Is The CIA Running Fatah al-Islam Through The Lebanese Police?

Photo from Al Jazeera

Who is Fatah al-Islam of Tripoli Lebanon?

Who are these bank robbers who can’t rob banks? Who are so inept their get-away plan sucked too.

So they're hole-up in a refugee camp, armed to the teeth with guns, grenades and... Night Vision Goggles.???

From the International Herald Tribune

"The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation TV station reported that the dead militants included men from Bangladesh, Yemen and other Arab countries. Some wore explosive belts, security officials said. The men also had sophisticated military equipment, including night-vision goggles, heavy weapons, even antiaircraft guns, one senior officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity."

Wait a second, 'Night Vision Goggles'!

These guys are not who they appear to be. Night Vision Goggles are not for sale to terrorists, and, they are extraordinarily expensive. With a weapons cache, and this technology, it would appear they intended to engage the Lebanese Army from the start!

Less than a year ago, I read a story about how the State Department had to reminded the industry that Night Vision Goggles were a strategic advantage to the U.S., and are as such on a restricted sale list.

Here's and Industry link that sums it all up nicely, in this article about night vision technology from: GlobalWatch: The Newsletter Of The International Import – Export Institute, Est.1995 (http://expandglobal.com/globalwatch/2006_November-December.pdf)

Off the front page:

"Increasing global competition in most overseas markets for defense and commercial products has raised some concerns about the long-term competitive position of the U.S. and other countries and specifically about the U.S.’s ability to maintain technological leadership.

To better understand these concerns and the potential implications for U.S. defense production capabilities, the U.S. Army Night Vision &
Electronic Sensors Directorate supported a Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) assessment of the competitiveness of the industry."

So we know the technology has been shipped to the wrong people; but who? and when?

So these lousy bank robbers with no tactical plan, who have really expensive stuff that they shouldn't have, and don't need... Where are they from?

This from Al Jazeera's profile of Fatah al-Islam might shine some light on the confusion:

"Primarily made of Sunni Arabs, the resistance group announced its formation last November, shortly after two of its members were arrested by the Lebanese authorities."

The inference being, that the Lebanese government are running Fatah al-Islam.

So, this is a provocation by one of the players in the region, but pointing to Al Qaeda violates Occam's Razor. It seems to be the most difficult connection to make.

Any group COULD have Night Vision Goggles, but at $10,000 per, I doubt that this new group nobody knows or likes is a strong candidate.

The question is who's Really running them?

Lebanese Intelligence can get all the Night Vision Goggles they want... If the CIA wants them to. Perhaps all this is part of a plan from the "Empirists" to start a regional war that could resolve the 'Crisis' in Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq, all at once?

One way to find out is by watching to see who benefits.

Who Benefits?

Coming to FilterBlogs Soon!

Look Out!

Update June 5, 2007

Believe it not, I came at this independently of Seymour Hersh, journalist for the New Yorker, here on Democracy Now. The empirist blog can't call him crazy enough times - he must be right.

For me it was the night vision goggles, and the way the un-named source in the Lebanese police accented them.




mh

Israel's Tactics In Lebanon Seem Confused - Unless They're Trying To Draw U.S. Into Regional War

FilterBlogs 8/2/06


What's being spun in the media with regards to Israeli tactics (or lack there of), paints them as red faced Zealots, kicking a country in the butt, in response to the killing and kidnapping of several of it's soldiers in a border skirmish on the Golan Heights. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is acting like an Al Qaeda suicide bomber, in Lebanon.

Smashing things around the house (Gaza) isn't stemming the rage, so like a rage-aholic, first it's the walls, then assault and murder.

This view appeals to everyone concerned; it reflects an adolescent reaction common in the region. Western media eat it up because it's an simple story, it sells - busy western voters want to care, they just haven't time for depth.

Form the western point of view, they're enemies, Iran and Syria may err in thinking their Olmert is stupid or insane, providing them a rationalization away from the thought that a regional war is at hand - and thus not preparing for it.

If one wanted to take Damascus, and thus start a regional war, a number of must-do's exist:

• Ensure the war doesn't leak out of the immediate area; Israel, Lebanon, Syria.
• The Syrian Army must be drawn to a fight and its mechanized capability destroyed, preferably in the Syrian desert.
• US forces (or NATO) must end up in control of Damascus when the fighting stops.

To accomplish this, imagine a 'hard cup' southwest of Damascus, accompanied by a small operation to secure the Turkish boarder to the north; an advance on the centre by a large creeping force, and a fast main force that slices along the Jordanian boarder, completing the encirclement of Damascus.

What caught my interest today was the fighting in Ba'labbak. With-in this plan the city represents the northern arch of that 'hard cup'.


UPDATE: August 9, 2006 Thinking the same thing at Anti-war.com, 7 days later, no connection.

Also, check my link from the article to the opinion of Edward Luttwak, senior adviser to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. He thinks the best way to stabilize Iraq is disengagement. With in this plan US forces would withdraw to US bases inside Iraq. Using air power and special operations commandos US commanders could create a 'Balance of Tensions' inside Iraq. This frees US forces to then 'stabilize' other regional players; like Syria and Iran.

(Republished with grammar, style and SEO changes May 23 2007)

Link to original post in FilterBlogs/War Blogs.



mh

Climate Change in Evidence. Violent Wind Storms, Tornado Warnings Near Toronto, Canada

That 'Thing' in the photograph that looks exactly like the meteorological symbol of a Hurricane?
That’s St Mary's Ontario, home of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame!
Visual reports of funnel cloud structures, associated with tornado's, were confirmed by Environment Canada at 7:23 PM EST.

--> 'That 'Thing': 1 cm southwest of Toronto.
Top Image: nasa
Large Image: The Weather Network

Tornado's are common in Southwestern Ontario. This event appears to be larger than usual.

WOW!