Iran Blew Up Jewish Center in Argentina, Defector Says

The New York Times ^ | 07/22/2002 | LARRY ROHTER

[Libertarianize the GOP]

.

[thegreatbeast]

I had no idea of this event (the Argentine bombing), I am embarassed to say. But it does underscore the international scope of the war on terrorism. And it also reminds us that contrary to popular reports of Muslim moderates aching to take over the reins of power in Iran, that that nation has a long way to go before it can join the ranks of civilized nations, and that, sooner or later, we will have to see that any dealers in terror finding refuge in Iran join the prophets in the afterlife.

[piasa]

Al Qeada and Argentina (and Hezbollah and Imad Mugniyah)

[Paleo Conservative]

I believe that Iran is also on the Axis of Evil list. After we finish up Iraq while we're still in the neighborhood, we should invite ourselves into Iran.

[piasa]

Terrorists Active in US 'Backyard' : Latin America Hotbed for Both Al-Qaida and Hezbollah

[Kermit]

"The Iranian government organized and carried out the bombing of a Jewish community center here eight years ago that killed 85 people and then paid Argentina's president at the time, Carlos Saúl Menem, $10 million to cover it up, a witness in the case has said in sealed testimony."

Let's take a close look at Bill Clinton's finances. What worked once, could work again.

[piasa]

Good point, Clinton's been rolling in dough, hasn't he?

[fella]

Let's a mass murder of innocents by cowardly muslims covered up by corrupt banana republic politicos. Who would believe such a thing?

[piasa]

1992 : (HIZBALLAH, IRAN, BIN LADEN, AL QEADA) Osama bin Laden made a proposal to his rivals in the pro-Iran Shiite terrorist organization Hizballah that they set aside their differences, so that they can cooperate in a common objective of killing United States troops stationed in Asia and Africa. Bin Laden also established legal businesses in Sudan, farms, a tannery, and a construction firm, to increase his available funds, and as fronts for al Qaeda camps he was organizing there.
1992 : (MUGNIYAH, ARGENTINA) Imad Mugniyah allegedly bombed a Christian center in Argentina.
1992 : (HIZBALLAH, ISRAEL, ARGENTINA) Hizballah agents bombed the Israeli embassy in Argentina.
FEBRUARY, 1992: Israeli attack kills Hizballah leader Sheikh Musawi
MARCH 17, 1992 : a car bomb virtually destroyed the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 29 people and injuring 242. The Islamic Jihad organization, an arm of the Lebanese Hizballah, took responsibility for the attack, claiming it was in retaliation for the Israeli attack that killed Hizballah leader Sheikh Musawi in February. When the authenticity of this claim was questioned, the group responded by releasing a videotape of the Israeli Embassy taken during surveillance before the bombing. The bombing focused attention on Hizballah activity in Latin America, where communities of recent Shiite Muslim emigres in the remote border areas of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay could provide cover for international terrorists.
1994 : (HIZBALLAH, ISRAEL, ARGENTINA) Hizballah agents bombed an Israeli cultural center Buenos Aires, Argentina.

(An extra tidbit of interest, note the date:
Sept. 1994 FBI Dir. Freeh sends Dep. Att. Gen Gorelick a package of antiterrorism recommendations from the Executive Advisory Board of DoJ's Office of Investigative Policies. Recommendations are: 1. Develop a uniform database of State Dept. visa refusals; 2.Rethink the visa waiver pilot program; 3.Expand INS preinspection; 4.Allow classified information to be used by the court in deportation proceedings; 5.Tighten the asylum screening provisions and detain and expeditiously deport anyone suspected of terrorist intent; 6.Tighten controls against NIV overstayers and persons involved in sham marriages; 7. Share INS alien files with FBI terrorism investigators. )

1997 : (LUXOR, EGYPT MASSACRE, AL-GAMAA AL-ISLAMIYA, OMAR ABDEL RAHMAN, WTC BOMBING #1) massacre of 80 Western tourists near Cairo. Egypt's most powerful Islamic militant group -- al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya -- claimed responsibility Tuesday for the 70 deaths, which also included the attackers, police officers and several Egyptians. (There were some attacks on tourists prior to this as well.) In a statement faxed to AP press, the group said the tourists were killed Monday while its gunmen were trying to take them hostage in an attempt to secure the release of the group's spiritual leader, Omar Abdel Rahman. The cleric is in a U.S. prison for conspiring to blow up New York landmarks, including the World Trade Center in 1993. ONe of the perps is later picked up in South America.

OCTOBER 1998 : (COLUMBIA, VENEZUELA, FARC, TERROR INTERNATIONAL, EGYPTIAN TERRORIST) Interpol arrested Egyptian extremist Mohamed Enid Abdel Aal, in Bogota, Colombia. Abdel Aal, a leader of one of the most dangerous of the Islamist terrorist organizations, told authorities under questioning that "he planned to stay in Colombia for a few days and then head to Venezuela over land.” (El Nuevo Herald, Sept. 16, 2001)(COLUMBIA, AL-GAMAL AL-ISLAMIYA, FARC, LUXOR, EGYPTIAN TERRORIST) An Egyptian terrorist belonging to al-Gamal al-Islamiya entered Colombia illegally in 1998 to hold talks with FARC and was arrested and turned over to U.S. authorities. — He was wanted in connection with the 1997 massacre of 80 Western tourists near Cairo.

There is additional information that indicates that the Colombian territory under FARC control has become a haven for Terror International. Argentine journalist Julio Cirino, an expert on international terrorism, has written about the existence of a logistical support base "in a small city near the Colombian border with Venezuela,” where "Middle Eastern types” receive fake Colombian passports and move on to other unspecified destinations.

1998 : (BIN LADEN INTERVIEW) Reporter John Miller of ABC News interviewed bin Laden, who said, in part, "Our battle against the Americans is far greater than our battle was against the Russians. We anticipate a black future for America. Instead of remaining United States, it shall end up separated states and shall have to carry the bodies of its sons back to America."

[Shermy]

Bump.

[Maynerd]

The corrupt feckless Argentine society and political culture can continue to wallow in their economic collapse. Why should we/IMF bail out this pathetic corrupt political system?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

May 10, 2001- Kahmenei, Castro meet, Reject U.S. hegemony***During a meeting with visiting Cuban President Fidel Castro Wednesday afternoon, Kahmenei said, "our resistence against the U.S. hegemony is based on Islamic beliefs that Iran regards any resistance against arrogance in the world as a righteous move." Kahmenei assured Castro that Iran and Cuba can defeat the U.S. hand in hand.***

"..bring America to it's knees"***Carter even plans a tour of Cuba's Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, a high-tech facility that produces vaccines for other countries. The Bush administration created a stir last week by accusing Cuba of sharing its dual-use biotech capability with "rouge" states that are looking to create plagues for biological warfare. That charge should put into perspective Castro's own warning to the United States during his swing through the Middle East last May. "Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees," Castro said at the University of Tehran. "The U.S. regime is very weak and we are witnessing this weakness from close-up."

TERROR'S SERVANT ***Whether Cuba currently is making bio-chemical weapons is a subject of speculation, but unknown. As Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fl., recently told this Editorial Board, Cuba allows no access to international inspection agencies. Troubling, too, are the regime's 40-year ties with the Middle East that include relations with fellow members of the terror blacklist: Libya, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Sudan. The friendships are no accident. As recently as this year, Fidel Castro saw fit to renew those relationships personally in a Mideast tour. The importance of those relations was reflected in the rushed arrest of Ana Belén Montes, the Defense Intelligence Agency analyst accused of passing classified information to the communist country. The concern was that secrets passed to Cuba would be shared with unfriendly Mideast states, compromising U.S. anti-terror efforts.***

Iran and Cuba bolster ties, strengthen anti-US solidarity *** Castro for his part said Havana is not "afraid of America, and the Cuban nation, 40 years after its revolution, is now stronger then ever. "Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees. The US regime is very weak, and we are witnessing this weakness from close up," Castro affirmed.

During his trip, the Cuban leader also held meetings with Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi, parliament speaker Mehdi Karubi, as well as former president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani. He also received an honorary doctorate from a Tehran university for his "contributions to justice, humanist ideals and the fight against discrimination." Castro told journalists before leaving Tehran that he was "totally reassured about Iran. There is great hope for the future of relations between Cuba and Iran. I am leaving with many unforgettable memories."***

Post-Attack Cuban Intelligence Said Deliberately Useless *** WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cuba scrambled to offer condolences, blood and airports for diverted airliners after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, and provided intelligence to help the United States track the culprits. But the information proved worthless and the Caribbean island will remain on a U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism, along with Libya, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan and North Korea, a U.S. official said on Wednesday. "We were convinced that it was deliberately of no assistance. Given Cuba's history there could have been more information at their disposal to provide us," a State Department official told Reuters. "There is no inclination in this building or anywhere in the executive branch to consider that Cuba is anywhere near qualified to come off the terrorism list," he said. ….. the information provided by President Fidel Castro's government was of no help at all, leading Washington to suspend its contacts with Havana on intelligence sharing, he said. "Cuba was quick to condemn terrorism, but has done nothing to assist in the global effort against terrorism," the State Department official said. ***

May 10, 2001- Castro Ends Visit to Iran***In Iran, Castro is admired for his 40-year struggle against the United States. Both countries are under U.S. sanctions and, year after year, both appear on Washington's list of countries that sponsor terrorism. In a joint statement Thursday, the two countries condemned terrorism as well as the sanctions. They also called for establishment of an independent Palestinian state and the return of all Palestinian refugees to their homeland. The statement called for cooperation at the United Nations as well as in the Group of 77 countries and the Non-Aligned Movement. Iran currently heads the G-77, an association of developing countries. They agreed also to continue cooperation in pharmaceuticals and medical training.

Before departing Iran, Castro stopped off at the north Tehran home of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, father of the Iranian revolution. He was shown a short film on Khomeini's life and visited his library before heading on to the airport. Earlier in his visit, Castro had laid a wreath at Khomeini's grave. U.S. sanctions have been in place against Iran since the revolution. Washington severed ties and imposed sanctions after Muslim militants stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.***

IRA is linked to 'axis of evil'*** THE IRA was linked to President Bush's "axis of evil" in Washington last night when congressional investigators revealed that the Bogota authorities believed Iranian terrorists had trained in the same part of Colombia as the Provisionals. Placing the IRA within a global network of terrorism, a report by the House International Relations Committee concluded that Irish, Iranian, Cuban and possibly Spanish groups had probably "been sharing techniques, honing their terrorism skills, using illicit drug proceeds in payment".

In an attempt to limit the political damage, Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, had earlier declined an invitation to appear before a hearing of the committee today on the IRA's relationship with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia [Farc] narco-terrorists. "Colombian authorities assert that not only has the IRA operated in the former safe haven on behalf of the Farc, but also the Iranians, Cubans, and possibly Eta [Basque terrorists], among others," a summary of the committee's report said. The inquiry was launched last summer after James Monaghan and Martin McAuley, both convicted of IRA offences, and Niall Connolly, Sinn Fein's representative in Cuba, were arrested in Bogota and charged with aiding the Farc. "Colombia is a potential breeding ground for international terror equalled perhaps only by Afghanistan, and the IRA findings are the strongest among these global links because of the arrests of the three Irish nationals and the accompanying evidence," said the summary.***

Havana pursues biological warfare *** In a speech titled "Beyond the Axis of Evil," John Bolton, undersecretary of state for international security and arms control, named Cuba, Libya and Syria as "states intent on acquiring weapons of mass destruction" against which the United States would take action to prevent such arms from reaching terrorists. President Bush included Iran, Iraq and North Korea in an "axis of evil" in his State of the Union address to Congress in January. "The United States believes that Cuba has at least a limited offensive biological warfare research and development effort," Mr. Bolton said at the Heritage Foundation. "Cuba has provided dual-use biotechnology to other rogue states. We are concerned that such technology could support [bioweapons] programs in those states." In a later interview, a senior administration official said Washington has gathered "broad and deep" evidence of Cuba's pursuit of such weapons but is "constrained" in what it can disclose publicly.**

Terrorists active in U.S. 'backyard': Latin America hotbed for both al-Qaida, Hezbollah***Both al-Qaida and Hezbollah are active in the common border area of Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, according to an earlier statement of Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in hearings before the Foreign Appropriations Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, cited in a report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The activities of the Irish Republican Army, Iran, Cuba and various international terrorist networks operating in Colombia may turn that Latin American nation into a "breeding ground for international terror equaled perhaps only by Afghanistan," according to the committee report.

Further to the south in Latin America, Hezbollah and the terrorist Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) are operating in the tri-border region of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. The suspected activities of these groups include counterfeiting U.S. currency and drug smuggling, with the area in which they function described as a "haven for Islamic extremists" by the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Asa Hutchinson, in testimony before the House International Relations Committee. "The situation in the tri-border area [of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil] highlights the ease with which terrorist organizations can infiltrate and assimilate in other countries and go relatively undetected for an extended period of time," Hutchinson stated.

The linkage among various terrorist groups and nations associated with support of terrorism in Latin America combines considerable financial resources and technological expertise. In addition to the vast oil wealth of Iran, the South American terrorist network can rely upon South American drug money to finance its activities. Colombia alone produces 90 percent of the cocaine and "at least" 70 percent of the heroin sold in the U.S., according to estimates of the House International Relations Committee.***

Dangerous anti-Americanism next door***The rabid anti-Americanism that drove fanatical terrorists to attack the United States can be found a lot closer to home than the Middle East. In Venezuela, President Hugo Chávez has made anti-Americanism a cornerstone of his foreign policy since taking office in 1999, and he has of- fered a ``smile and wink'' to terrorists. …..Chávez, a left-leaning nationalist, has allied himself with Cuba's Fidel Castro, Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi. These countries may end up having played a role in the Sept. 11 attacks.***

_________________________________________________

*** Pentagon, State Department and congressional sources also point to continuing Cuban support for international terrorism and drug trafficking. They tell Insight that, according to the CIA, Russian specialists still operate the electronic listening station at Lourdes on the northeast tip of the island which taps into U.S. communications. During the Persian Gulf War, this station forwarded strategic information to Iraq. Reports smuggled out this year by dissident Cuban military officers and scientists are believed to be among the factors prompting Defense Secretary William Cohen to revise a Pentagon report sent to Congress last April which decertified Cuba as a threat to U.S. national security.*** (April 29, 2000)--Fidel Castro's Deadly Secret - Five BioChem Warfare Labs

[Voronin]

Former President Menem is also a good friend of the West. He arranged arms shipments to Croatia and Bosnia on behalf of the United States and Germany at a time when an 'arms embargo' was supposedly in place. X.42 approved direct Iranian weapons deliveries too, with Iranian cargo 747s flying weekly to Zagreb international airport. It appears that we have a link...

VRN

[piasa]

MAY 13, 1999 : (CUBA, CHINA, INTERFERING WITH US AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL) An incident recorded by the Federal Communications Commission in which Cuban electronic-warfare specialists penetrated New York's air-traffic-control system by simulating U.S. Air Force flight codes. The signals, which seriously threatened to disrupt air traffic, were traced to a 1,500 kilowatt transmitter operating west of Havana.

(The Chinese have also established for themselves a sophisticated network of electronic espionage in Cuba to be used against the U.S. The bases are operating under the cover of Radio China short wave transmissions to Latin America and the U.S. Their principal bases are at Bejucal and near Havana. They are capable of interfering with U.S. air traffic control, according to the FCC. On the 13th of May at 4:48 p.m., the Chinese sent a communication to the air traffic control in New York, falsely identifying themselves as OPEC21, a U.S. Military C130 plane. )

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!

[knighthawk]

Carlos Menem

Menem, 72, who served two consecutive terms as Argentina's president, stood down amid swirling accusations of rampant corruption in his administration.

Carlos Menem was born in the Rioja Province of Argentina in 1930 of Syrian parents. He trained as a lawyer and became a lifelong supporter of President Juan Peron. He was elected governor of the La Rioja Province in 1973, a position which gave him national prominence during the last years of Peron's presidency.

In 1989, Menem was elected president of Argentina. Menem took over from President Raul Alfonsin.

Menem's government got caught up in a scandal involving the illegal sale of arms to Croatia and to Ecuador in the early 1990s. Many in Argentina began to feel that he was out of touch after too many years in power.

Many analysts took his announcement that he would not run for re-election in 1999 as a sign that his political career was over. But shortly after the announcement, Menem confirmed what many already suspected - he wanted to stand in the presidential elections to be held in 2003.

[knighthawk]

The Iranian government organized and carried out the bombing of a Jewish community center here eight years ago that killed 85 people and then paid Argentina's president at the time, Carlos Saúl Menem, $10 million to cover it up, a witness in the case has said in sealed testimony.

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