by Whitney Webb MPN (Jan. 2018)
Using the recent protests as
cover, the governments of the United States and Israel are advancing a
much larger plan for covert regime change against the Iranian
government, one born out of the “secret deal”
negotiated and signed between the two countries right before the widely
covered but relatively small protests in Iran began in late December.
That deal, negotiated between National Security Adviser and neocon darling H.R. McMaster
and his Israeli counterpart Meir Ben-Shabbat, secured the full
cooperation of the Trump and Netanyahu administrations in targeting
Iran’s “threatening activities” through a series of “memorandums of
understanding.” As the Times of Israel reported,
such cooperation is ultimately expected to translate into “steps on the
ground” — a vague way of implying that aggressive actions will soon
target Iran, including potential military action.
Yet, since the agreement was
announced in the press, the evidence seems to point to the development
of a more covert operation that is set to begin with the assassination
of a top Iranian general...
[read more here]
Showing posts with label Iran Mission Center. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iran Mission Center. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Have You Heard of the CIA’s Iran Mission Center?
from Common Dreams (June 2019)
In 2017, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) created a special unit—the Iran Mission Center—to focus attention on the U.S. plans against Iran. The initiative for this unit came from CIA director John Brennan, who left his post as the Trump administration came into office. Brennan believed that the CIA needed to focus attention on what the United States sees as problem areas—North Korea and Iran, for instance. This predated the Trump administration.
Brennan’s successor—Mike Pompeo, who was CIA director for just over a year (until he was appointed U.S. Secretary of State)—continued this policy. The CIA’s Iran-related activity had been conducted in the Iran Operations Division (Persia House). This was a section with Iran specialists who built up knowledge about political and economic developments inside Iran and in the Iranian diaspora.
It bothered the hawks in Washington—as one official told me—that Persia House was filled with Iran specialists who had no special focus on regime change in Iran. Some of them, due to their long concentration on Iran, had developed sensitivity to the country. Trump’s people wanted a much more focused and belligerent group that would provide the kind of intelligence that tickled the fancy of his National Security Adviser John Bolton.
To head the Iran Mission Center, the CIA appointed Michael D’Andrea. D’Andrea was central to the post-9/11 interrogation program, and he ran the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center. Assassinations and torture were central to his approach...
[read more here]
In 2017, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) created a special unit—the Iran Mission Center—to focus attention on the U.S. plans against Iran. The initiative for this unit came from CIA director John Brennan, who left his post as the Trump administration came into office. Brennan believed that the CIA needed to focus attention on what the United States sees as problem areas—North Korea and Iran, for instance. This predated the Trump administration.
Brennan’s successor—Mike Pompeo, who was CIA director for just over a year (until he was appointed U.S. Secretary of State)—continued this policy. The CIA’s Iran-related activity had been conducted in the Iran Operations Division (Persia House). This was a section with Iran specialists who built up knowledge about political and economic developments inside Iran and in the Iranian diaspora.
It bothered the hawks in Washington—as one official told me—that Persia House was filled with Iran specialists who had no special focus on regime change in Iran. Some of them, due to their long concentration on Iran, had developed sensitivity to the country. Trump’s people wanted a much more focused and belligerent group that would provide the kind of intelligence that tickled the fancy of his National Security Adviser John Bolton.
To head the Iran Mission Center, the CIA appointed Michael D’Andrea. D’Andrea was central to the post-9/11 interrogation program, and he ran the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center. Assassinations and torture were central to his approach...
[read more here]
CIA’s New ‘Iran Mission Center’ Created For Regime Change
by Kevin Zeese Popular Resistance (2018)
The Trump administration placed Iran hawks in charge of its foreign policy. One of those hawks is Mike Pompeo, the director of the CIA. In June 2017, the Trump administration created the Iran Mission Center inside the CIA to escalate US actions in Iran. The administration has also coordinated with Israel and Saudi Arabia to target Iran and is using the recent protests to further regime change efforts.
The Hill reported on new the anti-Iran infrastructure created by the Trump administration: “The organization, dubbed the Iran Mission Center, will include CIA analysts, personnel and specialists to support the CIA’s abilities on the matter, including covert action.”
The report on the new Iran escalation effort came after Trump visited Saudi Arabia and Israel in May, 2017. Trump said he wanted to work with the Saudis to “isolate” the Shia-majority nation. Trump also went to Israel and met with Benjamin Netanyahu. Among the issues they discussed was how the two countries can confront Iran. Additional meetings were held in December, a few weeks before the recent protests...
[read more here]
The Trump administration placed Iran hawks in charge of its foreign policy. One of those hawks is Mike Pompeo, the director of the CIA. In June 2017, the Trump administration created the Iran Mission Center inside the CIA to escalate US actions in Iran. The administration has also coordinated with Israel and Saudi Arabia to target Iran and is using the recent protests to further regime change efforts.
The Hill reported on new the anti-Iran infrastructure created by the Trump administration: “The organization, dubbed the Iran Mission Center, will include CIA analysts, personnel and specialists to support the CIA’s abilities on the matter, including covert action.”
The report on the new Iran escalation effort came after Trump visited Saudi Arabia and Israel in May, 2017. Trump said he wanted to work with the Saudis to “isolate” the Shia-majority nation. Trump also went to Israel and met with Benjamin Netanyahu. Among the issues they discussed was how the two countries can confront Iran. Additional meetings were held in December, a few weeks before the recent protests...
[read more here]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)