Iranian Plot to kill Saudi Ambassador to US Thwarted

Congratulations to the men and women of the countries and agencies that foiled this incredible plot to assassinate a Saudi Ambassador on US soil.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44861178...news-security/


"We wish to thank the men and women of the United Network for Command and Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.) without whose cooperation the production of this television show would not be possible" closing tag line from the original television show about a theoretical World Wide Law Enforcement Agency.


Link to a description of the the Man From U.N.C.L.E. television series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_from_uncle

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Originally Posted by slapout9

Congratulations to the men and women of the countries and agencies that foiled this incredible plot to assassinate a Saudi Ambassador on US soil.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44861178...news-security/

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Whoa! That sounds like a BFD, as Mr. Biden might say.

Interesting Cartel twist on the Iranian plot -

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The Justice Department says one of the men – Manssor Arbabsiar, a naturalized U.S. citizen holding an Iranian passport – arranged to hire for the assassination someone in Mexico who he thought was an associate of a drug trafficking cartel. The person in Mexico actually was a DEA confidential source who was posing as a cartel associate, the Justice Department says.

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http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/11...nvolving-iran/

I'll just leave this 2001 bit from the Memory Hole here -

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican federal police arrested a people smuggler who sneaked illegal immigrants, including Iraqis and Iranians, into the United States, the attorney-general's office said on Wednesday.

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http://www.hacer.org/current/Mex066.php

...........aaaaaaaaaaaand this tidbit

US intelligence and law enforcement agencies have reported that they have thwarted a plot by individuals residing with the US to kill the Saudi Ambassador to Washington at the behest of elements with the Iranian Government.

I heard about this story earlier on CNN, but much more in terms of detail is now coming out about it.

This looks like it could be pretty big news,

Here is a link to the story(hope for the sake of the mods that it hasn't been posted yet),

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/11...ran/?hpt=hp_t1

Charges: http://s3.documentcloud.org/document...anssor-and.pdf
DoJ Press Release: http://s3.documentcloud.org/document...anssor-and.pdf

This is all very strange; and frankly I have my suspicions. I have already heard Rep. Peter King (R–Tel Aviv) on CNN call this “an act of war”.

Why would the Quds Force need to outsource wetwork to Mexicans?

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Originally Posted by bourbon

This is all very strange; and frankly I have my suspicions.

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Yeah, the couple of things I have read and heard about it beyond Holder’s statement rang my incredulity bell. It does seem pretty clunky. Maybe the QF is trying to feel out US intelligence capabilities and political will? Maybe they didn’t expect the plot to go anywhere beyond the front pages with the idea that the world’s Shi'ites (particularly Bahrainis) would associate the plot with an Iranian willingness to stand up for them? Or maybe I am overthinking things. :D

On the positive side, the wording of Holder’s statement would seem to indicate that some public acknowledgement is being made that Ahmadinejad is not the whole of the Iranian government. Though that one is so long overdue—IMHO, at least—that I don’t know how much it will matter at this point.

is an old tactic...

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Originally Posted by ganulv

Yeah, the couple of things I have read and heard about it beyond Holder’s statement rang my incredulity bell. It does seem pretty clunky. Maybe the QF is trying to feel out US intelligence capabilities and political will? Maybe they didn’t expect the plot to go anywhere beyond the front pages with the idea that the world’s Shi'ites (particularly Bahrainis) would associate the plot with an Iranian willingness to stand up for them? Or maybe I am overthinking things. :D

On the positive side, the wording of Holder’s statement would seem to indicate that some public acknowledgement is being made that Ahmadinejad is not the whole of the Iranian government. Though that one is so long overdue—IMHO, at least—that I don’t know how much it will matter at this point.

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I mean if you think about it, the QF came quite close to succeeding, given if it hadn't been an informant they were talking to.

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Originally Posted by ganulv

Or maybe I am overthinking things. :D

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Maybe you aren't. Who benefits from table thumping statements of martial intent by US congressmen? The current Iranian government. Maybe this thing was designed to fail in a public way to provoke those statements. Like Ken says, diversion, only the party to be diverted is the Iranian people

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Originally Posted by carl

only the party to be diverted is the Iranian people

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The Administration has known of this since June. The 'plot' had not progressed far enough to be danger OR to rope in more evidence which almost certainly would have been garnered in another few months and had the potential for action gotten too close, it could've been nipped.

Why go public now? Not only or even necessarily the Iranian people. There's more to it. We'll see...

Geez, talk about conspiracy theories, you guys are great.:D:D:D

"There's more to it. We'll see... " ;)

Possible reaction to what appears to be an American/Israeli assassination campaign against Iranian nuclear scientists? Who knows - I doubt we'll ever really know.

Maybe there is a conspiracy here somewhere. For now I think the more likely answer is that Iran is just as capable of being a dumbass as any other country.

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Originally Posted by Entropy

Maybe there is a conspiracy here somewhere. For now I think the more likely answer is that Iran is just as capable of being a dumbass as any other country.

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Aw, Entropy. What's with the voice of reason? You're no fun at all.

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Originally Posted by Ken White

The Administration has known of this since June. The 'plot' had not progressed far enough to be danger OR to rope in more evidence which almost certainly would have been garnered in another few months and had the potential for action gotten too close, it could've been nipped.

Why go public now? Not only or even necessarily the Iranian people. There's more to it. We'll see...

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To save Holder from being fried for the "Fast & Furious" lies, of course.

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Originally Posted by Entropy

Maybe there is a conspiracy here somewhere. For now I think the more likely answer is that Iran is just as capable of being a dumbass as any other country.

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Has it struck you that both might be true, and it's a neck-and-neck race between Holder & Tehran?

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Originally Posted by slapout9

Geez, talk about conspiracy theories, you guys are great.:D:D:D

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Thank you, one show per weeknight, one matinee every Saturday and remember to tip the wait staff.

The conspiracy theories have already begun and the people spewing them are deadly serious. False flag, mossaf etc etc, repeat ad nauseam. What an age we live in.

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Originally Posted by TDB

The conspiracy theories have already begun and the people spewing them are deadly serious. False flag, mossaf etc etc, repeat ad nauseam. What an age we live in.

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The Federal Prosecutor doesn’t seem to be immune to the mania. The first count of the DOJ complaint is “Conspiracy to Murder A Foreign Official.”

I'll just let Henry Rollins serenade y'all absorb the tidbits down below.

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"It strikes me that Iran and the Quds Force would not conduct a mission like this. It's possible but unlikely," said Dubai-based defense analyst Theodore Karasik.

"It doesn't fit the modus operandi of the Quds Force or Iranian intelligence services. If it was true, it would be one of the most botched operations of its kind."

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...79B4YA20111012

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President Barack Obama was first briefed on the alleged plot in June and directed government agencies to support the investigation, U.S. officials said.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...343308154.html

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It is being reported that following the charges against Iran, the Obama Administration is seeking to use the development as leverage to “unite the world” against Iran, with Vice President Biden saying, “That’s the surest way to be able to get results.”

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http://blog.heritage.org/2011/10/12/...ranian-threat/

A viewpoint from Australia:http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/...rug-baron.aspx

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The most intriguing issue is not so much the brazenness of the plot but the absolute amateurishness of it.....

...given this was perhaps the boldest offensive action ever carried out by Iranian intelligence, why were the communications conducted using an open mobile direct from the US to 'senior Quds Force members' in downtown Tehran? And why were the down-payments wired directly into the cartel's nominated bank account from overseas?

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Ends with:

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It is too early to tell what the truth is, but I have some sympathy for Hillary Clinton's argument that 'You couldn't make this up, could you?'.

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While we may never know the the true facts of this little operation, I do think that the US would be well served by not coming out too terribly strongly about a country that conducts an operation against a person they have deemed to be a High Value Target who just happens to be enjoying sanctuary within the borders of a sovereign third party nation at the time of the operation without the express authorization and approval of said operation by that violated 3rd party.

Never know when we will launch our next operation along those same lines; certainly the President hangs much of his hopes for re-election upon the results of the last one.

Once Pandora's box is opened, regardless of reason, all manner of problems will emerge.


(And I hate to think how we might have reacted if Pakistani security forces had acted to "thwart" our operation on bin Laden...)

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Originally Posted by ganulv

The Federal Prosecutor doesn’t seem to be immune to the mania. The first count of the DOJ complaint is “Conspiracy to Murder A Foreign Official.”

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zing!

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Originally Posted by Bob's World

While we may never know the the true facts of this little operation, I do think that the US would be well served by not coming out too terribly strongly about a country that conducts an operation against a person they have deemed to be a High Value Target who just happens to be enjoying sanctuary within the borders of a sovereign third party nation at the time of the operation without the express authorization and approval of said operation by that violated 3rd party.

Never know when we will launch our next operation along those same lines; certainly the President hangs much of his hopes for re-election upon the results of the last one.

Once Pandora's box is opened, regardless of reason, all manner of problems will emerge.


(And I hate to think how we might have reacted if Pakistani security forces had acted to "thwart" our operation on bin Laden...)

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Very good point.

But, and I am not trying to be stroppy, if this thing, or something like it had actually been carried out, it would be a violation of our sovereignty. Wouldn't we have to do something?

Just an aside to an aside, I don't think there was any danger at all the Pak Army was going to thwart that op. I think they knew it was coming and made damn sure they were looking the other way.

One of many such articles, but maybe of interest for American readers:

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The affair leaves several questions unanswered.

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Link:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...ssination-plot

InSightCrime, 9 April 2014: Terrorism and Crime in the Americas - "It's Business"

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...If we were to put a label on any of this activity, it would probably be just that: it's business. These interactions appear to be, more than anything else, a way to achieve short-term monetary goals. Drug trafficking, contraband, weapons trafficking, diamond smuggling and numerous other activities help the terrorist groups reach these goals. Intermediaries like Harb and Joumaa facilitate these deals and perhaps have some ideological affinity to one or more of these organizations. But this does not mean these organizations have developed longstanding or even short-term working relationships. Security analyst Douglas Farah has aptly described them as "one-night stands."...

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