WP: Why the FBI Is Coming After Me (re: Posada)

[MountainLaurel]

As a rule, I don't believe in conspiracy theories. They tend to be tidy and selective, whereas life seems so random and messy. But the case of Cuban militant and would-be Fidel Castro assassin Luis Posada Carriles has sorely tested my convictions.

I've been writing about Posada for nearly a decade. I interviewed him in Aruba for a series of articles in the New York Times in 1998. He was a fugitive who had escaped from Venezuela in 1985 while awaiting trial in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban passenger plane that killed all 73 people aboard-- the first deadly act of airline terrorism in the Americas. Posada has maintained his innocence, but in a rare instance of unanimity, the CIA and the FBI, as well as Venezuelan, Trinidadian and Cuban intelligence, concluded that he and fellow militant Orlando Bosch had masterminded the bombing.

Last year, I wrote an Outlook article about Posada's surprise arrival in Miami, where he filed a claim for political asylum. Not only did this move strike many as brazen, but it also seemed incomprehensible that the Bush administration, so committed to what it calls the War on Terror, could have allowed someone of Posada's notoriety to slip into the country.

snip

Not long after Posada's arrest, FBI and Homeland Security agents began to phone me, seeking information about the New York Times series. One agent came right out and asked if I'd share my research materials -- as well as my copies of FBI and CIA files on Posada. "Do us a favor," he said. "We can't find ours." I laughed politely, assuming it was a strained attempt at humor. But he wasn't kidding.

In August 2003, the Miami bureau of the FBI made the startling decision to close its case on Posada. Subsequently, according to FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela, several boxes of evidence were removed from the bureau's evidence room, or the "bulky," as it is known. Among the documents that disappeared was the original signed fax that Posada had sent to collaborators in Guatemala in 1997, complaining of the U.S. media's reluctance to believe reports about a series of bombings in Cuba, which he hoped would scare tourists and investors away from Castro's island.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111001384.html

[Demeter]

1. Believe It; It IS a Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy

and the BFEE is the queen of the hive...

[peacetalksforall]

2. FRIENDS of Bushes and PNAC/barons aren't terrorists, including

privately paid contractors, employees, and 'by treaty' assassins - some whom are U.S. citizens and residents, some of whom are foreign nationals. Paid by whom? Mostly by taxpayers and/or through corporations. New? No. We paid for many 'projects' in many countries over many decades.

Over time, Posada got caught by the truth, but Friends of Bushes will protect him (?) just as others have been protected.

How would you like your son who is a good enough sports player to particpate in an international tournament get blown out of the sky? That wasn't Posada's first nor last 'project'.

[Peace Patriot]

3. p. 2. Jeb helps Posada's pal in the Cuba airline bombing...

"The FBI and the Justice Department are filled with dedicated public servants, but it is the political appointees who make the final decisions. And for them, Posada may be a man who knows too much. His attorneys say that he was a paid CIA agent from 1959 until the mid-1980s. Indeed, upon his 'escape' from prison in 1985, Posada promptly found employment running the Iran-contra field operation in El Salvador. Bosch, his co-defendant in the Cuban plane bombing, was championed by none other than Jeb Bush in his bid for U.S. residency, which was granted in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush over the objections of the FBI, the CIA and the Justice Department."

The Venezuelan Soccer Team was blown up in that bombing. Posada is wanted for the Cuba airlines bombing in Venezuela, which has repeatedly asked that Posada be extradited, to stand trial for it. The Bush Junta, of course, doesn't give a hoot about innocents being bombed. But we knew that.

[MountainLaurel]

4. Now there's a big surprise

Thanks for pointing that tidbit out.

[Lasthorseman]

5. Not surprised

As a person who has spent time outside of this country.
1. I was removed from the influence of corporate controlled US "media"
2. An observation was made as to how "sterile" international CNN was
3. The military an it's mechanisms of control on the 18-21 demographic was duely noted
4. The culture and thinking of the host country culture was digested
5. The return to the US was something akin to the movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"
6. The connections made during the expatiot experience led to a knowledge of Swiss boarding schools and weekends on the company jet. Far and away above governments there are forces at work that lay rest and confirm the words "conspiracy" "theory".
In short, ya, it's all true and more than you know.

[Octafish]

6. Hi, Lasthorseman! Did somebody say 'Posada'?

Here's a bit more on the subject:

Beat the BFEE: Poppy’s CIA warned about terror plots and did not stop them

I'm sure jet-setters know all about this stuff. It's new for most Americans.

BTW: A hearty welcome to DU, Lasthorseman!