Spitfire List | Shackley

FTR #899 Fara Mansoor on “The Deep October Surprise,” Part 4

Posted by Dave Emory ⋅ April 7, 2016 ⋅ 4 comments

This broadcast concludes our review of Fara Mansoor’s heroic, ground-breaking research on what we call “The Deep October Surprise,” and references the historical lessons to be drawn from the inquiry to the contemporary political scene. Usually, the term “October Surprise” refers to an alleged deal between the Reagan/Bush campaign and the Khomeini regime in Iran to withhold the U.S. hostages taken from the American Embassy until after Jimmy Carter’s humiliation and consequent election defeat were assured. Fara’s research goes farther and deeper, suggesting that the CIA learned of the Shah’s cancer in 1974 (from former CIA director Richard Helms), withheld the information from Jimmy Carter, installed Khomeini’s Islamic fundamentalists as an anti-communist bulwark on the Soviet Union’s Southern flank and then micro-managed the hostage crisis to insure the ascension of the Reagan/Bush/Casey forces. What has become known as the Iran-Contra Scandal was an outgrowth of this dynamic. In this program, we flesh out the networking involving the Shah’s intelligence specialist Hossein Fardoust, who selected the personnel for Khomeini’s military general staff and became the head of his secret police. Another of the Bush/CIA operatives–Ibrahim Yazdi–helped Khomeini move from Iraq to Paris, served as his de facto chief of staff in Paris, served as his PR flack in the U.S., and was instrumental in maneuvering Mashallah Khashani into place as security coordinator for the U.S. Embassy in Teheran. Program Highlights Include: Khashani’s leadership in the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in November of 1979; the partial disarming of the Marine guards at the embassy prior to the takeover; a prior takeover attempt on 2/14/1979 by Khomeini forces disguised as “leftists;” networking between some of Fardoust’s selections for Khomeini’s general staff and prominent figures in the Iran-Contra scandal; the counter-terrorism background of Linda Tripp, the Bush White House holdover who helped de-stabilize the Bill Clinton administration; Mitt Romney backer and FBI director James Comey’s initiation of the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s e‑mail server.

FTR #898 Fara Mansoor on “The Deep October Surprise,” Part 3

Posted by Dave Emory ⋅ March 30, 2016 ⋅ One comment

With the recent Iranian nuclear deal and the lifting of economic sanctions against Iran, the history of U.S./Iranian relations has attained greater relevance. In that context, we present the third of several shows revisiting Fara Mansoor’s landmark research on what we have termed the “Deep October Surprise.” Fara’s research suggests that the CIA learned of the Shah’s cancer in 1974 (from former CIA director Richard Helms), withheld the information from Jimmy Carter, installed Khomeini’s Islamic fundamentalists as an anti-communist bulwark on the Soviet Union’s Southern flank and then micro-managed the hostage crisis to insure the ascension of the Reagan/Bush/Casey forces. After a series of violent incidents that sowed chaos in Iran, the Shah himself realized that U.S. intelligence was engineering his removal. ” . . . . By late August [of 1977], the Shah was totally confused. U.S. Ambassador Sullivan recorded the Shah’s pleadings over the outbreak of violence: ‘He said the pattern was widespread and that it was like an outbreak of a sudden rash in the country…it gave evidence of sophisticated planning and was not the work of spontaneous oppositionists…the Shah presented that it was the work of foreign intrigue…this intrigue went beyond the capabilities of the Soviet KGB and must, therefore, also involve British and American CIA. The Shah went on to ask ‘Why was the CIA suddenly turning against him? What had he done to deserve this sort of action from the United States?’ . . . .” Program Highlights Include: the disappearance and probable assassination in Libya of a key Shiite clerical rival of Khomeini’s–Ayatollah Mosa Sadr; a provocation in which a theater was burned down, killing 750 occupants–an attack blamed on the SAVAK and the Shah; an article placed in an Iranian paper that inflamed the populace against the Shah and coalesced the Shiite clergy against him; key Shah aide General Hossein Fardoust’s authorship of the provocative article; the pivotal role played in “the Deep October Surprise” by Dr. Ibrahim Yazdi; the Nazi intelligence background of Fazollah Zahedi, who replaced Mohammed Mossadegh after the CIA coup in 1953.

FTR #897 Fara Mansoor on the “Deep October Surprise,” Part 2

Posted by Dave Emory ⋅ March 24, 2016 ⋅ Post a comment

This broadcast is the second of several programs reviewing and highlighting material first presented in early 1993, featuring the landmark research of Fara Mansoor, a heroic, longtime member of the Iranian resistance. Usually, the term “October Surprise” refers to an allege deal between the Reagan/Bush campaign and the Khomeini regime in Iran to withhold the U.S. hostages taken from the American Embassy until after Jimmy Carter’s humiliation and consequent election defeat were assured. Fara’s research goes farther and deeper, suggesting that the CIA learned of the Shah’s cancer in 1974 (from former CIA director Richard Helms), withheld the information from Jimmy Carter, installed Khomeini’s Islamic fundamentalists as an anti-communist bulwark on the Soviet Union’s Southern flank and then micro-managed the hostage crisis to insure the ascension of the Reagan/Bush/Casey forces. What has become known as the Iran-Contra Scandal was an outgrowth of this dynamic. In this program we present analysis of the first phase(s) of the operation, noting that former CIA director Richard Helms learned of the Shah’s cancer in 1975 from General Hossein Fardoust. Withholding this information from President Carter, the CIA fed the administration disinformation asserting that the Shah’s reign well into the 1980’s was assured. Meanwhile, the Agency was maneuvering to install Khomeini as a bulwark against the left, and, as we shall see, a vehicle to destabilize the Carter administration and guarantee the victory of the Reagan/Bush team in the 1980 elections. Program Highlights Include: the presence in Iran in April of 1978 of George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher; the long association of the Shah-to-be, Richard Helms and General Hossein Fardoust dating to their days together in a Swiss boarding school; Carter’s “Halloween massacre” in which he fired some 800 CIA covert operators, who coalesced as part of the Bush team that installed Khomeini and the fundamentalists in power.

FTR #896 Fara Mansoor on “The Deep October Surprise,” Part 1

Posted by Dave Emory ⋅ March 24, 2016 ⋅ One comment

This broadcast begins several programs reviewing and highlighting material first presented in early 1993, featuring the landmark research of Fara Mansoor, a longtime, heroic member of the Iranian resistance. Usually, the term “October Surprise” refers to an alleged deal between the Reagan/Bush campaign and the Khomeini regime in Iran to withhold the U.S. hostages taken from the American Embassy until after Jimmy Carter’s humiliation and consequent election defeat were assured. Fara’s research goes farther and deeper, suggesting that the CIA learned of the Shah’s cancer in 1974 (from former CIA director Richard Helms), withheld the information from Jimmy Carter, installed Khomeini’s Islamic fundamentalists as an anti-communist bulwark on the Soviet Union’s Southern flank and then micro-managed the hostage crisis to insure the ascension of the Reagan/Bush/Casey forces. What has become known as the Iran-Contra Scandal was an outgrowth of this dynamic. In this program, we begin our analysis with an overview of the covert operation, both in the U.S. and Iran, highlighting the key players and the networking in which they engaged to ensure Carter’s downfall and Khomeini’s rise to power. Of particular interest is the “deep-networking” between U.S. operatives such as Richard Cottam and Iranian agents such as General Hossein Fardoust and Viallollah Qarani. Cottam, Fardoust and Qarani’s association stretch from the 1953 coup that installed the Shah and the 1979 “op” that installed Khomeini in Iran and the Reagan/Bush team in the U.S. The program highlights the extent to which American domestic politics, national security policy and overseas diplomacy are controlled by what amounts to a “secret state.”

FTR #869 The Assassination of Olof Palme, Part 2

Posted by Dave Emory ⋅ October 16, 2015 ⋅ 9 comments

Continuing discussion and analysis from FTR #868, this program underscores the possible role of Swedish and Scandinavian fascists overlapping both WACL and Sapo, the Swedish intelligence service. Involved with escape networks forged to aid the international flight from justice of fascists and Nazis, the principals in these networks exhibited behavior around the time of the Palme killing that is suggestive. Worth noting in this regard is the late Stieg Larsson’s investigation of the Palme killing, which pointed in the direction of some of the same figures examined in the Kruger essay. The program concludes with an examination of the Bofors munitions firm and its corporate links to Third Reich industry and the postwar Bormann capital network, with which it may well be affiliated.

FTR #868: The Assassination of Olof Palme, Part 1

Posted by Dave Emory ⋅ October 15, 2015 ⋅ 4 comments

The first of two programs highlighting the unsolved 1986 assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, the broadcast features a 1988 article by the brilliant freelance Danish journalist Henrik Kruger, author of “The Great Heroin Coup: Drugs, Intelligence and International Fascism.” Through this examination of the intersected networks that Kruger has termed (in “The Great Heroin Coup”) “The International Fascista,” we are able to observe the elements of Operation Condor, key individuals and institutions comprising the former World Anti-Communist League, individuals and organizations underlying “the Strategy of Tension” in Italy, as well as the cast of characters that managed the Iran-Contra machinations. Long the focal point of death threats and assassination attempts, Palme had earned the lethal ire of fascists in North and South America, as well as Europe. The failure to solve the killing, despite the passage of almost 30 years and some very strong evidentiary tributaries, underscores the gravitas of the forces that destroyed Palme. Kruger’s article also serves as something of an “in vitro” window into many of the political networks we have examined over the years.

The Assassination of Olof Palme

Posted by Dave Emory ⋅ April 11, 2015 ⋅ 2 comments

In our ongoing series of interviews with Peter Levenda, the author of “The Hitler Legacy,” we have highlighted points of discussion relating to WACL, Operation Condor, the Iran/Contra scandal and other elements that might not be familiar to recent/younger readers and listeners. Peter detailed his hair-raising visit to Colonia Dignidad in FTR #839. While going through some boxes in storage, we came across an old essay by the brilliant Danish journalist Henrik Kruger, author of “The Great Heroin Coup,” analyzing the unsolved 1986 assassination of Swedish prime minister Olof Palme. We present that article here, in order to familiarize younger readers and listeners with individuals and institutions we haven’t covered in decades. All of the contents of this website as of 12/19/2014–Dave Emory’s 35+ years of research and broadcasting–as well as hours of videotaped lectures are available on a 32GB flash drive. Dave offers his programs and articles for free–your support is very much appreciated.

Roberto Calvi Linked to Pablo Escobar

Posted by Dave Emory ⋅ December 1, 2012 ⋅ One comment

It is now relatively well known that the late Pablo Escobar and the associated Medellin Cartel were heavily involved with the Iran-Contra cocaine traffic of the 1980’s. Press accounts have now surfaced in Italy and the UK about Escobar having banked some of his proceeds with Roberto Calvi’s Banco Ambrosiano. Found murdered in London in late 1982, Calvi was the adviser to the IOR, having succeeded the late Michele Sindona in that regard. (Like Calvi, Sindona was a member of the Licio Gelli’s P‑2 Lodge.) Disclosure of the Calvi/Escobar link suggests another link between the Iran-Contra affair and the Stibam arms for drugs ring that heavily overlapped the milieu of the P‑2, Vatican Bank and the Banco Ambrosiano.