Sy Hersh: U.S. Funds Secretly Funneled To Violent Al Qaeda-Linked Groups

2007-02-28

Richard Moore

Original source URL:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022607A.shtml
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/25/hersh-qaeda/

Hersh: U.S. Funds Being Secretly Funneled To Violent Al Qaeda-Linked Groups

New Yorker columnist Sy Hersh says the ³single most explosive² element of his 
latest article involves an effort by the Bush administration to stem the growth 
of Shiite influence in the Middle East (specifically the Iranian government and 
Hezbollah in Lebanon) by funding violent Sunni groups.

Hersh says the U.S. has been ³pumping money, a great deal of money, without 
congressional authority, without any congressional oversight² for covert 
operations in the Middle East where it wants to ³stop the Shiite spread or the 
Shiite influence.² Hersh says these funds have ended up in the hands of ³three 
Sunni jihadist groups² who are ³connected to al Qaeda² but ³want to take on 
Hezbollah.²

Hersh summed up his scoop in stark terms: ³We are simply in a situation where 
this president is really taking his notion of executive privilege to the 
absolute limit here, running covert operations, using money that was not 
authorized by Congress, supporting groups indirectly that are involved with the 
same people that did 9/11.² Watch it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywE7-AB4caM&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Etruthout%2Eorg%2Fdocs%5F2006%2F022607A%2Eshtml

Hersh added, ³All of this should be investigated by Congress, by the way, and I 
trust it will be. In my talking to membership ‹ members there, they are very 
upset that they know nothing about this. And they have great many suspicions.²

Digg It!
Transcript:

BLITZER: Near the end of your article, you have this explosive point in there 
about John Negroponte, who is now going to be the deputy secretary of state, as 
opposed to the head of U.S. intelligence.

You write this: ³I was subsequently told by the two government consultants and 
the former senior intelligence officials that the echoes of Iran-Contra were a 
factor in Negroponte¹s decision to resign from the National Intelligence 
directorship and accept the position of deputy secretary of state.²

Explain what you were hearing, because that is obviously a very explosive 
charge.

HERSH: Yes. It is probably the single most explosive, if you will, or depressing
‹ or distressing sort of thing I discovered in the last few months, which is 
simply this. This administration has made a policy change, a decision that they 
are going to put all of the pressure they can on the Shiites, that is the Shiite
regime in Iran, the Shiite ‹ and they are also doing everything they can to stop
Hezbollah ‹ which is Shiite, the Hezbollah organization from getting any control
or any more of a political foothold in Lebanon.

So they essentially, I quote the ‹ I saw Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, and 
he described it this way, as ³fitna (ph),² the Arab word for ³civil war.² As far
as he is concerned, we are interested in recreating what is happening in Iraq in
Lebanon, that is Sunni versus Shia. And in looking into that story, and I saw 
him in December, I found this. That we have been pumping money, a great deal of 
money, without congressional authority, without any congressional oversight, 
Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia is putting up some of this money, for covert 
operations in many areas of the Middle East where we think that the ‹ we want to
stop the Shiite spread or the Shiite influence.

They call it the ³Shiite Crescent.² And a lot of this money, and I can¹t tell 
you with absolute certainty how ‹ exactly when and how, but this money has 
gotten into the hands ‹ among other places, in Lebanon, into the hands of three 
‹ at least three jihadist groups. There are three Sunni jihadist groups whose 
main claim to fame inside Lebanon right now is that they are very tough. These 
are people connected to al Qaeda who want to take on Hezbollah. So this 
government, at the minimum, we may not directly be funneling money to them, but 
we certainly know that these groups exist.

My government, which arrests al Qaeda every place it can find them and send ‹ 
some of them are n Guantanamo and other places, is sitting back while the 
Lebanese government we support, the government of Prime Minister Siniora, is 
providing arms and sustenance to three jihadist groups whose sole function, 
seems to me and to the people that talk to me in our government, to be there in 
case there is a real shoot-¹em-up with Hezbollah and we really get into some 
sort of serious major conflict between the Sunni government and Hezbollah, which
is largely Shia, who are basically ‹ or as you know, there is a coalition headed
by Hezbollah that is challenging the government right now, demonstrations, 
sit-ins.

There has been some violence. So America, my country, without telling Congress, 
using funds not appropriated, I don¹t know where, by my sources believe much of 
the money obviously came from Iraq where there is all kinds of piles of loose 
money, pools of cash that could be used for covert operations.

All of this should be investigated by Congress, by the way, and I trust it will 
be. In my talking to membership ‹ members there, they are very upset that they 
know nothing about this. And they have great many suspicions.

We are simply in a situation where this president is really taking his notion of
executive privilege to the absolute limit here, running covert operations, using
money that was not authorized by Congress, supporting groups indirectly that are
involved with the same people that did 9/11, and we should be arresting these 
people rather than looking the other wayŠ

BLITZER: And your bottom line, SyŠ
HERSH: Š and could lead to a real messŠ

BLITZER: Your bottom line is that Negroponte was aware of this, obviously, and 
he wanted to distance himself from it? That is why he decided to give up that 
position and take the number two job at the State Department?

HERSH: He ‹ that is one of the reasons, I was told. Negroponte also was not in 
tune with Cheney. There was a lot of complaints about him because he was seen as
much of a stickler, too ethical for some of the operations the Pentagon wants to
run.

Filed under: Middle East, Iran, Iraq
Posted by Nico February 25, 2007 3:26 pm
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