Posted on 11/03/2006 12:34:25 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Last night, radio talk show host and former US Justice Department official Mark Levin shocked many listeners when he reported that President Bill Clinton gave nuclear technology to the Iranians in a harebrained scheme.
He said that the transfer of classified data to Iran was personally approved by then-President Clinton and that the CIA deliberately gave Iranian physicists blueprints for part of a nuclear bomb that likely helped Tehran advance its nuclear weapons development program.
The CIA, using a double-agent Russian scientist, handed a blueprint for a nuclear bomb to Iran, according to a new book "State of War" by James Risen, the New York Times reporter, who exposed the Bush administration's controversial NSA spying operation, claims the plans contained fatal flaws designed to derail Tehran's nuclear drive.
But the deliberate errors were so rudimentary they would have been easily fixed by sophisticated Russian nuclear scientists, the book said.
The operation, which took place during the Clinton administration in early 2000, was code named Operation Merlin and "may have been one of the most reckless operations in the modern history of the CIA," according to Risen.
It called for the unnamed scientist, a defector from the Soviet nuclear program, to offer Iran the blueprint for a "firing set" -- the intricate mechanism which triggers the chain reaction needed for a nuclear explosion.
He had been told by CIA officers that the Iranians already had the technology detailed in the plans and that the ruse was simply an attempt by the agency to find out the full scope of Tehran's nuclear knowledge.
But, contrary to orders not to open the packet, he added a note which made it clear he could help fix the flaws for money.
Risen states in his book, "It's not clear who originally came up with the idea, but the plan [to give Tehran nuclear blueprints] was first approved by Clinton."
This is just another chapter in the Bill Clinton saga of giving weapons technology to enemies of the United States. He's provided missile technology to the Chinese, which increased the accuracy of their ballistic missiles, and he provided nuclear technology to the North Koreans that eventually enabled them to develop nuclear weapons.
Risen said the Clinton-approved plan ended up handing Tehran "one of the greatest engineering secrets in the world, providing the solution to one of a handful of problems that separated nuclear powers such as the United States and Russia from rogue countries such as Iran that were desperate to join the nuclear club but had so far fallen short."
Mark Levin, director of the Landmark Legal Foundation, said that thanks to Clinton Iran was able to "leapfrog one of the last remaining engineering hurdles blocking its path to a nuclear weapon."
Ironically, Risen's New York Times has declined to cover Mr. Clinton's Iranian nuclear debacle -- concentrating instead on his book's dubious claims that the National Security Agency was first authorized to commence domestic wiretapping by President Bush, according to NewsMax and Levin.
NewsMax stated that Risen's report could also have a serious implications for Sen. Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. Mrs. Clinton has been sharply critical of President Bush's handling of the Iranian nuclear crisis, complaining that a nuclear-armed Tehran would be a much more serious threat to the US than Iraq. However, NewsMax may be proven wrong about Sen. Clinton if the news media continue to ignore this story.
"Don't hold your breath waiting for the elite media to create a frenzy over this story. They will never hurt either Clintons with such a damning report," says former intelligence officer Sid Francis.
Some history....
Beautiful. Hey, I'll bet the ex-POTUS was more destructive to this country than JOHN WALKER.
Good grief!
--NewsMax stated that Risen's report could also have a serious implications for Sen. Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.--
So this will come out again as a 2008 November Surprise.
The MSM death timetable will be stepped-up considerably....at least.
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There is a book (now available in paperback ):
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Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left
(Hardcover)
by David Horowitz
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And reviews:
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Editorial Reviews
Rich Lowry, Editor National Review
David Horowitz is synonymous with pyrotechnics. A historian and polemicist of the first order, he is paid the ultimate compliment --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Davis Hanson, Author, Ripples of Battle
An original look at those who want us to fail in the Middle East, both at home and abroad. The --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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See all Editorial Reviews
Fascinating Analysis of Leftist Goals, August 13, 2006
Reviewer: N. Sincerity - See all my reviews
A former 1960s radical, Horowitz is well-acquainted with the Leftist mindset. In this book, he strives to explain the modern alliance between left wing progressivists and radical Islamofascists. He argues that this alliance is based on a common desire to destroy Western capitalism. Leftist sympathy with Islamofascist ideas makes no sense from an intellectual point of view, given that countries ruled by radical Islamists are among the most racist, sexist, theocratic states in the world today. However, Leftists have recognized that they can benefit politically from destructive terrorist attacks on the Western world. A West under attack can be made to turn on its leaders in fear and desperation (as they did in Spain after the Madrid train bombings). Only once people reject current government structures can the Left execute its anti-capitalist revolution and build a new reality that mirrors the Leftist view of utopia. The complete and utter idealogical hypocrisy of the Islamofascist-Leftist alliance is distressing, but as Horowitz reminds us, Leftists radicals truly believe the ends justify the means.
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Levin Ping
For all the talk about how complicated the firing block on a nuclear weapon is, nobody in the nuclear club (with the possible exception of North Korea) has had a first test of a nuclear device fail. All it is is a device that makes sure electrical impulses get to detonators at the correct time. It's about as complicated as a distributor cap. Why, a competent shade-tree mechanic could probably build one.
I just told my classmates I hate that SOB. As if I need a reason to hate him even more...
Thank me, I'm welcome!
Well, with the help of Ross Perot (twice) we had 8 years of CHANGE
And now the same folks are calling for 'change' again???????
I thought Pakistan's first detonations were problematic (partial, due to timing errors).
Yep your right, so why is x-pres bj klinton out walking around????
Excellent post, Ernest!
Too bad we won't be reading it in the NYT or LAT! LOL
BUMP FOR LATER READING!
Have a good weekend, ya'll!
I'm told by a retired nuke-u-leer weapons designer that a timing problem would be a complete fizzle (fractional yield) for an unboosted nuke. If you get a significant partial yield with a timing problem, it means the weapon was boosted--and that in itself means that Pakistan's debut weapon was more advanced than anyone knew.
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