Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 12 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 10/20/11

Petraeus's Cia Steers Obama On Policy

By       (Page 2 of 5 pages) Become a premium member to see this article and all articles as one long page.   No comments
Message Robert Parry
Become a Fan
  (84 fans)

Arbabsiar, who agreed -- right after his arrest -- to become a cooperating FBI witness, presumably in exchange for lenient treatment, is one of the two people charged in the purported plot. The other is Arbabsiar's supposed contact in Iran, Gholam Shakuri, allegedly a Quds operative.

But the real target of the case appears to be Abdul Reza Shahlai, an alleged deputy commander in the Quds Force. Arbabsiar supposedly claims to be Shahlai's "cousin."

U.S. officials have long regarded Shahlai as a key liaison between Quds and Iraq's Mahdi Army of the anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. In that role, Shahlai drew Petraeus's wrath as U.S. troops under Petraeus's command faced violent reversals in Iraq.

In 2008, Petraeus suffered a rare public embarrassment when he planned to give a briefing about captured Iranian weapons in Karbala, Iraq, as proof of Iran's key role in fomenting Iraqi instability. But American munitions experts pulled the rug out from under him when they concluded that they couldn't credibly tie the weapons to Iran.

Even, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki described the allegations as "based on speculation."

So, it shouldn't be surprising that the new Petraeus-led CIA was eager to jump into the dispute about the implausible plot to kill the Saudi ambassador and lay the blame on the retired general's old nemesis, Shahlai.

Who Is Shakuri?

The Iranians added more murkiness to the convoluted plot this week with press reports that Arbabsiar's co-defendant, Gholam Shakuri, has no connection to Quds but instead is a member of Mujahedeen Khalq, a violent organization dedicated to overthrowing the Iranian government.

Iranian news outlets -- citing Interpol, the international agency that coordinates information for the police of many countries -- reported that Shakuri, who is still at large, travels on forged passports and was last seen in Washington and at Camp Ashraf, the Mujahedeen Khalq's base inside Iraq.

Though U.S. officials pooh-poohed the Iranian reports as disinformation, Interpol responded to press inquiries with a refusal to comment.

Of course, spy tradecraft is largely about concealing who is who, so operatives can work in the gray area of deniability. That's the whole point -- to make the relationship between an individual and a government unclear.

That is also why the CIA's decision to weigh in on the side of pinning the murder plot on Iran's government was so critical. The CIA is the U.S. government's expert on such matters. Though the CIA has not detailed the reasons behind its conclusion, the analysis appears to rest on the methods used in transferring funds.

But there also remain curious omissions in what has so far been made public about the case against Iran. For instance, after the FBI detained car salesman Arbabsiar, he was told to place pretext calls to Shakuri seeking to implicate him more directly in the plot.

According to the FBI complaint, the two men discussed a "Chevrolet" purchase supposedly being negotiated with Mexican underworld figures. FBI Special Agent O. Robert Woloszyn said he understood from Arbabsiar that "Chevrolet" was the code word for the assassination, but nothing in the conversation addresses any specifics of a murder plot.

So, the levels of uncertainty extend not only to the implausibility of the plot -- that the Iranian government would undertake the risks of a high-profile assassination in the U.S. capital and entrust the killing to a car salesman with no apparent training in rudimentary intelligence tradecraft and with no hesitancy to become an FBI witness.

There is also the murkiness of the recorded conversations between Arbabsiar and Shakuri -- and now there is the uncertainty about who Shakuri actually is.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Robert Parry Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, can be ordered at secrecyandprivilege.com. It's also available at
(more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

The CIA/Likud Sinking of Jimmy Carter

What Did US Spy Satellites See in Ukraine?

Ron Paul's Appalling World View

Ronald Reagan: Worst President Ever?

The Disappearance of Keith Olbermann

A Perjurer on the US Supreme Court

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend