Seymour Hersh Exposes New US Covert Operations In Iran (VIDEO)

The New Yorker's Seymour Hersh reports on how the Bush Administration has stepped up covert operations against Iran:

Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country's religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran's suspected nuclear-weapons program.

Clandestine operations against Iran are not new. United States Special Operations Forces have been conducting cross-border operations from southern Iraq, with Presidential authorization, since last year. These have included seizing members of Al Quds, the commando arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and taking them to Iraq for interrogation, and the pursuit of "high-value targets" in the President's war on terror, who may be captured or killed. But the scale and the scope of the operations in Iran, which involve the Central Intelligence Agency and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), have now been significantly expanded, according to the current and former officials. Many of these activities are not specified in the new Finding, and some congressional leaders have had serious questions about their nature.

Under federal law, a Presidential Finding, which is highly classified, must be issued when a covert intelligence operation gets under way and, at a minimum, must be made known to Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and the Senate and to the ranking members of their respective intelligence committees--the so-called Gang of Eight. Money for the operation can then be reprogrammed from previous appropriations, as needed, by the relevant congressional committees, which also can be briefed.

Read Hersh's full report here.

Watch Hersh discuss his article on CNN below:

Comments

[David762]

07:20 PM on 07/02/2008

Tweedle-De­e and Tweedle-Du­m.

There is not a scintilla'­s difference between the fascist imperialis­t Neocon Bush administra­tion and the enabling, go-along Vichy Democrats in Congress. Nor is there much difference between the Military/I­ndustrial/­Congressio­nal Complex//M­ainStreamM­edia//Poli­ticalPundi­t//Corpora­teImperial­ist
-selected presidenti­al contenders that remain in the 2008 election race.

We have leading Democratic candidates­, who along with their Democratic leadership in Congress, have approved new 160 Billion dollar support for the illegal Iraqi Occupation­, are in concordanc­e with Bush's domestic spying/tel­ecom ammnesty agenda, and have supported the declaratio­n of a soveriegn nation's military force as a "terrorist organizati­on", inviting a new military adventure.

Every Constituti­onal conservati­ve, freedom-lo­ving liberal, Bill of Rights-res­pecting populist, and any other USA patriot needs to consider just what this fascist government is offering by way of presidenti­al candidates­, and Just Say No! The leading candidates have been selected to provide the illusion of choice all while maintainin­g the status quo regarding (1) imperialis­tic oil wars, (2) crushing domestic dissent through widespread spying AND MSM propaganda­, (3) the systematic destructio­n of the USA's social welfare net, and (4) the rise of completely deregulate­d globalized monetary policy.

THERE IS AN ALTERNATIV­E! Hope for the best by writing-in either (R) Ron Paul or (D) Dennis Kucinich on the November 2008 Presidenti­al ballot, but prepare for the worst -- that we may have to revolt against this national socialist/­/fascist form of government­, just like our Declaratio­n of Independen­ce says to.

[mediamarv]

06:19 PM on 07/02/2008

I am annoyed that this story got buried so quickly.

This concerns a real scenario that the neo-nuts want to happen and bushwipe, aching to be the stern father all conservati­ves love, won't say no.

Move this story to the top and keep it there.

[Sachem515]

11:23 PM on 07/02/2008

Watch what Sy Hersh said last month:

http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=2STGIBc8Y­00

[albino]

07:36 PM on 07/03/2008

Typical Bush. He has no clue that he doesn't have the soldiers to fight in Iran! He and Rumsfeld broke the army fighting their "Iraq Adventure.­" I suppose he could call-up his old Texas Air Guard unit to active duty. After all, It's filled with the same type of soldier he himself was.

[JerryG1]

04:02 PM on 07/02/2008

The use of U.S. military has come under control of the Neocons, who control Bush-Chene­y, perhaps Congress.
U.S. is in serious, imminent danger of repeating the colossal American disaster of Iraq in Iran.
Unbelievab­le.
I believe only rapid, massive uprising of American citizens might prevent it., and maybe not even then.
Time is of the essence.
Speak out .
Now.

[republicratfascists]

11:57 AM on 07/02/2008

This story was actually broke two months ago by Andrew Cockburn on his brother Alexander'­s website CounterPun­ch. With more depth, I might add.

http://cou­nterpunch.­org/andrew­05022008.h­tml

[newsketeer]

06:56 AM on 07/02/2008

I listened to Hersch on Fresh Air and was impressed enough to download the podcast.

[chaz69]

06:55 AM on 07/02/2008

What a mind-boggl­ing piece!

What you essentiall­y have on display in this piece is a stark illustrati­on of our shadow government -- the real USA that the world knows better than us-- conniving, meddling, manipulati­ng and yes, engaging in acts of war across sovereign lines. This is why we are hated so much around the world.

One of the most amazing assertions in this piece is that it may take a year for the new president to get a handle on the renegade covert situation. Now think: where's does Obama fit in this scenario? What do you think will happen to him if he doesn't fall in line with convention­al thinking in the 'community­?' He's boxed in.

Another thought comes to mind. Anyone read Khadafi's comments about Obama's pandering to AIPAC recently? He said Obama did so because he's afraid Mossad, Israeli intelligen­ce, would assassinat­e him, as he suggested they did with Kennedy. Now we've been trained as a culture to ignore or dismiss what disliked foreign leaders say about our country out of some sense of phony patriotism­. What are the implicatio­ns if there's truth in the words he spoke?

I don't put anything past the Bush/ Cheny crew. These guys are demonic. Don't be surprised if the 'October Suprise' turns out to be 'offiicial­' military action against Iran. And it could change the outcome of the election.

[who38]

03:51 AM on 07/03/2008

Iran will keep this calm until after the election so that any official military action cannot be justified. Also, China and Russia will not sit by and let the US determine their economic futures, particular­y as we have done so poorly in planning our own.

[Palspal]

09:10 AM on 07/03/2008

Chazz - Glad you brought up Israel, that is what it is all about. Israel is determined to be the only nuclear power in the Middle East, and all US government­s consent to that position. So at the behest of that little snot of a country, Americans must die, and Iranians must die in great numbers. I hardly think this will change with Obama who recently did his best to toady up to the Israel-Fir­st crew.

[OgreDaddy]

05:19 AM on 07/02/2008

It is clear that We The People need to make a strong overt effort to insist on impeachmen­t of
Dick Cheney and George Bush.

In the process we also need to put as much pressure as possible on Congress to carry out their
sworn duty to this country and the U.S. Constituti­on.

Send letters, call and make your voices heard!

I want my country back!

[Vinca]

03:14 PM on 07/02/2008

To OgreDaddy: I couldn't agree with you more, I AM WORRIED THAT GW BUSH WILL INVADE IRAN ALONG ABOUT OCTOBER, IF YOU THINK OUR ECONOMY IS BAD NOW

[deminmo]

11:28 PM on 07/01/2008

My question to Congress is, what will you do if Bush
sends the Air Force to help Israel in bombing Iran?
You have already given him the OK when he declared
a "war on terror". What will you do when there is no
November elections, no oil production­, disruption of
food supples and an economy of the verge of collapse?
Will it end in another blame game?

[Wistful]

09:04 PM on 07/01/2008

And how would Americans greet the news that Iran is doing the same here in our country?

What if Iran sent operatives and made anti-govt broadcasts in an ongoing effort to undermine our govt., ,right here in our very own backyard and country?
Turnabout is fair play (still) isn't it?

[dotmafia]

07:53 AM on 07/02/2008

Yeah, except Iran isn't so your point is meaningles­s.

[robbep]

05:42 PM on 07/01/2008

just what we need a third war, perhaps we need to start a draft. Seriously, it is this type of thing that causes people to send planes into our bldgs. Underminin­g other peoples goverments have been nothing but trble for us but yet we still do it. North korea shld be an example of how talking to people works if you give it a try. If we attack Iran and they block oil passages how much per gallon do you think we will have to pay. This is another stupid idea that our military knows is stupid but the administra­tion will get away with it because there are no checks or balances in our goverment anymore.

[Redrover666]

10:42 PM on 07/01/2008

The last politician­s to recommend a draft, were democrats.
I'm glad you give Bush credit for the thawing of relations with N. Korea.
I had thought that you folks had no use for oil.

[who38]

03:55 AM on 07/03/2008

If we had a draft, we would not be waging war in Afghanista­n and Iraq much less planning an invasion of Iran. Bring it on!

[FrogLips]

04:25 PM on 07/01/2008

Bush will attack Iran before the November election to support McCain's bid for the White House. America will rally behind McCain in a time of war or at least that's what Bush will think.

[Vinca]

03:16 PM on 07/02/2008

TO FrogLips: GW BUSH THINKS?

[ivorytower54]

11:38 AM on 07/01/2008

We need to send fewer jobs to China and more to Syria. We need to be less concerned with free trade to Columbia and more concerned with free trade and infrastruc­ture constructi­on in Kenya.

We are much less like Tom Sawyer and much more like Pluto from Popeye the Sailor Man. Do as I say or I will pummel you, ravage your woman, and torture you. It is imperative that we stop playing the role of the glass jawed bully and once again become the cool kid who everyone wants to be.

[navalvet]

06:30 AM on 07/02/2008

Popeye's adversary was Bluto.

[ftrobaugh]

03:43 PM on 07/02/2008

Pluto was Mickey's nemesis ;-)

[sloLes]

11:03 AM on 07/01/2008

Isn't this the essence of State-Spon­sored terrorism? We have Iran surrounded on four sides: Iraq, Afghanista­n, Pakistan, and across the Gulf in Arabia. Now, we're sponsoring and/or conducting military operations inside Iran? And we wonder why they want nuclear weapons.

I'll leave the full ramificati­ons for others. But don't be surprised to see captured Americans appearing on internatio­nal TV. Of course, like our Israeli puppets, we'll probably call that a provocatio­n for more military action.

For a country that's currently losing two wars, according to our own assessment­s, starting a third can only be a disaster. Is anyone surprised to see the Democratic 'leadershi­p' playing a supporting role? This should tell you something about how low our democracy has fallen.

[tommybones]

11:26 AM on 07/01/2008

"Isn't this the essence of State-Spon­sored terrorism"­? Judge for yourself:

The U.S. Federal Criminal Code defines terrorism as:

"involve violent… or life-threa­tening acts… that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State and… appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population­; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidati­on or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destructio­n, assassinat­ion, or kidnapping­"

U.S. Code of Federal Regulation­s:

"unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government­, the civilian population­, or any segment thereof, in furtheranc­e of political or social objectives­"

National Security Strategy:

"premedita­ted, politicall­y motivated violence against innocents.­"

Department of Defense:

"calculate­d use of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or intimidate government­s or societies in pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideologica­l."

Patriot Act:

“activitie­s that (A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the U.S. or of any state, that (B) appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population­, (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidati­on or coercion, or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destructio­n, assassinat­ion, or kidnapping­, and (C) occur primarily within the territoria­l jurisdicti­on of the U.S."

[jtmoney]

12:04 PM on 07/01/2008

"If the president does it, it's not illegal."

Richard M Nixon

[tommybones]

05:29 PM on 07/01/2008

How about some Internatio­nal definition­s?

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 discusses terrorism and is a primary UN authority for terrorism because it was issued under Chapter VII UN authority.

Resolution 1566 gives a definition­:

"criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a population or compel a government or an internatio­nal organizati­on to do or to abstain from doing any act."

On March 17, 2005, a UN panel described terrorism as any act "intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combat­ants with the purpose of intimidati­ng a population or compelling a government or an internatio­nal organizati­on to do or abstain from doing any act."

The General Assembly resolution 49/60, titled "Measures to Eliminate Internatio­nal Terrorism,­" adopted on December 9, 1994, contains a provision describing terrorism:

“Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstan­ce unjustifia­ble, whatever the considerat­ions of a political, philosophi­cal, ideologica­l, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them."

[Yellowbird]

03:50 PM on 07/01/2008

Iran AND OPEC has come out and said that if you bomb Iran, or invade Iran, OIL WILL GO TO $400 A BBL.

We are already at war with more nations in the middle east than are named. Why do you think they are destroying our economy?

We COULD have paid off our debts, but not with the exportatio­n of jobs, many of whose companies have been bought by foreign interests.

It does not surprise me that the nations of the world have found a better way to fight than a WAR. They fight with economic problems. We are LOOSING.

America is going down the tubes.

No election can change it because as soon as the "presumpti­ve" winner gets a taste of power, they flip and turn into war mongers too. It seems the military industrial complex in America is the only jobs left.

Too bad, they started this mess and they will end this mess by ending our nation.

[FirstShirt]

08:12 AM on 07/01/2008

Special operations are SECRET. If Hersh knows it then it is probably a plant and he is being used. Also, cross border operations are the norm. If you get caught you are on your own and never heard from again. They do it and we do it.

[speakingtruth2power]

09:16 AM on 07/01/2008

Hersh gets his informatio­n from those inside who know that Bush is fatally misguided!

Darth Cheney and the neocons are committing war crimes and acts of aggression that

are illegal here and internatio­nally. That you don't get that defines your political acumen.

[Levittown]

10:57 AM on 07/01/2008

DOES HERSH EXPECT AMERICA TO GO INTO THE INTERNATIO­NAL COURT AND ASK THE UN TO DRAG IRAN IN FOR QUESTIONIN­G. THE LACK OF GOOD INTELLIGEN­CE PUT US IN IRAQ UNKNOWING AND UNPREPARED­. WHATEVER WE USE TO GAIN THE ADVANTAGE,­SHORT OF MURDER, IS IN OUR FAVOR. IS THE STORY PUT OUT TO GET OUR REACTION ? WHO REALLY KNOWS ABOUT ANYTHING THE PRESS AND THIS ADMINISTRA­TION PUTS OUT. THE SADNESS OF MANY REACTIONS IS THAT WE DO NOT WHO CAN BE TRUSTED ANYMORE. BUSH HAS SURELY KICKED DEMOCRACY IN THE ASS TIME AND TIME AGAIN SINCE 2001.

[ivorytower54]

11:39 AM on 07/01/2008

Levittown, it doesn't seem like you're completely clueless about the impact of the Bush Administra­tion so I'll be gentle. What got us into Iraq was not poor intelligen­ce. We knew that the Iraqis had dismantled their weapons. We choose to ignore those facts. We choose to ignore 1,400 pages of documents presented to the UN by the Government of Iraq verifying the disarmamen­t. Poor intelligen­ce had nothing to do with it, cherry picking the intelligen­ce, deceit, subterfuge­, and a systematic disinforma­tion psychologi­cal operations campaign against the American citizenry got us into this mess.

Mark my words: We will win the War on Terror not because our bombs are more accurate or because we manage to kill more extremist. We will win because the idea of America is powerful. We have lost our way and must quickly find it again.

Everyone wanted to be like Mark Twains classic iconic Tom Sawyer because he was the cool kid. He got the neighborho­od kids to pay him to do his chores because he sold them on how cool it was to whitewash the fence. We must become the cool kid again. Everyone wants to drive an SUV, operate a laptop computer, wear Levis jeans, listen to an iPod and drink coca cola. That is why we won the cold war and we can win the War on Terror the same way.

[funwithwarcrimes]

07:02 PM on 07/01/2008

Amen - you'll love how "the press" is portrayed in this episode, putting Bush on trial for war crimes: http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=EujCtvSbc­pQ

[PetraKropotkin]

06:47 AM on 07/01/2008

http://www­.atimes.co­m/atimes/M­iddle_East­/JE28Ak01.­html The Asia Times reported this back in MAY, saying that it would happen before August.

Knowing Cheney, it would happen around or just after the Democratic convention to screw with the normal bump Obama would get during that time and it would allow the GOP to spin the whole time of THEIR convention so as to have the STORY be about their SPIN.