George W Bush 'Raised $400 Million For Action Against Iran'

The White House has been reported to have secretly stepped up covert operations inside Iran with the aim of destablising its leadership.

President George W Bush requested and received funding of $400 million (£200 million) for the plan after he made a secret appeal to Congressional leaders last year.

The money is likely to be used for operations carried out by the CIA and other intelligence agencies, according to the New Yorker magazine.

The appeal for funds "was focused on undermining Iran's nuclear ambitions and trying to undermine the government through regime change" said the magazine.

A source cited the contents of the appeal - known as a Presidential Finding - as involving "working with opposition groups and passing money".

The magazine claimed that American special forces had been conducting cross-border operations into Iran from southern Iraq since last year.

"I'll tell you flatly that US forces are not operating across the Iraqi border into Iran, in the south or anywhere else," he told CNN television.

Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, is believed to be adamantly opposed to taking military action against Iran. The Bush administration is believed to be concentrating on building a legacy of relative stability in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East in the final six months of Mr Bush's second and final term in office.

The administration is seeking to bolster its record through multi-lateral diplomacy, as illustrated by last week's deal with North Korea over disclosure of its nuclear programme. A unilateral attack on Iran by either the US or Israel could eclipse this.

This is SICKENING.

Reporters are used all the time, and this one has been REAMED from behind to get his precious “Scoop.”

“The article by reporter Seymour Hersh, from the magazine’s July 7 and 14 issue, centers around a ...

“highly classified”

HIGHLY CLASSIFIED — WTH, someone ought to be investigating WHO is leaking HIGHLY CLASSIFIED INFO.

. . . Presidential Finding signed by Bush which by U.S. law must be made known to Democratic and Republican House and Senate leaders and ranking members of the intelligence committees.

“. . . a person familiar with its contents . . . SOMEONE ON THE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE LEAKING HIGHLY CLASSIFIED INFO — Here’s your story, Hersh or any other reporter with any b**** or intelligence.

. . . as saying, and involved “working with opposition groups and passing money.” — QUOTE FROM A SECRET, HIGHLY CLASSIFIED INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE SOURCE? Huh, what source?

Hersh has written previously about possible administration plans to go to war to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, including an April 2006 article in the New Yorker that suggested regime change in Iran, whether by diplomatic or military means, was Bush’s ultimate goal.”

I suggest I know where Bigfoot lives, and I have Highly placed, unnamed, top level sources to PROVE IT!!!!!

Funding for the covert escalation, for which Bush requested up to $400 million, was approved by congressional leaders, according to the article, citing current and former military, intelligence and congressional sources.

NAMES? SOURCES?

Clandestine operations against Iran are not new. U.S. Special Operations Forces have been conducting crossborder operations from southern Iraq since last year, the article said.

NAMES, SOURCES?

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 Bush’s war on terrorism, who may be captured or killed, according to the article.

NAMES, SOURCES?

But the scale and the scope of the operations in Iran, which include the Central Intelligence Agency, have now been significantly expanded, the article said, citing current and former officials.

NAMES, SOURCES?

Many of these activities are not specified in the new finding,

... and some congressional leaders have had serious questions about their nature, it said.

NAMES, SOURCES?

None of the Democratic leaders in Congress (except OFF the Record, the cowards) would comment on the finding, the article said. The White House, which has repeatedly denied preparing for military action against Iran, and the CIA also declined comment.

The United States is leading international efforts to rein in Iran’s suspected effort to develop nuclear weapons,

... although Washington concedes Iran has the right to develop nuclear power for civilian uses.

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