Category Archives: Energy Agenda

Kerry/WH Rely on Lawyers to Manage Islamic State

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To date, the strategy in Iraq and Syria, defeating Islamic State has been in the lap of Susan Rice working exclusively with Centcom. Meanwhile, John Kerry participated in a Senate hearing over war in Iraq and the core of the dispute is the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). Presently, the United States is operating on the original AUMF which includes al Qaeda and all associated terror networks.

Yet, there are additional disputes over the temporary authorization of the White House which does not require Congress. This temporary authorization limits the number of ground troops and John Kerry is demanding open options for additional forces when fighters from foreign countries are not reliable for defensive measures, more robust rules of engagement or rescue of personnel.

Presently, managing Daesh (Islamic State) is just that, managing, not even containing much less defeating and any strategy has not been forthcoming. In fact it can be said that no strategy was one of the conditions of the employment demise of Secretary Chuck Hagel at Defense as he demanded an operational strategy for Bashir al Assad and Syria from the White House. None has been revealed except to vet, hire and train opposition forces in various locations outside of Syria.

In the hearing/briefing, John Kerry delivered his reasons for having all options for Iraq and Syria including additional uniformed troops that do get proactively involved in hostilities without planning, rules or timelines. The exchange between Senator Menendez and Kerry has been heated for a long while. As days click by, still no resolutions are on the horizon.

Going back to September, the heated exchanges began between Senator(s) Menendez and Kerry.

Instead of asking Congress for new authority to go after terrorists in Syria and Iraq, the Obama administration is turning to “good lawyers within the White House, within the State Department,” Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday.

How is it that the Obama administration thinks it can rely on a 2001 authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) to go into Syria and Iraq 13 years later, Sen. Robert Mendendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, asked Kerry at a hearing on Wednesday.

Kerry responded that “good lawyers” at the White House and State Department have concluded that the 2001 AUMF is sufficient because it “includes…al-Qaeda and associated forces.”

For the most recent hearing, the heated exchanges continued.

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State John Kerry clashed Tuesday with senators over using US ground combat forces in the fight against the Islamic State.

In several tense exchanges, mostly with Republican members, Kerry urged the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to strip from a draft authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) language limiting the deployment of American ground forces.

A force authorization measure drafted by panel Chairman Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., “does not authorize the use of the United States Armed Forces for the purpose of ground combat operations except as necessary.”

The measure would allow the use of American ground troops to rescue other US forces or citizens, as well as to conduct missions like intelligence collection, enabling “kinetic strikes” and providing “other forms of advice and assistance to forces fighting [Islamic State] in Iraq or Syria.”

CongressWatch obtained a copy of the draft AUMF on Tuesday. The panel is slated to mark it up on Thursday. Menendez urged his panel members to offer amendments at that time, should they have ideas not included or want to change what he has crafted.

Kerry told the senators the Obama administration has no intention of using American ground forces for combat operations in Iraq or Syria. That fighting, he says, will be done by “local forces.”

But he also pleaded several times with members to opt against crafting a force-authorization measure that would tie the president’s hands by taking ground troops off the table.

The draft AUMF would last three years, a timetable Kerry said the White House supports.

It also includes no language limiting the countries inside which President Barack Obama or future commanders in chief could launch operations targeting the violent Sunni group. Kerry gave the White House’s endorsement for that, as well.

Kerry and Menendez butted heads over the scope of any measure Congress might approve, almost certainly next year under two GOP-controlled chambers.

At one point, the chairman sharply told Kerry — who once chaired the panel — “if the White House wants an open-ended” AUMF, “they should just say it.” Menendez spoke passionately about his measure being tailored to keep America from getting involved in other “protracted” ground operations in the Middle East.

Kerry several times referred to the draft as a “good starting point,” saying White House officials intend to work with Congress in the coming weeks on the final shape of a force-authorization measure.

He traded barbs with GOP members who questioned why Obama, despite saying on Nov. 5 he wants an AUMF, has yet to write one and send it to the Hill.

And Menendez criticized the administration, saying despite having three conversations with the White House counsel, the panel has gotten little feedback. The proposed draft of the AUMF is found here.

Feinstein’s Acrimony for the CIA Revealed

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Today, December 9, Senator Dianne Feinstein, the Majority leader for the SSCI, stood on the Senate floor for almost an hour and delivered a chilling verbal summary of the $40 million dollar investigation into the CIA Torture Report. She spoke in a measured and assertive tone naming names all the way through. My bet is she delivered this performance for the sake of setting the table to close Guantanamo immediately.

Further, Feinstein put every American in peril wherever they may travel internationally as well as all foreign service officers and our very own troops. She has aided and abetted the enemy as her 500 page summary report has been publically published for all enemies to read. What is worse, several countries friendly to America are formally exposed and will likely never cooperate again with U.S. intelligence. We cannot know the future damage but the threat assessments have risen dramatically as all foreign U.S. military bases are presently on higher alert and some embassies are in fact closed for an undetermined period of time.

Feinstein de-facto denied all evidence that the CIA program saved lives, stopped terror plots and led us to other terrorists in the global network, then perhaps the fact that over the weekend, Pakistani forces killed the man who was believed to be al-Qaeda’s top operational commander, Adnan el Shukrijumah — a terrorist who was identified thanks to the CIA’s interrogation of two senior al-Qaeda operatives.

The enhanced interrogation program was terminated several years ago and since several laws were passed to ensure they were never applied again. For Feinstein to say her only motivation was to ensure this never happened again, is misguided at best.

What is worse, the DOJ has said they will not prosecute any participants of the program but the United Nations is saying otherwise such that many contractors and CIA operatives could be bought up on charges on international law.

This matter is by far not over yet, we have people in media that are in fact outing names of countries that cooperated and they are posting names of CIA operatives that had a hand in the program. Feinstein crossed the Rubicon and the wake of destruction, damage injury or life is still yet to be realized.

As a last note, this CIA Torture Report is highly partisan as no former or still active CIA operative was interviewed during this process nor was the top lawyer at CIA, John Rizzo. Rizzo formally asked to be interviewed and was denied. Rizzo then formally asked for a copy of the report and was denied.

If you don’t think that George Soros did not have a hand in the Feinstein investigation, you need to think again.

Jose Rodriguez who ran the rendition/interrogation program had his own response to Feinstein.

WASHINGTON – The Central Intelligence Agency officer who headed the agency’s Rendition, Detention and Interrogation program calls a damning Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA interrogation activities a “totally egregious falsehood.”

Jose Rodriguez, former director of the CIA’s National Clandestine Service, told WTOP in an exclusive interview, “For those of us who were there, who read the reporting coming out of our black sites and who acted upon that intelligence, the conclusions by the SSCI report that the program brought no value, and the CIA mislead the Congress is astounding.”

The committee, in a scathing, 600-page summary of a five-year, $40 million investigation into the now defunct Rendition, Detention and Interrogation program, says the agency of misled Congress about a program that essentially brought no value to U.S. efforts to track down the al-Qaida operatives responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

The program included waterboarding, sleep deprivation and other techniques that have been classified as torture.

The Senate Committee report cited several key findings:

  • The CIA’s “enhanced interrogation techniques” were not effective.
  • The CIA provided extensive inaccurate information about the operation of the program and its effectiveness to policymakers and the public.
  • The CIA’s management of the program was inadequate and deeply flawed.
  • The CIA program was far more brutal than the CIA represented to policymakers and the American public.

But Rodriguez says the value of the program was clear and convincing. He says the program produced connective intelligence that led U.S. authorities to the key players in al-Qaida’s hierarchy.

He laid out a pattern.

“Abu Zubayda was waterboarded for the first 20 days of August 2002. Two weeks later, we captured the first important high value target, Ramzi bin al-Shibh,” said Rodriguez.

Bin al-Shibh, was a key collaborator within al-Qaida’s Hamburg, Germany, cell comprised of Mohamed Atta, Ziad Jarrah and Marwan al-Shehhi. They formed the cell that became the essential agents of the Sept. 11 attacks.

In the following days, weeks and months, CIA personnel and contract employees executed the enhanced interrogation program designed by the agency’s Counterterrorism Center to extract valuable information. They captured Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the perpetrator of the U.S.S. Cole attack. And using the intelligence they gathered, they systematically pieced together details that led them to the mastermind of the attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in March of 2003.

Gary Berntsen, the CIA officer who led a team of military and intelligence assets into Tora Bora, Afghanistan in 2001 looking for Osama bin Laden, said the tactics paid off.

“The information they turned over, gave us entire the second tier of al-Qaida, when they were attempting to launch attacks on the U.S.”

A key contention in the Senate report is the CIA misled members of Congress. But Rodriguez says “the Senate, the House intelligence committees were briefed more than 40 times during the life of the program.”

But in a long briefing before the Senate Tuesday, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Dianne Feinstein said the CIA’s destruction of the video tapes of the interrogation session was an attempt to keep Congress in the dark.

Rodriguez said the tapes were recorded to help intelligence operatives understand the people they were interrogating.

They were destroyed because, he said “our people in the field came back and said these tapes are vulnerability for us, because we don’t have a place to store them and our faces are all over the place in these tapes.”

“We acknowledge that the detention and interrogation program had shortcomings and that the Agency made mistakes. But the intelligence gained from the program was critical to understanding al-Qaida,” the CIA said in a statement, responding to the report.

“While we made mistakes, the record does not support the study’s inference that the agency systematically and intentionally misled each of these audiences on the effectiveness of the program. Moreover, the process undertaken by the committee when investigating the program provided an incomplete and selective picture of what occurred,” the statement reads.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in a statement alluding to the intelligence community angst over the report, “President Obama has made clear, some things were done that should not have been done — and which transgressed our values.”

But Clapper indicated, this is not a new issue.

“We recognized this 10 years ago and stopped the program as it was originally conducted; even more important, we have since enacted laws, implemented presidential orders and established internal policies to ensure that such things never happen again.”

 

Below is ODNI Director, James Clapper’s response and Barack Obama’s response.

DNI Message to the Intelligence Community Workforce on the Release of the SSCI Report

December 9, 2014

Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper sent the following message to the entire Intelligence Community workforce earlier this morning.

Today, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released its report on the detention and interrogation program.  In all of my experience in intelligence, I am hard-pressed to recall another report—and the issues surrounding it—as fraught with controversy and passion as this one.  Virtually no one who has any familiarity with the report and what it describes is “neutral.”  The rebuttal to the majority report issued by the minority on the Committee is but one example of strong alternative views.  Proponents of publication ardently believe that the report must be issued to cleanse a stain on the pages of our history, and to ensure that the practices it describes are never repeated.  Others, with equal conviction, believe that the report is unfair and biased; fails to account for the immediate impact of the attacks on 9/11—on American citizens and on those in government charged with protecting the country; and will result in greater jeopardy to American citizens, facilities and interests overseas.

The officers who participated in the program believed with certainty that they were engaged in a program devised by our government on behalf of the President that was necessary to protect the nation, that had appropriate legal authorization, and that was sanctioned by at least some in the Congress.  But, as President Obama has made clear, some things were done that should not have been done —and which transgressed our values.  We recognized this ten years ago and stopped the program as it was originally conducted; even more important, we have since enacted laws, implemented Presidential orders and established internal policies to ensure that such things never happen again.

I don’t believe that any other nation would go to the lengths the United States does to bare its soul, admit mistakes when they are made and learn from those mistakes.  Certainly, no one can imagine such an effort by any of the adversaries we face today.  In the months leading up to today’s publication, we went through an exhaustive, good-faith dialogue with the Committee to reach a mutual agreement on what could be said publicly about the program, consistent with the enduring need to protect national security.  We made unprecedented efforts to enable the release of as much of the Committee’s report as possible.

Now that the report is public, there is certain to be much discussion of its contents—and of the alternative views of the program and the period during which it operated.  That discussion will go on, but the critical imperative for all of us who are privileged to work as members of the Intelligence Community is to remain sharply focused on our missions and the work before us.  We must sustain our vigilance to deal with the myriad threats and challenges that face the nation, including any that may arise in the coming days as a possible reaction to the report.  The women and men of the CIA specifically, and of the Intelligence Community generally, have helped to keep this nation safe for nearly 70 years.  That remains our ultimate mission; it reflects the trust that Americans have always placed in us.  I have every confidence that we will continue to meet those expectations and honor that sacred trust, just as we have always done.

James Clapper

Statement by President Obama — Report of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

December 9, 2014

Throughout our history, the United States of America has done more than any other nation to stand up for freedom, democracy, and the inherent dignity and human rights of people around the world.  As Americans, we owe a profound debt of gratitude to our fellow citizens who serve to keep us safe, among them the dedicated men and women of our intelligence community, including the Central Intelligence Agency.  Since the horrific attacks of 9/11, these public servants have worked tirelessly to devastate core al Qaeda, deliver justice to Osama bin Laden, disrupt terrorist operations and thwart terrorist attacks.  Solemn rows of stars on the Memorial Wall at the CIA honor those who have given their lives to protect ours.  Our intelligence professionals are patriots, and we are safer because of their heroic service and sacrifices.

In the years after 9/11, with legitimate fears of further attacks and with the responsibility to prevent more catastrophic loss of life, the previous administration faced agonizing choices about how to pursue al Qaeda and prevent additional terrorist attacks against our country.  As I have said before, our nation did many things right in those difficult years.  At the same time, some of the actions that were taken were contrary to our values.  That is why I unequivocally banned torture when I took office, because one of our most effective tools in fighting terrorism and keeping Americans safe is staying true to our ideals at home and abroad.

Today’s report by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence details one element of our nation’s response to 9/11—the CIA’s detention and interrogation program, which I formally ended on one of my first days in office.  The report documents a troubling program involving enhanced interrogation techniques on terrorism suspects in secret facilities outside the United States, and it reinforces my long-held view that these harsh methods were not only inconsistent with our values as nation, they did not serve our broader counterterrorism efforts or our national security interests.  Moreover, these techniques did significant damage to America’s standing in the world and made it harder to pursue our interests with allies and partners.  That is why I will continue to use my authority as President to make sure we never resort to those methods again.

As Commander in Chief, I have no greater responsibility than the safety and security of the American people.  We will therefore continue to be relentless in our fight against al Qaeda, its affiliates and other violent extremists.  We will rely on all elements of our national power, including the power and example of our founding ideals.  That is why I have consistently supported the declassification of today’s report.  No nation is perfect.  But one of the strengths that makes America exceptional is our willingness to openly confront our past, face our imperfections, make changes and do better.  Rather than another reason to refight old arguments, I hope that today’s report can help us leave these techniques where they belong—in the past.  Today is also a reminder that upholding the values we profess doesn’t make us weaker, it makes us stronger and that the United States of America will remain the greatest force for freedom and human dignity that the world has ever known.

UN Begs Countries to Take Syrian Refugees

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Nothing says failure like the United Nations admitting defeat. The number of failed states in the last six years is staggering. Libya, Somalia, Iraq, Syria…so presently the United Nations is calling countries to take in Syrian refugees up to 180,000.

If you don’t think that failed foreign policy impacts our homeland, think again. Amnesty International has a large hand in this demand.  The United States has already taken more than the annual quota.

Canada should admit up to 10,000 Syrian refugees says Amnesty International Canada and the Syrian Canadian Council.  Canada promised to resettle 1,300, most of whom were to be privately sponsored.  So far only 457 have arrived.

Around 3.8 million people who have fled the civil war in Syria are being hosted in five main countries in the region and only 1.7 per cent have been offered sanctuary, according Amnesty’s report. Some of the world’s wealthiest countries have failed to offer a single place.

Canada’s response called ‘miserly’

In a news conference the head of Amnesty International Canada, Alex Neve asked whether things would be different if the Syrian refugees weren’t Muslims and asked how else to explain the Canadian government’s “miserly” response.

UN asks countries to take in 180,000 Syrian refugees

Figure would represent just 5% of the projected refugee population by end of 2015

 That figure would represent five percent of the projected refugee population by the end of 2015, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The issue will be discussed at a conference in Geneva on Tuesday.

After three years of fighting in Syria, more than 3.2 million refugees are registered in neighboring countries and with little sign of the conflict coming to an end, the UNHCR believes the number could rise to nearly 3.6 million by the end of 2015.

The world must act to save a generation of traumatised, isolated and suffering Syrian children from catastrophe. If we do not move quickly, this generation of innocents will become lasting casualties of an appalling war.

This report highlights the painful challenges these children face every day. It details the horrors that Syrian children have suffered—loved ones dying around them, their schools closed, their friends lost.

Research conducted over four months in Lebanon and Jordan found that Syrian refugee children face a startling degree of isolation and insecurity. If they aren’t working as breadwinners—often doing menial labour on farms or in shops—they are confined to their homes.

Perhaps the statistic we should pay the most attention to is: 29 per cent of children interviewed said that they leave their home once a week or less. Home is often a crammed apartment, a makeshift shelter or a tent.

It should be no surprise that the needs of these children are vast. Too many have been wounded physically, psychologically or both. Some children have been drawn into the war—their innocence ruthlessly exploited.

A grave consequence of the conflict is that a generation is growing up without a formal education. More than half of all school-aged Syrian children in Jordan and Lebanon are not in school. In Lebanon, it is estimated that some 200,000 school-aged Syrian refugee children could remain out of school at the end of the year.

Another disturbing symptom of the crisis is the vast number of babies born in exile who do not have birth certificates. A recent UNHCR survey on birth registration in Lebanon revealed that 77 per cent of 781 refugee infants sampled did not have an official birth certificate. Between January and mid-October 2013, only 68 certificates were issued to babies born in Za’atari camp, Jordan.

Over 1.1 million Syrian children are refugees.

Read more here as a hired spokesperson for this mission is none other than Angelina Jolie. But what else is behind this quest where the United Nations is admitting defeat with regard to Syria? Money. There is no more money for food, medicine or housing.

The idea to remove Assad, which was the original failed objective of Obama and Hillary has been lost in discussions, then Daesh and al Nusra showed up. Hagel lost his job after demanding that the White House deliver a strategy with regard to Syria/Iraq and Islamic State. There is none. So, the issues with Syria manifest.

United Nations’ Food Program Halts Aid to Syrian Refugees

World Food Programme Cites Lack of Funding

By Dana Ballout

The United Nations World Food Programme on Monday said it would halt its aid to 1.7 million Syrian refugees on the cusp of winter due to lack of funding.

In a statement on their website, the WFP said the consequences of the decision will be “devastating” for the refugees and their host countries.

“A suspension of WFP food assistance will endanger the health and safety of these refugees and will potentially cause further tensions, instability and insecurity in the neighboring host countries,” WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin said in the statement.

The decision will impact refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt, and comes at a time when temperatures have begun to drop in the region, raising concerns around how refugees will be able to endure the potentially harsh winter.

Many Syrian refugees, especially in Lebanon, where the majority of refugees reside, live in makeshift tents and camps and suffer from a lack of fuel, clean water, proper sanitation and warm clothing.

The U.N. agency warned in September it was running out of funds and that cutbacks were inevitable if additional support wasn’t received.

The inability to secure the $64 million needed for the program to continue also ends the WFP’s electronic voucher program. The e-vouchers allowed refugee families access to a prepaid credit card that could be used in participating local stores. The program had contributed $800 million to the economies of the host countries, the statement said.

If sufficient financial support is secured, the program will resume immediately, the statement said.

As the Syrian crisis nears the end of its fourth year, the WFP isn’t the only U.N. agency struggling to meet its funding appeals, said Lama Fakih, Syria and Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Of the $3.7 billion request made in June 2014 by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Syria’s neighboring countries and other humanitarian agencies, only 51% of the funds have been received thus far.

“As the number of Syrian refugees increases, 3.2 million now, the needs increase, and despite international attention diverted to other crises, Syrians are still very much in need,” said Lama Fakih, Syria and Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.

There are several reasons contributing to the lack of sufficient aid to Syrian refugees, most notably the various humanitarian emergencies happening simultaneously around the world that have diverted the world’s attention and wallets away from Syria.

According to Joelle Eid, the WFP’s communication officer stationed in Amman, Jordan, the need for humanitarian aid has skyrocketed this year. The WFP is currently dealing with five high priority emergencies around the world, including the Ebola crisis, Eid said.

“If we don’t urgently get this assistance, get the $64 million for December alone, people will simply go hungry,” she added.

 

Turkey, the Gray Country

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Nothing says politics like the Obama administration not only tolerating terrorists but dancing with them. The same goes for rogue nations like Qatar and Pakistan. We have proven failed countries like Libya, Somalia, Iran and Mexico. But then far beyond our own State Department, it goes to the White House and then to the Democrats likely nominee for president, Hillary Clinton, after all it was she just a few days ago that told us we must empathize with our enemies. This is something that John Kerry is doing presently, they refer to it as smart power. This is common on this administration when it comes to the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

But it is time to take a longer look at Erdogan and Turkey.

Erdogan is playing a double game. (Reuters) – Turkey has told three unnamed banks to “cooperate” in its fight against financing terrorism and in identifying dirty money, Turkey’s state news agency said on Sunday.

“There are three banks that do not cooperate with the Financial Crime Investigation Board (MASAK) efficiently in the detection of dirty money and in the fight against terrorism. We have warned them,” Finance Minister Ahmet Simsek was quoted as telling the Anadolu news agency, adding that he was unable to name the banks because of privacy concerns.

Sounds great huh? Hold on….

TURKEY’S HAND IN THE RISE OF THE ISLAMIC STATE CROSSES TO TERRORISM

Southeastern Turkey has now become a jurisdiction for terrorism finance, weapons smuggling, illegal oil sales, and the flow of fighters to Syria. This pipeline serves the interest of several terrorist organizations, including Jabhat al-Nusra (JN) and the Islamic State (IS).

 

It is unclear whether Ankara is explicitly assisting these groups, or whether JN and IS are merely exploiting Turkey’s lax border policies. Either way, it is clear that Turkey seeks to bring down the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria with the aid of irregular fighters.

 

Islamic State ISIS

 

Ankara opened its border to Syrian rebel forces, namely the Free Syrian Army, in the early stages of the uprising in 2011. But when Assad did not fall, the makeup of the Syrian opposition began to change. Radical groups such as the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra and the Salafist Ahrar al-Sham emerged in 2012. Within a year, jihadist groups dominated the Syrian opposition. Border towns in southeastern Turkey were effectively a rear guard for some of the rebel units, while foreign fighters streamed into Syria from Turkey. All of this served as a crucible for the rise of the Islamic State.

 

The meteoric ascendance of IS has led to a full-blown crisis in Iraq and Syria. After conquering large swaths of territory in both states, IS declared a caliphate. The group’s brutality, highlighted by the beheadings of journalists, has prompted the United States and a broad coalition of Arab States to intervene with military force.

“We have warned them and now we expect them to build much more effective cooperation with us. They considered our earlier warnings, and I am sure they will cooperate more now,” he added.

Last year Turkey’s parliament approved a long-awaited anti-terrorism financing law, which allows alleged “terrorist” accounts to be frozen without a court order and provides for a variety of penalties including imprisonment for those found to be abetting terrorism.

Before Oct. 15 Turkey was on a “grey list” of countries drawn up by the 36-member Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a money-laundering watchdog, for failing to implement the legislation required by its members, despite being pressed to do so for years.

The IS crisis has put Turkey and the U.S. on a collision course. Turkey refuses to allow the coalition to launch military strikes from its soil. Its military also merely looked on while IS besieged the Kurdish town of Kobani, just across its border. Turkey negotiated directly with IS in the summer of 2013 to release 49 Turks held by the terrorist group. In return, Ankara secured the release of 150 IS fighters, many of whom returned to the battlefield. Meanwhile, the border continues to serve as a transit point for the illegal sale of oil, the transfer of weapons, and the flow of foreign fighters. Inside Turkey, IS has also established cells for recruiting militants and other logistical operations. All of this has raised questions about Turkey’s value as an American ally, and its place in the NATO alliance.

Turkey’s Syria policy also has negative repercussions domestically. The presence of extremists threatens Turkey’s internal security, as well as its economic stability, given Ankara’s dependence on foreign investment and tourism. Additionally, the turmoil in Syria has greatly complicated Turkey’s relationships with the Kurds and exacerbated the government’s battles with domestic opponents.

 

video-footage-released-by-local-news-channels-show-isis-militants-can-easily-cross-over-turkey

 

Washington now needs to work with Ankara to address the extremism problem on its southeastern front. This will require high-level diplomatic engagement that must address head-on the security challenges that Turkey has helped spawn. However, Washington must also address Turkey’s valid concerns, including long-term strategies for ending the Assad regime and how to increase support for the moderate opposition in Syria. The United States also has an opportunity to work with its NATO allies to help Ankara erect an integrated border protection system along the Syrian border to contain the current security and illicit finance threats. If Ankara is unwilling to tackle these challenges, Washington may need to consider other measures, including sanctions or curbing the security cooperation that has long been a cornerstone of this important bilateral relationship.

Tug of War Over Qaddafi’s Wealth

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Did it really take all this time to discover the location of the wealth of Libya, hidden by Qaddafi? Well no, it has taken this long to understand who is part of the wrangling for control.

Muammar Gaddafi was able to build his massive personal wealth thanks to a violent and domineering control over Libya’s natural resources. Specifically their rich supply of oil. Libya has the largest supply of oil in Africa and the tenth largest in the world. Gaddafi used Libya’s oil to print money for 40 years! During that time he spread his money around the globe through family members, Swiss bank accounts, real estate and investments. Estimated at $200 billion, he had enough to give $30,000 to each of Libya’s 6.6 million citizens.

At the beginning of the Lybian conflict, authorities discovered and seized roughly $67 billion of Gaddafi’s wealth hidden in bank accounts around the globe. England, France, Italy and Germany seized another $30 billion and the Obama administration found a staggering $37 billion in the United States. Investigators suspect that Gaddafi hid an additional $30 billion around the world.

Muammar Gaddafi had made over $200 billion from Libya's rich oil supply

As more investigations take place, it looks like Gaddafi had money stashed or invested in almost every major country in the world including the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In addition to bank accounts, Muammar owned a stake in the Italian soccer club Juventus and the car company Fiat. He also was a minority of London’s Financial Times. Gaddafi had luxury homes around the world including the huge estate pictured below. Surprisingly this house is located in the United States. In Englewood, New Jersey of all places! His house includes a huge swimming pool, tennis court and even a shooting range…

Muammar Gaddafi had a home in Englewood, New Jersey, USA

Investigators from U. N. Security are still waiting on many countries to resolve what Gaddafi might have within their borders. Several neighboring African nations refused to freeze Gaddafi’s accounts because of their fear and loyalty to the ruthless leader. Now that he’s dead, we should see even more money come to light. On top of all this, it’s believed that Gaddafi had billions of dollars worth of gold hidden in Libya, which has yet to be discovered.

Did Mummar Gaddafi’s $200 billion make him the richest person of all time? To find out how he stacks up, click this article:

The 25 Richest People Who Ever Lived – Inflation Adjusted

Gaddafi had a secret fortune of over $200 billion hidden around the world

So, where is the wealth of the failed and rogue leader and country? Ah, SA. But it will likely be embargoed for a long while after all the forensic accounting and criminal activity is matched to a comprehensive investigation. Oh yes, one more thing, our own U.S. Treasury and Secretary of State John Kerry is actively engaged in the process. It is a sure bet many other global leaders and the United Nations will complicate resolutions as their names are also likely attached.

Johannesburg – The South African government and President Jacob Zuma have been caught in the middle of an international wrangle over as much as R2 trillion in US dollars as well as hundreds of tons of gold and at least six million carats of diamonds in assets belonging to the people of Libya.

What could be the world’s largest cash pile is stored in palettes at seven heavily guarded warehouses and bunkers in secret locations between Joburg and Pretoria.

The Libyan billions have led to a Hawks investigation into possible violation of exchange controls as well as international interests from the UN and the US.

It has also led to heightened interest in the local and international intelligence community as well as the criminal underworld.

Those interested in the Libyan loot include several high-ranking ANC politicians, several business leaders, a former high court judge and a number of private companies.

The R2-trillion held in warehouses is separate from several other billions, believed to be in excess of R260 billion, held legally in four banks in South Africa.

Other legal assets include hotels in Joburg and Cape Town.

The Sunday Independent has seen official South African government documents which confirm that at least $179bn in US dollars is kept, illegally, in storage facilities across Gauteng.

Soon after Muammar Gaddafi’s death in October 2011, the new Libyan government embarked on a large-scale mission to recover legal assets in South Africa, the rest of Africa, the US and Europe.

In South Africa, the focus of the Libyans has been on assets brought into the country legally as well as illegally.

Last year, the Libyan government put in place a separate process to identify and repatriate the illegal assets in South Africa.

Investigations by The Sunday Independent on the illegal assets have led to allegations that:

* The US dollar loot was ferried to South Africa in at least 62 flights between Tripoli and South Africa. The crew of the planes were mainly ex-special forces from the apartheid era. The crew are understood to have deposed affidavits clarifying their role in an effort to avoid criminal charges.

* The money, gold and diamonds were moved to South Africa. Most of it was kept here and some was moved to neighbouring southern African countries. Most of the assets were taken out of Libya after Zuma got involved in an AU process to persuade then Libyan President Gaddafi to step down after an Arab-spring-like uprising to force him out of office.

Gaddafi was killed as he tried to flee Tripoli.

The Libyan government has formed a special board, the National Board for the Following Up and Recovery of Libyan Looted and Disguised Funds, to recover the assets. Now two companies have presented themselves to the South African government, claiming they were mandated by the national board to recover the funds.

The two companies are the Texas-based Washington African Consulting Group (WACG), led by its chief executive Erik Goalied, and Maltese-based Sam Serj, led by its chief executive, Tahah Buishi. Both companies claim to be the only legitimate representatives of the Libyan government.

Goalied has dismissed Sam Serj as impostors who want to stage the “biggest heist in the world”.

He said they were using fake documents and had used a number of South Africans, with the lure of lucrative commissions, to get the South African government to comply. Goalied has formalised his allegations about Sam Serj in an affidavit that he has submitted to the National Prosecuting Authority, who have passed it on to the Hawks.

He told The Sunday Independent that on September 26 he met with the Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani in New York, where both parties reconfirmed that the WACG should work with the South African government. “The assets are important but the bigger goal is to resolve this smoothly so that relations between South Africa and Libya can improve,” he said.

Goalied said the Libyans did not necessarily want the loot to be sent back to Tripoli. They wanted full and legal control of the assets which, he added, could be used for investments and other job-creation projects that would benefit both countries.

Last month, Goalied wrote to Zuma asking for co-operation and assistance in resolving the assets saga. The Presidency wrote to him this week, acknowledging his letter.

The Presidency has referred The Sunday Independent’s queries to the Treasury. The Treasury, in turn, referred The Sunday Independent to a statement issued last June in which the government called on those with knowledge of Libyan assets in South Africa to come forward. Hawks spokesman Paul Ramaloko declined to confirm the probe.

The Sunday Independent has also established that Goalied has also written to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Foreign Secretary John Kerry asking for assistance. The UN adopted Resolution 438 which forces countries that have Libyan assets to return them.

The second company – Sam Serj – has already been in South Africa to discuss the return of the assets.

Sam Serj chief executive Buishi claimed his company was the only legitimate entity with a mandate to find and recover assets that belong to the people of Libya.

Buishi said his company has been contracted by the Libyan government to trace and recover assets looted by Gaddafi and those close to him.

He said the assets had been traced to South Africa, Libya’s neighbour, Tunisia, and several countries in Europe.

“We have been contracted by the Libyan government and are working with the South African government to recover the looted assets.

“We had a good meeting during our last visit with the then-minister of finance, Pravin Gordhan.

“We are working with the South African government. Hopefully, there will be a delegation to South Africa to repatriate the assets or come to some sort of arrangement.

“We want to work with the South African government to not only recover the assets but to find ways of re-investing them in South Africa.

“We want the assets to be identified as belonging to the Libyan people.

“Politically, we are trying to help the new Libya integrate with the rest of the African continent. Libya is a very big and rich country and together with South Africa can play a strategic role in Africa,” Buishi said.

Several sources told The Sunday Independent that the Libyans have complained to the UN and have placed South Africa and Zuma on terms, threatening to lay charges of theft with the International Criminal Court if the assets were not returned promptly.

The Sunday Independent understands that the money was brought in by a company, which has hired former SADF special forces and is keeping the warehouses where the money, gold and diamonds are being kept under 24-hour surveillance.

Other cash assets, running into hundreds of millions of rand, are being kept in accounts in South Africa’s major banks.

Several sources have confirmed that the ex-apartheid era special forces pilots and soldiers have deposed affidavits that are designed to protect them from, among others, money-laundering charges.