Israel Lobby behind attacks on Erdogan government in Turkey

Dateline Istanbul -- WMR has learned from informed sources that the pro-Israel think tank, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), formerly headed up by President Obama's current Middle East adviser on the National Security Council, Dennis Ross, has been identified as a key player in a Turkish and international psychological warfare effort to paint the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as "radical Islamist." Erdogan has come in for attack by the Israel Lobby because of his outspoken criticism of Israel over its attack on Gaza and his walking out of a 2009 Davos conference seminar where Israeli President Shimon Peres was also in attendance.

WINEP, through one of its Turkey experts, Soner Cagaptay, has attacked Erdogan as a dangerous Islamist. Cagaptay also crticizes Turkey over its prosecution of key members of the Ergenekon "deep state" network, which stands accused of trying to overthrow Erdogan in a military coup. WINEP acts in concert with the wishes of the Likud government of Israel and WMR has learned of close links between the Kemal Atatukist officials involved with Ergenekon and top Likud and Mossad officials. These links also extend to the Israeli Lobby operations in Washington, including WINEP, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

WMR has obtained a document on a planned Ergenekon operation code-named Operation Cage, which, among other things, outlines the plans of Ergenekon to plant stories in the media and on the Internet that were critical of Erdogan's government and attempted to stoke ethnic tensions against the ruling AKP government.

Operation Cage should serve as an example of how the U.S. "deep state" conducts similar operations in the United States and abroad. The Operation Cage document follows:

APPENDIX.II

OPERATION CAGE (KAFES) ACTION PLAN

No of Copy : 1/5

Headquarters Preparing : Special Operations Force Command

Place of Preparation : ISTANBUL

Date and Time Group : 300950 C MARCH 2009

Code Number : KF – 03

TIME SLICE: C

DIVISION OF TASKS: As indicated by Annex A

1. SITUATION:

a. General:Public opinion developed in the wake of the operations involving Priest Santaro, Malatya Zirve Publishing House and Hrant DINK that the non-Muslims living in Turkey were the target of the (Islamist) reactionary groups but intensive propaganda activities were staged by AKP (Justice and Development Party) with the support of the opposite media that the said incidents had been organized by Ergenekon.

1. Enemy Elements:

(1) It has commissioned various news reports in the supporting media[1]

(2) It received intensive support in the wake of the reaction at Davos

(3) There has been deterioration in the confidence enjoyed by them following the allegations of corruption raised by the ruling[2] parties, particularly CHP

(4) There is partial opinion following the increase in the rate of unemployment as a result of the economic crisis that they have failed to score adequate success in administration

(5) It has failed to achieve success in the local elections of March 29, 2009 as it had expected

1. Friendly Elements

(1) The campaign for support extended by the political parties, various organizations, establishments and associations in favor of the members of our staff arrested under Ergenekon Case is maintained successfully.

(2) The propaganda activities by the commonsensical press and publication organs against the reactionary groups continue at an increased tempo.

(3) The success scored in the local elections has boosted our morale.

(4) Although a part of the weapons, materials and equipment has been captured by the security forces, they are still sufficient for the next operations.

(5) Difficulty is experienced in recruitment of new members for the organization and the training level of the present staff is high.

2. DUTY:

To increase pressure by both local and foreign communities on AKP Government, to keep the public opinion pre-occupied and change the agenda, particularly Ergenekon Case.

3. EXECUTION:

1. Operation Draft:

(1) General Information

(a) For the purpose of ensuring that the Special Operations Force Command extend support to those under arrest as part of Ergenekon Case, make the counter psychological warfare by AKP and its supporters ineffective, boost the morale of the organization and win public support, terrorizing propaganda will be staged targeting at the non-Moslems and such activities will be shown via black propaganda as if they were executed by AKP and other evil hubs supporting AKP.

(b) The psychological operation activities to be executed are indicated by Annex B Psychological Operation Campaign Control Form.

(2) The operation will be executed in four stages:

(a) Preparatory Stage:

(1) The names and addresses of the non-Muslim population will be determined

(2) The subscription lists of the newspapers, magazines, etc., owned by the non-Muslims will be obtained

(3) The students, parents and employees of the educational facilities owned by the non-Muslims will be identified.

(4) The community lists of the foundations and places of worship owned by the non-Muslims will be obtained.

(5) The religious festivals / major days of the non-Muslims as well as the locations where religious service and ceremonies are held by them.

(6) The cemeteries of the non-Muslims, which would fit action, will be identified.

(b) Terrorizing Stage:

(1) The lists of subscribers to AGOS Newspaper, which have been obtained, will be published on Internet, particularly the share sites and reactionary web sites.

(2) Calls of threat will be made and letters of threat sent to the subscribers to AGOS Newspaper.

(3) Slogans with threatening contents will be written on the intensive routes in Adalar region.

(4) The lists of subscribers will be duplicated and left at such locations where they are easily visible to the citizens living on Adalar.

(c) Stage of building public opinion:

(1) It will be ensured that the lists of subscribers are published by the press, thus receiving coverage.

(2) Columns will be commissioned about the issue.

(3) The issue will have coverage by the debate programs, with the nonsensical attitude of AKP government being raised.

(4) The media will again give coverage of the Incidents of September 6 – 7 and news articles on the Wealth Tax.

(5) Anti-AKP web sites will be increased so that they stage intensive activities.

(6) Web sites operating against the minorities will be supported in terms of their contents.

(7) By developing new websites under titles www.tehditaltindayiz.com (“we are under threat”) , www.agosasahipcikalim.com” (“let us protect Agos”), etc., in addition the present ones, broadcasting will be made in line with pre-determined themes and such sites will be effectively promoted.

(8) By establishing Web sites for which impression is created that they are funded by AKP and pro-government media, promotion of such sites shall be made as required and publications with religious contents will be mixed with messages showing the media of the minorities, particularly AGOS Newspaper, as targets.

(9) By showing AKP and reactionary groups as the culprit of the actions executed, “black propaganda” will be carried out in terms of origin.

(d) Stage of Action:

(1) Bombs will be exploded at various quarters in Adalar region.

(2) Assassination will be plotted against persons having a high profile as a fierce defender of minority rights.

(3) Sound bombs will be placed at the pre-determined spots such as the vicinity of AGOS Newspaper.

(4) By placing suspicious packages at many spots and informing the police of them, the security forces will be kept pre-occupied.

(5) Action involving bombs will be staged at the piers where boat journeys to Adalar are organized.

(6) Sensational actions will be executed at the cemeteries of the non-Moslems.

(7) One or several of the popular non-Muslim businessmen and artists will be kidnapped.

(8) Vehicles, houses and workplaces will be frequently will be set on fire in those regions having dense non-Muslim population.

(9) Similar actions will also be made in the provinces such as Istanbul and İzmir where the non-Muslims live densely.

(10) Actions of sabotage, kidnapping and assassination executed will be claimed on behalf of the reactionary organizations determined following coordination to be made with the special plan cell leaders.

1. Tasks for the subordinate units:

Special Operations Force Command:

(1) Will implement psychological operation activities as per Annex B.

(2) By obtaining relevant members / units from other regions temporarily where necessary, the same will be allocated for use by the regional commands where they are needed.

1. Coordination:

(1) The activities at the stage of terrorizing will be coordinated by the regional commands and planning details will be communicated to the special plan cell leader urgently.

(2) Identification and organization of opinion leaders, artists, academicians, journalists and writers as well as other key communication figures, who will be used under the public opinion building stage, are subject to the orders of the Consultative Assembly President.

(3) Detailed plans necessary for the stage of action will be prepared by the regional commanders and communicated to the special plan cell leader through a secure channel. The plans will be prepared in such a manner responding to the requirements identified below:

(a) Objective of the action

(b) Commencement time and total duration of the action

(c) Timing diagram for the action

(d) Staffs who will execute the action and their names

(e) Task matrices containing the questions who will do what when and where

(f) Map and aerial photograph, if any, of the action zone

(g) Planning sketch clearly explaining the method of performing the action

(h) Plan of withdrawal from the zone after action

(i) List of materials and equipment to be used in the action

(j) Diagram of communication procedures

(k) Reserve plans

(l) Sketches and definitions of the meeting points before and after the action

(m) The method of following developments in the wake of the action

(n) Procedures to meet medical support which may be needed during the action

(4) Support may be obtained from Lawyer Serdar ÖZTÜRK in any legal cases that may occur by first getting the approval of the Special Operations Force Command.

4. ADMINISTRATION AND LOGISTICS:

a. Transport, accommodation, catering and technical and tactical requirements of the staff shall be met by the regional commands.

b. The list of overall weapons, munitions and materials, which will be needed under Operation Cage as per assessment, is provided by Annex C.

c. The regional commands will first endeavor to meet the additional requirements locally and any requirements which cannot be met will be requested to be met by the Special Operations Force Command urgently.

5. COMMAND AND COMMUNICATION:

a. Command:

(1) Operation Cage shall be led and managed by the Special Operations Force Commander.

(2) The Special Operations Force Commander will be stationed at the main headquarters.

b. Communication:

(1) The Special Operations Force Communication Management Permanent Instructions are in force. Communication will be carried out subject to these principles.

(2) Any open channels will never be used except for the confidential communication and meeting procedures throughout the operation.

(3) Any reports and messages will strictly be encrypted and CPK method will be used to send them.

(5) Ultimate care will be paid to compartmenting and no face to face liaison will be provided between the cells without approval of the regional commanders.

Ercan KİREÇTEPE

Naval Officer

Acting Special Operations Force Command

ANNEXES :

Annex A (Action Units Task Status)

Annex B (Psychological Operation Campaign Control Form)

Annex C (List of Weapons, Munitions and Materials)

ANNEX - A

DISTRIBUTION OF TASKS

CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY :

Vice Admiral A. Feyyaz ÖĞÜTÇÜ : President

Vice Admiral Kadir SAĞDIÇ : Deputy President

Junior Rear Admiral M. Fatih ILGAR : Member

SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND :

Naval Staff Senior Colonel Mücahit ERAKYOL : Special Operations Force Command

(R) Naval Major Levent BEKTAŞ : Special Plan Cell Leader

MARMARA REGION COMMAND :

Naval Captain Ercan KİREÇTEPE : Marmara Region Command

Naval Major Erme ONAT : Cell 1 Leader

Y/S Sergeant Major Halil CURA : Cell 1 member

Radio Sergeant Major Sadettin DOĞAN : Cell 1 member

Eln. Sergeant Major Deniz ERKİ : Cell 1 member

Naval Worker Tanju Veli AYDIN : Cell 1 member

Naval Staff Senior Major Emre SEZENLER : Cell 2 Leader

Naval Senior Major Eren GÜNAY : Cell 2 member

Medical Sen. Sergeant Major Hüseyin DOĞANCI : Cell 2 member

Eln. Senior Sergeant Major Ferudun ARSLAN : Cell 2 member

Eln. Sergeant Major İsmail BAK : Cell 2 member

AEGEAN REGION COMMAND :

Naval Staff Senior Colonel Metin SAMANCI : Aegean Region Commander

Naval Senior Colonel Levent GÜLMEN : Cell 1 Leader

Naval Staff Senior Major Erbay ÇOLAKOĞLU : Cell 1 member

Naval Major A. Ayhan SARAÇOĞLU : Cell 1 member

Naval Captain Bülent Aydın : Cell 1 member

Naval First Lieutenant Bora COŞKUN : Cell 1 member

Eng.Sen. Sergeant Major Süleyman ERHARAT : Cell 1 member

Motor Senior Sergeant Major Murat ASLAN : Cell 1 member

Radio Sergeant Major Emre TEPELİ : Cell 1 member

Radar First Sergeant İbrahim ÖZTÜRK : Cell 1 member

Naval Staff Lieutenant Colonel Halil ÖZSARAÇ : Cell 2 Leader

Naval Major Gürol YURDUNAL : Cell 2 member

Naval Senior Captain Ümit ÖZBEK : Cell 2 member

Naval Officer Bülent KARAOĞLU : Cell 2 member

Radio Senior Sergeant Major Dalyan MUSLU : Cell 2 member

Radar Senior Sergeant Major Hüseyin EROL : Cell 2 member

Kaz. Senior Sergeant Major Mehmet İNCE : Cell 2 member

Artillery Sergeant Major Mehmet İNCE : Cell 2 member

BLACK SEA REGION COMMAND :

Naval Lieutenant Colonel Zühtü TÜMER : Black Sea REGION COMMANDER

Naval Captain İ. Levent OLCANER : Cell 1 Leader

Naval Staff Major Özgür ERKEN : Cell 1 member

Naval Major Metin FİDAN : Cell 1 member

Eng.Senior Sergeant Major Türker DOĞANCA : Cell 1 member

Adm. Sergeant Major Mesut ADANUR : Cell 1 member

Por. Senior Sergeant Major Metin KESKİN : Cell 1 member

Levent BEKTAŞ

(R) Naval Major

Special Plan Cell Leader

ANNEX – B

PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATION CAMPAIGN CONTROL FORM

1. TARGET:

It is to increase both local and foreign pressure on AKP Government, keep the public pre-occupied and change the agenda, particularly Ergenekon case by questioning the life and property safety of the non-Muslims living in Turkey.

2. TASK:

By using effective propaganda techniques and mass communication media, it is to build public awareness that the non-Muslims living in Turkey, particularly AGOS Newspaper, are in danger, that AKP Government does not protect their rights and that the government pursues religious discrimination.

3. PSYCHOLOGICAL TARGET:

By developing negative impact on the non-Muslims through terrorizing propaganda, it is to persuade the public opinion into believing that AKP and other evil hubs supporting AKP are against the non-Muslims and eliminating any hesitancy on people’s minds by means of black propaganda in terms of source by developing adverse impact through terrorizing propaganda on the non-Muslims.

4. CONDITIONS:

1. In the wake of the murder of Hrant DINK, a large mass stood up for Hrant DINK and the non-Muslims living in Turkey by shouting slogans: “We are all Armenian” and “We are all Hrant”.
2. AKP commissioned various news articles in the press and publication organs, which stated that the government safeguards the non-Muslims.
3. The atmosphere of enmity for foreigners has been partially developed in the wake of Davos Crisis.

5. ATTITUDE, SENSITIVITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TARGET:

The segments, which are influenced by the propaganda, think:

1. That the non-Muslims living in Turkey are oppressed and that they cannot practice their beliefs freely
2. That AKP Government represents only the members of the Islamic Religion and does not endeavor for the rights of the minorities
3. That the non-Muslims are targeted by radical Islamist formations and under threat and
4. That it is attempted to suppress the press and publication organs, particularly AGOS Newspaper, endeavoring to voice the interests of the minorities.

6. THEMES:

1. Themes to be used:

1. AKP’s target is to establish a theocratic Islamic dictatorship by making the provisions of Islam prevalent in all the systems of the state.

2. AKP attempts to keep any citizens from the religions other than Islam under pressure.

3. When AKP reaches a condition by which it could not be forced by any powers to step back, it pursues the objective of eliminating Atatürk’s principles and revolutions, topple the secular, democratic, social and legal state and establishing a regime based on religious principles.

4. Our non-Muslim citizens living on Islands are under oppression and threat.

5. AKP Governments ignores the oppression of and threats to the non-Muslims.

6. A significant portion of the media in Turkey acts under the control of AKP and fundamentalist terror organizations.

7. It is attempted to silence the limited number of media, particularly AGOS Newspaper, which defend the rights of the minorities.

8. It intends to force our non-Muslim citizens living on Adalar into migration with propaganda terrorizing them and slogans such as “Die or Leave!”, “Whose Are the Islands?” and “You will be thrown into sea again!”.

1. Themes to be avoided:

(1) AKP Government is respectful towards all the religions and beliefs.

(2) All the non-Muslims living in Turkey can freely practice their beliefs and worship.

(3) The minorities in Turkey live having equal rights without suffering any discrimination.

7. TARGET MASSES REQUIRED TO BE REACHED BY ORDER OF PRIORITY:

1. Subscribers of AGOS Newspaper living on Adalar:

They must be placed under psychological pressure by emphasizing that they are under very serious threat and it must be ensured that they voice this situation.

1. Non-Muslims living in Turkey:

By making it known that we have information on the activities against the subscribers of AGOS Newspaper, it must be ensured that they would be on the hit list sooner or later.

1. Non-Muslims living abroad:

By adopting the thought that the minorities and non-Muslims in Turkey are subjected to oppression, a comprehensive public opinion must be developed in this respect abroad.

1. Citizens having a secular and democratic understanding:

They must be informed that the anti-secular formations get powerful steadily, that if measures are not taken, secularism would be replaced by Sharia (Islamic Law) and that nobody including the minorities would be able to live freely.

1. Conservative Citizens:

They must be provoked by themes that AGOS Newspaper and similar publications are against Islam and that they pursue separatism.

1. Members of the Opposition Party

They must be informed that AKP tolerates threats and incidents against the non-Muslims and that it even supports them.

8. KEY COMMUNICATION FIGURES:

1. Religious Functionaries of the Minority Religions:

Both local and foreign public opinion is attracted to this issue thanks to their statements that they are under oppression and threats regarding their beliefs.

1. Members of the Opposition Party:

They must be directed to carry out campaigns that AKP tolerates threats and incidents against the non-Muslims and that it even supports them.

1. Writers, Editors, Program Producers and Presenters Working in the Press and Publication Organs:

By contacting the media organizations having anti-AKP publications, the agenda must be kept hot thanks to the publications to be made by them focusing on the pre-determined themes.

1. Non-Governmental Organizations and Trade Unions:

It must be ensured that they organize events (marches, demonstrations, panels, etc.) in line with the pre-determined themes.

1. Artists having social popularity:

They must draw public attention by making statements in line with the pre-determined themes during their programs.

9. COMMUNICATION TOOLS OF THE CAMPAIGN AND THEIR INTENSITY AND TIMING:

1. Under the terrorizing propaganda:

(1) The lists of subscribers to AGOS Newspaper, which have been obtained, will be published on Internet, particularly the share sites and reactionary web sites.

(2) Calls of threat will be made and letters of threat sent to the subscribers to AGOS Newspaper.

(3) Slogans with threatening contents will be written on the intensive routes in Adalar region.

(4) The lists of subscribers will be duplicated and left at such locations where they are easily visible to the citizens living on Adalar.

(5) Bombs will be exploded at various quarters in Adalar region.

(6) Assassination will be plotted against persons having a high profile as a fierce defender of minority rights.

(7) Sound bombs will be placed at the pre-determined spots such as the vicinity of AGOS Newspaper.

(8) By placing suspicious packages at many spots and informing the police of them, the security forces will be kept pre-occupied.

(9) Similar actions will also be made in the provinces such as Istanbul and İzmir where the non-Muslims live densely.

1. As part of building public opinion:

(1) It will be ensured that the lists of subscribers are published by the press, thus receiving coverage.

(2) Columns will be commissioned about the issue.

(3) The issue will have coverage by the debate programs, with the nonsensical attitude of AKP government being raised.

(4) The media will again give coverage of the Incidents of September 6 – 7 and news articles on the Wealth Tax.

(5) Anti-AKP web sites will be increased so that they stage intensive activities.

(6) Web sites operating against the minorities will be supported in terms of their contents.

(7) By developing new websites under titles www.tehditaltindayiz.com (“we are under threat”) , www.agosasahipcikalim.com” (“let us protect Agos”), etc., in addition the present ones, broadcasting will be made in line with pre-determined themes and such sites will be effectively promoted.

(8) By establishing Web sites for which impression is created that they are funded by AKP and pro-government media, promotion of such sites shall be made as required and publications with religious contents will be mixed with messages showing the media of the minorities, particularly AGOS Newspaper, as targets.

(9) By showing AKP and reactionary groups as the culprit of the actions executed, “black propaganda” will be carried out in terms of origin.

Levent BEKTAŞ

(R) Naval Major

Special Plan Cell Leader

ANNEX – C

LIST OF WEAPONS, MUNITIONS AND MATERIALS

POS. NO	TYPE OF WEAPON	QUANTITY	REMARKS
1	Sniper Rifles (Remington, 7.62 / Dragunov 7.62)	3 ea.
2	Sniper Rifles (Accracy 12.7)	2 ea.
3	Guns with silencer (Glock / Smith & Wesson / Colt)	5 ea.
4	Machine guns (Uzi)	4 ea.
5	LAW	30 ea.
POS. NO	TYPE OF MUNITIONS	QUANTITY	REMARKS
1	9 x 19 mm subsonic cartridges	900 ea.
2	C4 plastic explosive	20 lbs
3	C3 plastic explosive	20 lbs
4	C8 plastic explosive	20 lbs
5	Explosive fuse	100 feet
6	Electric detonator	20 ea.
7	Referee bombs	50 ea.
8	Land type fog boxes	50 ea.
9	MKE fog boxes	100 ea.
10	Ammonium nitrate	2 tons
11	7.62 mm competition cartridges	200 ea.
12	12.7mm anti-personnel cartridges	150 ea.
13	12.7 mm anti-material cartridges	150 ea.
14	Original munitions for the weapons to be allocated / supplied	5000 ea for each weapon
POS. NO	TYPE OF MATERIAL	QUANTITY	REMARKS
1	High Zoom Binoculars	3 ea.
2	Computers without Internet	9 ea.
3	Desktop computers (which must be capable of running PHOTOSHOP program efficiently)	4 ea.
4	Unused mobile phones and lines	75 ea.
5	Printers	3 ea.
6	A4 paper	100 packs
7	Unused portable memories (40 GB)	25 ea.
8	Unused portable memories (4 - 8 GB)	50 ea.
9	Unused SD cards (4 – 8 GB)	20 ea.
10	Digital cameras (Canon / Nikon)	6 ea.
11	Digital video cameras (Sony)	6 ea.

Eren GÜNAY

Naval Senior Major

Marmara Region Cell 2 Leader

---

[1] The media supporting the government, which is locally called “yandaş medya”; it will be referred to as the pro-government media hereafter for contextual harmony – Translator’s Note.

[2] which must be opposition – Translator’s Note.

SPECIAL WMR REPORT FROM ISTANBUL, TURKEY -- U.S. links to Turkish Ergenekon network revealed

Informed sources in Istanbul have told WMR that documents seized in the investigation of the Turkish "Deep State" network, also known as Ergenekon, describe links between top Turkish military officers and top figures in the Bush administration, including Vice President Dick Cheney. The documents also show that there is an American counterpart to Turkey's "Deep State." Turkish sources report that former FBI Turkish and Azeri translator Sibel Edmonds stumbled upon documents revealing both the Turkish and American "deep states" but was prevented on reporting on their activities by a Turkish Ergenekon agent assigned to the FBI translation office in Washington. Edmonds was fired by the FBI after she complained that no action was being taken on wiretaps that showed the criminal activities of both nations' "deep states."

Revelations expose U.S. links to Ergenekon

WMR has also learned of strong links between the Kemalist (supporters of Turkish secular state founder Kemal Ataturk) Ergenekon players and major figures of the Israeli Likud Party.

The Kemalist-Likud alliance explains to a great degree the repeated presence at the U.S. embassy in Ankara of U.S. diplomatic officials who are also close to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Chief among the U.S. diplomats who have served the interests of Ergenekon and AIPAC is Marc Grossman, the U.S. ambassador to Ankara from 1994 to 1997 and the GW Bush administration's Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs who was one of the first Bush officials to leak to Turkish intelligence agents the fact that CIA nuclear counterproliferation covert agent Valerie Plame Wilson's Brewster Jennings & Associates energy consulting company was a CIA brass plate operation.

WMR has also learned that Grossman and his chief military aide in Ankara Major Douglas Dickerson were asked to leave Turkey after it was learned that they were working with Ergenekon Turkish military and intelligence agents to overthrow the Azerbaijan government of President Haydar Aliyev, who was considered too pro-Russian. Dickerson's wife, Melek Can Dickerson, was Edmonds's co-worker at the FBI's translation shop who was marking intercepted Ergenekon-related conversations as "unimportant." WMR has learned from Turkish sources that Melek Can Dickerson was placed in the FBI's unit top ensure that Grossman's and her her husband's roles in working with Ergenekon remained secret.

Furthermore, Grossman and Dickerson, while at the US embassy in Ankara, were linked to the Susurluk scandal, an operation between Turkish military officers and criminal syndicates that exposed the linkage between the Turkish military and several "false flag" assassinations and terrorist bombings that were blamed on the Kurdish Worker's Party (PKK). The Susurluk scandal was exposed on November 3, 1996, when a Mercedes 600 SEL crashed in Susurluk in Balikesir province. In the trunk were discovered weapons, drugs, cash, listening devices, and Turkish diplomatic passports. The same network involved in the Susurluk incident were, according to our sources, working with Grossman and Dickerson at the U.S. embassy in Ankara to depose Aliyev in Baku and install Ebulfeyz Elchibey in his place. At the same time, Richard Armitage, who also figured in the outing of Valerie Plame, was the head of the U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce, which had among its advisers Richard Perle. Dickerson eventually began working for Perle's colleague Douglas Feith at the Pentagon, according to our sources.

Another member of the U.S. AIPAC faction tied to the Kemalists in Turkey was Eric Edelman, the U.S. ambassador in Ankara between 2003 and 2005. His major task was to ensure that U.S. and Israeli links to Ergenekon were not exposed. Edelman served as Vice President Dick Cheney's Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs from February 2001 to July 2003. WMR has also learned from Turkish sources that the principal players in the Susurluk scandal, including those planning to overthrow Aliyev in Azerbaijan, were supported by Cheney while he was the chief of Halliburton, a major player in Azerbaijan's oil industry and a backer of Armitage's U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce. Azerbaijan was the origination point for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and Halliburton was a key contractor.

The revelations that Cheney was involved in a plot by Turkish military officers and criminal syndicates to carry out false flag terrorist attacks and assassinations of Turkish citizens would presage Cheney's similar operations while he was Vice President, including the most infamous false flag attack of all time: 9/11.

Next: How the Israel Lobby is spreading fear and lies in the United States about the Turkish AKP government.

The United States takes the matter of three-headed babies very seriously.

When did it begin, all this "We take your [call/problem/question] very seriously"? With answering-machine hell? As you wait endlessly, the company or government agency assures you that they take seriously whatever reason you're calling. What a kind and thoughtful world we live in.

The BBC reported last month that doctors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah are reporting a high level of birth defects, with some blaming weapons used by the United States during its fierce onslaughts of 2004 and subsequently, which left much of the city in ruins. "It was like an earthquake," a local engineer who was running for a national assembly seat told the Washington Post in 2005. "After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was Fallujah." Now, the level of heart defects among newborn babies is said to be 13 times higher than in Europe.

The BBC correspondent also saw children in the city who were suffering from paralysis or brain damage, and a photograph of one baby who was born with three heads. He added that he heard many times that officials in Fallujah had warned women that they should not have children. One doctor in the city had compared data about birth defects from before 2003 — when she saw about one case every two months — with the situation now, when she saw cases every day. "I've seen footage of babies born with an eye in the middle of the forehead, the nose on the forehead," she said.

A spokesman for the US military, Michael Kilpatrick, said it always took public health concerns "very seriously", but that "No studies to date have indicated environmental issues resulting in specific health issues." ¹

One could fill many large volumes with the details of the environmental and human horrors the United States has brought to Fallujah and other parts of Iraq during seven years of using white phosphorous shells, depleted uranium, napalm, cluster bombs, neutron bombs, laser weapons, weapons using directed energy, weapons using high-powered microwave technology, and other marvelous inventions in the Pentagon's science-fiction arsenal ... the list of abominations and grotesque ways of dying is long, the wanton cruelty of American policy shocking. In November 2004, the US military targeted a Fallujah hospital "because the American military believed that it was the source of rumors about heavy casualties." ² That's on a par with the classic line from the equally glorious American war in Vietnam: "We had to destroy the city to save it."

How can the world deal with such inhumane behavior? (And the above of course scarcely scratches the surface of the US international record.) For this the International Criminal Court (ICC) was founded in Rome in 1998 (entering into force July 1, 2002) under the aegis of the United Nations. The Court was established in The Hague, Netherlands to investigate and indict individuals, not states, for "The crime of genocide; Crimes against humanity; War crimes; or The crime of aggression." (Article 5 of the Rome Statute) From the very beginning, the United States was opposed to joining the ICC, and has never ratified it, because of the alleged danger of the Court using its powers to "frivolously" indict Americans.

So concerned about indictments were the American powers-that-be that the US went around the world using threats and bribes against countries to induce them to sign agreements pledging not to transfer to the Court US nationals accused of committing war crimes abroad. Just over 100 governments so far have succumbed to the pressure and signed an agreement. In 2002, Congress, under the Bush administration, passed the "American Service Members Protection Act", which called for "all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any US or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by ... the International Criminal Court." In the Netherlands it's widely and derisively known as the "Invasion of The Hague Act". ³ The law is still on the books.

Though American officials have often spoken of "frivolous" indictments — politically motivated prosecutions against US soldiers, civilian military contractors, and former officials — it's safe to say that what really worries them are "serious" indictments based on actual events. But they needn't worry. The mystique of "America the Virtuous" is apparently alive and well at the International Criminal Court, as it is, still, in most international organizations; indeed, amongst most people of the world. The ICC, in its first few years, under Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, an Argentine, dismissed many hundreds of petitions accusing the United States of war crimes, including 240 concerning the war in Iraq. The cases were turned down for lack of evidence, lack of jurisdiction, or because of the United States' ability to conduct its own investigations and trials. The fact that the US never actually used this ability was apparently not particularly significant to the Court. "Lack of jurisdiction" refers to the fact that the United States has not ratified the accord. On the face of it, this does seem rather odd. Can nations commit war crimes with impunity as long as they don't become part of a treaty banning war crimes? Hmmm. The possibilities are endless. A congressional study released in August, 2006 concluded that the ICC's chief prosecutor demonstrated "a reluctance to launch an investigation against the United States" based on allegations regarding its conduct in Iraq. ⁴ Sic transit gloria International Criminal Court.

As to the crime of aggression, the Court's statute specifies that the Court "shall exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression once a provision is adopted ... defining the crime and setting out the conditions under which the Court shall exercise jurisdiction with respect to this crime." In short, the crime of aggression is exempted from the Court's jurisdiction until "aggression" is defined. Writer Diana Johnstone has observed: "This is a specious argument since aggression has been quite clearly defined by U.N. General Assembly Resolution 3314 in 1974, which declared that: 'Aggression is the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State', and listed seven specific examples," including:

The invasion or attack by the armed forces of a State of the territory of another State, or any military occupation, however temporary, resulting from such invasion or attack, or any annexation by the use of force of the territory of another State or part thereof; and

Bombardment by the armed forces of a State against the territory of another State or the use of any weapons by a State against the territory of another State.

The UN resolution also stated that: "No consideration of whatever nature, whether political, economic, military or otherwise, may serve as a justification for aggression."

The real reason that aggression remains outside the jurisdiction of the ICC is that the United States, which played a strong role in elaborating the Statute before refusing to ratify it, was adamantly opposed to its inclusion. It is not hard to see why. It may be noted that instances of "aggression", which are clearly factual, are much easier to identify than instances of "genocide", whose definition relies on assumptions of intention. ⁵

There will be a conference of the ICC in May, in Kampala, Uganda, in which the question of specifically defining "aggression" will be discussed. The United States is concerned about this discussion. Here is Stephen J. Rapp, US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, speaking to the ICC member nations (111 have ratified thus far) in The Hague last November 19:

I would be remiss not to share with you my country's concerns about an issue pending before this body to which we attach particular importance: the definition of the crime of aggression, which is to be addressed at the Review Conference in Kampala next year. The United States has well-known views on the crime of aggression, which reflect the specific role and responsibilities entrusted to the Security Council by the UN Charter in responding to aggression or its threat, as well as concerns about the way the draft definition itself has been framed. Our view has been and remains that, should the Rome Statute be amended to include a defined crime of aggression, jurisdiction should follow a Security Council determination that aggression has occurred.

Do you all understand what Mr. Rapp is saying? That the United Nations Security Council should be the body that determines whether aggression has occurred. The same body in which the United States has the power of veto. To prevent the adoption of a definition of aggression that might stigmatize American foreign policy is likely the key reason the US will be attending the upcoming conference.

Nonetheless, the fact that the United States will be attending the conference may well be pointed out by some as another example of how the Obama administration foreign policy is an improvement over that of the Bush administration. But as with almost all such examples, it's a propaganda illusion. Like the cover of Newsweek magazine of March 8, written in very large type: "Victory at last: The emergence of a democratic Iraq". Even before the current Iraqi electoral farce — with winning candidates arrested or fleeing ⁶— this headline should have made one think of the interminable jokes Americans made during the Cold War about Pravda and Izvestia.

Notes

1. BBC, March 4, 2010; Washington Post, December 3, 2005 ^↩
2. New York Times, November 8, 2004 ^↩
3. Christian Science Monitor, February 13, 2009 ^↩
4. Washington Post, November 7, 2006 ^↩
5. Diana Johnstone, Counterpunch, January 27/28, 2007 ^↩
6. Washington Post, April 2, 2010 ^↩–

William Blum is the author of:

• Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War 2
• Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower
• West-Bloc Dissident: A Cold War Memoir
• Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire

Portions of the books can be read, and signed copies purchased, at www.killinghope.org

Israel's Bellicose Threats Against Iran

"Hold Me Back!"

Israel's Bellicose Threats Against Iran

By URI AVNERY

"HOLD ME back!” is a part of Israeli folklore. It reminds us of our childhood.

When a boy has a scuffle with a bigger and stronger boy, he pretends that he is going to attack him any moment and shouts to the spectators: “Hold me back, or I am going to kill him!”

Israel is now in such a situation. We pretend that we are going to attack Iran at any moment and shout to the entire world: “Hold us back or…”

And the world does indeed hold us back.

* * *

IT IS dangerous to prophesy in such matters, especially when we are dealing with people not all of whom are wise and not all of whom are sane. Yet I am ready to maintain: there is no possibility whatsoever that the government of Israel will send the air force to attack Iran.

I am not going to enter into military matters. Is our air force really capable of executing such an operation? Are circumstances similar to those that prevailed 28 years ago, when the Iraqi reactor was successfully destroyed? Is it at all possible for us to eliminate the Iranian nuclear effort, whose installations are dispersed throughout the large country and buried far below the surface?

I want to focus on another aspect: is it politically feasible? What would be the consequences?

* * *

FIRST OF ALL, a basic rule of Israeli reality: the State of Israel cannot start any large-scale military operation without American consent.

Israel depends on the US in almost every respect, but in no sphere is it more dependent than in the military one.

The aircraft that must execute the mission were supplied to us by the US. Their efficacy depends on a steady flow of American spare parts. At that range, refueling from US-built tanker aircraft would be necessary.

The same is true for almost all other war material of our army, as well as for the money needed for their acquisition. Everything comes from America.

In 1956, Israel went to war without American consent. Ben-Gurion thought that his collusion with the UK and France was enough. He was vastly mistaken. One hundred hours after telling us that the “Third Kingdom of Israel” had come into being, he announced with a broken voice that he was going to evacuate all the territories just conquered. President Dwight Eisenhower, together with his Soviet colleague, had submitted an ultimatum, and that was the end of the adventure.

Since then, Israel has not started a single war without securing the agreement of Washington. On the eve of the Six-day War, a special emissary was sent to the US to make sure that there was indeed American agreement. When he returned with an affirmative answer, the order for the attack was issued.

On the eve of Lebanon War I, Defense Minister Ariel Sharon rushed to Washington to obtain American consent. He met with Secretary of State Alexander Haig, who agreed – but only on condition that there would be a clear provocation. A few days later there just happened to be an attempt on the life of the Israeli ambassador in London, and the war was on.

The Israeli army’s offensives against Hezbollah (“Lebanon War II”) and Hamas (“Cast Lead”) were possible because they were cast as part of the American campaign against “Radical Islam”.

Ostensibly, that is also true for an attack on Iran. But no.

* * *

BECAUSE AN Israeli attack on Iran would cause a military, political and economic disaster for the United States of America.

Since the Iranians, too, realize that Israel could not attack without American consent, they would react accordingly.

As I have written here before, a cursory glance at the map suffices to indicate what would be the immediate reaction. The narrow Hormuz Strait at the entrance of the Persian (or Arabian) Gulf, through which a huge part of the world’s oil flows, would be sealed at once. The results would shake the international economy, from the US and Europe to China and Japan. Prices would soar to the skies. The countries that had just begun to recover from the world economic crisis would sink to the depths of misery and unemployment, riots and bankruptcies.

The Strait could be opened only by a military operation on the ground. The US simply has no troops to spare for this – even if the American public were ready for another war, one much more difficult than even those of Iraq and Afghanistan. It is even doubtful whether the US could help Israel to defend itself against the inevitable counter-stroke by Iranian missiles.

The Israeli attack on a central Islamic country would unite the entire Islamic world, including the entire Arab world. The US, which has spent the last few years laboring mightily to form a coalition of “moderate” Arab states (meaning: countries governed by dictators kept by the US) against the “radical” states. This pack would immediately become unstuck. No Arab leader would be able to stand aside while the masses of his people were gathering in tumultuous demonstrations in the squares.

All this is clear to any knowledgeable person, and even more so to the American military and civilian leaders. Secretaries, generals and admirals have been sent to Israel to make this clear to our leaders in a language that even kindergarten kids can understand: No! Lo! La! Nyet!

* * *

IF SO, why has the military option not been removed from the table?

Because the US and Israel like it lying there.

The US likes to pose as if it can hardly hold back the ferocious Israeli Rottweiler on its leash. This puts pressure on the other powers to agree to the imposition of sanctions on Iran. If you don’t agree, the murderous dog could leap out of control. Think about the consequences!

What sanctions? For some time now, this terrifying word – “sanctions” – has been bedeviling everybody on the international stage. They are going to be imposed “within weeks”. But when one inquires what it is all about, one realizes that there is a lot of smoke and very little fire. Some commanders of the Revolutionary Guards may be hurt, some marginal damage inflicted on the Iranian economy. The “paralyzing sanctions” have disappeared, because there was no chance that Russia and China would agree. Both do very good business with Iran.

Also, there is very little chance that these sanctions would stop the production of the bomb, or even slow it down. From the point of view of the Ayatollahs, this effort is the prime imperative of national defense – only a country with nuclear arms is immune from American attack. Faced with the repeated threats by American spokesmen to overthrow their regime, no Iranian government could act differently. The more so since during the last century, the Americans and the British have repeatedly done exactly that. Iranian denials are perfunctory. According to all reports, even the most extreme Iranian opponents of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad support the acquisition of the bomb and would rally behind him if attacked.

In this respect, the Israeli leadership is right: nothing will stop Iran’s endeavor to obtain a nuclear bomb except the massive employment of military power. The “sanctions” are childish games. The American administration is talking about them in glowing terms in order to cover up the fact that even mighty America is unable to stop the Iranian bomb.

* * *

WHEN NETANYAHU & Co. criticize the inability of the American leaders to act against Iran, they answer in the same coin: you, too, are not serious.

And indeed, how serious are our leaders about this? They have convinced the Israeli public that it is a matter of life and death. Iran is led by a madman, a new Hitler, a sick anti-Semite, an obsessive Holocaust-denier. If he got his hands on a nuclear bomb, he would not hesitate for a moment to drop it on Tel Aviv and Dimona. With this sword hanging over our heads, this is no time for trivial matters, such as the Palestinian problem and the occupation. Everyone who raises the Palestinian question in a meeting with our leaders is immediately interrupted: Forget this nonsense, let’s talk about the Iranian bomb!!

But Obama and his people turn the argument around: if this is an existential danger, they say, please draw the conclusions. If this matter endangers the very existence of Israel, sacrifice the West Bank settlements on this altar. Accept the Arab League peace offer, make peace with the Palestinians as quickly as possible. That will ease our situation in Iraq and Afghanistan and free our forces. Also, Iran would have no more pretext for war with Israel. The masses of the Arab world would not support it anymore.

And the conclusion: If a new Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem is more important to you than the Iranian bomb, the matter is clearly not really so critical for you. And that, with all due modesty, is my opinion, too.

* * *

THE DAY before yesterday a correspondent of Israel’s popular Channel 2 called me and asked, in a shocked voice: “Is it true that you have given an interview to the Iranian news agency?

“That’s true,” I told her. The agency mailed me some questions about the political situation, and I answered.

“Why did you do this?” she asked/accused.

“Why not?” I replied. That was the end of the conversation.

And indeed, why not? True, Ahmadinejad is a repulsive leader. I hope that the Iranians will get rid of him, and assume that this will happen sooner or later. But our relations with Iran do not depend on one single person, whoever he may be. They go back to ancient times and were always friendly – from the time of Cyrus until the time of Khomeini (whom we provided with arms to fight the Iraqis.)

In Israel, the portrayal of Iran nowadays is a caricature: a primitive, crazy country, with nothing on its mind but the destruction of the Zionist state. But it suffices to read a few good books about Iran (I would recommend William Polk’s “Understanding Iran”) which describe one of the oldest civilized countries in the world, which has given birth to several great empires and made a remarkable contribution to human culture. It has an old and proud tradition. Some scholars believe that the Jewish religion was profoundly influenced by the ethical teachings of Zoroaster (Zarathustra).

Whatever the rantings of Ahmadinejad, the real rulers of the country, the clerics, conduct a cautious and sober policy, and have never attacked another country. They have many important interests, and Israel is not among them. The idea that they would sacrifice their own glorious homeland in order to destroy Israel is ludicrous.

The simple truth is that there is no way to prevent the Iranians from acquiring a nuclear bomb. Better to think seriously about the situation that would be created: a balance of terror like the one between India and Pakistan, the elevation of Iran to the rank of a regional power, the need to start a sober dialogue with it.

But the main conclusion is: to make peace with the Palestinian people and the entire Arab world, in order to draw the rug from under any Iranian posture of defending them from us.

Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom. He is a contributor to CounterPunch's book The Politics of Anti-Semitism.

Ten Self-Evident Truths For Americans

By Gary Lord*

"We hold these truths to be self-evident…"
- Thomas Jefferson, US Declaration Of Independence.

Today, much of the world's most critically important debates are mired in time-wasting, dishonest, pseudo-scientific gobbledy-gook. Politicians and professional spin-doctors muddy the waters with ridiculous, headline-grabbing arguments that do nothing but stall progress. Teams of professional lawyers search for obtuse loopholes to protect their wealthy clients from socially important judgements. Media whores chase rabbits through thickets of steaming prose that grow denser by the day, till the truth is nowhere to be found.

It's time to draw a line in the sand. It's time to agree that certain issues are not up for debate any more. It's time to demand that certain facts be recognised as universal, self-evident truths. And if we can do this, then perhaps, like those who long ago overthrew slavery and imperial control, we can all move forward to a better future.

FACTS

I propose that the following ten facts be acknowledged as no longer worth debating:

1. Evolution is real. The world was created billions of years ago. Modern human beings evolved from ancestors who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago.

2. Man-made global warming is real. Even if the earth is warming partly due to natural processes, there is absolutely no scientific basis for doubt that the earth is warming, and that human activity is accelerating this problem. Therefore, there is absolutely no excuse for not doing everything we can to urgently combat this growing crisis.

3. We don't know the whole truth about what happened on September 11th, 2001, because the US government's 9/11 Commission was a reluctantly organized cover-up. The commission heads were government stooges. Important evidence was ignored or supressed. 48 pages of the final report were redacted. Conspiracy theories have only been able to proliferate because the official government version of events is so blatantly inadequate.

4. Dr Bruce Ivins did not single-handedly orchestrate the US anthrax attacks of October 2001. Robert Mueller's FBI mis-managed the investigation from the start by harassing innocent suspects, ignoring a host of important evidence, and then closing the case prematurely without conclusive evidence after Ivins died. Obviously they did not want to find the real killers.

5. The US-led invasion of Iraq was illegal. Saddam never had any WMDs, nor any ties to terrorists, and the people who made the decision to invade Iraq knew that perfectly well. They lied, they "sexed up" the intelligence, they side-lined the United Nations, and they intimidated or eliminated anyone else who stood in their way.

6. The USA and their international "Coalition Of The Willing" partners invaded Iraq for the oil. There were secondary motives, of course, including establishing a new US military foothold in the Middle East (especially after the USA quietly caved in to Bin Laden's demand to withdraw from Saudi Arabia). But with peak oil looming, control of Iraq's oil resources was always the primary objective. It's no coincidence that the President and Vice President of the USA at the time were both former oil company CEOs.

7. Israel's treatment of Palestinians amounts to apartheid, and Washington supports this because the US government is riddled with excessive pro-Israeli influences. US foreign policy is inordinately skewered towards Israel, and it is only US protectionism that makes international condemnation of Israeli apartheid impossible. US-support of Zionist expansion results in atrocious living conditions for Palestinians, and consequently not just a more dangerous Middle East, but also a more dangerous world for all of us.

8. Corporate media outlets are not trustworthy news sources. They have been heavily complicit in efforts to mislead the public about Iraq, Iran, the global financial crisis, global warming, and many other critically important issues. Moguls who control media monopolies collude with fellow billionaires and government leaders to keep the public confused, misled and uninformed. Rupert Murdoch in particular is as much a War Criminal as George W. Bush, Tony Blair and John Howard.

9. Despite a change of government, the USA still condones torture and holds people without charge in secret gulags around the world. It still spies on its own citizens and reserves the right to kill them without due process anywhere in the world. It still kills innocent civilians of other nations without due concern. All this has been justified by both major US political parties as part of a "war on terror" that has never been clearly defined, and which also has no clear goals. This implies that these illegal and unconstitutional US government actions will persist indefinitely, as will the self-declared "Long War" against anyone they chose to proclaim an enemy combatant. This is not acceptable behaviour for a civilized nation.

10. The richest 1% of people on this planet should not control 40% of the wealth. That's just wrong. Wealthy individuals and global corporations, particularly the financial sector, currently wield massively disproportionate power in comparison to ordinary individuals. This cannot be allowed to continue.

CONCLUSIONS

If we can agree that these ten, simple facts are true, then we are forced to draw some rather horrific conclusions. It's no wonder most people would rather ignore them!

There is a global conspiracy to keep the public uninformed. Such language may sound alarmist, but there is no other way to describe it. The world's super-rich elites have informally bonded together to keep the public ignorant about important issues – including war crimes – that these people just don't want to discuss. As the ten above truths demonstrate, this conspiracy is no longer a "theory" – it is an observable fact.

It is tempting to declare that Western democratic government is no longer functional in any meaningful sense. The social contract between people and government has been broken. The Fourth Estate is broken too. The corporations, the banks, the lobbyists and their employers have taken control of the decision-making process. There is no meaningful oversight or accountability. Even the public debating process is skewed to the point of farce.

Effectively, what we have now is economic class warfare, waged from the top down. Those of us at the bottom, who know what is going on, have nobody to represent us in the corridors of power. We have no real voice in the mainstream media. We are disenfranchised, even as we continue working and paying taxes to support the official lies.

As history shows, people cannot be treated like this forever without consequence.

* Gary Lord is an Australian writer who became politically active when his country spear-headed the illegal 2003 invasion of Iraq. He is working on a book about his experiences as the author of several blogs including Bush Out, Howard Out, and Riding The Juggernaut.