Posted on 09/20/2009 11:16:11 AM PDT by J Aguilar
New course in the investigation of 3/11
Manzano, Cornered by the Tedax and the Sentence Acquitting EL MUNDO [newspaper]
Blow for Sanchez-Manzano. Tuesday, during his testimony, he admitted that he had destroyed evidence from the 3/11 attacks. Wednesday, before the judge, six TEDAX officers [TEDAX: Spanish National Police Explosive Disposal Unit] extended this information. Hours later, a forceful sentence acquitted EL MUNDO [newspaper] and Jimenez-Losantos [radio anchor] on their information and opinions on the matter.
Olivia Moya | Luis del Pino
The investigation on the 3/11 attacks has taken a new course. In only two days the actions of the former [administrative] chief of the Tedax, Juan Jesus Sanchez-Manzano, have been more than put in doubt.
Firstly, it was his own testimony as indicted person, on Tuesday, in which he recognized that he had destroyed tons of evidence from the attacks. Twenty-four hours later in the same court, six TEDAX members provided more details. And this Wednesday in the evening we knew a full forty page sentence that knocks down the complaint that filed Sanchez-Manzano against EL MUNDO and Federico Jimenez-Losantos. In it, the judge stresses the veracity of all the information published by this newspaper on the actions of Sanchez-Manzano.
The TEDAX contradict Manzano.
This Wednesday six witnesses TEDAX, who were in the scenes of the massacre gathering tons of rest during March 11th and following days, have given testimony. They have given it in the Court of Instruction #43 in Madrid, where the open case against the former commissioner head of the TEDAX, Juan Jesus Sanchez-Manzano, and the chemical expert of the Central Unit, who was under his command, and who received, analyzed and stored the hundreds and hundreds of samples from the attacks, is investigated.
The Association for Aiding of the 3/11 Victims blames them for the crimes of false testimony, omission of his duty of persecuting crimes and cover-up by concealment of evidence. Sanchez-Manzano clarified on Tuesday before a judge that only arrived 23 samples from the 12 explosion scenes, including two controlled ones, to the National High Court [where the trial of the 3/11 case took place] because the TEDAX destroyed them.
And, according to what the former commissioner seemed to tell, this one is a usual procedure in the unit he directed. That is to say, that the samples picked up in the place of an attack are sifted in the police offices, a selection only surpassed by the rests that are considered useful.
Asked why some of the samples that passed the test have not arrived at the High court either, Manzano answered that on that he could not give any explanation.
The evidences that are "never" eliminated and the indispensable judicial authorization.
The six witnesses, who participated in these tasks during 3/11 and the following days, have ruined his testimony; reason why the version offered yesterday by Manzano is not valid, according to what explained the lawyer from the [private] accusation, Jose Maria de Pablo.
Taking into account what those police officers have indicated, there are evidences that are never eliminated. They always pass that selection process mentioned by Manzano. It is the case of the impregnations in water and ketone or the stones gathered in the crater produced by an explosion. But there is still more. The six Tedax have "no" knowledge of ever "destroying something without judicial authorization". And neither in the summary [of 3/11] nor anywhere else there is the certainty that any judicial authorization or any request to the judge had existed.
The EDU officers also indicated that on March 11th, only in the Atocha station more than 80 bags filled with rests were put at the disposal of the Central Unit [of the TEDAX], although they do not know their final destiny.
Manzano "assumed the operative command” in an unusual way.
The six officers still kept more data. All have declared that those days who “assumed the operative command” was Sanchez-Manzano himself. Something that had not been done before and that has not done ever after, because, according to what the protocol orders, in charge of the teams had to be the Provincial Brigade of Madrid, whose commander was Caceres-Vadillo. This also contradicts what has been said by Sanchez-Manzano. The former commissioner declared that he never assumed the operative direction, being this one in the hands of the provincial chief in Madrid.
This Friday the declaration of more police witnesses is scheduled, among them, the former operative general deputy director of the National Police, Pedro Diaz-Pintado.
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A post in Luis del Pino's blog that helps to put into the context of the Spanish reality this news:
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Journalism Ethics 101
by Luis del Pino
September 16th, 2009
Before reading what follows, the reader should carry out the following mental exercise: imagine that the biggest association of victims of 9/11 had presented a complaint against a police civil servant of the Bush administration on alleged falsification of evidence in the investigations on the attacks against the Twin Towers. The reader can figure out what would have been the news coverage in the Spanish mass media, on the declaration of that civil servant before a judge.
Now, let’s go into the issue. The former chief of the TEDAX, Sanchez-Manzano testified yesterday, within the framework of the complaint presented against him by the Association for Aiding of the 3/11 Victims, which accounts for more than 600 victims of the attack. We see the news coverage of the subject in the today’s press:
EL MUNDO [center-right]: front page showing a picture of Sanchez-Manzano arriving at the court. The headline says: “Manzano admits that he destroyed almost all the rests from the scenes of 3/11". The newspaper includes an editorial and describes with plenty of details both the explanations that Sanchez-Manzano gave and the questions raised by the lawyers of the Association for Aiding of the 3/11 Victims.
LA RAZON [right wing]: It includes the news in page 25, on three half columns, showing a picture of Sanchez-Manzano in plain clothes, within the section of news from Spain. There is no reference in the front page. The headline tells: "Manzano guarantees the actions of the TEDAX during 3/11". The explanations of Sanchez-Manzano are described in detail. The reasons why the Association for Aiding of the 3/11 Victims complained against Manzano are not explained. The questions raised by the accusation are not pointed out either, nor is it made any mention to the destruction of the rests picked up in the trains.
ABC [right wing]: It includes the news (without signing) into a column in an even page, without picture, within the section of news from Spain. There is no reference in the cover. The headline tells: "The former chief of the TEDAX explains to the judge the protocols applied during 3/11". In the body of the news, not even the name of the Association for Aiding of the 3/11 Victims is mentioned; the newspaper refers to it as "the only one of the associations of victims who still defends alternative theories to the one of the Islamist responsibility". The explanations of Sanchez-Manzano and his lawyer (mentioned by his name) are briefly exposed, as well as the ones from the lawyer of the [private] accusation (not mentioned by his name).
EL PAIS [Falange party, that is, former Fascist, now Socialist]: The news, simply, does not exist.
LA VANGUARDIA [right wing, from Catalonia]: The news, simply, does not exist.
People may expect too much of journalism. Not only do they expect it to be entertaining, they expect it to be true.
Lewis H. Lapham
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More 3/11 here:
An introduction to the case: Spain’s “Terrorgate”? by Frank J. Gaffney Jr.
Search @ Freerep or just click on me
You may also watch the following videos in English:
Why are there no pictures of the 11-M attacks?
What explosive was used on the Madrid train bombings?
What kind of explosive devices were used in the 11-M bombings?
More data on 3/11 in Spanish here:
Luis del Pino's blog
You may read the following original documents:
Complaint against Sanchez Manzano and the chemical expert, a good presentation of facts.
Sentence against Sanchez-Manzano.
From each explosion scene an estimated 9 tons of material could be obtained, however, the only evidence left to carry out chemical analysis are 23 small pieces (in one scene, just a rusty nail).
Ping!
I had to go find a summary of this story to understand - I haven’t been paying attention. How extraordinary it is!:
At worst, the information uncovered by El Mundo could mean that the deadly bombing was actually perpetrated with the complicity of the same Spanish police bomb squad, Tedax, that was subsequently charged with investigating the crime.
Either way, if the leads published in recent days pan out, it would appear that Spain’s 2004 elections were stolen by terrorists, alright. But the terrorist operation that brought the socialists to power may have been an inside job — in effect, a coup perpetrated by some of the same authorities who are responsible for preventing terror.
http://www.nationalreview.com/gaffney/gaffney200505181246.asp
I hate computer translations. What the heck happened? Why did the police destroy evidence?
It seems that the Spanish police bomb squad, Tedax, did the bombing and then planted evidence to blame others. Then, they destroyed evidence proving their own guilt.
Was their purpose to frame Islamic terrorists or to overthrow the conservative government and put socialists in office? I don’t know.
I can’t see evidence destruction on this scale as anything but deliberate. It really is totalitarian control of information. I can’t imagine a real cop wanting to be any part of this farce.
How could the conspirators be sure the Spanish people would capitulate to the bombing and elect socialists - instead of joining America to fight back by retaining their conservative government?
That was the easy part: fear. They know very well the character of the Spanish people (they ruled Spain during 14 years) and they control the mass media.
And not fear to terrorists, but “economic” fear. During the morning of 3/11 the police kept saying it was ETA. Some said that if that was confirmed, article 155 of the Spanish Constitution should be applied to the Basque region, abolishing the autonomy there. That was an economic threat not only for the Basque region, but also for Catalonia, because without autonomy they wouldn’t have the privileges they enjoy now above the rest of Spaniards.
Even if article 155 was not applied, the truth is that any regional nationalist movement would be over in Spain if ETA was found the perpetrator.
That is, there were overwhelming economic interests, at top level but also for regular citizens from the nationalist regions.
The coup did not affect severely the right wing Popular Party, which only lost 300,000 or 400,000 votes out of ten million, but mobilized people ideologically far away from it who in these elections, initially, thet did not want to vote.
In the end, the Socialist party got one million votes above what the polls showed before the attack (out of a total of 23 million), which, I suspect, was not enough for what the mastermind intended: the discredit of the Popular Party and any right wing policy forever.
What is Spanish for “Truther” ?
Very interesting. Thank you for the info.
Thanks, J. Enlightening as always.
“Persona que piensa por si misma”, or person who thinks by himself.
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