Posted on 03/11/2007 8:32:15 AM PDT by shrinkermd
AN Iranian general who defected to the West last month had been spying on Iran since 2003 when he was recruited on an overseas business trip, according to Iranian sources.
This weekend Brigadier General Ali Reza Asgari, 63, the former deputy defence minister, is understood to be undergoing debriefing at a Nato base in Germany after he escaped from Iran, followed by his family.
A daring getaway via Damascus was organised by western intelligence agencies after it became clear that his cover was about to be blown. Iran’s notorious secret service, the Vavak, is believed to have suspected that he was a high-level mole.
According to the Iranian sources, the escape took several months to arrange. At least 10 close members of his family had to flee the country. Asgari has two sons, a daughter and several grandchildren and it is believed that all, including his daughters-in-law, are now out of Iran. Their final destination is unknown.
Asgari is said to have carried with him documents disclosing Iran’s links to terrorists in the Middle East. It is not thought that he had details of the country’s nuclear programme...
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
This story is an Iranian attempt at damage control, designed to create doubt in the minds of Western intel about the factual nature and usefulness of Asgari's info and docs.
This is the equivalent of having Himmler or Goering on our payroll. Whoa.
"This is the equivalent of having Himmler or Goering on our payroll. Whoa."
Bush's fault
What we see here (assuming it's not a disinformation campaign) is another example of of what I call the Ice Berg war. 90% of the GWOT is below the surface.
Just damnnnn
"Bush's fault" Yep. Gotta agree. Some, however, will certainly point out the immorality of spying on another sovereign state. To hell with them.
Nancy Pelosi's big mouth will be flapping next week about the injustice of us spying on Iran. Pelosi and her nest of anti-American, anti-military snakes never met an enemy of the US that she didn't feel sorry for.
Obviously in the real world these informants can provide invaluable data but remember this, in the world of make believe that exists in the DBM and in the minds of Democrats, "IS isn't necessarily "IS".
We're constantlys told President Bush lied, that he knew Saddam had no WMD stockpiles. If every intelligence agency in the world, and his own generals thought he had them, how did the President know otherwise?
Why are you so sure there weren't any WMD? I think there were. Some were moved into Syria and likely Iran, and some probably remain buried in the desert to this day. Some were actually found, but no one cared because there weren't entire warehouses full--despite the fact that a tiny drop of some of these would kill thousands. But no one is interested in covering this, and so everyone including you repeats the big lie.
First things first: after he becomes a key player in ridding Iran of the Mullah's and Ahmadinejad.
That can't happen too soon....hopefully next month!
Maybe Kappes had little to do with it ?
There have been at least 500 chemical warheads found, chemical rockets, yellowcake (under IAEA "seal"), etc. Saddam did tell his generals, as the invasion started, that he didn't have WMD for his troops to use.
According to the Dr. Kay and the Iraq Survey Group, Saddam had most of his WMD capability secure in "dual use" facilities that could be converted to chemical weapons production in a couple of months once the sanctions were lifted. Anything that couldn't pass for dual use was probably sent to Syria on the eve of the war. What else would have been in those truck convoys?
My point, apparently not well made, was that people high in Saddam's government and military believed he had WMD. Why shouldn't we have believed it too? The "Bush Lied" notion implies he knew Saddam didn't have WMD stockpiles. My question is: How would he have known if Saddam's own people didn't? A follow up question is: If the President knew there weren't WMD stockpiles, why did he feature them as the primary causus belli instead of human rights, treaty non-compliance, shooting at our planes, etc. His critics want us to believe he was simultaneously smarter than all the world's intelligence agencies and so stupid as to bank our country's reputation on something that would certainly be proven false.
Byline: Uzi Mahnaimi, Tel Aviv. Ummmm - your post assumes an Iranian mole based in Tel Aviv writing for the UK Times. Possible but unlikely. Also, the fact the story gives credit to Mossad for recruiting him and aiding his escape also makes an Iranian source unlikely - to my way of thinking.
Reading the story, I don't see an attempt to discredit Asgari - matter of fact it makes him look wile and heroic.
"...what I call the Ice Berg war..."
Let's not be going anit-semitic, now....
I would love to know the whole truth about this. I hope someday we will.
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