US link uncovered in Thatcher's coup plot role

[emad]

David Leigh
Monday January 24, 2005
The Guardian

The prospect of Sir Mark Thatcher being allowed to return to the US to rejoin his wife and children in Dallas became more uncertain last night, as new evidence emerged that his role in an African coup attempt may have been more central than has been admitted, and involved questionable activities in the US.

A senior former state department official in Washington, Joseph Sala, has disclosed he was hired by the plotters to gain US support for the coup. Mr Sala tells a BBC3 TV programme tonight that he was offered $40,000 (£21,351) to promote the plotters' cause there. Records for Sir Mark's mobile phone show that he was among those placing calls to a London businessman accused of masterminding the Washington plot.

Eli Calil, a millionaire middleman in African oil deals and a friend of the Labour politician Peter Mandelson, was allegedly at the centre of a group of London businessmen and mercenaries trying to promote their own candidate to take over the tiny but oil-rich state of Equatorial Guinea.

Its ruler, President Teodoro Obiang, was believed to be dying of cancer, and valuable oil concessions were hoped to be up for grabs. Much of the country's mushrooming oil industry is controlled by US companies.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1397008,00.html

[emad]

1. Sala comments:

Joseph Sala, who now runs the lobbying firm the ANN Group, says in tonight's programme: "The arrangement that we struck with Wales and the friends of Moto in February was that we would be paid $40,000 to put together a four-day programme for Moto in Washington, access to the Congress, think-tanks, media". He tells the programme, Thatcher and the Coup that Failed, that "the assumption in Washington would be that Calil wanted access to Equatorial Guinea's oil and that he, Calil, was prepared to do whatever was necessary to bring Moto to power on the assumption that Moto would return the favour.

"It's callous, it's crude, but it's the way of the world."

Mr Sala says it was only when he visited state department officials on Mr Moto's behalf that he discovered the true financial backer was Eli Calil. He says the plotters were not honest with him, and concealed their intention to use mercenaries to overthrow the regime. Lord Bell, the public relations man who has been acting as spokesman for Sir Mark, told the Guardian he had no comment on the allegations about Sir Mark's phone calls. Mr Calil and Mr Wales are both still at liberty and deny involvement in the coup attempt.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1397008,00.html

[cthrumatrix]

2. read "Confessions of an Economic Hitmen".... this is standard

practice for the US....

[el_gato]

3. this could get very interesting

[itzamirakul]

4. Why is Thatcher's son living in Dallas, TX? Oh...

to be nearer to oil sources and money....

Should he be allowed to return? Sure, why not? He is no more corrupt than the man sitting in the Oval Office.

[emad]

5. Thatcher pivotal Mossad Bureau Chief in South Africa?

Latest twist on the coup plot saga is that Thatcher was always working in tandem with former Mossad spooks in this attempted heist: this allegation from Africa Confidential writer on World Service at the weekend.

[Jose Diablo]

6. There was a news report about the aircraft used

to transport the mercenaries from South Africa was supplied by an American company.

I forget the details, but the aircraft was leased to the Air Force at one time. The craft took off from Bragg(?) and refueled on some island in the Antiles then on to South Africa.

The numbers on the aircraft indicated it was leased by a company in Kansas I think it was. As I read the article I wondered if James Bathe had some connection in all this. The S African subsidiary company connected by this aircraft had the same name except it had the ending of 'parts supply' or something like that. A corporation shell company typically used in smuggling operations.

The whole thing had the smell of CIA involvement. I think the time frame was about last August or so. Seems like Minstrel posted the original links, maybe octo.

Edit: I found it in archives http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2270301
Dodson was the name.