Posted on 11/21/2011 11:06:22 AM PST by lbryce
Video
In a significant failure for the United States in the Mideast, more than a dozen spies working for the CIA in Iran and Lebanon have been caught and the U.S. government fears they will be or have been executed, according to four current and former U.S. officials with connections to the intelligence community.
The spies were paid informants recruited by the CIA for two distinct espionage rings targeting Iran and the Beirut-based Hezbollah organization, considered by the U.S. to be a terror group backed by Iran.
"Espionage is a risky business," a U.S. official briefed on the developments told ABC News, confirming the loss of the unspecified number of spies over the last six months.
"Many risks lead to wins, but some result in occasional setbacks," the official said.
Robert Baer, a former senior CIA officer who worked against Hezbollah while stationed in Beirut in the 1980's, said Hezbollah typically executes individuals suspected of or caught spying.
"If they were genuine spies, spying against Hezbollah, I don't think we'll ever see them again," he said. "These guys are very, very vicious and unforgiving."
Other current and former officials said the discovery of the two U.S. spy rings occurred separately, but amounted to a setback of significant proportions in efforts to track the activities of the Iranian nuclear program and the intentions of Hezbollah against Israel.
"Remember, this group was responsible for killing more Americans than any other terrorist group before 9/11," said a U.S. official. Attacks on the U.S. embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 killed more than 300 people, including almost 260 Americans.
The U.S. official, speaking for the record but without attribution, gave grudging credit to the efforts of Iran and Hezbollah to detect and expose U.S. and Israeli espionage.
(Excerpt) Read more at gma.yahoo.com ...
ya....Obama needs to send more hundreds of millions of dollars to the Pali terrorists.....
Uh...cuz we’ve already returned all but a handful of terrorists....
Sorry, you’re cynicism it late to the policy wonks....
—Why would this information be revealed in the first place....and, of all places, on Good Morning America? Is this to ‘prepare us’ or to justify a possible US strike on Iran?—
I couple your question with this from the article:
“Other current and former officials said the discovery of the two U.S. spy rings occurred separately, but amounted to a setback of significant proportions in efforts to track the activities of the Iranian nuclear program and the intentions of Hezbollah against Israel. “
I also add that this is relatively old news and there are a lot of Iranian “nuke” stories lately. I think there is a strong probability that the answer to your question is, yes.
There are plenty of (cough) urban terrorists (cough) who’d fit the bill.
Remember that Canadian who warned us of the Muslim Brotherhood in the White House? There’s a video around.
My guess there is a mole in the White House.
Muslim Brotherhood in the White House, by Tarek Fatah, begins at 11:50—and he names names:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz6Mu9gcAp8
Brace for the worst but pray for the best. Prayers for our brave agents and their families. Tremendous fear for their safety and lives.
Yurr so right. Obama is in there knee deep. Deeper.
Its his empowerment and muslim outreach, his Arab spring c/w MB endorsement and preparation for the caliphate does not stop there....
What is this guy doing in OUR White House?
I had the same question. I thought the standing policy was to never confirm or deny anyone was a spy.
We may be trading for dead bodies of our agents. Remember when our CIA trained the Iranians when the Shah was in power? our Defense Dept and Pentagon must have their heads up their asses busily plotting defense dept cuts. OH and they think waterboarding is bad? hate to tell you what our agents went through
Well, there goes the revolution. Let’s bomb Iran and Lebanon.
Oh look - they just reopened the Natalie Wood case, turducken is all the rage, Michelle got booed, Beiber is not (I repeat, is not) a dad, they just had AMA, and you expect me to know about this?! The media will cover it when they can figure out it is George Bush’s fault.
I think we need to take a more Russian approach to getting these people back.
The media will not do any serious investigating of the Obama admin regarding this..... They will wait until Obama shows them that this is all Bush’s fault then they will blame Bush and praise Barry.... The Kremlin had Pravda, the White House has the MSM.
They'll play hell trying to get anyone to help us now.
FUBO GTFO! 425 Days until Noon Jan 20, 2013
If the Country can survive that long!
According to current and former US officials, CIA operations in Lebanon have been badly damaged after the resistance movement identified and captured a number of US spies this year, AP reported.
They have also said that CIA officials have secretly been scrambling in recent months to protect their remaining spies, foreign assets or agents working for the agency, before Hezbollah finds them.
Giving credit to Hezbollah for uncovering the espionage rings, the US officials blamed negligence by CIA managers and sloppy practices used by the spies for their networks being discovered in Lebanon, which is considered a key watching post for collecting crucial intelligence on Middle East countries including Syria and Iran.
It remains unclear whether anyone has been or will be held accountable in the wake of this counterintelligence disaster.
Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah in June announced the arrest of several spies affiliated with the CIA, who had infiltrated the ranks of the group. Nasrallah said that CIA officers, posing as diplomats at the US Embassy in Beirut, had recruited them in early 2011.
At the time, US officials denied the report, but now current and former US officials concede that Hezbollah busted several US spy rings and arrested a number of American spies, which affected CIA espionage activities in Lebanon.
"Beirut station is out of business," said one source using the CIA terminology.
In April 2009, Lebanon launched a nationwide crackdown on spy cells, mostly Israeli networks, arresting nearly 100 people, including members of the country's security forces and telecommunications personnel, on suspicion of espionage for Mossad.
A number of the suspects have admitted to their role in helping Israel identify targets inside Lebanon, mostly belonging to Hezbollah, which Tel Aviv heavily bombed during its 2006 war against the country.
If convicted, the spies will face life sentences with hard labor. Should they be found guilty of contributing to the loss of Lebanese lives, the agents will face capital punishment.
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