Dispatches From The Edge:Laptop Doubts

[Judi Lynn]

Dispatches From The Edge:Laptop Doubts; Iraq Flim Flam
By Conn Hallinan
Thursday June 19, 2008

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has been caught,” is how a recent editorial in the New York Times characterized the findings of the International Police Agency (Interpol) on three laptop computers, several USB thumb drives, and two external hard disks seized during Colombia’s March 1 invasion of Ecuador.

The Colombian government says the computers link the governments of Venezuela and Ecuador to the oldest guerrilla group in Latin America, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Based on those claims the Bush Administration is threatening to add Venezuela to its list of “terrorist” states—Syria, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Sudan—which would trigger economic sanctions.

Not so fast, say three information technology professors at the University of Ecuador. At a May 20 press conference, the professors, led by Deacon Carlos Montenegro, criticized Interpol head Ronald Noble for his statement that the laptops and hard drives were from FARC. According to Quito-based reporter Daniel Denvir, “the investigation was explicitly limited to determining whether the hard drives had been altered,” not whether the laptops were from FARC.

The Ecuadorians pointed out that between March 1, when the computers were seized, and March 3, when they were turned over to Interpol, the laptops were in the hands of Colombia’s anti-terrorism unit. This, according to Interpol, “did not follow internationally recognized principles in the handling of electronic evidence,” but the lapse “had no effect on the content of any user file.”

But, according to the Ecuadorians, Interpol has no way of determining if Colombian officials modified, deleted or created documents over the three-day period.

On top of which, Colombia gave Interpol the files, not the hard drives. According to Denvir, the professors then demonstrated to the press how easy it was to change the creation and modification dates of documents. The only traces of such changes would be on the hard drives, which remain in the hands of the Colombians.

More:
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2008-06-19/article/30329?headline=Dispatches-From-The-Edge-Laptop-Doubts-Iraq-Flim-Flam

[magbana]

1. The files, not the hard drives

"On top of which, Colombia gave Interpol the files, not the hard drives. According to Denvir, the professors then demonstrated to the press how easy it was to change the creation and modification dates of documents. The only traces of such changes would be on the hard drives, which remain in the hands of the Colombians."

Oh, what a web Colombia has weaved . . .

Thanks for this one, Judi!

[Judi Lynn]

2. You bet it's one nasty web! I was surprised to see this quote from the Financial Times, too:

But as the Financial Times reports, the documents do not “provide conclusive evidence that Venezuela is providing money, weapons and logistical support to the FARC.” Indeed, the newspaper points out “None of the communications are from Venezuelan officials,” adding, “The competing leaders of the FARC, fragmented after years of successful counter-insurgency, have cause to exaggerate proximity to Mr. Chavez.”

They are really going for broke with their scam, aren't they?

But as our great pResident has said, There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee...that says, fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me...you can't get fooled again.”

[Zorro]

3. Keep flogging your already discredited position

and try clicking your heels three times and wishing real hard while you're at it.

Those laptops are the real deal and you know it.

Your desperate attempts sow FUD stilll won't change reality. They only expose you for the propagandist you are.

[EFerrari]

4. Isn't this something like the third panel of experts that have discredited

this nonsense?

[Judi Lynn]

5. You bet it is. I recall the first one was a group of notable American academics.

Letter to the Media: Laptop Does Not Prove Venezuela Ties to Rebels
by Various Authors
Apr 28 2008

Later this month, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) will publicly determine the “authenticity” of laptops recovered from a rebel encampment in Ecuador after a March 1 raid on the camp by the Colombian military. Based on previous press coverage of the incursion and the documents, we are concerned that the media take extreme care in interpreting the Interpol findings.

In the first round of media coverage of the event, significant problems of inconsistency surfaced precisely as a result of the gap between Colombia’s exaggerations and what the documents actually say.1

Even if the laptops are found to have belonged to members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), there is no evidence that the publicly available documents support any of the extreme claims by the Colombian government that Venezuela and Ecuador had any sort of financial relationship with the rebels. In fact, independent analyses of the documents indicate that the Colombian government has substantially exaggerated their contents, perhaps for political purposes. Any media coverage of the Interpol findings must make clear that many of the Colombian allegations have already been largely discredited.

The Colombian interpretation has already proven so weak that Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza, testifying before the House Subcommittee on Western Hemispheric Affairs on April 10, stated unequivocally that there is “no evidence”2 linking Venezuela to the Colombian rebels, yet Insulza’s statement has gone virtually unreported in the English language press.

More:
http://www.mediaaccuracy.org/node/56