Curt Weldon and Ghorbanifar

Jeet Heer guests at War and Piece this morning, following up on the Curt Weldon meltdown (see previously). With Laura Rozen, Heer cowrote this April TAP piece on Weldon's "Ali" source, Fereidoun Mahdavi, who passed along information from that rascally rogue, Iranian arms merchant Manucher Ghorbanifar.

Mr. Weldon's most significant claim is that the CIA ignored information from "Ali." However, it instead looks like the CIA's man in gay Paree spent considerable time vetting the information and reasonably concluded it was unreliable. The New York Times:

"He's never given us any information that was the slightest bit credible," said Bill Murray, the C.I.A. station chief in Paris when he met Mr. Weldon's source, an elderly Iranian who once served in the government of the shah of Iran. "This guy was a waste of my time and resources."

Mr. Murray, who served in Iran in the 1970's and who retired recently after 35 years in the clandestine service, said he had decided to speak out to defend his reputation and that of other agency officials. "I don't take this lightly, because I value my integrity," he said.

Mr. Murray said he had come to believe that most or all of the information being passed on by the man Mr. Weldon called "Ali" originated with another Iranian exile, Manucher Ghorbanifar, who had been identified by the C.I.A. as a "known fabricator" since he served as an arms deal middleman in the Iran-contra affair.

Jeet Heer's post deals with Weldon's claim that "Ali" helped thwart an attack on New Hampshire's Seabrook nuclear plant, which simply doesn't hold water.

Also, Larry Johnson takes on "Weldon's Whacky World . . .":

According to Congressman Weldon, Republican from Pennsylvania, the CIA is incompentent because it will not accept as fact the bogus claims of a source who is being spoon fed by a confirmed liar, Manocher Ghobanifar. No doubt that Congressman Weldon is a well meaning American, but he is clearly over his head in dealing with the realities of intelligence.

Now, I know the Congressman has a lot on the line here, and doesn't want to come across as gullible. However, at what point in his little adventure did he ever stop to ask himself if either (a) he knew what he was doing, or (b) this information was genuinely reliable? Odds are Weldon didn't have the resources to corroborate it himself, but it reads like it was structured to be compelling but ultimately unverifiable data.

Comments

[labb]

Since I may or may not be back here, but was here 05-09-19 streaming {weldon AND ghorbanifar}, and others probably will also, I wish to drop a bit of data here:

Warren P. Strobel, "Lawmakers met with Iranian exile scrutinized over intelligence" Knight-Ridder Wash. Bureau, July 20, 2005

Not only was Weldon engaging in dangerous liasons with Manucher and/or his agents, he took along House Intelligence Committee chairman Petey boy Hoekstra at least once for a ménage à trois. Possibly significant since Col. Shaffer got greenlighted on going public with his Able Danger claims by Hoekstra and Hasstert.

Shaun Waterman, UPI,"Colonel got permission to disclose pre-9/11 data", Washington Times, August 22, 2005.

Also, there was static in the past between Weldon and Stephen Cambone regarding his secret trysts with Ghorbanifar that were violations of proocol with both the Embassy and the Embassy's CIA station chief.

Weldon is out of his universe with Ghorbanifar, who could entertain Curt with a cracker jack toy, the same time he was working multiple arms deals using 3rd country proxies, moving large chunks of capital through offshore laundries, and talking to a head of state. Weldon shouldn't be allowed to have his passport anymore. He abuses it.

The Cambone ref i don't have up at this moment, but i believe it was Joshua Micah Marshall or Linda Rozen at the Wash. Monthly where that data was picked-up, almost as an aside.

cheers.

[labb]

i'm an idiot, it wasn't cambone, it was hadley who crossed weldon over his secret meets:

"According to U.S. government sources, both the State Department and the CIA eventually brought the matter to the attention of the White House -- specifically, to Condoleezza Rice's chief deputy on the National Security Council, Stephen J. Hadley. Later, Italian spy chief Pollari raised the matter privately with Tenet, who himself went to Hadley in early February 2002. Goaded by Tenet, Hadley sent word to the officials in Feith's office and to Ledeen to cease all such activities. Hadley then contacted Sembler, assuring him it wouldn't happen again and to report back if it did."

Marshall, Rozen, and Glastris, "Iran Contra II", Washington Monthly, September 2004