ZGram - 3/19/2002 - "The spies who came in from the art sale"
irimland@zundelsite.org
irimland@zundelsite.org
Tue, 19 Mar 2002 21:31:02 -0800
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Copyright (c) 2002 - Ingrid A. Rimland
ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny
March 19, 2002
Good Morning from the Zundelsite:
Here's a bit of an update on the ever-widening Israeli spy scandal
right out of Atlanta:
[START]
The spies who came in from the art sale
Some reporters have said what U.S. and Israeli officials don't want to
hear
BY JOHN SUGG
Good advice for journalists is to take note of where the rest of your
colleagues are staring, then turn 180 degrees and see what your pals have
missed. Often it's a story. Sometimes a scary one.
A major international espionage saga has many of its roots right here in
Atlanta. Incredibly, you haven't read about it in the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution even though that paper's Washington bureau last week
reported the seething scandal.
It's a touchy subject, to be sure, because it isn't Saddam, Fidel, Osama
or even what passes nowadays for the KGB spying on America -- but our
"friend" in the war against "evil," Israel.
In an era where CNN CEO Walter Issacson says it would be "perverse" to
televise Afghan babies killed by U.S. bombs, it's not surprising some
stories go unnoticed by a press that embraces "patriotism" by ignoring
sacred cows.
One of those cattle is what's happening in Israel and Palestine.
Reporters know that to criticize Israel -- to point out, for example,
that wanton killing of innocents is equally devilish whether committed by
Ariel Sharon's soldiers flying U.S.-made helicopters, or by a Hamas
suicide bomber who pushes the button -- is to risk being called an
anti-Semite.
Even with that background, however, it's a little hard to understand the
media's avoidance of the spy story I'm going to tell you.
In 1999, word began spreading among intelligence agencies about bands of
Israeli "students" doing veeeerrrrry strange things, such as popping up
around federal buildings and military establishments marketing artwork.
According to intelligence sources, low-level alerts began being flashed
around to offices of the FBI, DEA, federal prosecutors and others. By
March 2001, counterintelligence officials had issued a bulletin to be on
the watch for Israelis masquerading as "art students."
At the same time, American intelligence services were increasingly
worried by the dominance of many highly sensitive areas of
telecommunications by Israeli companies. Comverse Infosys (now called
Verint) provides U.S. lawmen with computer equipment for wiretapping.
Speculation is that "catch gates" in the system allowed listeners to be
listened to. Other software called Amdocs provided extensive records of
virtually all calls placed by the 25 largest U.S. telephone companies.
Often the Israeli "students" sold their artwork on street locations near
federal buildings. In one incident in Atlanta, they showed up outside an
unlisted FBI office and began taking photos, according to sources. Agents
collared them and sent them on their way.
Also in our town, a DEA agent recalled seeing the "students" selling art
around his offices. Later, when he spied the same artwork (Chinese made,
as it turned out) at the Mall of Georgia, he became suspicious. The DEA
is the lead U.S. agency in monitoring money laundering -- which would
explain a spy's interest.
Similarly, a former federal prosecutor was visited at his home by the
Israeli "art salesmen" -- and, according to sources, concluded that, wow,
this was exactly what the alerts had been about.
Then came Sept. 11. While America was mesmerized by the "War on
Terrorism," the media went out to a four-martini lunch when it came to
skeptical reporting.
With a few commendable exceptions. One of those is Carl Cameron, a gutsy
reporter for Fox News. On Dec. 12, Cameron broke the blockbuster spy
story. He said at the time: "Since Sept. 11, more than 60 Israelis have
been arrested or detained, either under the new PATRIOT anti-terrorism
law, or for immigration violations. A handful of active Israeli military
were among those detained, according to investigators, who say some of
the detainees also failed polygraph questions when asked about alleged
surveillance activities against and in the United States."
That was enough of a gut-kick. Then Cameron threw this incendiary bomb:
"There is no indication that the Israelis were involved in the 9-11
attacks, but investigators suspect that the Israelis may have gathered
intelligence about the attacks in advance, and not shared it."
Fox also reported the Israeli "students" "targeted and penetrated" U.S.
military bases.
In the rest of the world -- Europe, Arab countries and Israel, especially
-- the story made headlines. Even the official Chinese news agency perked
up. Not in our well-defended (against disturbing news) homeland, however.
Cameron, in an interview, said he doesn't believe the conspiracy theories
about why the story was ignored here. An honest scribe, he points to a
shortcoming in his own work -- one hammered on by Israeli critics at the
time -- conceding "there were no [on-the-record] interviews. I didn't
tell other reporters where to find the documents. They couldn't do
instant journalism."
Others at Fox confirm there was intense pressure on the network by
pro-Israeli lobbying groups, such as the Anti-Defamation League and the
misnamed Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting (CAMERA).
"These charges are arrant nonsense unworthy of the usually reliable Fox
News," CAMERA huffed in a Dec. 12 release.
Cameron reported Dec. 13 that federal agents were afraid to criticize
Israel. "Investigators within the DEA, INS and FBI have all told Fox News
that to pursue or even suggest Israeli spying ... is considered career
suicide."
Cameron told me in similar language that's what journalists also can
face. And, what's clear is that Fox quickly removed the story from its
website. (Fox reposted the story last week after other media finally
picked it up.)
The story pretty much fell asleep before Christmas. Then, all hell broke
loose in the last 10 days. A French Web-based service, Intelligence
Online, obtained the same 61-page June 2001 federal report that Cameron
had. The website reported that 120 Israelis had by now been detained or
deported by U.S. authorities.
Let me repeat that: 120 potential spies. This isn't worth press
curiosity?
Few papers have given the story significant space. Many, like the AJC,
haven't uttered a peep.
Some of what has seeped out is disturbing. The Oklahoman reported last
week that 10 months ago four Israelis peddling artwork (but carrying
military IDs) were detained near Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. Le
Monde in Paris recounted that six intercepted "students" had cell phones
purchased by an Israeli vice consul in the United States. Sources told CL
that many of the phones had a walkie-talkie feature that was virtually
impossible to intercept.
Intelligence Online connected many dots, naming which Israelis were
employed by the tech companies, and what military specialties they had
("special forces," "intelligence officer," "explosive ordnance/combat
engineer," "electronic intercept operator" -- even "son of Israeli army
general").
Many of the apparent operatives had set up shop at addresses only stones'
throws from Arabs in San Diego, Little Rock, Irving, Texas, and in South
Florida. Especially in Florida, where 10 of the 19 Sept. 11 terrorists
lived, the French report bolsters speculation that the Israelis might
have gained advanced knowledge of the attack -- and not passed on that
critical intelligence to the United States.
Bush administration shills were quick to try and spin the story. A
Justice Department spokeswoman, Susan Dryden, called the Intelligence
Online report an "urban myth," and other federal flaks trumpeted that no
Israeli had been charged with or deported for spying. Of course, in the
Great Game, "friendly" spies are seldom embarrassed by being called by
their true colors.
Predictably, Israeli Embassy spokesman Mark Reguev derided the
Intelligence Online report as "nonsense." Israel in the past has
stridently denied wrongdoing until long after the truth was obvious.
Israel claimed Jonathan Pollard -- a super spy who did horrendous, deadly
damage to the United States until arrested in 1985 -- wasn't an agent.
And, Israel has stubbornly contended its 1967 attack on the USS Liberty,
in which 35 American sailors were killed, was an accident -- a lie
exposed in recent reports including one that aired last fall on the
History Channel. A recent authoritative book, Body of Secrets, by James
Bamford, concludes that National Security Agency officials "were
virtually unanimous in their belief that the attack was deliberate."
Following U.S. denials of the recent spy story, Intelligence Online
editor Guillaume Dasquie threatened to post the sensitive report online.
He commented: "The document we have in our possession details not only
the identities of the members of this network, but also their activities
in the Israeli army, and even their serial numbers in the intelligence
services, their passport numbers and their validity, and their visas and
their validity."
There's more to this story to come -- but you might have to move to Paris
to read it (or keep your eyes on CL).
03.13.02
(Source: http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2002-03-13/fishwrapper.html )
[END]
=====
Thought for the Day:
"In revolutionary times, the rich are always the people who are most afraid."
(Sir Alan Patrick Herbert)
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--></style><title>ZGram - 3/19/2002 - "The spies who came in
from the ar</title></head><body>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1" color="#000000"><br>
Copyright (c) 2002 - Ingrid A. Rimland<br>
<br>
ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny<br>
<br>
March 19, 2002<br>
<br>
Good Morning from the Zundelsite:<br>
<br>
Here's a bit of an update on the ever-widening Israeli spy scandal
right out of Atlanta:<br>
<br>
[START]<br>
<br>
The spies who came in from the art sale<br>
<br>
Some reporters have said what U.S. and Israeli officials don't want
to<br>
hear<br>
<br>
BY JOHN SUGG<br>
<br>
Good advice for journalists is to take note of where the rest of
your<br>
colleagues are staring, then turn 180 degrees and see what your pals
have<br>
missed. Often it's a story. Sometimes a scary one.<br>
<br>
A major international espionage saga has many of its roots right here
in<br>
Atlanta. Incredibly, you haven't read about it in the Atlanta<br>
Journal-Constitution even though that paper's Washington bureau last
week<br>
reported the seething scandal.<br>
<br>
It's a touchy subject, to be sure, because it isn't Saddam, Fidel,
Osama<br>
or even what passes nowadays for the KGB spying on America -- but
our<br>
"friend" in the war against "evil," Israel.<br>
<br>
In an era where CNN CEO Walter Issacson says it would be
"perverse" to<br>
televise Afghan babies killed by U.S. bombs, it's not surprising
some<br>
stories go unnoticed by a press that embraces "patriotism"
by ignoring<br>
sacred cows.<br>
<br>
One of those cattle is what's happening in Israel and Palestine.<br>
Reporters know that to criticize Israel -- to point out, for
example,<br>
that wanton killing of innocents is equally devilish whether committed
by<br>
Ariel Sharon's soldiers flying U.S.-made helicopters, or by a
Hamas<br>
suicide bomber who pushes the button -- is to risk being called an<br>
anti-Semite.<br>
<br>
Even with that background, however, it's a little hard to understand
the<br>
media's avoidance of the spy story I'm going to tell you.<br>
<br>
In 1999, word began spreading among intelligence agencies about bands
of<br>
Israeli "students" doing veeeerrrrry strange things, such as
popping up<br>
around federal buildings and military establishments marketing
artwork.<br>
<br>
According to intelligence sources, low-level alerts began being
flashed<br>
around to offices of the FBI, DEA, federal prosecutors and others.
By<br>
March 2001, counterintelligence officials had issued a bulletin to be
on<br>
the watch for Israelis masquerading as "art students."<br>
<br>
At the same time, American intelligence services were increasingly<br>
worried by the dominance of many highly sensitive areas of<br>
telecommunications by Israeli companies. Comverse Infosys (now
called<br>
Verint) provides U.S. lawmen with computer equipment for
wiretapping.<br>
Speculation is that "catch gates" in the system allowed
listeners to be<br>
listened to. Other software called Amdocs provided extensive records
of<br>
virtually all calls placed by the 25 largest U.S. telephone
companies.<br>
<br>
Often the Israeli "students" sold their artwork on street
locations near<br>
federal buildings. In one incident in Atlanta, they showed up outside
an<br>
unlisted FBI office and began taking photos, according to sources.
Agents<br>
collared them and sent them on their way.<br>
<br>
Also in our town, a DEA agent recalled seeing the "students"
selling art<br>
around his offices. Later, when he spied the same artwork (Chinese
made,<br>
as it turned out) at the Mall of Georgia, he became suspicious. The
DEA<br>
is the lead U.S. agency in monitoring money laundering -- which
would<br>
explain a spy's interest.<br>
<br>
Similarly, a former federal prosecutor was visited at his home by
the<br>
Israeli "art salesmen" -- and, according to sources,
concluded that, wow,<br>
this was exactly what the alerts had been about.<br>
<br>
Then came Sept. 11. While America was mesmerized by the "War
on<br>
Terrorism," the media went out to a four-martini lunch when it
came to<br>
skeptical reporting.<br>
<br>
With a few commendable exceptions. One of those is Carl Cameron, a
gutsy<br>
reporter for Fox News. On Dec. 12, Cameron broke the blockbuster
spy<br>
story. He said at the time: "Since Sept. 11, more than 60
Israelis have<br>
been arrested or detained, either under the new PATRIOT
anti-terrorism<br>
law, or for immigration violations. A handful of active Israeli
military</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1" color="#000000">were among those
detained, according to investigators, who say some of<br>
the detainees also failed polygraph questions when asked about
alleged<br>
surveillance activities against and in the United States."<br>
<br>
That was enough of a gut-kick. Then Cameron threw this incendiary
bomb:<br>
"There is no indication that the Israelis were involved in the
9-11<br>
attacks, but investigators suspect that the Israelis may have
gathered<br>
intelligence about the attacks in advance, and not shared
it."<br>
<br>
Fox also reported the Israeli "students" "targeted and
penetrated" U.S.<br>
military bases.<br>
<br>
In the rest of the world -- Europe, Arab countries and Israel,
especially<br>
-- the story made headlines. Even the official Chinese news agency
perked<br>
up. Not in our well-defended (against disturbing news) homeland,
however.<br>
<br>
<br>
Cameron, in an interview, said he doesn't believe the conspiracy
theories<br>
about why the story was ignored here. An honest scribe, he points to
a<br>
shortcoming in his own work -- one hammered on by Israeli critics at
the<br>
time -- conceding "there were no [on-the-record] interviews. I
didn't<br>
tell other reporters where to find the documents. They couldn't do<br>
instant journalism."<br>
<br>
Others at Fox confirm there was intense pressure on the network by<br>
pro-Israeli lobbying groups, such as the Anti-Defamation League and
the<br>
misnamed Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting (CAMERA).<br>
<br>
"These charges are arrant nonsense unworthy of the usually
reliable Fox<br>
News," CAMERA huffed in a Dec. 12 release.<br>
<br>
Cameron reported Dec. 13 that federal agents were afraid to
criticize<br>
Israel. "Investigators within the DEA, INS and FBI have all told
Fox News<br>
that to pursue or even suggest Israeli spying ... is considered
career<br>
suicide."<br>
<br>
Cameron told me in similar language that's what journalists also
can<br>
face. And, what's clear is that Fox quickly removed the story from
its<br>
website. (Fox reposted the story last week after other media
finally<br>
picked it up.)<br>
<br>
The story pretty much fell asleep before Christmas. Then, all hell
broke<br>
loose in the last 10 days. A French Web-based service,
Intelligence<br>
Online, obtained the same 61-page June 2001 federal report that
Cameron<br>
had. The website reported that 120 Israelis had by now been detained
or<br>
deported by U.S. authorities.<br>
<br>
Let me repeat that: 120 potential spies. This isn't worth press<br>
curiosity?<br>
<br>
Few papers have given the story significant space. Many, like the
AJC,<br>
haven't uttered a peep.<br>
<br>
Some of what has seeped out is disturbing. The Oklahoman reported
last<br>
week that 10 months ago four Israelis peddling artwork (but
carrying<br>
military IDs) were detained near Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
Le<br>
Monde in Paris recounted that six intercepted "students" had
cell phones<br>
purchased by an Israeli vice consul in the United States. Sources told
CL<br>
that many of the phones had a walkie-talkie feature that was
virtually<br>
impossible to intercept.<br>
<br>
Intelligence Online connected many dots, naming which Israelis
were<br>
employed by the tech companies, and what military specialties they
had<br>
("special forces," "intelligence officer,"
"explosive ordnance/combat<br>
engineer," "electronic intercept operator" -- even
"son of Israeli army<br>
general").<br>
<br>
Many of the apparent operatives had set up shop at addresses only
stones'<br>
throws from Arabs in San Diego, Little Rock, Irving, Texas, and in
South<br>
Florida. Especially in Florida, where 10 of the 19 Sept. 11
terrorists<br>
lived, the French report bolsters speculation that the Israelis
might<br>
have gained advanced knowledge of the attack -- and not passed on
that<br>
critical intelligence to the United States.<br>
<br>
Bush administration shills were quick to try and spin the story. A<br>
Justice Department spokeswoman, Susan Dryden, called the
Intelligence<br>
Online report an "urban myth," and other federal flaks
trumpeted that no<br>
Israeli had been charged with or deported for spying. Of course, in
the<br>
Great Game, "friendly" spies are seldom embarrassed by being
called by<br>
their true colors.<br>
<br>
Predictably, Israeli Embassy spokesman Mark Reguev derided the<br>
Intelligence Online report as "nonsense." Israel in the past
has<br>
stridently denied wrongdoing until long after the truth was
obvious.</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1" color="#000000">Israel claimed
Jonathan Pollard -- a super spy who did horrendous, deadly<br>
damage to the United States until arrested in 1985 -- wasn't an
agent.<br>
And, Israel has stubbornly contended its 1967 attack on the USS
Liberty,<br>
in which 35 American sailors were killed, was an accident -- a lie<br>
exposed in recent reports including one that aired last fall on
the<br>
History Channel. A recent authoritative book, Body of Secrets, by
James<br>
Bamford, concludes that National Security Agency officials
"were<br>
virtually unanimous in their belief that the attack was
deliberate."<br>
<br>
Following U.S. denials of the recent spy story, Intelligence
Online<br>
editor Guillaume Dasquie threatened to post the sensitive report
online.<br>
He commented: "The document we have in our possession details not
only<br>
the identities of the members of this network, but also their
activities<br>
in the Israeli army, and even their serial numbers in the
intelligence<br>
services, their passport numbers and their validity, and their visas
and<br>
their validity."<br>
<br>
There's more to this story to come -- but you might have to move to
Paris</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1" color="#000000">to read it (or keep
your eyes on CL).</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" size="-1" color="#000000"><br>
03.13.02<br>
<br>
(Source:
http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2002-03-13/fishwrapper.html )<br>
<br>
[END]<br>
<br>
=====<br>
<br>
Thought for the Day:<br>
<br>
"In revolutionary times, the rich are always the people who are
most afraid."<br>
<br>
(Sir Alan Patrick Herbert)</font><br>
<font face="Geneva" size="-1" color="#000000"></font></div>
</body>
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