Terrorist Plot or Terrorist Ploy?

[Jake Martinez]

Posted on Floyd Reports-By Ben Johnson-On October 12, 2011:

“Rush Limbaugh is asking if the foiled terrorist plot Attorney General Eric Holder announced yesterday was a ploy to distract the American people from Holder’s role in a deadly Mexican gun-running operation. Holder announced the plot — in which Iranian forces allegedly plotted to hire a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. in a Washington, D.C., restaurant — shortly after Congressman Darrell Issa threatened to subpoena him for misleading Congress about Operation Fast and Furious. “What a great way to sidestep the fact that he’s being delivered a subpoena for Fast and Furious,” Limbaugh told his audience on Tuesday. “That’s exactly what this is all about…No question in my mind what Holder’s press conference is about.”

Is it possible Rush is right that Holder, or someone other than the Iranian government, has overhyped the story for political ends? The evidence shows, surprisingly, that the possibility of a hoax cannot be dismissed out of hand.

According to Eric Holder, an Iranian contacted a member of the Mexican cartel Los Zetas in May about a plan to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir. Manssor Arbabsiar, a naturalized U.S. citizen, allegedly also offered to pay the Mexican gang to bomb the Israeli embassy in America, and the Israeli and Saudi embassies in Argentina. However, the Los Zetas connection was an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), who informed the DEA about the offer. In August, Arbabsiar wired him a $100,000 down payment on the $1.5 million promised fee. When Arbabsiar flew into Mexico as human collateral, the government routed his plane to New York, where federal agents took him into custody.

Once there, he named Gholam Shakuri, a member of Iran’s Quds Force, as his co-conspirator and made covert calls to Shakuri from prison. (Shakuri is still at large, presumably in Iran.) The administration is designating three other members of Quds as terrorists.

So far, no one has disputed these facts.

Yet Holder insisted at yesterday’s press conference, “High-up officials in those [Iranian] agencies, which is an integral part of the Iranian government, were responsible for this plot. I think one has to be concerned about the chilling nature of what the Iranian government attempted to do here.” And Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, said, “it looks like it’s the Quds Force.”

This is highly questionable. Experts on terrorism question the tactics and generally unprofessional execution of the plot, saying they indicate the Quds Force did not authorize this, much less the higher levels of the Iranian government.

Roger Cressey, who worked in national security in the Clinton and Bush-42 administrations, called the entire plot “a sting operation.” He added “corroborating evidence” would be “critical” to establish that the Iranian government had anything to do with it.

Robert Baer, a CIA expert on the region and author of See No Evil, said the operation’s sloppiness “defies belief.” This operation did not match his knowledge of Iran’s elite fighting force. “The Quds are better than this,” he said. “If they wanted to come after you, you’d be dead already.”

Rasool Nafisi, an expert on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard of which Quds is a part, agrees, “It’s not typical of the Quds Force or the I.R.G.C. to operate in the U.S., for fear of retaliation.”

The mainstream press has so far shown remarkable skepticism of an Obama administration assertion. Media outlets are universally calling the scenario an “alleged plot.”

The Washington Post reported, “The brazenness of the plot outlined by Justice Department officials struck many current and former U.S. officials as out of character for Iran, which has rarely, if ever, been so bold as to strike targets in America.”

The New York Times writes, “Experts on Iran expressed astonishment at both the apparently clumsy tradecraft and the uncertain goal of the intended mayhem on United States soil.” It adds the assassination conspiracy would be “uncharacteristically bold.”

Reuters summarized, “The Quds Force has not previously been known to focus on targets in the United States.”

Even those who propound the story seem to acknowledge its fanciful nature. FBI Director Robert Mueller said the plot he unveiled “reads like the pages of a Hollywood script.”

Did Eric Holder announce this to draw attention away from Operation Fast and Furious, as Bill Clinton launched Operation Desert Fox in the midst of impeachment?

It did come immediately after Congressman Darrell Issa questioned Holder’s “credibility” to served and sternly informed the attorney general in a letter, “you own Fast and Furious.” Holder has a history of misleading Congress. Congress seemed poised to examine the attorney general’s own Operation Fast and Loose.

And Holder did seem awfully motivated to leave the press briefing the instant a reporter brought up Operation Fast and Furious. When asked, Holder rhetorically pivoted, implying it was a mere trifle. He said, “what I want the American people to understand is that in complying with those subpoenas and dealing with that inquiry, that will not detract us from the important business we have to do here at the Justice Department, including matters like the one that we have announced today.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5I5Z0deBsM&feature=player_embe...

Is it possible Holder hyped the story? Perhaps. At a minimum, the Iranian leadership’s involvement is far from the proverbial intelligence “slam-dunk.”

Make no mistake, committing an act of terrorism is not beyond Iran. Tehran’s mullahcracy has destabilized the region ever since Jimmy Carter abandoned the Shah three decades ago. State-sponsored terrorism is an action the Iranians have raised to a fine art, as Michelangelo did to sculpture or Shakespeare did to verse. That proficiency calls into question the Keystone Cops nature of this amateurish operation.

It is possible the gold standard for world terrorism became inexplicably incompetent for this one job? Then again, if the Quds Force or the Iranian government did not authorize this hit, who did?

To be fair, Iran has plotted to murder a Saudi ambassador in Germany. And who, looking at the sheer incompetence of Operation Fast and Furious, would believe it was designed by the U.S. government? (On second thought….) Perhaps the evidence will connect these dots. Until it does, this author will remain dubious.

Americans’ minds are now consumed with finding out whether the highest levels of the Iranian government hatched this harebrained plot. They should remain vigilant about discovering who in the highest levels of the U.S. government authorized Fast and Furious.”

Source:

http://floydreports.com/terrorist-plot-or-terrorist-ploy/

Note: The following articles and/or blog posts and videos relate to this disturbing issue-You Decide:

I. Issa Issues Subpoena to Holder in Fast and Furious Investigation!

Posted on FoxNews.com-By William Lajeunesse and Mike Levine, Fox News-On October 12, 2011:

“Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a subpoena Wednesday to Attorney General Eric Holder as part of his investigation into the gun trafficking operation known as “Fast and Furious.”

“Top Justice Department officials, including Attorney General Holder, know more about Operation Fast and Furious than they have publicly acknowledged,” the California Republican said in a statement. “The documents this subpoena demands will provide answers to questions that Justice officials have tried to avoid since this investigation began eight months ago. It’s time we know the whole truth.”

The subpoena seeks, among other things, all communications regarding the operation from 16 top Justice officials, including Holder, his chief of staff, Gary Grindler, and the head of the department’s criminal division, Lanny Breuer,  as well as correspondence on specific dates to and from the former head of the ATF’s Phoenix field division, William Newell.

It also asks for all documents and communications referring or relating to the murder of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata, including any correspondence outlining the details of Zapata’s mission at the time he was murdered.

Zapata was killed in a drug cartel ambush on a northern Mexican highway with a gun that was purchased in a town outside Forth Worth, Texas. Three Dallas-area men—one accused of buying the gun, his brother and their neighbor—are facing federal weapons charges, although none related to Zapata’s death.

Congressional investigators are also demanding information regarding the investigation into the death of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. Two guns found at Terry’s crime scene were linked to the failed operation that allowed more than 2,000 weapons to “walk.”

The subpoena asks for correspondence that Justice Department officials had with the White House about the gun trafficking operation, as well as what information was shared by Justice officials in Mexico.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, sharply criticized Issa for sending the subpoena.

“This subpoena is a deep-sea fishing expedition and a gross abuse of the committee’s authority,” he said. “It demands tens of thousands of pages of highly sensitive law enforcement and national security materials that have never been requested before and are completely unrelated to Operation Fast and Furious. Rather than legitimate fact-gathering, this looks more like a political stunt.”

This second subpoena follows the first one issued in March to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Asked about the development Tuesday, Holder said his department “will undoubtedly comply with them,” noting that Justice officials have already sent “thousands of pages of documents up to the Hill.”

But Holder wouldn’t answer whether he or anyone else at the department knew about the controversial tactics.

Holder addressed the matter at the end of a press conference about an alleged Iran-tied terror plot foiled by U.S. investigators. “What I want the American people to understand is that in complying with those subpoenas and dealing with that inquiry, that will not detract us from the important business that we have here to do at the Justice Department, including matters like the one that we have announced today,” Holder said. 

The new subpoena follows a week of back and forth between congressional investigators and Justice Department officials of “who knew what, when.” Under scrutiny was Holder’s testimony from May 3 when he told Issa that he “probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.”

Fox News obtained documents addressed to Holder as early as nine months before that, which described the concept of Fast and Furious. 

In addition to the congressional investigation being led by Issa and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, is calling for a special counsel to look into the matter.”

Source:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/12/issa-issues-subpoena-to-...

II. Video: AG Holder Dodges & Ignores Questions on Fast & Furious!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5I5Z0deBsM&feature=player_embe...

III. Fast and Furious: Transparent Lies from the Division of Dumb and Dumber!-Posted on InfoWars-BySmoking Mirrors-On
October 13, 2011:

http://www.infowars.com/fast-and-furious-transparent-lies-from-the-...

IV. Feds Foil Own Saudi Assassination Plot: Pin it on Iran!-Posted on InfoWars-By Tony Cartalucci,
Prisonplanet.com-On October 13, 2011:

http://www.infowars.com/feds-foil-own-saudi-assassination-plot-pin-...

V. FBI Insider: Obama Administration Likely Manufactured Dubious Terror Plot!-Posted on InforWars-By Paul Joseph Watson,
Infowars.com-On October 13, 2011:

http://www.infowars.com/fbi-insider-obama-administration-likely-man...

VI. Iranian Terror “Mastermind” Described as Drunk, Pothead, Hooker Frequenting “Joke”!-Posted on InforWars-By Steve Watson, Infowars.com-On October 13, 2011:

http://www.infowars.com/iranian-terror-mastermind-described-as-drun...

VII. Republicans Adopt Obama’s “Bad Movie” Iran Terror Plot!-Posted on InfoWars-By Kurt Nimmo,
Infowars.com-On October 13, 2011:

http://www.infowars.com/republicans-adopt-obamas-bad-movie-iran-ter...

VIII. Breaking: new evidence shows Hillary a mastermind behind Gunwalker!-Posted on Examiner-By Anthony Martin, Conservative Examiner-On October 10, 2011:

http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-national/breaking-new-evide...

IX. Hillary's enemies list now includes Gunwalker reporters!-Posted on Examiner-By Anthony Martin, Conservative Examiner-On October 8, 2011:

http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-national/hillary-s-enemies-...

X. Gingrich: ‘Holder Ought to be Fired’!-Posted on CNSNews.com-By Fred Lucas-On October 10, 2011:

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/gingrich-holder-ought-be-fired

Note:  My following blog posts contain numerous articles and/or blog posts and videos that relate to this disturbing issue-You Decide:

Did ATF provide weapons to Mexican drug cartels that were subsequently used to kill one of our own?

http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/did-atf-provide-weapons-to...

What is the true intent of the UN Small Arms Treaty?

http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/what-is-the-true-intent-of...

The President Must Stop Voting "Present" on Iran!

http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/the-president-must-stop-vo...

Is it important to understand the Marxist assault on the foundations of our system?

http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/is-it-important-to-underst...

Note:  If you have a problem viewing any of the listed blog posts please copy web site and paste it on your browser. Be aware that some of the articles and/or blog posts or videos listed within the contents of the above blog post(s) may have been removed by this administration because they may have considered them to be too controversial.  Sure seems like any subject matter that may shed some negative light on this administration is being censored-What happened to free speech?-You Decide.

“Food For Thought”

God Bless the U.S.A.!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E&feature=related

Semper Fi!

Jake

[M]

Sounds like a political ploy to me.