Is this the "French Connection" we were looking for?

Self | 30 October, 2005 | Paperjam

[kabar]

I've thought for a long time Wilson is a spy for France. Since we know his first wife was a French intelligence agent it would only make sense.

She was his second wife. We don't know if she was an intelligence agent, just assigned to the French Embassy in Gabon.

[kabar]

JACQUELINE C WILSON was a registered agent for Gabon. She registered as an agent of Gabon on June 17, 1998 (not long after their divorce) and had received $100,000 prior to the registration. Summary of payments by year: 1998 ($280,0000), 1999 ($250,000); 2000 ($75,000 ); 2001 ($39,000); and 2002 ($8,000). She was not listed as an agent in 2003.

[Fedora]

In any event, most of these meetings with a head of state like Saddam include an American notetaker who usually speaks the language. Glaspie wouldn't have needed a translator per se, but she would have been wise to have one whom she could trust.

Since Wilson was working under Glaspie, would it be plausible that he may have been her notetaker rather than her translator, perhaps?

I'm not surprised to hear the no-soles-of-the-feet-showing custom is not as rigidly practiced among Westernized Arabs. I still wonder what Al-Zubaydi means to convey by portraying her as eschewing that custom, though. When I read it, it comes across like he's trying to portray her as rude or contemptuous.

A note on Post 182 regarding Jacqueline's payments from Gabon: in addition to the payments you list, I found another $38,000 payment, which IIRC didn't turn up in some searches but was there if you poked around enough in the FARA website and Google caches. I will need to dig through my notes to find the date of the filing but I double-checked this a few times as I was going over Jacqueline's FARA filings before trying to resolve some discrepancies between what different people had found and forwarded me.

[piasa]

It's likely they were speaking French, the language of diplomacy at one time. He's proficient at that... ;-)

[piasa]

trivia:

1990 : (IRAQ : SADDAM HUSSEIN TELLS US DIPLOMAT APRIL GLASPIE THAT "YOU AMERICANS CAN'T TAKE CASUALTIES") Saddam Hussein told April Glaspie in 1990 that, "You Americans can't take casualties." -- according to Wolfowitz in The complete Washington Post Interview from the DOD site. Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz Interview with The Washington Post : (Interview with Michael Dobbs, The Washington Post.)

[kabar]

Since Wilson was working under Glaspie, would it be plausible that he may have been her notetaker rather than her translator, perhaps?

Perhaps. At an important, high level meeting some ambassadors take the DCM along as notetaker. He then writes the cable up for Washington approved by the Ambassador. On most such occasions, it is the head of the political section that accompanies the Ambassador. Since Wilson didn't speak arabic and Saddam doesn't speak French, they probably used Saddam's translator. Wilson's book probably indicates whether he was in attendance or not.

Based on post #101 Jacqueline still works for the President of Gabon.

[piasa]

An interesting sidenote to the Niger docs story:

JANUARY 2003 : (AL ZAHAWIE, "RETIRED IN JORDAN" - IS RECALLED BACK TO BAGHDAD, IRAQ; HE IS TAKEN TO MEET UN WEAPONS INSPECTORS) But last January, al-Zahawie was summoned back to Baghdad for what he had expected would be a request to help Iraq's Foreign Service plan for deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz's planned visit to the Vatican. Instead, upon landing in Baghdad, al-Zahawie was taken to meet with UN weapons inspectors. Five inspectors interviewed him in a 90-minute session, he says.
"They asked why I went [to Niger], why I was chosen, when I left Rome and whether there were any other Iraqi diplomats at the Vatican," he says. "But then they asked who had the seal of the embassy and where I had left it."
That's when al-Zahawie got wind of some kind of foul play.
Italy had handed over cables from al-Zahawie to the Niger government announcing the trip, and other documents had pointed to his presence in Niger. But the inspectors were particularly interested in a July 6, 2000, document bearing al-Zahawie's signature, concerning a proposed uranium transaction. The inspectors refused to show him the letter, he says, but al-Zahawie was sure he had never written it. "If they had such a letter, it had to have been a forgery," he says. The tell-tale signs of the forgery were quite obvious, he stresses. [* My note: How would he know the 'tell-tale sign' if they refused to show the letters to him? Shades of Joe Wilson's foreknowledge of the docs?]
Diplomatic procedure typically called for official notes between Iraq and other governments to feature a government seal, but they are typically unsigned; correspondence between an ambassador and other dignitaries would be signed but would have no seal. The letter in question had both, the inspectors admitted.[* My note: according to Zahawie, who may not have been let in on the truth] "I realized the forgery when they asked this," al-Zahawie notes. "And when I left, I thought I had told them all there was to know."
Still, the inspectors brought him in for another meeting the next day, but after al-Zahawie protested, they ended the discussion by taking a copy of his signature for further investigation. In a matter of weeks, IAEA chairman Mohammed El-Baradei told the UN Security Council that the letters supposedly detailing a Niger-Iraq uranium transaction had been forgeries.
"I thought I was exonerated," al-Zahawie says. But in case any "official authorities" doubt his version, he invites them to meet with him to discuss the matter. More importantly, he has a question of his own: Who created the forged document bearing his signature, and why? The answer may, however, prove to be as elusive as Saddam's weapons of mass destruction. - "Saddam's Niger Point-man Speaks," By HASSAN FATTAH/LONDON, Time Magazine, Wednesday October 5, 2003, via hassanfattah.com
------------- "Saddam's Niger Point-man Speaks," By HASSAN FATTAH/LONDON, Time, Wednesday October 5, 2003, via hassanfattah.com , Copyright © 2003 Time Inc.

[piasa]

NOVEMBER 12, 1997 : (WISSAM AL-ZAHAWI LETTER ON IRAQ'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS QUEST) In a letter published on Nov. 12, 1997, in the International Herald Tribune, [Wissam al] Zahawie, identified as Iraq's ambassador to the Vatican, was more direct. "Iraq has shown that there are Arabs who refuse to bow to American bullying," he wrote. "It has challenged a Zionist-American diktat by trying to achieve the forbidden strategic balance that would enable Arabs to resist Israeli aggression."- "Iraqi Nuke Hawk Went to Niger," by Terence P. Jeffrey, Human Events, 8/1/03

[Fedora]

Wilson's book probably indicates whether he was in attendance or not.

I just checked, and he discusses this on p. 98f. Here's what he says:

On July 25, April Glaspie went to the Iraqi foreign ministry to deliver to Tariq Aziz a copy of a statement made earlier in the week by the State Department spokesperson, Margaret Tutwiler. . .Shortly after she returned. . .she was summoned back. . .to meet Saddam himself. This was unprecedented. During the two years she had been ambassador, Saddam had never held a private meeting with her. . .The one-on-one meeting with Saddam was fateful for Ambassador Glaspie. . .I was with her immediately after the meeting and had several discussions in the few days between the meeting and her departure from the country on a long-planned leave.

[Fedora]

Thanks; that's interesting to me in terms of its implications for reconstructing the chronology of the forgery scandal's development. Most things I've read say the IAEA's Jacques Baute first learned of the forgeries on February 4, 2003 after being informed by the US embassy in Vienna, Austria (where IAEA is headquartered). But what you have there indicates the IAEA was already asking about the Niger trip in January 2003. Of course that doesn't necessarily imply knowledge of the forgeries, since Niger had been mentioned in that US State Department cable in December, and the British would've also known about it. Still, raises some interesting possibilities.

Re: your other post: Yes, I also wondered if they could've been talking in French, too. The strongest evidence of that would be if during the course of the conversation somebody surrendered :-)

[kabar]

If Glaspie had a one-on-one meeting with Saddam, that was a major mistake on her part. She should have at least taken someone along as a notetaker. No wonder there are conflicting accounts of who said what to whom.

[paperjam]

Fox news ran stories last night based on some of the things we were tracking right here in this post. Here is their on line story.

 

As unfinished as my research is, I feel compelled to release what I've found so far as the story cannot wait any longer.  I am not looking for a scoop on anyone or anything, but at the same time I don't want anyone thinking I made this stuff up after the fact either.

 

In this story, tracking back the money and the controlling interests to their sources started off pretty innocuously.  I reasoned that TotalFinaElf, based in France, would enlighten us to the inner workings of Jacques Chirac and his connections to Iraq, the UN, and the forged Niger documents.  However, one soon learns that the powers that be are cornering the USA into complete and total dependence upon foreign powers for our very economic survival.  As you read along and follow the links I’ve provided you will soon see that China, Canada, and France, are working very hard to take away America’s ability to exert influence in world affairs.  In fact, they each seem to be working in unison to damage our ability to remain a super power.  If we are not very careful as a nation, we are going to be screwed to the floor for decades to come.

 

I still believe fully that America and Britton were “set-up” with forged documents to undermine our ability to use warfare go to force Iraq into compliance with the UN resolutions.  I have no doubt that TotalFinaElf and the billions they stood to lose remains part of the reason behind the attempt to trip us up and discredit our ability to justify war with Iraq.  The only flaw I had in my reasoning and I have stated before is that it was difficult to see the forest for the trees.  I think now we can get a much better glimpse of the sheer size of the forest in front of us and the major players who are involved.

 

As you follow through the seemingly large amount of information, please keep in mind that it’s not as simple as me just telling you.  See it for yourself and understand the enormous forces being played out against our own interests.

 

Bear in mind that the focus of this story started with TotalFinaElf who had options to develop the massive Majnoon and Bin Umar oilfields in southern Iraq.  I followed the money back to Canada to Power Corporation who has deep connections at highest levels of the UN and then on to China through Mr. Li Ka-Shing, the worlds 19^th richest man.  France is still a major player in its attempts to harm the US and continues to position itself as a world leader in a new era, one without the USA as a superpower.

 

(The links are important so try not to miss them as they all tell part of the greater story.  I apologize in advance for the sheer amount of data, but getting a glimpse of the big picture sometimes takes a greater effort)

 

 

 

Power Corporation

 

 

 

Power Corporation is aptly named and perfectly describes their goal, Power.

 

http://www.acepilots.com/unscam/archives/cat_france_benelux.html

Power Corporation holds the controlling stock of TOTAL otherwise known as TotalFinaElf.  I’m providing a Timeline of the more significant events of the company to provide some background. 

Power Corp’s founding father, Paul Desmarais, is a major shareholder and director of TotalFinaElf, the biggest oil corporation in France, which has held tens of billions of dollars in contracts with the deposed regime of Saddam Hussein. Both Prime Minister Paul Martin and his mentor Maurice Strong, senior advisor to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, each have worked for Power Corp. Martin’s immediate predecessor is former Prime Minister Jean Chretien, whose daughter, France is married to Andre Desmarais, Paul Desmarais Sr., son.

This link here gives us an important look at some of the people involved with Power Corporation, Canadian and UN Politics.

Andre Desmarais also sits on the China International Trust & Investment Corp (CITIC), described as the alleged investment arm of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) which is the more formal name of the Chinese military. Through its subsidiaries, the CITIC could be the largest manufacturer of weapons and arms in the world

As Canada Free Press (CFP) has revealed, Paul Volcker, who heads up the Independent Inquiry Commission into the oil-for-food scandal, held a seat on Power Corp’s international advisory board.

Continuing to join the dots on Volcker and potential conflicts of interest is Volcker’s number two man on the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC), Reid Morden. Morden has connections to Paul Desmarais in his role of selling nuclear plants to China and others for companies dominated by Desmarais. Although he is Canada’s former “ intelligence chief”, Morden does not answer to the Canadian government. As Canada Free Press letter writer Peter Herberg puts it, "Can you imagine the uproar if a former CIA chief did this and took part in a UN investigation that refused to cooperate with congress?

Power Corp., through its ties to the New York branch of the Banque Nationale de Paris-Paribas, or BNP Paribas is also linked to the UN oil-for-food scandal. BNP Paribas was the sole bank for administering the $64 billion oil-for-food program and did not have adequate checks on whether money was being funneled to terrorists, a House International Relations Committee probe found in November 2004. Committee investigators have uncovered evidence that BNP Paribas made payments without proof that goods were delivered and sanctioned payments to third parties not identified as authorized recipients.

IIC Investigators suspect Saddam was able to skim off $10-billion or more during the period from secret oil sales and kickbacks on oil-for-food contracts.

In February 2001, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, one of Belgium’s top 10 companies and 25 percent owned by Power Corp., acquired control of BertelsmannAG (BAG). Andre Desmarais, President and Chief Executive Officer of Power Corp., was named to the BAG board. Power Corp. now maintains controlling interest in BertelsmannAG, Germany’s largest publishing empire--bigger even than Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. The publishing empire which employs some 80,000 workers in 51 countries, posted an overall cash flow of $18.3-billion in 2002.

Jean Chretien’s stepped down on 12 December, 2003.  His first trip after leaving office was to lead a delegation to China on trade deals. His next trip was to Iran on behalf of an oil company. Mr. Chretien went to Iran as a "special adviser" to the Calgary oil company PetroKazakhstan, which wanted to ship Kazakh oil to China and Iran. His job was to convince the Iranians that this is a good idea.

His work was part of the Silk Road Group that had been founded in the early 1990’s.  The goal of this group was to create new oil routes for a number of major companies, among them TotalFinaElf and PetroKazakhstan.

TotalFinaElf is now working with the Iranians.  They are operating under contracts to help develop the South Pars gas field.  They are the Iranian portions of what is probably the largest gas field in the world. The other part of the field, in Qatari waters, is known as North Field. With the South Pars project, TotalFinaElf has become the foremost oil company in partnership with Iran and has bolstered its position in the Middle East, where the Group has been active for some 75 years.

If you’ve managed to read through half of the sites I’ve listed and read up on Power Corporation then you know by now that they are a truly a powerful corporation, no pun intended.

 

Li Ka-Shing

Now we need to turn to Li Ka-Shing, the richest man in Asia and the 19th richest in the world.  He is the owner of the Hong Kong-based Hutchinson-Whampoa that now runs the Panama Canal Ports, and is currently buying Husky Oil of Canada and plans on buying Canadian mining giant Noranda.  There are many ties to China’s political

China is eager to buy Canadian natural resources to feed its burgeoning economy, particularly oil from Alberta province's oil sands, the second biggest oil deposit in the world, and uranium for 40 nuclear reactors it plans to build by 2020 to generate electricity and reduce its reliance on coal.

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) won a bidding war to buy Canadian oil company PetroKazakhstan for a whopping 4.18 billion US dollars.

China continues to position itself with the help of people like Li Ka-Shing in the critical markets of port operations, petroleum, mining, and telecommunications. 

French President Jacques Chirac has made Chinese billionaire Li Ka-Shing a member of the national order of the Legion of Honor, officials said. [AFP]  Li, 76, recently carried out a friendly takeover of France’s Marionnaud perfume retail group, in a deal worth 900 million euros (1.17 Billion dollars).  The deal made the Watson unit of Li’s Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa retail conglomerate the world’s biggest company in the toiletries sector.

The Asian tycoon’s eldest son, Victor Li, a Canadian citizen, recently offered $48-million for a failed 28 percent stake in bankrupted Air Canada.

Li Ka-Shing, incidentally owns Gordon Securities where Jean Chretien used to work. Jean Chretien is a close personal friend of Paul Desmarais of Power Corporation.   He has been dogged by the Sidewinder Report  Please see Here too! Following orders from persons unknown, CSIS (Canadian Security & Intelligence Service) watered down Sidewinder’s worrisome conclusions and replaced it with a revised document called, Echo.  Echo was another secret report but we have an investigation by James D. Harder who sums it all up nicely.

 

French President Jacques Chirac

This section is still in work and not ready to post but the premise is that France more specifically Jacques Chirac is attempting to undermine the US dollar in an effort to start the dollar on a devaluation slide by breaking the tie between Oil and the US Dollar.

 

He is also setting himself up as a tremendous friend to the Iranians much in the same way he did with Iraq. I wish I had more time to fully work this up but here it is as I have it.

[Eva]

First of all, Wilson came back and stated that Saddam had tried to purchase yellowcake, but was unsuccessful. It was not until after the SOTU speech that Wilson switched his statement, but since there was no written report, his statements could not be compared.

Second, Wilson could not have seen the forged documents on his trip, unless his ex-wife or his other African connections (many of whom were involved in the oil for food scandal) showed them to him, because the CIA didn't have them yet.

Wilson claims to have seen the documents in the hands of Andrea Mitchell, who admitted that reporters who covered the CIA, all knew the identity of Wilson's wife and her connection to the CIA. I have been wondering if it was Wilson's statements, regarding Mitchell, that prompted this admission.

[IVote2]

We need a diagram of all these ties. I've always known that Freepers are the ultimate online researchers.

Jen

[txhurl]

Here's Paul Desmaiais:

from namebase

[txhurl]

ping

[IVote2]

All I can say is Holy CRAP! What a find!

Jen

[txhurl]

Axe and you shall receive.

[IVote2]

Paperjam and Moderators, I wonder if this second post could be reposted so it is a new thread. It seems as if it would be better to get the information visible.

Jen

[paperjam]

With the thanks going to the Moderators, the research I posted above in reply #192 is being moved to a thread of its own. Please go here to view it.


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1515785/posts


Thank you all for your hard work in making this thread such a great one. We can continue to flush this story out in both places.

Paperjam