Posted on 03/26/2006 11:26:59 AM PST by Proctor
The Times March 25, 2006
Mole may have been fed false information
By Michael Evans, Defence Editor
THE revelation that a mole inside US Central Command was sending to the Russians secret operational material about the coalition plan to invade Iraq in March 2003 is the most extraordinary development to emerge since Saddam Hussein was found in a hole in the ground. However, the mole’s betrayal might have provided little assistance to the Iraqi dictator. It is conceivable that the material was either deliberately skewed to confuse the Baghdad regime or was out of date by the time that Saddam and his war planners were given the details.
There is even a possibility that the mole had been discovered by the Americans early on and steps were taken to feed him or her with false information. None of the material released in the Pentagon papers gave Saddam such crucial information that enabled him to take measures against the US-led advance on Baghdad.
There can never have been any doubt in Saddam’s mind that the Americans and British planned to advance from Kuwait, since all the coalition forces were assembled in the desert areas south of the Kuwaiti/Iraqi border.
The document passed to Baghdad states that the Americans also planned to attack from the north and the east. In fact, US Marines and special forces attacked from the west, and the plan to mount an offensive from the north was abandoned when Turkey refused to allow coalition forces to invade from Turkish territory.
The original British operation was to have been exclusively from the north, but after the decision by the Turkish parliament to prohibit the use of Turkish bases, Britain had to switch all its troop deployments and armour to Kuwait for an attack from the south.
The document revealed that the mole in Central Command tipped off the Russians that the Americans had decided against occupying major Iraqi cities en route to Baghdad. This was accurate. Apart from the British mission to seize and occupy Basra and create a safe route for logistics movements from Kuwait to Baghdad, the plan was for US divisions to sweep past the other cities on the way to the Sunni triangle in central Iraq to reach Baghdad as rapidly as possible. US forces advanced past Najaf and Nasariyah so quickly that they were on the outskirts of Baghdad before Iraq’s Revolutionary Guard divisions were able to put up a proper fight.
With or without intelligence tip-offs from the Russians, Saddam was incapable of mounting a defence of his capital city or of deploying his supposedly elite Revolutionary Guards to protect his regime.
This thesis is not much fun for the Russian alarmist crowd.
Ping
If as you hint he was known and used, AR 25-2 makes no allowance for that. He's still in very serious trouble and should be prosecuted as anyone holding a security clearance at the level he was at would have to be.
The government would not bat an eye to quickly doing it to me as a retiree and government contractor or to an active service member. I expect, nay I demand no less for some staff puke Sybyllian, Military, or contractor in a rear area desk job.
Once more - the Pentagon is saying that they don't think there is a mole NOR WILL THEY LAUNCH AN INVESTIGATION!
You know what that tells me? There is no mole and maybe Russia was working in conjunction with the American plans.
My prediction is that there is no mole, the mole story is what the Russians told the Iraqis.
The detailed information, I am expecting, is detailed information that anyone could have gathered from close reading of the press, and is information that we assumed Saddam would already know. The point is that Russia was acting as our intermediary to convince Saddam that we weren't bluffing, and to get out immediately. On the eve of war, we gave him the chance to go, with his sons, into exile.
Saddan didn't believe we would really invade. This may have merely been a part of the effort to wake him up, and to make the war unnecessary by his departure (we would have occupied anyway).
If, obviously, there really was a mole, he needs to hang. If there is no prosecution, no big investigation, then I will believe this was not espionage, just some good cop bad cop.
Interesting, I had the same thought, I also wonder if the alleged moving of the WMDs to Syria by Russia was the same kind of operation, that Russia did that with our blessing. Russia would have known Saddam was done if we attacked, so moving the WMDs was a way to look good to the Iraqis (although that wasn't the real objective) plus do the coalition a huge service by removing potential WMD attack. That might explain why not much has come out about moving WMDs, Russia is in a unique position to help in the WOT this way being friendly to many ME countries and all. You wouldn't want to blow that kind of an arrangement into the open before you maximized the potential in the WOT.
Funny after a little search on FR and this is what I come up with. Haven't yet found the Pentagon briefing but I'l hunt till I do.
Rice: U.S. to Query Russia on Iraq Intel
Posted by GodGunsGuts
On News/Activism 03/26/2006 10:00:31 AM MST · 37 replies · 290+ views
AP ^ | March 26, 2006 | DOUGLASS K. DANIEL
Rice: U.S. to Query Russia on Iraq Intel By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL, Associated Press Writer The Bush administration will ask Russia about a report that Moscow turned over information on American troop movements and other military plans to Saddam Hussein during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday. "Any implication that there were those from a foreign government who may have been passing information to the Iraqis prior to the invasion would be, of course, very worrying," Rice said on CNN's "Late Edition." "I would think the Russians would want to take that very seriously...
Russia Spies Operated in Iraq Through 2003
Posted by redlenses
On News/Activism 03/24/2006 3:23:54 PM MST · 22 replies · 467+ views
breitbart.com ^ | Mar 24, 2006 | MIKE ECKEL
Russia Spies Operated in Iraq Through 2003 Mar 24 3:48 PM US/Eastern By MIKE ECKEL Associated Press Writer MOSCOW Russia had a military intelligence unit operating in Iraq up through the 2003 U.S. invasion and fall of Baghdad, a Russian analyst said Friday. A Pentagon report said Russia provided Saddam Hussein with intelligence on U.S. military movements and plans. The unclassified report does not assess the value of the information or provide details beyond citing two captured Iraqi documents that say the Russians collected information from sources "inside the American Central Command" and that battlefield intelligence was provided to Saddam...
Pentagon report says Russia gave Iraq intelligence
Posted by bnelson44
On News/Activism 03/24/2006 3:06:54 PM MST · 17 replies · 438+ views
Reuters ^ | 3/24/06
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia provided intelligence to Iraq's government on U.S. military movements in the opening days of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, a Pentagon report released on Friday said. The report said an April 2, 2003, document from the Iraqi minister of foreign affairs to President Saddam Hussein stated that Russian intelligence had reported information on American troops plans to the Iraqis through the Russian ambassador. The intelligence, the document stated, was that the American forces were moving to cut off Baghdad from the south, east and north, that U.S. bombing would concentrate on Baghdad and that the assault...
Report: Russia Had Sources in U.S. Command
Posted by BenLurkin
On News/Activism 03/24/2006 1:50:50 PM MST · 91 replies · 1,905+ views
AP ^ | 7 minutes ago | ROBERT BURNS,
WASHINGTON - The Russian government had sources inside the American military command as it planned and executed the invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to Iraqi documents released as part of a Pentagon report. The Russians passed information to Saddam Hussein on U.S. troop movements and plans during the opening days of the war, according to the report Friday. The unclassified report does not assess the value of the information or provide details beyond citing two captured Iraqi documents that say the Russians collected information from sources "inside the American Central Command" and that battlefield intelligence was provided to Saddam...
Pentagon: Russia Gave Saddam U.S. Intel
Posted by Ernest_at_the_Beach
On News/Activism 03/24/2006 12:24:15 PM MST · 85 replies · 1,313+ views
Yahoo ^ | March 24, 2006 | ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
WASHINGTON - The Russian government provided Saddam Hussein with intelligence on U.S. military movements and plans during the opening days of the war in 2003, according to a Pentagon report released Friday. The unclassified report does not assess the value of the information or provide details beyond citing an Iraqi document that says the battlefield intelligence was provided to Saddam through the Russian ambassador in Baghdad.A classified version of the Pentagon report, titled "Iraqi Perspectives Project," is not being made public.Whether by chance or design, one piece of Russian intelligence actually contributed to an important U.S. military deception effort. By...
Russia provides Saddam with U.S. military strength at start of Iraq War
Posted by Starman417
On Bloggers & Personal 03/23/2006 8:16:58 PM MST · 22 replies · 187+ views
Ray Robison ^ | 03/23/2006 | Ray Robison
For the second day in a row, as we were "going to press" ABC News put a gist of a newly released Iraq Regime document on their website. But again Sammi provides a full translation of the document CMPC-2003-001950. Parenthesis are the translators: Office of the Presidency Mr. Secretary (of the President) Subject: Meeting with the Russian Ambassador Best of our salutes, We would like to inform you that the Russian ambassador met this evening with the general director of Foreign Economic Relations and the General Director of the Grains Trade and told us the following: 1- Provide the necessary...
I don't think WMD went to Syria - Rice said so herself.
I agree with marron and any thoughtful look into this matter will give the same conclusion:
The detailed information, I am expecting, is detailed information that anyone could have gathered from close reading of the press, and is information that we assumed Saddam would already know. The point is that Russia was acting as our intermediary to convince Saddam that we weren't bluffing, and to get out immediately. On the eve of war, we gave him the chance to go, with his sons, into exile.
Well,...went to the State Dept. web site and guess what I found???
QUESTION: Did the Russians have a mole inside the U.S. military Central Command on the eve of the war three years ago, providing information about U.S. military troop movements in Iraq directly to Saddam Hussein's government?
SECRETARY RICE: Well, I have obviously seen the reports as well, and we're going to take a good hard look at the documentation. We certainly will raise it with the Russian Government and any implication that there were those from a foreign government who may have been passing information to the Iraqis prior to the invasion, would be, of course, very worrying. And we will talk to the Russians. I would think the Russians would want to take that very seriously as well.
Interview on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2006/63704.htm
March 26, 2006
QUESTION: Did the Russians have a mole inside the U.S. military Central Command on the eve of the war three years ago, providing information about U.S. military troop movements in Iraq directly to Saddam Hussein's government?
SECRETARY RICE: Well, I have obviously seen the reports as well, and we're going to take a good hard look at the documentation. We certainly will raise it with the Russian Government and any implication that there were those from a foreign government who may have been passing information to the Iraqis prior to the invasion, would be, of course, very worrying. And we will talk to the Russians. I would think the Russians would want to take that very seriously as well.
QUESTION: But you haven't raised that with the Russians?
SECRETARY RICE: We're going to take a good hard look at the documentation and understand a little bit better what's there and then we'll raise it.
That's interesting.
Thank you fanfan for the ping.
There is a mole in the Pentagon and no official investigation beyond a statement they will look into it..wink-wink.
Case closed as far as I am concerned.
It's what I admire the most about FR.
We have become the best/biggest news gathering entity in the world.
In the whole known history of the world.
;-)
Libya, sorry.
It sure seems that way.
Smiling back at you.
How did she say they didn't?
If they did go to Syria and it was part of plan between the US and Russia for the general WOT why would either country admit it? That would be foolish.
There is even a possibility that the mole had been discovered by the Americans early on."
It also is conceivable that I'm going to hit the Mega Millions jackpot, and there's even a possibility that I'll hit it two weeks in a row.
Of course, we all knew without some reporter tossing out his armchair speculation without a shred of evidence to back it up....
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