian interference has helped keep Parliament bogged down in unproductive debates and away from more pressing matters. DELL
Friday, December 3, 2010
Cable: Lieberman boasts of fleets menacing Iran
A U.S. senator leading a campaign to muzzle Wikileaks
shows up in a secret cable as boasting of the
"message" sent to Iran by U.S. Navy fleets in
the Persian Gulf.
Joseph I. Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut
who chairs the Homeland Security Committee, was
quoted in a summary of a 2007 talk with Qatar leaders.
Wikileaks is at the moment available
at http://213.251.145.96/
As the head of such a committee, it seems probable
that more of Lieberman's secret discussions could
become public, thus possibly undermining his bid to
retain control of the committee once the balance of
power shifts in Washington in January. France has
moved to prevent the French electorate from viewing
Wikileaks documents after some of the cables deeply
embarrassed the country's president, Nicolas
Sarkozy.
The site was struggling to stay online as internet
companies, claiming a problem with denial of service
attacks, responded to political pressures to prevent
citizens from reading the data. However, the pundits
and politicians calling for Julian Assange's head
were careful to treat the New York Times, the Guardian,
der Spiegel and other news organizations with
deference, despite their doing
essentially the same thing as Wikileaks.
The Wikileaks site has been careful to black
out names, in response to claims that previous
releases have imperiled lives.
However the latest denunciations of the disclosures
appear to be in reaction to the unwelcome political
ramifications. In the past, U.S. and British
newspapers have from time to time released
politically discomfiting documents, but there were
no public calls for the assassination of publishers.
Today's N.Y. Times focus on Afghanistan's culture
of graft, as disclosed in U.S. cable traffic,
is doubtless very unsettling to
Lieberman and other Afghan war hawks.
Reports say that Lieberman and some GOP
lawmakers want to criminalize disclosure
of any U.S. intelligence source. Such a
measure, if upheld by the Supreme Court,
would effectively end freedom of the press
in America.
A backlash against Amazon's caving in to demands
that it bar Wikileaks is afoot, with calls
going out to boycott the internet merchandiser.
Here is the Lieberman cable:
VZCZCXRO3701 RR RUEHBC RUEHDIR RUEHIHL RUEHKUK DE RUEHDE #0355/01 1541114 ZNY SSSSS ZZH R 031114Z JUN 07 FM AMCONSUL DUBAI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5452 INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE RUEHZM/GCC C COLLECTIVE RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 2461 RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 8545
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 DUBAI 000355 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/3/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINS KNNP IR IZ AE SUBJECT: DUBAI RULER DISCUSSES IRAN AND IRAQ WITH SENATOR LIEBERMAN DUBAI 00000355 001.2 OF 003 CLASSIFIED BY: Paul R Sutphin, Consul General, Dubai, UAE. REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 1.(S) SUMMARY. Senator Joseph Lieberman met with Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MbR), Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on 29 May. MbR voiced support for US policy in Iraq, but expressed strong reservations about the al Maliki government and its links to Iran. He called for new elections to produce leaders who would work for Iraq's interests. He voiced suspicion of Iran's goals in the region, and their claims that their nuclear program was for energy purposes alone. He recommended, however, that the US seek to contain Iran through negotiations and diplomacy. Using force, he said, would only help the current leadership stay in power. MbR also talked about his ambitions for Dubai as a regional model, noting "we want to be number one." END SUMMARY 2.(SBU) Senator Lieberman, along with the Ambassador, Consul General, codel staff members and ConGen staff met MbR at the Zabeel Palace in Dubai on 29 May. Joining MbR were Mohammad al-Gergawi, his principal aide and UAE Minister for Cabinet Affairs; Major General Dhahi Khalfan al-Tamim, Commander of the Dubai Police; Brigadier Mohammad al-Qemzi, Director of the Dubai General Department of State Security; Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, head of Dubai Civil aviation and Emirates Airlines; and a number of MbR's sons, including Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammad, Sheikh Mohammad's eldest son; and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammad, Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council and Sheikh Mohammad's heir apparent. Iraq: Any plan B? ------------------ 3.(C) MbR restated the UAE's support for the US in the region, noting "the UAE is the only country that is 100 percent with the US." MbR said UAE support for the US effort remained firm, but asked what is "plan B" should the current US approach not stabilize Iraq. Senator Lieberman quoted the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying "plan B is to make plan A work." Alternative Approaches: New Elections in Iraq? --------------------------------------------- - 4.(S) Asked by the Senator for his advice on steps to move the situation in Iraq forward, MbR commented that he has little confidence in Iraqi PM al Maliki, and believes his loyalties lie elsewhere, i.e. Iran. MbR suggested the way ahead would be improved by new elections, which he believes would now yield a better leader who is loyal to Iraq. Senator Lieberman noted he thought that al Maliki and his allies would oppose new elections. The Problem of Al-Sadr ---------------------- 5.(S) MbR said that at the moment Muqtada al-Sadr is the single most powerful person in Iraq; the US should act against him, i.e. arrest and imprison him. Asked if new elections might not yield a al-Sadr victory, MbR made clear he thought Sunnis would now turn out in large numbers and that al-Sadr would not be able to win - were the election fair. (Comment: Reflecting commonly-held thinking by UAE seniors, he clearly implied that al-Maliki had been elected through rigging in the last Iraqi vote. End comment.) Progress in Anbar Province: Look to the Tribes --------------------------------------------- - 6.(C) Commenting on the improved security situation in western Iraq, MbR voiced strong support for closer cooperation with the tribal sheikhs. As has been proven, if the tribal leaders can be co-opted to work with the US, they have the ability to defeat or suppress Al-Qaeda. He stressed the importance of working with the tribes without regard to their being Sunni or Shia. Sheikh Mohammad on Iran ----------------------- 7.(C) Senator Lieberman asked MbR for his views on Iran and US policies vis-`-vis Iran. MbR stated Iran is a large country with great ambitions, a historic sense of its importance, and a desire to dominate the region culturally and politically. Iran has a long-term strategy for the region, and would like to recreate the Persian Empire and spread Shi'a Islam throughout area. Rehearsing themes often heard by US senior visitors, MbR said Iran "can make trouble throughout the region" if it is DUBAI 00000355 002.2 OF 003 provoked. While he suggested that Iran is the cause of the deteriorating situations in Afghanistan and Iraq, he also noted that Iran could make the situation in Afghanistan, for example, "explode" should chose to do so. Iran Promises a Peaceful Nuclear Program ---------------------------------------- 8.(C) MbR told the Senator that the UAE does not want Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. He said that during the recent visit of Iranian President Ahmadinejad to the UAE that the Iranians had promised their nuclear program is only to help meet domestic energy needs -- quipping "how much can we believe what the Iranians say is another question." MbR seemed perplexed about the work of the IAEA inspectors and believed that they could provide an objective view of the program. Senator Lieberman reminded MbR that Iran has blocked the inspectors and they have only been able to conclude that Iran will have the capacity to produce enriched uranium on a sufficient scale to either generate power or create a nuclear weapon within the next three to eight years. Negotiations - the Best Course of Action ---------------------------------------- 9.(C) MbR and the Senator briefly discussed the recent meeting in Baghdad between the US and Iran. MbR saw this as a very positive move, recommending negotiations as the best way forward with Iran. He said that threatening Iran encourages the Iranian leaders to be defiant. Iranians are proud and the current extremist leadership would not only endure, but benefit from an attack by the US. Such attacks would ensure the continuing power of the current government (note: presumable by rallying all Iranians behind it in the face of a foreign enemy). 10.(C) Senator Lieberman commented would maintain the stick even while it considered the carrot, and that the two carrier battle groups now in the Gulf were sending a message to Iran. MbR responded that everyone in the region knows the US is powerful and can fight two wars simultaneously. He said that part of the problem "is the way you (the US) talk." After making a demand, "you (the US) should take two steps back before your next action." Everyone in the region needs to avoid the dangerous cycle of action and reaction. The Israeli-Palestinian problem has worsened because actions are followed immediately by reactions without thought. 11.(S) Brigadier Mohammad al-Qemzi, who heads State Security in Dubai added that the Iranians are traditionally great game players. He said that the US should play the game of negotiation and diplomacy (to contain Iran) rather than engaging in hostilities. Al-Qemzi recommended working for the longer term, and believes that there will be a cultural and leadership change in Iran -- over time, Iran would change for the better. UAE Support for Counter Proliferation ------------------------------------- 12.(S) MbR reiterated the UAE's continued support of the US' counter proliferation efforts in the region. Brigadier al-Qemzi added that the previous day and in the previous week the UAE had stopped Iranian vessels at US request suspected of carrying goods proscribed by the UN sanctions regime. The UAE, he said, would continue to work with us to stringently enforce UN sanctions. Dubai, the Region, and Transformation via Education --------------------------------------------- ------ 13.(C) Noting Dubai appeared to be a model of tolerance and opportunity for the region, Senator Lieberman asked MbR to talk about his goals for the emirate. MbR said bluntly "we want to be number one." But, he said that Dubai has only taken the first step on a journey of 1000 miles. He said that if Dubai plays it right, the whole region can develop like Dubai. 14.(SBU) MbR indicated that Dubai has succeeded because it is a place where all people can enjoy health, wealth, security, and the opportunity to succeed. Commenting on his recent announcement at the World Economic Forum in Jordan of a new $10 billion Mohammed Bin Rashid Foundation for education and job creation (septel), he said "God gave us wealth and we must give it back to the people in the region." MbR sees Dubai as the leading city of a wide region and he commented "I am serving 1.5 billion [people] in the region." MbR underscored that education is the key to regional modernization and moderation. In Dubai, he noted, "we are trying to teach people how to fish and not just giving a fish to our neighbor." DUBAI 00000355 003.2 OF 003 15 (SBU) He also called for more US universities in Dubai, and asked for Senator Lieberman's help in resurrecting the possibility of the University of Connecticut building a sizeable campus here (note: this deal was put on hold by UCONN leadership after Connecticut state legislators and others objected to the UAE regulation which prevents the entry of Israeli passport holders). 16.(U) Senator Lieberman has cleared this cable. SUTPHIN
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Wiki cables censored
A U.S. envoy told the State Dept. that he suspected the Russian security service of "provocations" in an attempt to disrupt the diplomatic initiative to reset relations between the United States and Russia, according to a secret cable leaked by Wikileaks.
The cable has been redacted in order to protect identities of persons whose reputations were on the line. Apparently Wikileaks editors, in consultation with journalists, decided on the blacked out matter. The New York Times, which has cooperated with U.S. authorities in blocking some data found in Wikileaks documents, has said that it conveyed U.S. concerns about this data to Wikileaks.
One of the activities of security forces was to pressure academic institutions to expel students who participated in protests, the cable, written by Ambassador John Beyrle, says.
Another cable, called a partial extract, concerns Austrian banking transactions questioned by U.S. officials. It also has been redacted, with the name of an Austrian official blacked out. Though the cable mentions terrorist activity, this seems insufficient grounds for blacking out the official's name. One doesn't black out Janet Napolitano's name merely because of her connections to counter-terror work. It may be that Wikileaks editors decided to duck rather than deal with spurious allegations of endangering a life. Or it may be that the extract appeared on the government network already redacted.
Interestingly, the State Dept. and Pentagon have moved to restrict the flow of this type of data. However, a purpose of sharing such low-level secret and semi-secret data more widely was to make sure various government agencies would be prepared to "connect the dots" to head off terrorists before they struck.
Here are copies of the two Wikileaks cables:
Go to Mother Jones for the full report.
The cable has been redacted in order to protect identities of persons whose reputations were on the line. Apparently Wikileaks editors, in consultation with journalists, decided on the blacked out matter. The New York Times, which has cooperated with U.S. authorities in blocking some data found in Wikileaks documents, has said that it conveyed U.S. concerns about this data to Wikileaks.
One of the activities of security forces was to pressure academic institutions to expel students who participated in protests, the cable, written by Ambassador John Beyrle, says.
Another cable, called a partial extract, concerns Austrian banking transactions questioned by U.S. officials. It also has been redacted, with the name of an Austrian official blacked out. Though the cable mentions terrorist activity, this seems insufficient grounds for blacking out the official's name. One doesn't black out Janet Napolitano's name merely because of her connections to counter-terror work. It may be that Wikileaks editors decided to duck rather than deal with spurious allegations of endangering a life. Or it may be that the extract appeared on the government network already redacted.
Interestingly, the State Dept. and Pentagon have moved to restrict the flow of this type of data. However, a purpose of sharing such low-level secret and semi-secret data more widely was to make sure various government agencies would be prepared to "connect the dots" to head off terrorists before they struck.
Here are copies of the two Wikileaks cables:
VZCZCXYZ0007 PP RUEHWEB DE RUEHMO #0226/01 0301525 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 301525Z JAN 09 FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1706 INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
SS E C R E T MOSCOW 000226 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/30/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR RS SOCI SUBJECT: PROVOCATIONS FROM RUSSIAN SECURITY SERVICES REF: MOSCOW 00202 Classified By: Ambassador John Beyrle. Reason: 1.4 (d). ¶1. (S) Summary. With their usual light touch and unique sense of timing, the security services appear to be tightening the screws on what they see as Russia's internal and foreign enemies along three fronts. First was a confidential letter from the Federal Security Service (FSB) demanding that USAID stop funding NGOs in the North Caucasus. Second, the Interior Ministry has brought pressure on the liberal Higher School of Economics to expel students who took part in anti-government demonstrations in December. Third, and most disturbing, we believe the FSB is behind a personal smear attack XXXXXXXXXXXX the National Democratic Institute's Moscow office (NDI) that was emailed to NDI and USAID staff this week. The second provocation has become a public issue, with critical articles even in the popular tabloid, Moskovskiy Komsomolets, on Ren TV, and commentary on prominent blog sites. Taken together, we assess that hard-line silovik elements are testing the political waters at home and potentially making waves at a time of otherwise positive signals of interest in improving US-Russian relations. End Summary. Warning to USAID ---------------- ¶2. (S) A January 17 letter from the FSB, sent through liaison channels, explicitly warned against continued USAID funding for NGOs in the North Caucasus. Citing a November trip by a named USAID officer, the FSB alleged that US funding to the region was "incompetent" and that USAID was not in a position to guarantee that funds provided for humanitarian programs did not fall into the hands of illegal armed groups. Given the tensions in South Ossetia, as well as the conflict in the Middle East, the FSB gave notice that "it is necessary to refrain from financing any NGO in the North Caucasus, regardless of USAID's goals." The letter closed with an ominous admonition that unless USAID stops its "incompetent actions," the FSB would implement strict preventative measures, including the denial of visas. ¶3. (S) The FSB letter attempted to justify its position by highlighting the complexity of nationalities and religions in the North Caucasus, the prevalence of extremist movements, and the predominant role played by family loyalties as factors that made funding of NGOs in the region dangerous. The FSB made implicit threats that information about US funding of illegal groups would likely be made public through the media, damaging US-Russian counterterrorism efforts. Further, the letter noted that "incompetent actions" on the part of the "Embassy sections, like USAID" could escalate tensions in regions beyond the borders of the North Caucasus to the detriment of US and Russian interests. When the Ambassador protested this FSB salvo, Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov claimed (credibly) that the security service complaints had not been coordinated with the MFA. Warning to Students ------------------- ¶4. (SBU) In mid-January, the Moscow branch of the MVD issued a letter to the Higher School of Economics, raising the issue of four students (possibly six) who participated in December opposition marches with the veiled recommendation that they be expelled. According to press reports, the letter warned "implementation of un-sanctioned mass acts was one of the forms of extremist activity, carrying a high level of societal danger, and demands adequate reactive measures on the part of the law enforcement organs." The MVD called on the institute to look into the circumstance of the students' participation in the opposition protests and to consider the efficacy of continuing their education. Further, the letter sought comments from the heads of the Politics and Economics departments about extremism, as well as personal statements from the four students. MVD sources told the newspaper Moskovskiy Komsomolets (MK) that they were "legally required" to inform the place of employment or school of any citizens violating social stability. ¶5. (C) The institute will hold a meeting on February 4 to consider its response, but public comments by the director and rector suggest that the school considers such political activity to be a "personal" decision, beyond the scope of institute censure. XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX "no way" that the institute would adhere to the recommendations of the MVD and underscored the unanimity of the faculty and student body on this issue. Nezavisimaya Gazeta criticized the letter, seeing it as a demonstration of the government's "panic" after the anti-tariff protests and highlighting the "Soviet" aspect of going after politically "unreliable" students. Besides the usual lineup of opposition newspapers and websites, the MK article ensures that a broader swath of society will learn about this incident -- already it has spawned a sharp reaction of support for the students and condemnation of the MVD in Russia's blogosphere. ¶6. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX said that XXXXXXXXXXXX was sure that other institutes and universities had received similar letters, but had chosen not to make the silovik demands public or had quietly capitulated. Our consulate in St. Petersburg noted last year's closing of the European University, ostensibly for "fire safety" issues, because of the Political Science department had taken a grant to do research on electoral politics in Russia. Getting Ugly and Personal with NDI ---------------------------------- ¶7. (C) On January 29, USAID FSNs received an email from XXXXXXXXXXXX with a photoshopped image of XXXXXXXXXXXX reclining with an underage child. The picture was attached to a message, ostensibly from a Russian citizen, which accused XXXXXXXXXXXX of raping her 9-year old daughter. This latest provocation falls on the heels of a scandal in Murmansk alleging NDI interference in local elections and harassment of NDI staff XXXXXXXXXXXX. The Ambassador met with representatives from NDI on January 30 on harassment of the NGO, reported septel. Panic or Provocation -------------------- ¶8. (C) Emboldened by the economic crisis, the silovik forces have taken the initiative to stir the waters of Russian politics, not only with those letters, but also with the proposed revision of the law on treason, on jury trials, and the heavy-handed response to the protests in Vladivostok. Some of those initiatives have been blunted directly, such as Medvedev's decision to revise the proposed law on treason, others by publicizing the issue (the letter to the Higher School of Economics, for example, received coverage in the popular tabloid MK and on Ren TV) -- suggesting an intensification of inter-elite conflict. ¶9. (C) Comment. We cannot rule out that those provocations may in part be directed at complicating efforts to improve US-Russian relations. At a time when both Putin and Medvedev have indicated the potential for starting with a clean slate in relations with the new Obama administration, those within the security services who see value (including to their budgets) from continued tensions or whose world view is predicated on US-Russia conflict are likely under pressure to play a spoiler role. Ambassador plans to raise all of those incidents forcefully in high-level meetings next week to send a message back flagging the risks inherent in allowing rogue elements to run amok in the relationship. End Comment. BEYRLE
**************************************
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
David Corn of Mother Jones writes:
Wed Dec. 1, 2010 2:47 PM PST
In its first months in office, the Obama administration sought to protect Bush administration officials facing criminal investigation overseas for their involvement in establishing policies the that governed interrogations of detained terrorist suspects. A "confidential" April 17, 2009, cable sent from the US embassy in Madrid to the State Department—one of the 251,287 cables obtained by WikiLeaks—details how the Obama administration, working with Republicans, leaned on Spain to derail this potential prosecution.Go to Mother Jones for the full report.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Israeli in secret cable: Turks aid Iran nukes
My access to Wikileaks has been restored as of this afternoon.
Israelis accuse Turks of aiding Iran's nuclear program. Israel accused its sometime ally Turkey of permitting nuclear materials headed for Iran's weapons program to be shipped via Turkey with the "full knowledge" of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to a secret State Department cable copied from the Wikileaks web site.
Urged by French Premier Nicolas Sarkozy to launch an independent invesitgation of reported Israeli military abuses in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly refused, the document says.
Here is a copy:
S E C R E T PARIS 001461
SIPDIS NOFORN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL IS TU SY FR
SUBJECT: FRANCE-ISRAEL STRATEGIC DIALOGUE COVERS TURKEY, PEACE PROCESS, SYRIA
REF: PARIS 1418 Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Kathy Allegrone, Reasons 1.4(b),(d).
¶1. (S/NF) SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND: French participants in the second annual Franco-Israeli Strategic Dialogue on October 28 noted profound disquiet among the Israelis about Turkey, according to Frederic Bereyziat, Senior MFA Desk Officer for Israel and the Peace Process. Bereyziat told poloff October 29 that the Israelis claimed the Turks have allowed weapons-related material for Iran's nuclear program to transit Turkey, with Prime Minister Erdogan's full knowledge.
In the lead up to this Strategic Dialogue, Bereyziat reported, President Sarkozy called Prime Minister Netanyahu directly on October 26, to urge him to establish an independent investigation into the actions of the Israeli Defense Forces in the Gaza conflict. Sarkozy told Netanyahu that such a step would decrease pressure on Israel and its allies stemming from the Goldstone Report, but Netanyahu responded briskly: "No way."
Franco-Israeli discussions on the status of the peace process stumbled over a "profound difference on tactics," according to Bereyziat, who also reported the French intention to introduce a Resolution in the U.N. General Assembly designed to prevent the Goldstone Report from returning to the Security Council.
Finally, Bereyziat described a division within the Israeli delegation about Syria's openness to the west, with some on the delegation discounting benefits that might accrue to Israel through the re-launching of negotiations, and others supporting the French claim that Israel would put Syria in a bind by suddenly expressing openness to negotiations over the Golan.
Mounting hysteria over Wikileaks
A probable indicator of hysteria over what Wikileaks wreaks is the fact that Wikilikeaks.org's site appears to be down again, even though it had been transferred to Amazon's server in an attempt to prevent denial of service attacks.
At any rate I couldn't get through this morning. But I strongly suspect that the reason isn't deliberate denial of service but worldwide worries over reports that Wikileaks would soon expose documents from a big U.S. bank that would prove highly embarrassing, even devastating. Bank of America issued a denial of sorts that means little but appears intended to halt the slide in its share price.
Considering the case of acute indigestion being suffered by the European Union and International Monetary Fund credit sectors, it is little wonder that interest in Wikileaks has gone througth the roof. Especially when it is apparent that the "system" can't even protect diplomatic and so-called national security secrets.
And the howls by the penny dreadful press, the campaign to have Julian Assange arrested for "espionage," and the Swedish prosecutor's drive to get Assange on very dubious sex charges go to show that "just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you."
'I think that the docs probably mainly reflect that US diplomats believe in the crap that comes out Washington," writes a friend in response to a recent post.
"Given that Der Spiegel and the New York Times are involved I imagine they did the screening to make sure of no embarrassment to Israel. Rusbridger at the Guardian is a closet neocon IMO too.
"It's no surprise that there is nothing on 9/11 - that is because 9/11 was a much tighter ultra top secret operation, not the sort of thing that gets discussed on diplomatic wires.
"The worry is that someone who does get a real leak goes to wikileaks with it and gets betrayed.
"For me the big surprise is that the Saudi king was indeed advocating an attack on Iran (if that is true). The only genuine motive I can see for that is the effect it would have on the oil price which would make him one of the all time top scumbags. Let's hope his people think that too.
"Lets hope people will find the time to go through the originals for themselves, there will certainly be a lot more than the MSM gatekeepers are telling us about."
At any rate I couldn't get through this morning. But I strongly suspect that the reason isn't deliberate denial of service but worldwide worries over reports that Wikileaks would soon expose documents from a big U.S. bank that would prove highly embarrassing, even devastating. Bank of America issued a denial of sorts that means little but appears intended to halt the slide in its share price.
Considering the case of acute indigestion being suffered by the European Union and International Monetary Fund credit sectors, it is little wonder that interest in Wikileaks has gone througth the roof. Especially when it is apparent that the "system" can't even protect diplomatic and so-called national security secrets.
And the howls by the penny dreadful press, the campaign to have Julian Assange arrested for "espionage," and the Swedish prosecutor's drive to get Assange on very dubious sex charges go to show that "just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you."
'I think that the docs probably mainly reflect that US diplomats believe in the crap that comes out Washington," writes a friend in response to a recent post.
"Given that Der Spiegel and the New York Times are involved I imagine they did the screening to make sure of no embarrassment to Israel. Rusbridger at the Guardian is a closet neocon IMO too.
"It's no surprise that there is nothing on 9/11 - that is because 9/11 was a much tighter ultra top secret operation, not the sort of thing that gets discussed on diplomatic wires.
"The worry is that someone who does get a real leak goes to wikileaks with it and gets betrayed.
"For me the big surprise is that the Saudi king was indeed advocating an attack on Iran (if that is true). The only genuine motive I can see for that is the effect it would have on the oil price which would make him one of the all time top scumbags. Let's hope his people think that too.
"Lets hope people will find the time to go through the originals for themselves, there will certainly be a lot more than the MSM gatekeepers are telling us about."
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