Iraqi TV airs tape of purported confession

[bemildred]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi state television aired a video Wednesday showing what the U.S.-funded channel said was the confession of a captured Syrian officer who said he trained Iraqi insurgents to behead people and build car bombs to attack American and Iraqi troops.

The video also showed an Iraqi who said the insurgents practiced beheading animals to train for decapitating hostages.

Syrian officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the claims.

The video comes at a time when the Bush administration has stepped up pressure on Syria to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs by allowing insurgents to cross into the country to fight coalition troops and by harboring former Iraqi regime members. Syria has denied the charges.

Kentucky.com

[sniffa]

1. syria's aLso steaLing mom's appLe pie

they must be stopped!

[bemildred]

3. Well, it's only "animals".

Maybe they thought "little soft puppies" or "cute little kittens"
was a bit over the top, and there was just no good way to drag
babies and incubators into it.

[meegbear]

2. Well isn't that special ...

how convieeeeeeeeeeeenient.

[bemildred]

5. It's almost like a movie, isn't it? Like a script or something.

:puke:

[MnFats]

4. And the Brits told us they went looking for yellowcake....

what more do we need?
charge!!!

[ClintonTyree]

6. Gee..........

if they're pushing SOOOO much propaganda on the citizens of the United States, iamgine what the propaganda level is on an American backed television station in Iraq? :eyes: Take EVERYTHING the bush administration tells you with a TON of salt.

[12345]

27. AMERICAN-BACKED IRAQ TV

I don't think that can be said too many times.

[Moderator]

7. kick to combine threads

[norml]

8. Iraq 'rebels' claim Syria backing

Iraq 'rebels' claim Syria backing

Syria is accused of supporting the insurgency in Iraq
A US-funded Iraqi television station has aired what it says are confessions by Iraqi insurgents who claim to have been backed by Syrian intelligence.
Appearing on al-Iraqiya TV, the men say they were trained and financed by Syrian intelligence. The claims could not be independently verified.

The US accuses Syria of sheltering Saddam Hussein loyalists and allowing insurgents to cross borders.

Pressure has also mounted on Syria over an assassination in Beirut last week.

While the US has stopped short of blaming Syria for the bomb attack which killed Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik Hariri, calls have intensified for Damascus to pull its troops out of Lebanon.


snip http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4292529.stm

[Skink]

9. This can't be good....

[The_Casual_Observer]

10. I'm sold, that's all the proof I need!

Let's go get em'!

[acmavm]

11. What I keep trying to figure out is where in the hell is bush** going to

get all these warm bodies to do his dirty work? I mean he's got (supposedly) all these millions of supporters who believe everything he says and supports all his criminal/immoral/thug activities, but the dumb shits just sit here on their asses in this country running their mouths. Remember that horrible old cow that wore the purple bandage during the election? We need to find out if there are military age members of her family. And we need to send them their enlistment papers. Send some to Jenna and Barbara too, in care of those two twits who should have NEVER been allowed to breed. It's time that these people put their money where their mouths are. Gannon/Guckert can sign up for active duty. I mean, isn't he the one who's 'divorced from reality' sitting here committing sex crimes and fraud when there's a war to be fought for his fearless leader (who never did his duty himself). These people need to show the courage (right) of their convictions.

[bemildred]

12. Guckert does seem like a prime candidate for military service.

"Don't ask, don't tell" right?

With regard to recruiting problems, as far as I can see we have a
"faith-based" approach to the military's manpower needs. We just
have abiding faith that enough suckers will crop up somewhere if we
throw enough bullshit at them. Earning the reasoned allegiance of
the free citizens of a free republic seems a bit beyond these guys.

[corksean]

13. Iraqi TV Airs Tape of Purported Confession (Syrian involvement)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The Syrian intelligence officer who appeared on the U.S.-funded Iraqi state television station had a stark message about the insurgency - he'd helped train people to build car bombs and behead people.

``My name is Anas Ahmed al-Essa. I live in Halab. I am from Syria,'' he said by way of introduction - naming what he said was his home in Syria.

``What's your job?'' he was asked by someone off-camera. ``I am a lieutenant in intelligence.''

Then a second question. ``Which intelligence?'' The reply: ``Syrian intelligence.''

And so began a detailed 15-minute confession broadcast by al-Iraqiya TV on Wednesday, in which the man, identified as 30-year-old Lt. Anas Ahmed al-Essa, said his group was recruited to ``cause chaos in Iraq ... to bar America from reaching Syria.''

``We received all the instructions from Syrian intelligence,'' said the man, who appeared in the propaganda video along with 10 Iraqis who said they had also been recruited by Syrian intelligence officers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4822464,00.html

[Fridays Child]

14. This smells to high heaven.

nt

[Judi Lynn]

17. It sure as hell DOES smell. My God!

Don't you hate it when truly STUPID people are in charge of cranking out the propaganda? Only the most disoriented, ignorant people in our society can possibly buy it. From the article:

Syrian officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the claims, which were not possible to authenticate independently.
(snip)

The videos were broadcast as the Bush administration steps up pressure on Syria to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs by allowing insurgents to cross into the country to fight coalition troops and by harboring former Iraqi regime members. Syria has denied the charges.
(snip)

...the station, which went on the air in May 2003 with help from the Pentagon, is viewed by many Iraqis as an American propaganda tool.
(snip)

A man identified as one of al-Essa's aides, Shehab al-Sabaawi, said the group used animals for training in beheadings. Al-Essa said it required ``at least 10 beheadings'' for a member to be promoted to a group leader.
(snip)

An unidentified Iraqi officer introduced the video, saying all insurgent groups in Iraq were covers for Syrian intelligence. He named a number of well-known groups, including one which has killed and beheaded foreigners.
(snip)

[htuttle]

24. "saying all insurgent groups in Iraq were covers for Syrian intelligence"

See, BushCo just doesn't know when to stop. Had they not said this silly statement, they might have fooled a lot more people. The 'animals for beheading practice' bit is too over-the-top as well.

They probably shouldn't have had so many purges at the CIA -- sounds like there's a bunch of kids running things now judging by the amateurish nature of this pseudo casus belli.

[NVMojo]

22. yeah, really ...what was the name of the PR firm that does the media

clips into Iraq for Bush??? Dammit, I can't seem to remember right now ...

[Richard Steele]

15. Gee, what perfect timing for such a confession!

But hey, if you can't trust the US-Controlled Iraqi Propoganda Channel, who can you trust?

What a load of crap!

[malaise]

16. More spin

ah well.

[Enquiringkitty]

18. So maybe Bush it setting up to invade Syria. He has to convince the

already stressed American troops that are in the region that they are need there more than at home. They watch that station too don't they?

[Rush1184]

19. recomended

[12345]

20. Iraqi TV Airs Tape of Purported Confession

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4821590,00.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The bearded man in a gray jacket and shirt who appeared on the U.S.-funded Iraqi state television station Wednesday had a stark message about the insurgency - he was a Syrian intelligence officer who helped train people to behead others and build car bombs to attack American and Iraqi troops.

``My name is Anas Ahmed al-Essa. I live in Halab. I am from Syria,'' he said by way of introduction - naming what he said was his home in Syria.

``What's your job?'' he was asked by someone off-camera. ``I am a lieutenant in intelligence.''

Then a second question. ``Which intelligence?'' The reply: ``Syrian intelligence.''

[RBHam]

21. Right on cue...

And for the camera...

Give me a break.

[RBHam]

28. It all fits into the plan...

Assassinating Al-Hariri Fits Washington’s Plan

by Mike Whitney

02/17/05 "DV" - - To understand who assassinated Rafik al-Hariri we don’t need to look any further than the $1.5 billion US Embassy currently under construction in Baghdad. The new embassy, the largest of its kind in the world, will facilitate 1,800 employees and serve as the regional nerve center for American political and economic activity. What does this have to do with al Hariri?

It demonstrates that the US is establishing a massive command center for its future domination of the entire Middle East. This suggests that Lebanon must be entered into the family of client states who accept a subservient role to American military and economic power, and who willingly comply with the requirements of the regional constable, Israel.

Al Hariri’s assassination provides the raison d'être for severing ties with Syria and for transforming Lebanon into a US vassal. This conforms nicely with Israel’s ambition to surround itself with non-threatening states as well as affording access to the vital water resources of Lebanon’s Wazzani River. In other words, the murder of al Hariri has created some extremely fortunate opportunities for both Israel and the US; merging seamlessly with their overall objectives in the region.

more...

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8127.htm

[NVMojo]

23. This war brought to you by Rendon Group

WASHINGTON - "Word got around the department that I was a good Arabic translator who did a great Saddam imitation," recalls the Harvard grad student. "Eventually, someone phoned me, asking if I wanted to help change the course of Iraq policy."

So twice a week, for US$3,000 a month, the Iraqi student says, under condition of anonymity, that he took a taxi from his campus apartment to a Boston-area recording studio rented by the Rendon Group, a DC-based public relations firm with close ties to the US government. His job: translate and dub spoofed Saddam Hussein speeches and tongue-in-cheek newscasts for broadcast throughout Iraq.

"I never got a straight answer on whether the Iraqi resistance, the CIA or policy makers on the Hill were actually the ones calling the shots," says the student, "but ultimately I realized that the guys doing spin were very well and completely cut loose." And that's how Baghdad's best-known opposition radio personality was born six years ago - during the Clinton administration. It was one of many disinformation schemes cooked up by the Rendon Group, which has worked for both Democratic and Republican administrations fighting the psy-op war in the Middle East.

"The point was to discredit Saddam, but the stuff was complete slapstick," the student says. "We did skits where Saddam would get mixed up in his own lies, or where Qusay would stumble over his own delusions of grandeur." Transmissions were once a week from stations in northern Iraq and Kuwait. "The only thing that was even remotely funny," says the student, "were the mockeries of the royal guard and the government's clumsy attempts to deceive arms inspectors."

The Saddam impersonator says he left Rendon not long ago out of frustration with what he calls the lack of expertise and oversight in the project. It was doubly frustrating, he says, because he despises Saddam, although he adds that he never has been involved with any political party or opposition group. "No one in-house spoke a word of Arabic," he says. "They thought I was mocking Saddam, but for all they knew I could have been lambasting the US government." The scripts, he adds, were often ill conceived. "Who in Iraq is going to think it's funny to poke fun at Saddam's mustache," the student notes, "when the vast majority of Iraqi men themselves have mustaches?"

There were other basic problems, too. Some of the announcers hired for the radio broadcasts, he says, were Egyptians and Jordanians, whose Arabic accents couldn't be understood by Iraqis. "Friends in Baghdad said that the radio broadcasts were a complete mumble," the student says. One CIA agent familiar with the project calls the project's problem a lack of "due diligence", and adds that "the scripts were put together by 23-year-olds with connections to the Democratic National Committee."

more...

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/DK13Ak01.html

[Nordmadr]

25. Do you hear those drums beating? N/T

[JNelson6563]

26. Amazingly convenient!

Gee could Team Bush have tailor made a better story at a better time? Hmmmmm.......

Julie

[RBHam]

30. Remember always : Ther are no coincidences.

None.

[RBHam]

29. From Paul Thompson:

Lifted from this thread...http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=125x33956#34096


One argument against LIHOP or MIHOP is that there's no way such a conspiracy could exist without somebody talking and exposing it. Well, look at Gladio. It existed in secrecy from the 40's until the early 90's, conducting countless terror acts as false flag operations against innocent civilians. It was a huge operation, involving cells in nearly every country in Western Europe.

Why was nobody talking, or should I say, successfully talking? Oh, could be due to little things like this:

1990 In Switzerland Colonel Herbert Alboth, a former commander of the Swiss secret stay-behind army P26, in a confidential letter to the Defence Departement declares that he is willing to reveal "the whole truth." Thereafter he is found in his house stabbed with his own military bayonet.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

Note that people would have to earn their stripes committing small acts of evil before being entrusted with the heavy lifting. Once they've done the small acts, they're blackmailable on other charges in case they ever feel like talking about the big stuff. So you only use criminal veterans. For instance, look at how many of the convicted felons from Iran Contra have made comebacks, including the appointment of John "Death Squads" Negroponte as the new intelligence director yesterday! If that doesn't show the rot of evil behind the Bush Administration, then nothing does.

Second point. I'm really intrigued by this line in a recent Washington Post article that followed up on Hersh's article:

"A recent Pentagon memo states that recruited agents may include 'notorious figures' whose links to the U.S. government would be embarrassing if disclosed."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A29414-2005Jan...

---

I'm surprised there hasn't been more speculation about this at DU. For instance, has al-Zarqawi been bought off by the US? I've read in several articles that most people in Iraq think so. What about al-Qaeda? Has it been penetrated at the highest levels?