MARINE CORPS COMBAT VETERAN SGT. ANDREW TAHMOORESSI REMAINS IN MEXICO PRISON NOW FOR 35 DAYS

Sgt. Tahmooressi in urgent need of U.S. medical care; Mexican authorities would gain the instant goodwill and thanks of Marines were they to release this decorated combat veteran on humanitarian medical grounds:  This and other cases appear to be linked to Eric Holder's "Fast and Furious" CIA Latin American gun-running

THE 5TH ESTATE
By Robert S. Finnegan
05/04/2014

Marine Corps Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi remains in a Mexican prison as of today, charged with gun possession after being arrested on weapons charges following a mistaken border crossing.

USMC Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi

Sgt. Tahmooressi, who was in San Diego to receive treatment for PTSD was unfamiliar with the area took a wrong turn and wound up in a one-way traffic pattern that led him to cross the border into Mexico.  He was attempting to turn around and re-cross back into the U.S. when he was arrested by Mexican authorities.

The Marine Sergeant was initially chained down to a cot in prison, but was then transferred to a private cell where is movements are less restrictive and conditions marginally better.

Tahmoressi's mother Jill continues to live if fear for the life of her son who should be receiving medical treatment for PTSD in San Diego and says it has taken a further toll on this mental health.

Jill Tahmooressi

"We are paying for him constantly, and waiting for the State Department and Marine Corps to take action on his case," she said. When contacted by The 5th Estate, a Headquarters Marine Corps spokesman deferred to the U.S. State Department.

The State Department has not returned repeated inquires into the status of this case and any efforts they are undertaking to secure the release of Sgt. Tahmooressi.

The 5th Estate will provide daily updates on the condition of Sgt. Tahmooressi and the status of his case until he is released.

From the Wayne Madsen Report:

Another U.S. gun-running operation discovered, one with connections to Pentagon

National Guard sources have revealed to WMR that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives' controversial Operation Fast and Furious gun-smuggling investigation in Arizona and Mexico. The operation's stated intent was to track the smuggling of weapons from the United States to Mexico. The denial of documents and e-mail about Fast and Furious to the U.S. House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee has resulted in the first ever contempt of Congress vote against a Cabinet member, Attorney General Eric Holder.

WMR has learned of a California state investigation of the smuggling of U.S. military weapons, originally reported to have been lost in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, by members of the California National Guard. The investigation is also focusing on the embezzlement of California National Guard funds by National Guard officials.

In addition, the investigation of the smuggling of war zone weapons into the United States is not limited to California. WMR has been told by National Guard sources of similar investigations in Texas, New Jersey, North Carolina, Arizona, Michigan, Mississippi, and other states. The embezzlement of National Guard funds is also reported to be under investigation in some of the states.

Recently, a member of the North Carolina National Guard, Staff Sergeant Josepoh Debose, a member of the North Carolina National Guard Special Forces unit that operates in close liaison with the U.S. Army's Special Forces command in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was arrested by federal agents in Smithfield, North Carolina for smuggling weapons from the United States to China. The weapons ended up in some 16 cities and provinces throughout China and, although investigated jointly by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and FBI, may be part of a covert CIA and George Soros operation to destabilize China. Chinese authorities arrested 23 people and seized more than 100 weapons and more than 50,000 rounds of ammunition. Debose was linked to the shipment of several weapons packages to China. One shipment was made from Queens in New York. The serial numbers of the weapons had been filed off.

The investigation of the smuggling ring began when Chinese security officers arrested a Chinese man at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The man was transporting weapons into China. Private gun ownership is illegal in China.

In 2007, the former Blackwater private military firm came under a federal investigation when it was discovered that former employees of the firm were involved in smuggling weapons into Iraq from the United States. Two ex-Blackwater employees, Kenneth Caldwell and William Grumiaux, pleaded guilty to the possession of stolen firearms in violation of interstate and foreign commerce laws. Both agreed to cooperate with federal investigators.

Ironically, when the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee investigated Blackwater and its chairman Erik Prince in 2007, it was current committee chairman Representative Darrel Issa, who charged that the then-committee chairman, Democrat Henry Waxman, was engaged in a witch hunt against Blackwater and Prince. Referring to Prince, Issa stated that the committee report on Prince and Blackwater was "an attempt to paint this gentleman and his company" in an unfavorable light to appease "Democrat eyes." Last October, Issa, as chairman, sent a letter to President Obama in which he wrote that several questions originally posed by Waxman about Blackwater's State Department contracts, which were assumed by its two successors, Xe Services and Academi, were never adequately answered by either the Bush or Obama administrations.

An Iraq war veteran of the Mississippi National Guard, John Buster Jones, was indicted and arrested in a federal sting operation for attempting to traffic guns to gang members. Seven others were also indicted in the sting operation.

In Texas, Governor Rick Perry has, according to our sources, demanded a full investigation of Texas National Guard embezzlement and gun trafficking.

In April, retired Arizona National Guard Colonel James Burnes of Maricopa County was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for embezzling some $2.8 million in charitable funds earmarked for Arizona National Guard personnel and their families for emergency assistance. Burnes had been the resource manager for the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs between 2003 and 2011.

Earlier this year, a Michigan National Guard sergeant was caught embezzling funds from a Michigan National Guard armory in Adrian. Weapons and other materials, including machine guns, TNT, ammunition, artillery shells, grenades and launchers, pistols, land mines, mortars and mortar rounds, detonating wire, regular and sniper rifles, and pistols have been stolen from National Guard armories in Iowa, Pennsylvania, Alabama, and Utah.

Last December, federal authorities rounded up a drug smuggling ring in Camden, New Jersey that was also involved in in trafficking U.S. military weapons. The New Jersey Air National Guard took part in Operation Jumpstart.

Although weapons smuggling to Mexico was the focus of Fast and Furious, there has also been an increase int he smuggling of weapons from the United States to Canada, with the Interstate-75 corridor being noted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as the favored route for the smuggling of weapons into Ontario from Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, and Florida. In response to the weapons trafficking, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has slashed funding to the Canadian Border Services Agency.

Read more »

MERS VIRUS IN U.S. - CONTINUES TO SPREAD

UK and U.S. authorities act as if there was nothing they could do to stop spread of virus when in fact they had ample warning and could have closed down air traffic:  "Disease poorly understood" by medical personnel precisely because it is a man-made "novel" virus that only appeared in 2012

REUTERS
By Julie Steenhuysen
05/04/2014

When the SARS outbreak arrived in Toronto on February 23, 2003, carried by a woman traveling from Hong Kong, the disease quickly spread to hospital workers and patients in area hospitals, ultimately infecting 257 individuals and killing 33 people.

It's a memory that hangs fresh in the mind of Dr Michael Bell, deputy director of the division of healthcare quality promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Atlanta-based federal agency last week sent a team of infectious disease experts to Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana, to attend to the first confirmed U.S. case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS.

"We take this very seriously," Bell told Reuters in an exclusive interview. "In a worst-case scenario, this could spread rapidly."

MERS is caused by a coronavirus, a family of viruses that includes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS, which emerged in China in 2002-2003 and killed some 800 people.

"If you recall the SARS experience in Toronto, that was something that managed to be transmitted into the healthcare facility, leading to severe illness and death," he said.

"This is not something that we want to take lightly."

State health officials in Indiana report the man is in good condition and improving daily. Hospital personnel who may have been exposed to the virus are being kept in home isolation and watched daily for the emergence of pneumonia-like symptoms. Generally the incubation period of MERS is 14 days.

The patient is a healthcare worker who on April 28 was admitted to the hospital just 30 minutes south of Chicago after having worked in healthcare in Saudi Arabia, the center of the MERS outbreak that began in 2012. So far, 262 people in 12 countries have had confirmed infections that have been reported by the World Health Organization, and another 100 MERS patients have been confirmed by other ministries of health. So far, 93 people have died.

U.S. health officials are now checking airline manifests and contacting patients who may have been seated near the man who took a plane from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to London and then to Chicago, where he then took a bus to an undisclosed city in Indiana.

'ABSOLUTELY METICULOUS'

To keep the infection from spreading within the hospital, the man is being treated in an isolation room from which air is expelled through a filter, preventing it from being shared in the hallway.

"It's not because we have proof that this virus spreads easily through the air, but we don't want to take any chances," Bell said.

Utilize oxygen by any means

People who enter the room wear a respirator, a type of filtering mask that keeps them from breathing in any airborne particles in the room.

And because MERS is in a family of viruses called coronaviruses that can also be spread through contact with the patient's stool, the team is taking measures to keep all possibly infectious materials from leaving the room.

"You put on gowns and gloves before you go in the room. You take them off before you leave. You pay a lot of attention to washing your hands afterwards with alcohol gel or soap and water," Bell said.

Finally, because tear ducts in the eyes are connected to the throat, healthcare workers wear goggles or face shields to prevent any droplets from entering the eyes.

All of these measures are part of standard hospital protocols for treating various infectious diseases. People with tuberculosis are placed in airborne isolation rooms. With diarrheal diseases, healthcare workers use contact prevention measures.

"None of this is different from what the hospital is already accustomed to doing. We're just making sure the implementation in this case is absolutely meticulous," Bell said.

Bell said current hospital control measures became common practice during the HIV epidemic, when hospital workers had to assume anyone coming in the doors could be infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

"I think it's safe to say every healthcare worker, even in an outpatient setting, understands that whatever comes in the doors, they could be exposed to something infectious," Bell said.

"That ranges from something as common as seasonal influenza, or, if you work in a pediatric facility, there any number of diarrheal diseases," he said.

Despite the best efforts, however, hospitals remain a major source of infection. In March, the CDC reported that roughly one of every 25 U.S. hospital patients contracts an infection during their stay.

DISEASE POORLY UNDERSTOOD

Standard procedures for patients walking into the emergency department with a fever and respiratory complaints, as the MERS patient did in Indiana, are to put a mask on the patient and place them in room with a closed door.

"My understanding is the patient was placed in a private room very quickly," Bell said of the Indiana patient.

H5N1 weaponizers Kawaoka, Fouchier

As for treatments, there are no specific drugs that can treat MERS, but there are basic treatments that can help the patient fight off the infection, including oxygen, which can reduce the burden on the lungs.

In addition to disease prevention experts, the CDC has sent a team of virologists to the hospital to study the MERS virus, which is still poorly understood. Although the virus first surfaced in 2012, its presence in the United States will give U.S. scientists the opportunity to study it up close.

Currently, it is not clear how the virus is transmitted, but it is clear that it can pass among individuals who have close contact with infected patients.

"The good news is that it's a group of viruses that have a very delicate envelope or membrane on the outside. Because of that, the virus tends to be rapidly inactivated by disinfectants," Bell said.

Since March of 2014, there has been a spike in the number of cases reported in Saudi Arabia. Bell said it is not clear whether that represents a change in the virus that makes it easier to spread, or an increase in the number of cases being reported to health officials.

"That is completely unknown at the moment. It's still rather early in terms of the viral characterization. Since this has all been happening outside the U.S., it's not something we've had a lot of time to work on."

At this point, the CDC has not issued any restrictions on air travel, but Bell said the case makes clear just how easily infections can spread. He recommends that people traveling through airports try to limit what they touch, and wash their hands frequently.

Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The 5^th Estate.

This news bureau contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

 

Read more »

The Unraveling Of Ukraine

"Mainstream media" hypocrites continue to place blame on Russia for ongoing violence, completely ignoring the fact that it was Obama's CIA engineered and financed coup in Kiev that sparked this entire incident

NEW EASTERN OUTLOOK
By Eric Draitser
05/04/2014

The Kiev regime’s deadly assault on cities in the East and South of Ukraine in recent days has opened a new chapter in the ongoing conflict in that country. The scores of dead and injured provide a sad testament to the fact that what was a united country little more than three months ago has now become a nation tearing apart at the seams.

As the Ukrainian military launches assaults on key cities in the East and South, the danger of civil war, which once seemed possible but unlikely, is now becoming an all too real threat. However, the threat does not end there. A full blown civil war in Ukraine would necessarily require intervention from Moscow as the security of Russian-speaking Ukrainians, Russian nationals in Ukraine, as well as Russia itself would be threatened. With a neoliberal-fascist alliance supported by, and subservient to, the West, ruling the day in Kiev, Moscow would be forced to respond if only as a defensive measure.

In such a scenario, events and outcomes often become unpredictable, precisely the recipe for a military conflict of terrifying global proportions.

The Changing Complexion of the Crisis

In order to understand where the situation in Ukraine is heading, it is critical to examine how the nature of the conflict, specifically in the East, has transformed from one of political grievances and calls for regional autonomy, to a military and paramilitary campaign to crush opposition. In doing so, it becomes clear that this fundamental transformation has severely limited the political and diplomatic options of the various sides, making a civil war and regional instability a very real possibility. 

As strategically critical cities such as Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, and Odessa are under assault by a combination of regular Ukrainian military and Right Sector and other fascist paramilitary forces, there can of course be no substantive negotiations, let alone diplomacy geared toward de-escalation. As Dmitry Peskov, Russian Presidential Press Secretary, noted in his address to the media, “Russia will continue the policy aimed at de-escalation. We shall do whatever is possible and wherever it is possible so as to follow the de-escalation path step by step,” while noting the fact that, “The authorities in Kiev are not only directly responsible, they are direct accomplices in these criminal actions. Their hands are full of blood.”

The obvious contradiction is clear: on the one hand Moscow wants to follow the framework established by the April 17th Geneva agreement and move towards de-escalation from all sides, while on the other hand Russia acknowledges that they have no legitimate counterparts in Ukraine (the regime in Kiev being illegal and unrecognized by Moscow) nor do they have negotiating partners in Washington which is continuing to back Kiev.

In fact, Russia acknowledged this fact explicitly, referring to the US position as being rooted in “cynicism.”

Essentially, Moscow is touching upon the key point, though perhaps in a diplomatic and indirect way, namely that the US and its Western partners have no interest in peace and order in Ukraine, but rather are manipulating the situation to their own advantage while feigning indignation. Naturally, Russia has ample cause to feel this way as the April 17th Geneva agreement, like the February 21st agreement before it, were never implemented or adhered to by the junta in Kiev or its Western backers.

With regard to the most recent agreement which called for de-escalation from both Kiev and the anti-Maidan protesters in the East and South, there never was any disarming of the fascist paramilitaries employed as shock troops, nor were there any substantive steps taken by the “government” to ease tensions or move towards negotiations. Moreover, Russia’s charge of cynicism by the West is perhaps best substantiated by the fact that the US continually calls for peace and order in Ukraine while providing overt political, diplomatic, economic, and quite possibly tactical support to the Ukrainian military and paramilitary forces. The line between hypocrisy and cynicism can be quite blurry indeed.

It is critical to remember that the basic demand expressed in that April 17th Geneva agreement was that “All sides must refrain from any violence, intimidation, or provocative actions.” While the US continually accuses Russia of breaking the agreements, the reality is quite the opposite. It is, in fact, Kiev and its patrons in Washington and Brussels who have broken the agreement with the military assault on the East and the covert and overt support provided by the West.

In light of this, is it any wonder that Russian President Putin has repeatedly referred to double standards and hypocrisy when it comes to Western rhetoric?

In analyzing how the conflict in Ukraine has fundamentally changed though, one must also examine the tactics and developments on the ground. The fire in the trade unions building in the Black Sea port city of Odessa, which killed at least 38 innocent Ukrainians, is a war crime of the highest order. Allegations from many sources on the ground are that the fascist Right Sector militia, which is nominally under the control of Kiev, was responsible for setting the blaze. While an investigation to determine conclusively who was responsible for the blaze is necessary, though perhaps unlikely, it is certainly in keeping with Right Sector tactics to this point, including the use of petrol bombs. Moreover, videos have emerged showing survivors of the fire being beaten, humiliated, and denied access to medical care including ambulances and emergency first aid, all of which constitutes yet another war crime.

Of course the military operations themselves constitute a great breach of international law. By deploying the military against its own people, not foreign fighters, Kiev has committed a grave atrocity, though it is being framed as anything but criminal by the Western corporate media. The reality however is that, in light of these crimes and the deliberate sabotaging of the peace process, the next stage of the conflict could become devastating for far more than simply Ukraine.

Where Do We Go From Here?

What makes the current situation so dangerous is the fact that Moscow has completely lost faith in the diplomatic avenues for peace. They have seen multiple peace agreements broken by Kiev and Washington and, because of that, might be unwilling to engage in the process again. This then would leave Moscow little option other than the use of force to both stabilize the situation by protecting civilians and to secure its borders. In doing so however, Moscow would undoubtedly open itself to carefully manipulated negative public opinion in the West, further sanctions, and possibly more from the West. While Russia might publicly argue that such measures would not affect the country, they recognize that there will be negative consequences.

Additionally, any Russian military action would be taken as an immediate justification for the rapid expansion and possible active deployment of NATO forces.

One could easily imagine a scenario in which Russian military forces move in to secure their border, while NATO forces mass on the Polish-Ukrainian border, awaiting a possible confrontation.

This possibility was noted by renowned American scholar and author Stephen Cohen, who explained that, contrary to popular belief, such a hot war between US-NATO and Russia is not unthinkable, but rather, sadly, a very plausible scenario in the context of Ukraine.

Any peace-minded person would naturally shudder at the thought of a US-Russia war, with all the attendant dangers of nuclear conflict. So, then the question becomes, is there any hope for peace?

Sufficiently provoked, Russia could overrun NATO, EU

Any chance for peace would first require that the Kiev junta immediately end its bloody repression. The cessation of all military operations and a pullback of troops would be an important first step. From there, negotiations regarding the federal semi-autonomy status of the eastern and southern regions could begin in earnest. Likely, Moscow could dangle a few carrots such as gas pricing, recognition of the junta in Kiev as the legitimate government, and other forms of assistance.

In return of course, Moscow would demand the disarming of the fascist paramilitary forces, a fact-finding mission to determine the culprits of the numerous war crimes committed, and most importantly, internationally recognized neutrality status for Ukraine in order to guarantee that Ukraine doesn’t become a larger, more dangerous version of NATO partner Georgia.

Perhaps it’s overly optimistic to think about such scenarios when the images of carnage and destruction in Slovyansk, Odessa, Kramatorsk, and elsewhere are streaming in every hour. Perhaps it’s naïve to believe that, despite the track record of deceit and destabilization by the West in this crisis, that they should still be regarded as partners for peace. Perhaps it’s foolish to hope that cooler heads prevail and that diplomacy and rationality overcomes warmongering and lunacy. But what choice do we have?

In a few months, the world will mark the 100th anniversary of World War I, a conflict that consumed the entire world, devastated multiple generations, and set the course for the bloody history of the 20th Century. That war began through poor diplomacy, imperial hubris, and an unwillingness to compromise.

It was a struggle over spheres of influence, resources, economics, and geopolitics. But it could have been avoided if only the world leaders of the time had chosen the path of peace and compromise, over war and destruction. Let us hope that the lessons of that war have been learned, lest the devastating consequences be repeated.

Eric Draitser is an independent geopolitical analyst based in New York City, he is the founder of StopImperialism.org and OP-ed columnist for RT, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”

This news bureau contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

 
  

Read more »

Dozens Of FBI, CIA Agents In Kiev "Assisting Ukraine Security"

GRU needs to move in and clean house on CIA and their U.S. financed fascist mercs

RT
05/04/2014

Numerous US agents are helping the coup-appointed government in Ukraine to “fight organized crime” in the south east of the country, the German newspaper Bild revealed.

Ukraine fascists funded, aided and abetted by CIA

According to the daily, the CIA and FBI are advising the government in Kiev on how to deal with the ‘fight against organized crime’ and stop the violence in the country’s restive eastern regions.

The group also helps to investigate alleged financial crimes and is trying to trace the money, which was reportedly taken abroad during Viktor Yanokovich’s presidency, the newspaper said.

The head of the CIA, John Brennan, visited Kiev in mid-April and met with the acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and first Vice-President Vitaly Yarema to discuss a safer way to transfer US information to Ukraine.

White House liar Jen Psaki headed for prison

Jen Psaki, spokeswomen for the United States Department of State, said that there was nothing to read into Brennan’s visit to Kiev, and that the head of the CIA did not offer support to the coup-appointed government in the country to help them conduct tactical operations within Ukraine.

However, following the visit the toppled President Viktor Yanukovich linked the CIA chief’s appearance in Kiev to the first stage of the government’s crackdown in Slavyansk.

Brennan “sanctioned the use of weapons and provoked bloodshed,” Yanukovich said.

Bild’s reports comes as US President Barack Obama rules out that Washington will interfere in the situation in Ukraine.

Personification of evil:  CIA scumbag John Brennan

“You’ve also seen suggestions or implications that somehow Americans are responsible for meddling inside Ukraine."

"I have to say that our only interest is for Ukraine to be able to make its own decisions. And the last thing we want is disorder and chaos in the center of Europe,” he said speaking in the White House after meeting the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, just two days ago.

This news bureau contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

 

Read more »

Hillary Clinton Should Be Worried As Benghazi Coverup Unravels

Rice and Carney will also be occupying cells in the same federal prison

NEW YORK POST
By Kenneth R. Timmerman
05/04/2014

Make it go away!

Clinton has a lot to answer for

That was the message of the Obama administration and their friends in the media for the past two years, and now we know why: Benghazi is the scandal they always denied it was.

Thanks to a lawsuit by watchdog group Judicial Watch, the administration last week released correspondence about the terrorist attack in Libya on Sept. 11, 2012 that left US ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others dead.

‘We brought the #Benghazi scandal back to the forefront this week. Get the Update: jwatch.us/jE41Yf#tcot#tlothttp://t.co/8kIrFrPvOr—
Judicial Watch (@JudicialWatch) May 02, 2014’

One memo, from Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security director for strategic communications, shows how the administration was trying to spin the attack as something other than their own strategic failures.

“Reinforce the president and administration’s strength and steadiness in dealing with difficult challenges,” he wrote to UN Ambassador Susan Rice. He instructed her to “underscore” that the events in Benghazi were “protests . . . rooted in an Internet video, and not a broader failure of policy.”

Rice and Clinton will be FORCED to testify before Congress

Beyond the callousness of this message, and the fact that officials already knew this was the work of terrorists, that this document is just coming out now shows the depth of the administration’s cover-up.

Despite numerous subpoenas from Congress, Obama’s people never handed over the e-mail. Make it go away means hiding evidence from the American people.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said in a hearing on Thursday that the whole situation reminded him of Richard Nixon.

“Why aren’t we talking about something else?” whined House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Because the Obama administration ignored legal requirements and a pursued a possibly criminal cover-up, they’ve just ensured Congress is going to talk about nothing but. House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Friday he’ll be forming a select committee to investigate Benghazi.

He’ll find plenty.

The Rhodes memo is just the beginning. It and other e-mails were obviously selected from a much larger set of internal administration communications on the Benghazi cover-up that remains hidden from the public and from Congress.

Clinton soon to find out lies make a hell of a lot of difference

The person who should worry most is former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

For example, until now we have seen zero documentation to explain how Clinton out of the blue concocted the statement she issued on the evening of the attacks, which first raised the notion that the attacks came “as a response to inflammatory material

 posted on the Internet.”

In all the material released by the administration to date, there are no notes, e-mails or drafts of Clinton’s Sept. 11, 2012 statement similar to the back-and forth e-mail chain released last year showing how the CIA talking points evolved during three days of inter-agency discussion.

And yet surely such documents exist. We know from the public record that Clinton was getting real-time information on the attacks. She understood — because her own officials were telling her — that there were no protests in Benghazi and that the attacks on the Special Mission Compound and on the Annex were a well-planned terrorist assault.

Obama responsible for death of Ambassador Stevens

And yet, after consulting by phone with President Obama at 10 that night, Hillary decided to blame it all on an Internet video.

Similarly, the administration has released no notes, e-mails or other communications that describe the substance of that phone call, so we still don’t know who first floated the idea of blaming it all on a video.

Nor has the White House revealed, despite repeated requests, what the president was doing that night as he prepared for his fund-raiser the next day in Las Vegas. Dialing for dollars, perhaps?

In testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform committee on Thursday, Brig. Gen. Robert Lovell, the chief of intelligence (J-2) for US Africa Command at the time of the attacks, revealed that his “analysts worked through chat” all night long. None of those documents have been turned over to congressional committees.

Top military officials at Africom headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, told me they watched live video feed from a Predator drone over the Special Mission Compound and later, over the Benghazi airport and the Annex, which clearly showed there were no protests. So far, that footage has not been released.

Navy SEALS Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods died in attack

We know that orders were issued, then recalled, to deploy a 50-man Special Forces unit from Croatia that could have reached Benghazi within hours. But no documents on who ordered that unit to stand down have yet been released.

The American people deserve the truth. With four Americans returning home in body bags, this scandal is no garden-variety cover-up.

And despite Hillary Clinton’s fervent hope, no, it’s not going to go away.

Investigative reporter Kenneth R. Timmerman is the author of “Dark Forces: The Truth About What Happened in Benghazi,” forthcoming from Broadside Books. He’s running for lieutenant governor of Maryland.

Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The 5^th Estate.

This news bureau contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

 

 

Read more »