October Surprise Evidence Surfaces

[Donnachaidh]

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/robert-parry/37310/october-surprise-evidence-surfaces

In November 1991, as Newsweek and The New Republic were ridiculing the idea that Ronald Reagan's campaign chief William Casey might have made a secret trip to meet Iranians in Madrid in 1980, a senior State Department official was informing George H.W. Bush's White House that Casey indeed had gone to Spain on a mysterious visit.

State Department legal adviser Edwin D. Williamson told associate White House counsel Chester Paul Beach Jr. that among the State Department "material potentially relevant to the October Surprise allegations a cable from the Madrid embassy indicating that Bill Casey was in town, for purposes unknown," Beach noted in a "memorandum for record" dated Nov. 4, 1991.

In other words, as Newsweek and The New Republic were making the October Surprise story into a big joke in mid-November 1991, Bush's White House had information that contradicted the smug self-certainty of the two magazines. Not surprisingly, the White House made no effort to clarify the record.

I found Beach's memorandum among about 4,800 pages of documents identified by the George H.W. Bush presidential library as related to the so-called October Surprise controversy, the longstanding mystery of whether the Reagan-Bush campaign in 1980 contacted Iranians behind President Jimmy Carter's back, thus undermining his efforts to gain freedom for 52 American hostages.

More at the link --

[snot]

1. Good catch! K&R'd.

[L. Coyote]

51. Here is the primary link:

http://consortiumnews.com/2011/07/14/october-surprise-evidence-surfaces/

[northoftheborder]

2. Good research. Needs to be spread to public.

[Enthusiast]

15. It won't be spread to the public.

That would cause the whole GOP house of cards to tumble. Without the mythology of Saint Reagan they are essentially nothing. It is all built on mass illusion.

[liberalmike27]

29. I can't tell you the number of times

I've posted about the "October Surprise" on message boards, and been called a conspiracy theorist. This isn't really news, to those who read just a bit. Nice to hear it nailed down a bit.

[izquierdista]

31. Bet you believe that other conspiracy too

The one with Smedley Butler and some nefarious banker who would later trade with the Nazis.

If Prescott had been jailed for treason like he should have been, his son would never have risen high enough to commit treason, and then his son would never have made it past alcoholic and minor drug offender.

[Enthusiast]

32. Yeah. They are not conspiracy "theories" when they are true.

They are conspiracies. They are coming so frequently now we can't keep up.

[valerief]

57. I think if anything is labeled a conspiracy theory, it's likely to be truth. nt

[slipslidingaway]

76. The past does matter. n/t

[saras]

34. True theories are still theories, and most politics IS conspiracy...

Until we have all the data, any speculation as to the existence and activities of the NSA is "conspiracy theory".

The entire "conspiracy theory" meme is IRREDEEMABLY STUPID. A RIGHT-WING SMEAR TERM.

[indurancevile]

46. so true.

[Kaleko]

50. Exactly.

To be able to see through the web of conspiratorial deceit put out by the Propaganda Ministry (MSM) to keep the public docile is actually a sign of a higher development. Sheep are turning into lions when they smack down the idiotic notion that conspiracies at the highest level can't possibly happen.

[nxylas]

67. So, does that mean Barack Obama really was born in Kenya?

Not all conspiracy theories are equally valid. Some are based on actual evidence, while others are based on nothing but paranoid fantasy.

[saras]

78. Yep. Just like other theories. Check out the bad ones in the social sciences, for example.

The meme "conspiracy theory" asserts a commonality between the wacko fantasy stuff and documented fact like Iran/Contra, because of the existence in both descriptions of "conspiracy".

Emphasizing this similarity is usually deliberate and obfuscatory in intent.

If we treat political conspiracy theories in the same way we treat other hypotheses about human nature, we would not "believe" but be of the considered opinion that many more of them are likely to be true than are currently admitted to be true by the corporate media.

Paradoxically, most memoirs by politicians document this thoroughly and in detail, describing them as the ordinary operation of deals, betrayals, compromises, and strategic alliances in politics and business.

[JDPriestly]

63. I don't summarily dismiss "conspiracy theories," unless there are really

obvious flaws in the reasoning or evidence.

Sift through boxes and boxes of documents about some event in the past and you will see how easily details are overlooked by researchers.

Conspiracies do happen.

And theories are just possible explanations for observable phenomena that have neither been absolutely proven nor absolutely disproven.

[WillyT]

3. HUGE K & R !!! - Hey, Donnachaidh...

Don't know if you saw this, but you might want it for your files.

Link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1493388

:hi:

:kick: & Rec!!!

[Donnachaidh]

5. wow -- thanks! n/t

[WillyT]

6. Anytime...

:bounce:

:hi:

[duhneece]

30. Great stuff...thanks nt

[Octafish]

4. Lee Hamilton (D-IN) was instrumental in deep-sixing the Congressional investigation.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/xfile1.html

Of course, the Hon. Mr. Hamilton, with the help of sundry individuals, also was instrumental in burying the September 11 story, 20 years later.

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2008/04/08/hamilton

A fine thing, treason -- it either is or isn't, depending on one's point of view.

[gratuitous]

8. None dare call it treason

For if it prosper, it cannot be treason.

[Gabi Hayes]

13. congressman Dymally was threatened with political woodshedding if he kept making a stink:

http://consortiumnews.com/2010/080610.html

Parry literally wrote the book on this a LONG time ago




http://www.amazon.com/Trick-Treason-October-Surprise-Mystery/dp/187982308X

my sister gave it to me when it came out

they did a Frontline special based on his work, but chickened out during the production and pulled their major punches. between this and Iran contra, one of the few honorable journalists in a long time had his career destroyed

[JHB]

24. Yep. If you want to NOT get to the bottom of something involving Republicans...

...put Lee Hamilton in charge.

[TomClash]

40. Shhhh . . .

You're not supposed to discuss such topics in the US. Certain DU members will question your sanity!

[slipslidingaway]

73. Lee Hamilton endorsed Obama and was a member of the Iraq Study Group ...

much easier to be oblivious and happy!

;)

[bananas]

7. k&r nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. I haven't logged onto Smirkingchimp for years!!! Thanks for the article.

[UTUSN]

10. K&R for record #42 n/t

[leveymg]

11. Here's the memo - .pdf - wonder who lied publicly that Casey was not in Madrid

and who coordinated the disinformation program with "liberal" Newsweek and The New Republic(an)?

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007-0491-F,Folder1,Part5-b%28dragged%29.pdf

[freshwest]

12. And remember who conveniently drowned, as well. Ruled by thugs.

[WinkyDink]

25. And who conveniently developed a "brain tumor":

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=8696

Casey was due to appear before the HSCI on 16th December. The day before, CIA physician, Dr. Arvel Tharp went to visit Casey in his office. According to Tharp, while he was being examined, Casey suffered a seizure. He was taken to Georgetown University Hospital and was not able to appear before the HSCI. Tharp told Casey he had a brain tumor and that he would have to endure an operation. Casey was not keen and asked if he could have radio therapy instead. However, Tharp was insistent that he needed surgery.

Casey entered the operating room on 18th December. The tumor was removed but during the operation, brain cells were damaged and Casey lost his ability to speak. As his biographer, Joseph E. Persico, points out (The Lives and Secrets of William J. Casey): "one school of rumors ran, the CIA or the NSC or the White House had arranged to have a piece of the brain removed from the man who knew the secrets".

[freshwest]

48. Yup, bad vibes there. Glad I never wanted to work with people like that. Intuition.

[Cetacea]

61. RIP Danny Casolaro

Good morning Mr Casey. Cream and sugar?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Casolaro

[SpiralHawk]

14. Republicon Family Cesspool Values - against America

Why do Republicons resort to treason?

Why do Republicons work to undermine America and Americans?

[The Big Vetolski]

47. Money. nt

[ThomWV]

16. It begs the question - did anyone ever testify under oath that Casey did not go to Spain?

[EFerrari]

17. Ronald Reagan was a criminal and so is Poppy. n/t

[Hotler]

18. k&r n/t

[xchrom]

19. recommend

[mdmc]

20. I forgot the source

I read a lot about Jimmy Carter. Once I remember either his wife or himself admitting that the Carter Administration was in an arms for hostages style negotiation with Iran. Basically, the Bush crew (under Ray-gun) offered a better deal to the Iranians and got them to hold on to the hostages for a little while longer without any threat of retaliation.

[RaleighNCDUer]

71. Do come back when you fiind a credible citation. nt

[Hubert Flottz]

21. Now we know why W wouldn't release the Reagan papers.

Saint Reagan was "paling around with terrorists," not Obama.

[WinkyDink]

22. This is a MYSTERY?!

[FreakinDJ]

23. Passport and Calender went missing

[SaveAmerica]

26. Love to know Carter's thoughts on this, K'd, R'd, and BM'd

[Octafish]

36. Parry reports on President Carter's thoughts on October Surprise...

Jimmy Carter’s October Surprise Doubts

Special Report: Ex-President Jimmy Carter tells an interviewer that he isn’t sure what to believe about the longstanding suspicions that Republicans went behind his back in 1980 to stop him from freeing 52 American hostages in Iran, a failure that contributed to his political demise. But Robert Parry reports that there is a wealth of historical evidence.

By Robert Parry
May 12, 2011

EXCERPT...

In 1996, while meeting with Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat, Carter reportedly raised his hands into a physical stop position when Arafat tried to confess his role in the Republican maneuvering to block Carter’s Iran-hostage negotiations.

“There is something I want to tell you,” Arafat said, addressing Carter at a meeting in Arafat’s bunker in Gaza City in the presence of historian Douglas Brinkley. “You should know that in 1980 the Republicans approached me with an arms deal if I could arrange to keep the hostages in Iran until after the election.”

Arafat was apparently prepared to provide additional details and evidence, but Carter raised his hands, indicating that he didn’t want to hear anymore.

In the interview with Till, Carter also expressed continued uncertainty as to why a crucial helicopter for the U.S. hostage-rescue operation in April 1980 turned back rather than fly on to Tehran, a decision that forced the surprise assault to be scrubbed, a huge embarrassment for the Carter administration.

CONTINUED...

http://consortiumnews.com/2011/05/12/jimmy-carters-october-surprise-doubts/

[kath]

43. Whoa- I'd never heard that about a helicopter turning back from the rescue mission - the pilot was

bought off by the BFEE?!??!?? Or WHAT?

A democratic president gets impeached for a blow job, and Republicans get off scot-free, TWICE for frickin' TREASON??? (Iran-Contra & Oct.Surprise)

[Octafish]

49. Richard Secord and Oliver North's peeps.

The October Surprise:

The Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission, and the 1980 Presidential Election

By Don Hopkins, December 1998.


EXCERPT...

At least three central figures in the Iran-Contra Scandal were involved with the Iranian hostage rescue mission: Secord, Hakim, an North.

General Richard Secord helped to organize the abortive rescue mission. After the first mission failed, he was the head of the planning group that eventually decided against another rescue attempt. Because the whereabouts of the hostages were unknown, the second rescue attempt (the October Surprise that the Reagan-Bush campaign was so worried about) never happened.

Secord was later suspended from his Pentagon post because of the EATSCO probe. EATSCO is a company that belongs to Edwin Wilson, the CIA operative who is currently serving time in a federal maximum-security prison for, among other things, secretly supplying 43,000 pounds of plastic explosives to Kadaffi. (21)

In 1981, he became Chief Middle East arms-sales adviser to Secretary of Defense Casper W. Weinberger. (21)

Albert Hakim is a wealthy arms merchant, an Iranian exile, and CIA informant, who had a "sensitive intelligence" role in 1980 hostage rescue. He worked for the CIA near the Turkish boarder, handling the logistics of the rescue mission in Tehran. Hakim purchased trucks and vans, and rented a warehouse on the edge of Tehran to hide them in until they were needed for the operation. Unexpectedly however, he skipped town the day before the rescue mission. (2) (13) (25) Later on, in July, 1981, Hakim approached the CIA, with a plan to gain favor with the Iranian government by selling it arms. (22)

Oliver North led a secret detachment to eastern Turkey. He was in the mother ship on the Turkish border awaiting the cue from Secord to fly into Teheran and rescue the hostages. (2) (25) After the first aborted rescue mission, he worked with Secord on a second rescue plan.

According to the October Surprise theory, Secord, North and Hakim did not intend Desert One to carry through. The miserable failure of Carter's Desert One rescue attempt may have been deliberate.

CONTINUED...

http://www.donhopkins.com/drupal/node/104

[SaveAmerica]

58. Ask and you shall receive - DU style!! Thank you!

[jwirr]

27. Too little too late but it will help to know we were right. Criminals have

been running this country for a long time.

[BrklynLiberal]

70. True. and true.....

[Tennessee Gal]

28. This is a great source of information on the October Surprise...

There are many investigative reports and articles here:


The October Surprise Mystery

http://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/xfile.html

[kskiska]

33. Reagan himself said during his campaign

that he had a "secret plan" for freeing the hostages.

[Beam Me Up]

35. Everyone knows there is no such thing as conspiracies.

:eyes:

[NashVegas]

37. What Ever Happened to Bush In Paris?

How on earth can someone write an article on the October Surprise controversy and not mention either Heinrich Rupp or Richard Brenneke?

[PuffedMica]

38. Regan and Poppy were elected under less than legal circumstances just like W. Bush in 2000

Republicans can't win unless they cheat.

[PuffedMica]

39. K&R

[no limit]

41. Wow. Yet nobody went to jail.

[salin]

42. I greatly admire Robert Parry and his work

Kick and Rec!

[L. Coyote]

52. MORE here:

http://consortiumnews.com/

[salin]

64. thanks.

[pangaia]

44. NEWS??

NEWS?? What news? Anybody with eyes and ears knew this in January 1981.

[WhiteTara]

45. I wish we could jail the bastards.

They truly came from no human.

[defendandprotect]

53. Trust in government is dangerous for liberty and democracy ... !!

Interesting -- thank you --

Recall when Nightline brought the October Surprise -- very quietly -- to Reagan/Bush

doorstep -- but of course, no absolute proof -- and imagine any documentation of it

is already destroyed --

At this point, it's still impossible to say what was in the Madrid cable that Williamson mentioned to Beach. The archivists at the Bush library in College Station, Texas, continue to withhold nearly one-quarter of the 4,800 "October Surprise" pages citing national security and other reasons. So, it is not clear whether the State Department ever turned over the cable or how conclusive it was.

Other documents at the Bush library suggested tensions within Republican ranks over how cooperative to be with the October Surprise investigation.


Just want to mention that we should recall this was the Reagan/BUSH administration and Bush

was allegedly directly involved in the meetings -- personal appearance --


Bush was Director of the CIA while Carter was president -- at least for solme part of it --

We should also remember that Carter's hostage rescue missions failed -- with numerous

helicopters going down in the desert -- and later we learned that equipment to keep SAND

of the engines had been overlooked! More han once!

The Carter rescue missions were headed up by OLLIE NORTH --

Second in command -- SECORD --

!!!

[roberto IS beto]

54. xcept for the raping and the child-enslavement

Except for raping slaves who were unable to give free consent, and except for enslaving his own children, Thomas Jefferson was considered quite enlightended by the slave-owner standards of his day. But a slave-owner is still a slave-owner. Newsweek IS Fox News.

[McCamy Taylor]

55. The former Iranian president confirmed this in the mid 80s. How much evidence do we need before

we conclude "Yes, indeed. The sky IS blue."

[Eyerish]

56. K&R

[spanone]

59. you'd have to be ignorant not to see that this was political theater

[KT2000]

60. Finally -

we knew all along this is what happened. It was all so perfect and Reagan's part was so scripted.
Nothing is too low for republicans.

[JDPriestly]

62. Reagan's presidency was based on treason. Short and simple: treason.

[liberal N proud]

65. BIG ONE

I remember there being talk about Reagan and the Iranians at the time but this is a good catch. Evidence they are as crooked as we have always suspected.

[beac]

66. K&R! n/t

[jimlup]

68. Just in time for America not to care...

Yeah, I've kinda known for some time that they did this. And I've felt it was treason at the time. But the Republicans are such scoundrels and get away with so much shit it just doesn't even move me anymore.

[BrklynLiberal]

69. Will not change even one mind among those who worship Raygun.

sadly.................

[slipslidingaway]

72. "Though the October Surprise case was supposedly a hoax ...

the task force conducted its probe amid utmost secrecy. Even congressmen assigned to the task force complained that they were allowed access to the evidence only under tight restrictions."

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/050905.html

"...The Republicans were pleased that the Democrats named Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., known as an accommodating consensus-builder – not a hardnosed investigator – to lead the task force. Hamilton picked former federal prosecutor Lawrence Barcella – who was a close associate of several suspects in the October Surprise case – as the chief counsel..."


Old DU thread FWIW ...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7947477&mesg_id=7950074

[xxqqqzme]

74. The underlying

motivation for casey's convenient demise, no doubt?

[slipslidingaway]

75. Imagine if there will real investigations - Democrats, the Truth Still Matters!

By Robert Parry
(First Posted May 11, 2006)

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/111106.html

"Editor's Note: With the Democratic victories in the House and Senate, there is finally the opportunity to demand answers from the Bush administration about important questions, ranging from Dick Cheney's secret energy policies to George W. Bush's Iraq War deceptions. But the Democrats are sure to be tempted to put the goal of "bipartisanship" ahead of the imperative for truth.

Democrats, being Democrats, always want to put governance, such as enacting legislation and building coalitions, ahead of oversight, which often involves confrontation and hard feelings. Democrats have a difficult time understanding why facts about past events matter when there are problems in the present and challenges in the future.

Given that proclivity, we are re-posting a story from last May that examined why President Bill Clinton and the last Democratic congressional majority (in 1993-94) shied away from a fight over key historical scandals from the Reagan-Bush-I years -- and the high price the Democrats paid for that decision:

Clinton responds to the questions from the guest, documentary filmmaker Stuart Sender, by saying, in effect, that those historical questions had to take a back seat to Clinton’s domestic agenda and his desire for greater bipartisanship with the Republicans..."

[fascisthunter]

77. Republican Party is a Treasonous Bunch of Low-Lifes

[Rex]

79. To bad Bill Casey suddenly 'developed' a brain tumor and died

as the head of the CIA and about to testify before Congress over Iran-Contra...funny that, not.