Seymour Hersh: Negroponte–Iran Contra—Funds…Oh my!

[ProSense]

Seymour Hersh: Negroponte–Iran Contra—Funds…Oh my!

By: John Amato on Sunday, February 25th, 2007 at 10:18 AM - PST

Sy Hersh tells us that the echos of Iran Contra weighed heavily in Negroponte's decision to resign his post and is claiming that Bush is funneling money without authorization or oversight that has ended up in the hands of Sunni jihadist groups.

Snip...

HERSH: He — that is one of the reasons, I was told. Negroponte also was not in tune with Cheney. There was a lot of complaints about him because he was seen as much of a stickler, too ethical for some of the operations the Pentagon wants to run.

As you know, this Pentagon has been running covert operations. I think Mr. Gates' job and one of the things he wants to do is get some control over it. But under Rumsfeld we were running operations all over the world with who knows what money and who knows what authority, because most of those operations were not briefed to the intelligence committees.

And the Pentagon has basically been open about it in saying, hey, this is military stuff that has nothing to do with CIA operations. We have nothing to do with them. We are running military operations. And the president has the authority to do this.

But Negroponte was unhappy about — in general about some of the things. He also, I don't think, liked — he may not have been terrific at his job, that is another factor. But certainly John Negroponte went through this issue, Iran-Contra in the '80s, when we had the first big debate over the use of unlawfully obtained money to buy arms.

more...

This must be from the Department of Lessons Never Learned.

More in this Daily Kos diary:

Hersh: Cheney shadow government runs covert ops against Iran

[BayCityProgressive]

1. Bush wants these groups

to get money. As long as they keep Iraq in chaos we can steal their oil..if Iraqi's were united they would never allow it. It will also give us a pretext to go into Iran.

[wakeme2008]

2. Crooks and Liars have the video of Hersh

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x286114

[Donna Zen]

3. Should give us pause

When things are too unethical for Negroponte, what's going on?

Hersh is a true patriot and truth teller. Great interview.

[KoKo]

5. Exactly! Sends chills down spine that Negroponte is more ethical

that those planning the Iran Attacks and the "Black Ops" using laundered money or "found money." :scared:

[NYC]

10. Too unethical for Negroponte.

...I was subsequently told by the two government consultants and the former senior intelligence official that the echoes of Iran-Contra were a factor in Negroponte’s decision to resign from the National Intelligence directorship and accept a sub-Cabinet position of Deputy Secretary of State. (Negroponte declined to comment.)

The former senior intelligence official also told me that Negroponte did not want a repeat of his experience in the Reagan Administration, when he served as Ambassador to Honduras. “Negroponte said, ‘No way. I’m not going down that road again, with the N.S.C. running operations off the books, with no finding.’ ” (In the case of covert C.I.A. operations, the President must issue a written finding and inform Congress.) Negroponte stayed on as Deputy Secretary of State, he added, because “he believes he can influence the government in a positive way.”

The government consultant said that Negroponte shared the White House’s policy goals but “wanted to do it by the book.” The Pentagon consultant also told me that “there was a sense at the senior-ranks level that he wasn’t fully on board with the more adventurous clandestine initiatives.” It was also true, he said, that Negroponte “had problems with this Rube Goldberg policy contraption for fixing the Middle East.”

"The Redirection" by Seymour Hersh.

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/070305fa_fact_hersh?page=5

[msongs]

4. does he presume the pentagon has any ethics at all? nt

[xchrom]

6. something the corporate fascists do is too unethical for negroponte?

And i want to echo another poster -- why presume there are ethical people in the pentagon?

it's obvious that they have serious problems with conceiving how to conduct and win a modern ground war -- they have proven that twice -- once in viet nam and now again in iraq.

they have to keep things confused and getting what they can before someone cries ''incompetence!"'

[rodeodance]

7. Wonders never cease do they.

[Peace Patriot]

8. Ye gods! n/t

[Double T]

9. Our entire government has been permeated with malfeasance and corruption........

since the day bushco took office. Ethics are of NO CONCERN to the two psychopaths in charge at the WH. bushco's plan is clear; create ENOUGH chaos through 'wars' in Iraq and Iran so that NO ONE will have enough time or attention to indict and convict bushco for ALL their atrocities against the USA and other nations of the world.

[NYC]

11. "Lessons learned."

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/070305fa_fact_hersh?page=5

Iran-Contra was the subject of an informal “lessons learned” discussion two years ago among veterans of the scandal. Abrams led the discussion. One conclusion was that even though the program was eventually exposed, it had been possible to execute it without telling Congress. As to what the experience taught them, in terms of future covert operations, the participants found: “One, you can’t trust our friends. Two, the C.I.A. has got to be totally out of it. Three, you can’t trust the uniformed military, and four, it’s got to be run out of the Vice-President’s office”—a reference to Cheney’s role, the former senior intelligence official said.

"The Redirection" by Seymour Hersh.

[Adelante]

12. Scary times

These are.

[blm]

14. More Dems have to start opening their eyes and realizing what really went on in IranContra

and why it is deeply linked to just about everything nefarious happening today.

[flpoljunkie]

13. Oh, my, indeed! Here is link to Sy Hersh's latest article in the New Yorker.

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/070305fa_fact_hersh

[ProSense]

15. More about lessons never learned

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/10037.html">‘Lessons learned’ from Iran-Contra

Posted 11:08 am | Printer Friendly | Spotlight

Snip...

Wait, that is what the old guard learned from Iran-Contra? Shouldn’t the actual lesson include some reference to not breaking the law and funneling aid to U.S. enemies?

Snip...

Let’s be clear about the lesson here. Negroponte played an active role in secretly arming contra rebels from bases in Honduras, and turned a blind eye to the country’s death squads.

And now he’s looking at the Bush gang and effectively saying, “Whoa, you guys are going too far.”

Something to keep in mind.

As one commenter points out:

This is why Iran-Contra should have been properly investigated at the time and guilty people should have gone to jail.

Taking sides in Iraq’s civil war

h/t DUer Whometense