Chalabi Reportedly Told Iran That U.S. Had Code - FBI has begun to administer Polygraph Tests!

[conjur]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/02/politics/02CHAL.html?hp

WASHINGTON, June 1 ? Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi leader and former ally of the Bush administration, disclosed to an Iranian official that the United States had broken the secret communications code of Iran's intelligence service, betraying one of Washington's most valuable sources of information about Iran, according to United States intelligence officials.

The general charge that Mr. Chalabi provided Iran with critical American intelligence secrets was widely reported last month after the Bush administration cut off financial aid to Mr. Chalabi's organization, the Iraqi National Congress, and American and Iraqi security forces raided his Baghdad headquarters.

The Bush administration, citing national security concerns, asked The New York Times and other news organizations not to publish details of the case. The Times agreed to hold off publication of some specific information that top intelligence officials said would compromise a vital, continuing intelligence operation. The administration withdrew its request on Tuesday, saying information about the code-breaking was starting to appear in news accounts.

Mr. Chalabi and his aides have said he knew of no secret information related to Iran and therefore could not have communicated any intelligence to Tehran.

American officials said that about six weeks ago, Mr. Chalabi told the Baghdad station chief of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security that the United States was reading the communications traffic of the Iranian spy service, one of the most sophisticated in the Middle East.

According to American officials, the Iranian official in Baghdad, possibly not believing Mr. Chalabi's account, sent a cable to Tehran detailing his conversation with Mr. Chalabi, using the broken code. That encrypted cable, intercepted and read by the United States, tipped off American officials to the fact that Mr. Chalabi had betrayed the code-breaking operation, the American officials said.

American officials reported that in the cable to Tehran, the Iranian official recounted how Mr. Chalabi had said that one of "them" ? a reference to an American ? had revealed the code-breaking operation, the officials said. The Iranian reported that Mr. Chalabi said the American was drunk.

The Iranians sent what American intelligence regarded as a test message, which mentioned a cache of weapons inside Iraq, believing that if the code had been broken, United States military forces would be quickly dispatched to the specified site. But there was no such action.

The account of Mr. Chalabi's actions has been confirmed by several senior American officials, who said the leak contributed to the White House decision to break with him.

It could not be learned exactly how the United States broke the code. But intelligence sources said that in the past, the United States has broken into the embassies of foreign governments, including those of Iran, to steal information, including codes.

The F.B.I. has opened an espionage investigation seeking to determine exactly what information Mr. Chalabi turned over to the Iranians as well as who told Mr. Chalabi that the Iranian code had been broken, government officials said. The inquiry, still in an early phase, is focused on a very small number of people who were close to Mr. Chalabi and also had access to the highly restricted information about the Iran code.

Some of the people the F.B.I. expects to interview are civilians at the Pentagon who were among Mr. Chalabi's strongest supporters and served as his main point of contact with the government, the officials said. So far, no one has been accused of any wrongdoing.

In a television interview on May 23, Mr. Chalabi said on CNN's "Late Edition" that he met in Tehran in December with the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami. He also said he had met with Iran's minister of information.

Mr. Chalabi attacked the C.I.A. and the director of central intelligence, George J. Tenet, saying the agency was behind what Mr. Chalabi asserted was an effort to smear him.

"I have never passed any classified information to Iran or have done anything ? participated in any scheme of intelligence against the United States," Mr. Chalabi said on "Fox News Sunday." "This charge is false. I have never seen a U.S. classified document, and I have never seen ? had a U.S. classified briefing."

Mr. Chalabi, a member of the Iraqi Governing Council, said, "We meet people from the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad regularly," but said that was to be expected of Iraqi officials like himself.

Some defenders of Mr. Chalabi in the United States say American officials had encouraged him in his dealings with Iran, urging him to open an office in Tehran in hopes of improving relations between Iran and Washington. Those defenders also say they do not believe that his relationship with Iran involved any exchange of intelligence.

Mr. Chalabi's allies in Washington also saw the Bush administration's decision to sever its ties with Mr. Chalabi and his group as a cynical effort instigated by the C.I.A. and longtime Chalabi critics at the State Department. They believe those agencies want to blame him for mistaken estimates and incorrect information about Iraq before the war, like whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

One of those who has defended Mr. Chalabi is Richard N. Perle, the former chairman of the Defense Policy Board. "The C.I.A. has disliked him passionately for a long time and has mounted a campaign against him with some considerable success," Mr. Perle said Tuesday. "I've seen no evidence of improper behavior on his part. No evidence whatsoever."

Mr. Perle said he thought the C.I.A. had turned against Mr. Chalabi because he refused to be the agency's "puppet." Mr. Chalabi "has a mind of his own," Mr. Perle said.

American intelligence officials said the F.B.I. investigation into the intelligence leak to Iran did not extend to any charges that Mr. Chalabi provided the United States with incorrect information, or any allegations of corruption.

American officials said the leak about the Iranian codes was a serious loss because the Iranian intelligence service's highly encrypted cable traffic was a crucial source of information, supplying Washington with information about Iranian operations inside Iraq, where Tehran's agents have become increasingly active. It also helped the United States keep track of Iranian intelligence operations around the world.

Until last month, the Iraqi National Congress had a lucrative contract with the Defense Intelligence Agency to provide information about Iraq. Before the United States invasion last year, the group arranged for Iraqi defectors to provide the Pentagon with information about Saddam Hussein's government, particularly evidence purporting to show that Baghdad had active programs to develop weapons of mass destruction. Today, the American intelligence community believes that much of the information passed by the defectors was either wrong or fabricated.

BTW, Condoleezza Rice was interviewed this morning by Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. Diane Sawyer asked Rice if she denied the charges that Chalabi alerted the Iranians. Rice's response? She would not comment on the issue.

I'd be willing to bet almost anything that Wolfowitz will be at the heart of the FBI investigation, esp. since he's the one who all but forced the CIA to supply him with its intelligence reports directly, bypassing the vetting process.

 

[Ldir]

Originally posted by: conjur
BTW, Condoleezza Rice was interviewed this morning by Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. Diane Sawyer asked Rice if she denied the charges that Chalabi alerted the Iranians. Rice's response? She would not comment on the issue.

Rice was on the Today show this morning too. She said she could not comment.

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

Originally posted by: Ldir

Originally posted by: conjur
BTW, Condoleezza Rice was interviewed this morning by Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. Diane Sawyer asked Rice if she denied the charges that Chalabi alerted the Iranians. Rice's response? She would not comment on the issue.

Rice was on the Today show this morning too. She said she could not comment.

It's really starting look like the Bushies have ample rope to hang themselves. The real question though . . . are Americans inclined to vote for Kerry or the swinging fruit.

 

[Perknose]

I reposted this, Whoops! I should have know conjur would already have been all over this.

The cumulative weight of all the misfeasance and malfeasance of the current administration is staggering. I just hope enough of this "nuance" seeps into the electorate's consciousness. It's a hope, but not a certainty.

I truly fear four more years of this BS: Machiavelli meets the Keystone Kops.

 

[Phokus]

The neo-cons are f*cked. There's speculation that wolfowitz, feith, or perle leaked this to chalabi.

 

[LordMagnusKain]

The cumulative weight of all the misfeasance and malfeasance of the current administration is staggering. I just hope enough of this "nuance" seeps into the electorate's consciousness. It's a hope, but not a certainty.

Clinton took money for his campaign so as to give the Chinese missile technology, Gore took money for them so that the US would 'rent out' one of it's air-craft carriers to twain.

at least that's the conservative bias point of view on those... most people didn't see things that way.

That this is bad for bush in regards to reelection is just as partisan, most people won't see it that way.

 

[Perknose]

Clinton took money for his campaign so as to give the Chinese missile technology, Gore took money for them so that the US would 'rent out' one of it's air-craft carriers to twain.

Hey, LMK, give us some substantive links here, please.

 

[naddicott]

I'm gathering that LMK is saying people hate Bush and his crew so much they'll gladly believe unsubstantiated rumors/assertions that paint them in an even worse light than substantiated facts alone might.

I would have to concede that point (if that is indeed what LMK meant). Some of the mud being sent Bush's way will stick unjustly. IMO, that doesn't make the mud that is legitimately earned any less dirty.

 

[LordMagnusKain]

Originally posted by: Perknose

Clinton took money for his campaign so as to give the Chinese missile technology, Gore took money for them so that the US would 'rent out' one of it's air-craft carriers to twain.

Hey, LMK, give us some substantive links here, please.

I don't care about bashing Clinton: just information about the point-of-view from the conservative side when it was Clinton's time. Another example of the other side doing this is that silly kerry- affair story.

I'm gathering that LMK is saying people hate Bush and his crew so much they'll gladly believe unsubstantiated rumors/assertions that paint them in an even worse light than substantiated facts alone might.

Yea, point is that reps believed all sorts of silly nonsense about Clinton *did I mention he killed Vince foster?* and the same will be true of dems with this pres.

It didn't help Dole take America 8 years ago, it's not going to help Kerry take America this year.

 

[MAW1082]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

 

[conjur]

CIA to Investigate Chalabi - U.S. Lawmaker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The CIA will investigate whether former Iraqi exile Ahmad Chalabi leaked U.S. secrets and the FBI is seeking to learn who may have passed him sensitive information on Iran's spy service, U.S. officials and lawmakers said on Wednesday.

The government officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Chalabi was alleged to have told Iran that the United States had broken secret communication codes used by Tehran's spy service.

On Capitol Hill, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice told U.S. lawmakers that CIA Director George Tenet would be conducting an inquiry. She did not elaborate, lawmakers said after the closed briefing.

The FBI is conducting an intelligence investigation to determine who provided classified information to Chalabi and whether that person was authorized to provide the information, a source familiar with the investigation said.

The allegation was that Chalabi told the Baghdad station chief of Iran's ministry of intelligence and security that the United States was reading the communications traffic of the Iranian spy service.

The New York Times reported the allegations against Chalabi, reporting on Wednesday that the Bush administration had asked it and other news organizations to delay publication of the specifics, citing national security concerns.

But the administration withdrew the request on Tuesday, The Times said.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan, traveling with President Bush in Colorado, declined to comment.

"We are not going to get into anything that would be related to intelligence matters," he said.

On NBC's "Today Show," Rice said, "I actually can't comment on this story.... I am sure if there is anything there, it will be investigated."

Later, briefing U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Rice said an investigation involving the CIA would be conducted.

"She explained that there will be an investigation and we'll see to what extent the DCI, the director of Central Intelligence, through their investigation, what information they ultimately come up with," said Rep. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, after the meeting.

Menendez said Rice also said "there is a commitment - because the question was raised - as to pursuing all of the facts to understand to the extent that our national security was affected by Chalabi."
Rep. Deborah Pryce, an Ohio Republican, said, "She said there is still much to be learned."

The CIA had no immediate comment.

The revelations about Chalabi emerged a day after Bush distanced himself from the one-time top U.S. ally.

In the Rose Garden to praise newly announced Iraqi leaders, Bush said he had had little personal contact with Chalabi and that decisions on whether to include him or not in the new Iraqi interim government were made by the U.N. envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi.

Chalabi, a former Pentagon favorite once seen as a potential national leader, had urged U.S. officials to invade Iraq as head of the exile group, the Iraqi National Congress.

Citing doubts about the intelligence the INC provided, the Pentagon now has cut off the group's $340,000 a month stipend, while Chalabi himself has publicly butted heads with the U.S. government and accused the CIA of smearing him.

Rice acknowledged on Tuesday the U.S. relationship with Chalabi had soured.

"It has not been an easy relationship of late. I think that you can see that," she said.

Instead of choosing Chalabi for a top political post in post-war Iraq, the Iraqi Governing Council chose Iyad Allawi as prime minister and tribal chief Ghazi Yawar as president in consultation with Brahimi.

Just like Gen. Ryder is the fox guarding the hen house now on the prison abuse investigation, I wonder if Tenet will seek to cover his ass after his "slam dunk" pronouncement.

 

[wirelessenabled]

Originally posted by: Perknose
I reposted this, Whoops! I should have know conjur would already have been all over this.

The cumulative weight of all the misfeasance and malfeasance of the current administration is staggering. I just hope enough of this "nuance" seeps into the electorate's consciousness. It's a hope, but not a certainty.

I truly fear four more years of this BS: Machiavelli meets the Keystone Kops.

:|

 

[bossanov]

The level of incompetence, arrogance and stupidity of this administration is incomprehensible. It seems that they are constatntly being "taken advantage of" by smarter, more cunning foreign leaders. They seem to have a very naive and simple view of world affairs. And more experienced foreigners seem to run rings around them from Haiti to Isreal to Mexico and now in Iraq.

We need some adult supervision in the Whitehouse.

B.

 

[Ozoned]

Originally posted by: Phokus
The neo-cons are f*cked. There's speculation that wolfowitz, feith, or perle leaked this to chalabi.

Chalabi is out, and that is a positive thing.

Iran may have discovered the code being broken and set Chalabi up to remove him as a part of igc.

There are so many unknows here, but the leak theory don't wash. But then again neither does the drunk american bit..

 

[rickn]

Originally posted by: bossanov
The level of incompetence, arrogance and stupidity of this administration is incomprehensible. It seems that they are constatntly being "taken advantage of" by smarter, more cunning foreign leaders. They seem to have a very naive and simple view of world affairs. And more experienced foreigners seem to run rings around them from Haiti to Isreal to Mexico and now in Iraq.

We need some adult supervision in the Whitehouse.

B.

I firmly believe even Archie Bunker would declare Bush is a meathead, dead from the kneck up

 

[conjur]

Polygraph Testing Starts at Pentagon in Chalabi Inquiry

WASHINGTON, June 2 ? Federal investigators have begun administering polygraph examinations to civilian employees at the Pentagon to determine who may have disclosed highly classified intelligence to Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi who authorities suspect turned the information over to Iran, government officials said Wednesday.

The polygraph examinations, which are being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are focused initially on a small number of Pentagon employees who had access to the information that was compromised. American intelligence officials have said that Mr. Chalabi informed Iran that the United States had broken the secret codes used by Iranian intelligence to transmit confidential messages to posts around the world.

Mr. Chalabi has denied the charge. On Wednesday, his lawyers made public a letter they said they had sent to Attorney General John Ashcroft and F.B.I. Director Robert S. Mueller III repeating Mr. Chalabi's denials and demanding that the Justice Department investigate the disclosure of the accusations against Mr. Chalabi.

The lawyers, John J. E. Markham II and Collette C. Goodman, said in the letter, "The charges made against Dr. Chalabi ? both the general and the specific ones are false."

They also said, "We ask that you undertake an immediate investigation to find and hold accountable those who are responsible for these false leaks."

Officials would not identify who has taken polygraph examinations or even who has been interviewed by F.B.I. counterespionage agents. It could not be determined whether anyone has declined to submit to a polygraph test.

No one has been charged with any wrongdoing or identified as a suspect, but officials familiar with the investigation say that they are working through a list of people and are likely to interview senior Pentagon officials.

The F.B.I. is looking at officials who both knew of the code-breaking operation and had dealings with Mr. Chalabi, either in Washington or Baghdad, the government officials said. Information about code-breaking work is considered among the most confidential material in the government and is handled under tight security and with very limited access.

But a wider circle of officials could have inferred from intelligence reports about Iran that the United States had access to the internal communications of Iran's spy service, intelligence officials said. That may make it difficult to identify the source of any leak.

Government officials say they started the investigation of Pentagon officials after learning that Mr. Chalabi had told the Baghdad station chief of Iran's intelligence service that the United States was reading their communications. Mr. Chalabi, American officials say, gave the information to the Iranians about six weeks ago, apparently because he wanted to ensure that his secret conversations with the Iranians were not revealed to the Americans.

But the Iranian official apparently did not immediately believe Mr. Chalabi, because he sent a cable back to Tehran detailing his conversation with Mr. Chalabi, American officials said. That cable was intercepted and read by the United States, the officials said.

Mr. Chalabi and his supporters argue that the accusations against him are part of a C.I.A.-inspired campaign to discredit him. His backers have been dismayed that the Bush administration recently divorced itself from Mr. Chalabi and his group, the Iraqi National Congress. They contend that the move was instigated by the C.I.A., which they say is now wielding intercepted Iranian communications as a weapon against Mr. Chalabi.

Richard N. Perle, the former chairman of the Defense Policy Board and an influential Chalabi supporter, said Wednesday that the notion that Mr. Chalabi would compromise the American code-breaking operation "doesn't pass the laugh test." Mr. Perle said it was more plausible that the Iranians, knowing already that the United States was reading its communications, planted the damning information about Mr. Chalabi to persuade Washington to distance itself from Mr. Chalabi.

"The whole thing hinges on the idea that the Baghdad station chief of the MOIS commits one of the most amazing trade craft errors I've ever heard of," Mr. Perle said, referring to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security. He said it defied belief that a seasoned intelligence operative would disclose a conversation with Mr. Chalabi using the same communications channel that he had just been warned was compromised.

"You have to believe that the station chief blew a gift from the gods because of rank incompetence," Mr. Perle said. "I don't believe it, and I don't think any other serious intelligence professional would either."

Mr. Chalabi is not a focus of the inquiry, but senior law enforcement officials said he could be investigated in the future. They said a decision on that could be left to the new Iraqi government.

In the 1990's, the Iraqi National Congress was part of a C.I.A. covert action program designed to undermine Saddam Hussein's rule. But Mr. Chalabi had a falling out with the C.I.A., and agency officials concluded that he was untrustworthy. He subsequently forged an alliance with major conservative Republicans in Washington. When President Bush took office, Mr. Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress were embraced by senior policy makers at the Pentagon, which became his main point of contact in the American government.

In a telephone interview on Wednesday, Mr. Markham, one of Mr. Chalabi's lawyers, said that Mr. Chalabi had been subjected to increasing "adverse comments" by American officials as his disagreements with the Bush administration over the future of Iraq had intensified. Nevertheless, Mr. Markham said, Mr. Chalabi "is very happy to come to the United States to appear before Congress or be interviewed by legitimate investigative agents in this matter."

The lawyers' letter said that "Dr. Chalabi would never endanger the national security of the U.S."

"Those responsible for such leaks, however, we submit are the same individuals within the U.S. government who have undermined the President's policies in Iraq and efforts to bring democracy and stability to that country, and are using Dr. Chalabi as a scapegoat for their own failures that have cost this country dearly in the past year in Iraq," the letter said.

Last month, American and Iraqi forces raided Mr. Chalabi's Baghdad compound and carted away computers, overturned furniture and ransacked his offices. The raid was said to be part of an investigation into charges that Mr. Chalabi's aides, including a leading lieutenant, had been involved in kidnapping, torture, embezzlement and corruption in Iraq. It is still unclear what the connection might be between that raid and the continuing counterintelligence investigation of the possible leaks of secrets to Iran.

I wish they'd start having some polygraphs with the weasels in the White House re:the Valerie Plame issue...and start with the Head Weasel!

 

[conjur]

Tip of the Iceberg? The probe into alleged Chalabi leaks to the Iranians may widen

 

[conjur]

Coded Cable In 1995 Used Chalabi's Name

Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi politician suspected by U.S. authorities of having told Iran this spring that its secret communications code had been broken, was involved in an intercept episode nine years ago, according to senior administration officials.

Officials yesterday recounted an incident in early 1995 when Chalabi's name turned up in an encrypted Iranian cable reporting a purported CIA-backed plan to assassinate Saddam Hussein, then Iraq's president. The message was intercepted by U.S. intelligence and caused a major political stir in Washington.

Similarly, it was an intercept several weeks ago of another Iranian message -- this one from an agent in Baghdad to his superiors in Tehran saying Chalabi had told him that U.S. intelligence was able to read Iran's secret cables -- that has triggered a major counterintelligence probe and concern about Washington's future ability to monitor Iranian developments.

A U.S. law enforcement source said yesterday that FBI investigators, trying to determine the source of the leak, had interviewed at least one Defense Department employee in Baghdad and had administered a polygraph test. More tests were planned, some involving officials at the Pentagon, said the source who demanded anonymity because the investigation is secret. But several senior defense officials said yesterday that they knew of no one at the Pentagon who had yet been approached by investigators.

FBI spokeswoman Debbie Weierman said the investigation is still at its early stage. Noting that Chalabi is a British citizen, she said law enforcement officials are trying to determine "to what extent he is covered by U.S. law barring disclosure of U.S. classified information."

Chalabi, whose exile group -- the Iraqi National Congress -- has received more than $40 million in U.S. payments over the years, has denied that he disclosed secrets to Iran and demanded that the Bush administration investigate the source of the leak about the investigation of him.

The 1995 incident arose at a time when Chalabi was in northern Iraq, working with CIA backing against Hussein. The CIA case officer working with Chalabi at the time was Robert Baer.

Exactly who came up with the assassination idea is subject to some dispute. One U.S. official interviewed yesterday, who was familiar with the event, credited Baer with pushing the plan.

Baer has denied this. In his book "See No Evil: the True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism," published in 2001, he wrote that the plot to kill Hussein was phony, concocted by Chalabi in hopes of enticing Iranian support for his Iraqi opposition efforts.

To prove to the Iranians he had Washington's support to go after Hussein, Chalabi forged a letter on U.S. National Security Council stationery that asked him to contact the Iranian government for help, Baer wrote. The letter said Washington had dispatched to northern Iraq an "NSC team" headed by Robert Pope, a fictitious name.

In a meeting with Iranian intelligence officers, Chalabi left the letter on his desk while he took a phone call in another room, knowing the Iranians would read it, Baer wrote.

What happened next has not been previously reported.

The Iranian intelligence officers sent an encrypted message to Tehran about Chalabi's supposed plot, officials said yesterday. The United States intercepted the transmission. U.S. intelligence had broken Iran's secret communications codes during that period as well.

The contents of the 1995 intercept became the basis of a report that circulated fairly widely in Washington intelligence and law enforcement circles, an official recalled. The result was not only deep distrust within the CIA for Chalabi but also an FBI investigation of Baer.

The concern of investigators, as Baer recounted in his book, was that he was in violation of presidential orders and U.S. law that prohibited assassinations. Baer passed a polygraph test, but it would be almost a year before he and his team were cleared. Nevertheless, Baer's career was damaged and never recovered.

Shortly after the intercept, Chalabi's militia forces and Kurdish fighters went ahead with an attempted coup, launching a three-city strike against Hussein's troops. But the offensive quickly foundered.

The White House, having warned Chalabi not to proceed because Iraqi intelligence had learned of the operation, declined to provide air power to help him. Hussein's troops crushed the attackers, leaving the CIA angry that it had funded such a fiasco and infuriating top officials in the Clinton administration.

Taken together, the intercept and the foiled revolt marked a turning point in the CIA's relationship with Chalabi, an official said. The events explain to a large extent why the CIA later cut Chalabi off from funding and refused to administer money appropriated for his organization in the late 1990s that was aimed at bringing about Hussein's fall. CIA authorities knew the funds were headed for Chalabi, and they would not work with him any further, the official said.

For many years, Chalabi has made no secret of his contacts with leaders in Iran. He has described his ties as purely expedient, reflecting Iran's strategic significance in the region.

One of Chalabi's top lieutenants, Aras Karim Habib, who served as the Iraqi National Congress's intelligence chief, has long been considered by the CIA as a paid agent for Iranian intelligence, according to senior intelligence officials. He has denied that allegation.

Chalabi's attorney, John J.E. Markham II, said yesterday that his client has denied passing sensitive or classified information to the Iranians and is more than willing to tell that to anyone in the U.S. government. "We have not been contacted by anyone from the Department of Justice, the FBI or the CIA," he said.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

So how would Chalabi know this to begin with? Someone told him. Could this be the reason Tenet is going down?

 

[Ozoned]

Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
So how would Chalabi know this to begin with? Someone told him. Could this be the reason Tenet is going down?

"American officials reported that in the cable to Tehran, the Iranian official recounted how Mr. Chalabi had said that one of "them" ? a reference to an American ? had revealed the code-breaking operation, the officials said. The Iranian reported that Mr. Chalabi said the American was drunk. "

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
So how would Chalabi know this to begin with? Someone told him. Could this be the reason Tenet is going down?

I believe Chalabi has claimed an employee of the federal government told him about the cracked code while drunk - it doesn't take too huge a leap to infer that Tenet may be that person. Obviously none of us has any idea at this point.

 

[Ozoned]

Originally posted by: Don_Vito

Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
So how would Chalabi know this to begin with? Someone told him. Could this be the reason Tenet is going down?

I believe Chalabi has claimed an employee of the federal government told him about the cracked code while drunk - it doesn't take too huge a leap to infer that Tenet may be that person. Obviously none of us has any idea at this point.

got your tin foil hat on, huh??

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: Ozoned

Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
So how would Chalabi know this to begin with? Someone told him. Could this be the reason Tenet is going down?

"American officials reported that in the cable to Tehran, the Iranian official recounted how Mr. Chalabi had said that one of "them" ? a reference to an American ? had revealed the code-breaking operation, the officials said. The Iranian reported that Mr. Chalabi said the American was drunk. "

I am not sure I follow. Some drunk with top secret access calls up Chalabi and spills the beans?

 

[Ozoned]

Originally posted by: WinstonSmith

Originally posted by: Ozoned

Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
So how would Chalabi know this to begin with? Someone told him. Could this be the reason Tenet is going down?

"American officials reported that in the cable to Tehran, the Iranian official recounted how Mr. Chalabi had said that one of "them" ? a reference to an American ? had revealed the code-breaking operation, the officials said. The Iranian reported that Mr. Chalabi said the American was drunk. "

I am not sure I follow. Some drunk with top secret access calls up Chalabi and spills the beans?

No, there would be 50 to 60 people on this code project, maybe more..

Some guy goes to the bar and has a bit to much to drink and starts running his trap...

Maybe some one is pumping him..

You see how it could work?

If not, you can borrow my tin foil hat..