The GCHQ listening post on Mount Troodos in Cyprus is arguably the most valued asset which the UK contributes to UK/US intelligence cooperation. The communications intercept agencies, GCHQ in the UK and NSA in the US, share all their intelligence reports (as do the CIA and MI6). Troodos is valued enormously by the NSA. It monitors all radio, satellite and microwave traffic across the Middle East, ranging from Egypt and Eastern Libya right through to the Caucasus. Even almost all landline telephone communication in this region is routed through microwave links at some stage, picked up on Troodos.
Troodos is highly effective – the jewel in the crown of British intelligence. Its capacity and efficiency, as well as its reach, is staggering. The US do not have their own comparable facility for the Middle East. I should state that I have actually been inside all of this facility and been fully briefed on its operations and capabilities, while I was head of the FCO Cyprus Section in the early 1990s. This is fact, not speculation.
It is therefore very strange, to say the least, that John Kerry claims to have access to communications intercepts of Syrian military and officials organising chemical weapons attacks, which intercepts were not available to the British Joint Intelligence Committee.
On one level the explanation is simple. The intercept evidence was provided to the USA by Mossad, according to my own well placed source in the Washington intelligence community. Intelligence provided by a third party is not automatically shared with the UK, and indeed Israel specifies it should not be.
But the inescapable question is this. Mossad have nothing comparable to the Troodos operation. The reported content of the conversations fits exactly with key tasking for Troodos, and would have tripped all the triggers. How can Troodos have missed this if Mossad got it? The only remote possibility is that all the conversations went on a purely landline route, on which Mossad have a physical wire tap, but that is very unlikely in a number of ways – not least nowadays the purely landline route.
Israel has repeatedly been involved in the Syrian civil war, carrying out a number of illegal bombings and missile strikes over many months. This absolutely illegal activity by Israel- which has killed a great many civilians, including children – has brought no condemnation at all from the West. Israel has now provided “intelligence” to the United States designed to allow the United States to join in with Israel’s bombing and missile campaign.
The answer to the Troodos Conundrum is simple. Troodos did not pick up the intercepts because they do not exist. Mossad fabricated them. John Kerry’s “evidence” is the shabbiest of tricks. More children may now be blown to pieces by massive American missile blasts. It is nothing to do with humanitarian intervention. It is, yet again, the USA acting at the behest of Israel.
James Mason, I didn’t delete anything from you – you sure it was posted? Clicking ‘Submit Comment’ sometimes isn’t enough if the connection is wonky, I’ve lost quite a few comments on various websites that way! I tend always to copy to clipboard prior to hitting the button, just in case.
Anyway it could have been another mod or Craig, but I’d say most unlikely. Just carry on posting and, of course, let us know if it happens again. Call it a gremlin.
Elizabeth Taylor, yes, I did indeed delete you. Something about “who would like a dance” and your (ahem) “tranny magnet”, right in the middle of a conversation about Syria. I thought it was spam at the time, but on second inspection I wonder if you have posted here before under a different name? If so, would appreciate it if you’d revert to your original handle.
It’s potentially so important, I’ve provided a quote from the Mint Press article:
‘However, from numerous interviews with doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families, a different picture emerges. Many believe that certain rebels received chemical weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were responsible for carrying out the dealing gas attack.
“My son came to me two weeks ago asking what I thought the weapons were that he had been asked to carry,” said Abu Abdel-Moneim, the father of a rebel fighting to unseat Assad, who lives in Ghouta.
Abdel-Moneim said his son and 12 other rebels were killed inside of a tunnel used to store weapons provided by a Saudi militant, known as Abu Ayesha, who was leading a fighting battalion. The father described the weapons as having a “tube-like structure” while others were like a “huge gas bottle.”
Ghouta townspeople said the rebels were using mosques and private houses to sleep while storing their weapons in tunnels.
Abdel-Moneim said his son and the others died during the chemical weapons attack. That same day, the militant group Jabhat al-Nusra, which is linked to al-Qaida, announced that it would similarly attack civilians in the Assad regime’s heartland of Latakia on Syria’s western coast, in purported retaliation.
“They didn’t tell us what these arms were or how to use them,” complained a female fighter named ‘K.’ “We didn’t know they were chemical weapons. We never imagined they were chemical weapons.” ‘
Hands up those who think that 410 children and 108 women killed with mainly illegal banned chemical weapons is not a heinous crime and should not go in front of the ICC?
If the answer is that they should face prosecution, then the question is why?
In the case of accusing Syria’s of unproven crimes on the basis of the most odd reasoning, lack of scientific evidence, Sarin gas can be made by anybody who can get the chemicals to make it and knows the process, Aum Shinrykio could do it, so why not desperate mercenaries? who also captured chemical weapons some month back. Why go to war, risking geopolitical shifts of massive proportions, when this case is unproven.
Going back to my first assertion, yes the 518 women and children, just exchanging scarce school places with the afternoon shift of children of Gaza have, been poisoned by the use of illegal white phosphorus and then they died form their inner burns.
Not as whimper from Obomber, a few theatrical gestures, some harsh words, but nothing of substance. Those who ordered that attack face justice and the western hypocrites screaming for war should shut TF up, cause they have jack shit evidence and people are waking up to their global games.
My MP voted against any attack on Syria, but Chloe Smith MP, Norman Lamb MP, Brendan Lewis MP, Keith Simpson MP, Elizabeth Truss MP, Peter Aldous MP, they all voted for an attack.
Henry Bellingham and some others abstained. Chloe Smith’s belligerent style of non communicative politics will no doubt shine in the reshuffle. Lets hope the bill to silence NGO’s will be averted. Gosh, our hierarchically ordered NGO’s all must have massive campaigns against this bill going, or have they? Are they just for show and membership?
“You obviously consider the facts I brought to your attention (the existence of a pro-Israel/pro-Zionist website called “BBC Watch – the mirror-image of what you read about the BBC on Craig’s blog) to be a defence of the BBC.”
No, Habby.
The defence of the BBC to which I refer is the oft touted “if both sides are agin us, we must be doing something right”.
That’s their argument.
It’s dimwitted nonsense of course, and everyone knows it.
Big salaries, packages and payoffs, ease the pain, for a while.
Anyway, can you confirm that no humans were injured in the making of your independent means?
“Why the acrobatic sword rattling then on Saturday night, handing that sword to congress? He has lost not insignificant face.”
A politicians words are not to be taken literally.
When Obama first said that he would not tolerate Syria using WMD’s, last year in fact, he was talking in the context of a desperate regime facing defeat at the hands of the rebels, the ground war has moved a lot since then and Obama *knows* it’s not Assad as much as everyone else, otherwise he would have bombed.
He knows who’s behind it as much as many people here do and there is now a real possibility ahead to break the lobby in the US (or least loosen it’s shackles) – if Congress and Senate refuse to attack I think many will sense that the lobby is losing it grip on the US – it could be soon facing the ‘man behind the curtain’ moment it has feared for so long.
Kerry must be the most unconvincing BeeEsser in a long line.
“I am not a crook,” Nixon and “I did not have sex with… that woman,” Clinton and “What Difference does it make?” Other Clinton, were more convincing, but not by much.
He’s a desperate, sweaty salesman explaining why the steering wheel on the used Yugo just came off. I wouldn’t buy a used paperweight from him.
If that story re Prince Bandar threatening President Putin with Chechen terrorists is true, remember in 2008 the Prince threatened PM Blair with another 7/7 if the UK didn’t shut down a bribery probe involving BAE.
Seeing as how the Prince claims to control Chechen terrorists, someone suggested involvement in the Boston bombings — allegedly carried out by fiendish Chechen terrorists, before the US renamed them Russian terrorists following Snowden.
Is that’s what’s being covered up in the loony Boston narrative?
And if Congress and Senate order an attack even then it will be limited, and potentially Russia/Syria could be forwarned to prevent an escelation. Israel would have to consider all this in their thinking and decied if they want to try a “USS Liberty” with the possibility that US/Russia are playing this one out together.
“It’s dimwitted nonsense of course, and everyone knows it.”
Not good enough, Herbie.
Ziofuckwits call it “Al-Beebera” and Murrayistas call it the “ZBC”. Loons on both sides hate it because it doesn’t support their views.
“My MP voted against any attack on Syria, but Chloe Smith MP, Norman Lamb MP, Brendan Lewis MP, Keith Simpson MP, Elizabeth Truss MP, Peter Aldous MP, they all voted for an attack.”
Generally ministers vote with the executive, or they resign.
In this vote it seems some ministers were allowed to miss the vote, without penalty. Serious backbench “revolt”. No fallout within the party.
It all seems very contrived.
If Congress votes against, then I think the case is proven. This is Russia’s red line, and the West fears to cross.
I hope I’m right. Balance of power is always better for the peeps.
In the US the old MSM continues to spin it’s war-mongering wheels at max power, like a dragster at the starting line, burning rubber, generating smoke, but going nowhere.
The iconic video of innocent children dying continues to run, in a continuous loop, for a solid week now, as background to any and all stories related to Syria. Never a question as to what they represent, other than dying children. What are they dying of; who is the instigators of their suffering? Implied is that they implicate baddie Assad.
Best comment somewhere: “It’s Bush’s fault. He used bad intel on WMDs, and poisoned public trust. Now when we have excellent intel, nobody believes us.”
Messages for Obama;
http://s22.postimg.org/4bymeiz75/137806530059.jpg
http://s22.postimg.org/uyb33i3e9/137806540320.jpg
“Ziofuckwits call it “Al-Beebera” and Murrayistas call it the “ZBC”. Loons on both sides hate it because it doesn’t support their views.”
Thanks for that, Anon.
I take it you are quite comfortable with the BBC’s take on things?
Vladimir Putin’s Message To Obama
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNKm3TsJ9Ks
Suhayl,
The same report was also carried by the Financial site Zerohedge.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-08-30/dont-show-obama-report-about-who-really-behind-syrian-chemical-attacks?page=1
Would have got a lot of exposure there.
“Ziofuckwits call it “Al-Beebera”
That’s why the dumb ones are detached from reality, and why the not so dumb ones are famous for their “chutzpah”;
http://sjlendman.blogspot.fr/2008/06/bbcs-pro-israeli-bias.html
O/T
The public astronomers’ forum, where some interesting info on the spectrum of the recent Nova I posted in an earlier thread could be found, is now protected from even read access except for accredited “members” only.
That said it continues to decline as expected.
Maybe we’ll have to start bombing observatories in Syria and Iran. Apparently photons from thousands of light years away can be secret.
Macky: Good one with pics above. US active duty military are largely opposed to war with Syria, but aren’t allowed to voice opinions. Retired military do all the pro-war harrumphing. They’re all over MSM, which as far as I’ve seen allows no reasoned opposition to involvement, excepting very brief clips by Rand Paul and a few others.
Apropos to the discussion of Alex Jones and InfoWars, on one far-left page a commenter allowed they’d been convinced of the necessity of striking Syria after hearing Gen. Keane, Ret. Other commenters were horrified because Gen. Keane is resident spinner for Murdoch’s Fox News.
If the original commenter had been convinced by leftist hawks Nancy Pelosi or Van Jones, that would be OK.
The Mint article as I understand it was altered after the AP Check the tag.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-08-30/dont-show-obama-report-about-who-really-behind-syrian-chemical-attacks?page=1
Leads to yet another link of importance. The Bandar Factor.
‘Ziofuckwits call it “Al-Beebera” and Murrayistas call it the “ZBC”. Loons on both sides hate it because it doesn’t support their views.’
Presumably the first is a reference to Al Jazeera.
Q Why did Frost end up taking money from the Qataris? Did he not know of their involvement in funding and supplying the rabble rebels in Syria?
Aangirfan’s take on Craig’s piece here.
MOSSAD LIED; TROODOS IN CYPRUS DID NOT PICK UP ANYTHING IMPLICATING ASSAD http://aangirfan.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/mossad-lied-troodos-in-cyprus-did-not.html
The answer to my question about Frost is ‘the multi million pound salary’ presumably.
Salaam, good evening and welcome: Frost on al-Jazeera
The Qatar-based news network’s famous new signing talks to Deborah Solomon about Nixon, Hamas – and the bin Laden question
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/feb/12/business.broadcasting
The reader is led to believe that a British company exported chemicals to Syria capable of being converted to ‘nerve gas’ from the headlines of this propaganda piece in today’s Independent.
Lower down we are told that the chemicals were never sent just that a licence was issued!
Government let British company export nerve gas chemicals to Syria
UK accused of ‘breath-taking laxity’ over export license for potassium fluoride and sodium fluoride
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/government-let-british-company-export-nerve-gas-chemicals-to-syria-8793642.html
Even if the allegations of chemical attacks ARE true, that does not justify US bombing.
Suhayl,
This that you posted
http://www.mintpressnews.com/witnesses-of-gas-attack-say-saudis-supplied-rebels-with-chemical-weapons/168135/
Much more credible than “Assad did it”
Arbed posted this earlier: very fair summary of what’s wrong with the available evidence.
http://strongpointsecurity.co.uk/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Revised-Thoughts-on-Damascus.pdf
But it isn’t quite conclusive. The scenario suggested by the accounts reaching the public seems consistent with the use of a binary munition – in which two precursor components of sarin are mixed only after firing – which had passed its sell-by. The odours noted by victims and medics – fish, sulphurous, like bottled gas – are not characteristic of pure sarin, which is nearly odourless. However, one of the binary components is an organic amine, and these notoriously smell of fish. (the reference to liquid ammonia in the article may also be a badly translated reference to a liquid amine).
This guy develops the idea:
http://medawarscornflakes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/syrian-sarin-fading-legacy-of-soviet-aid.html
In short, old binary munitions could have released relatively small amounts of sarin, but plenty of breakdown products, along with the two toxic precursor components, and this could have accounted for the less-than – expected body count and the variability of symptoms.
Which makes a hint offered to the West by Israel in June of this year, that the Syrian regime had started making ready-for-use sarin by combining its precursors, irrelevant to the recent attack. These were off-the-shelf ex-Soviet binary munitions, and in poor condition. As such they could have been liberated by a rebel group from a captured regime base, and this would be just as likely as the regime using them. If not more so, as the regime has no conceivable prospect of benefiting from such an action, strategically, tactically or politically.
“Much more credible than “Assad did it””
Gilad Atzmon refers to the same mintpressnews article,and states; “It suggests that it was actually Syrian forces’ conventional artillery and missiles that hit rebel’s WMD storage. If the report is genuine, it would be consistent with the American intelligence account: Assad’s forces indeed fired rockets and artillery at the time of the alleged chimical attack, yet the rockets were of a conventional nature.
The meaning of it is simple, the rebels posses WMD ”
http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/syrians-in-ghouta-claim-saudi-supplied-rebels-behind-chemica.html#entry34217625
I can’t see that the article does directly suggest this unintenional hit on rebel’s WMD storage, perhaps it does so indirectly ? Anyhow imo, this theory is as credible as any other, if not more so.
Mint Press – a new name on the block.
http://www.minnpost.com/david-brauer-blog/2012/01/who-mintpress-and-why-are-they-doing-all-hiring
Getting some huge exclusives for an outfit in Plymouth, Minnesota, aren’t they?
Caution, folks. caution.
@ Phil,
I too was surprised to see a link to Alex Jones’ infowar$
Norman Finkelstein proved that citing a source doesn’t equate to that source being right, when he took up a fight with AIPAC pitbull Dershowitz [and see where that landed him] @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-ndY4Rilyg
Some forum members asked you to provide evidence of Jones’ misrepresentations/misdirections/half-truths/lies/etc.
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAgTFWglHrc&list=PL2552BA99715EF285&index=8 – William Cooper
2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AENcrbsA2g Y2K Alex claims Russian missiles have been launched at the USA
3) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yKvPR1HIcQ – Alex Jones Disrupts Pro Gun Rally
4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-tsHlDviuA – Alex Jones on the Piers Morgan show going ballistic
The list is endless.
But this discussion is about the lives and deaths of innocent Syrian people, so I sincerely hope everybody keeps digging deep to find those gems of truth and put them out here [or there].
By Gearóid Ó Colmáin, Max Blumental and others: Some fascinating material on Syria and much else, here:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/author/gear-id-colm-in