CIA John Brennan & “The Conundrum of Iran”

“Today, 21 October 2015 and over the coming days WikiLeaks is releasing documents from one of CIA chief John Brennan’s non-government email accounts. Brennan used the account occasionally for several intelligence related projects.” [1]

One of the document release is titled: “The Conundrum of Iran”. I believe that two very important pieces of information have not been noticed by the media.

This document is a set of “Recommendations” to the next President (assuming office in Jan. 2009) on how to play the figures on the U.S.-Iranian Chessboard. This document was written by  John Brennan on 18 November 2007.

“A note called the Conundrum of Iran, which gave recommendations to “whoever takes up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in January 2009,” emphasized the need for negotiations with Tehran.  Brennan gave a history of Iran’s political development over the centuries, criticized the Islamic republic for its support of terrorists, but also praised the efforts of Iranian diplomats in negotiations in post-Taliban Afghanistan. The note was written in 2007, when Brennan worked at The Analysis Corp (TAC), an intelligence and analysis firm he founded.” [2]

Here is a short extract from the document:

Iran will be a major player on the world stage in the decades ahead, and its actions and behavior will have a major and enduring impact on near- and long-term U.S. interests on a wide variety of regional and global issues. (…)

There are numerous hurdles that stand in the way of improved U.S.-Iranian relations, but none is more daunting than the theocratic regime’s nearly 30-year track record of engaging in transnational terrorism, both directly and indirectly, to advance its revolutionary agenda.  Tehran’s proclivity to promote its interests by playing the terrorist card undermines its standing as a responsible sovereign state and calls into question virtually all of its actions, even when pursuing legitimate political, economic, and strategic interests.  While the use of terrorism(*footnote on definition) is reprehensible and of serious concern irrespective of the source, the wielding of the terrorism club by a nation state such as Iran is particularly alarming and insidious because of the ability of a government to use its instruments of national power to support, conceal, facilitate, and employ terrorist violence.  Specifically, a sovereign government has the ready ability to provide all of the logistical requirements—e.g. the fabrication of official documentation, explosives, and weapons; the protected use of diplomatic facilities, staff, and pouches; and the provision of expertise, funding, and targeting intelligence—that can be used to great effect to plan and carry out successful terrorist attacks.  Too often, and for too long, Iran has excelled at such activities.

John Brennan goes on to quickly review “The Historical Context and Record of Terrorism”.

Iran’s record of direct and indirect involvement in terrorist attacks is long and bloody, with regime opponents and U.S. and Israeli interests bearing the brunt of attacks.  Since 1979, the most notable examples include:

1983:  Hizballah attacks against the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks that left xxx dead and more than xxx wounded.

Attacks against Israeli Embassy in Argentina. [Note: 1992 but not the 1994 AMIA bombing?]

Assassination of Israeli ambassador in London. [NOTE: This seems odd. Does he speaks about the 1982, Attempted assassination of Shlomo Argov? Or the 1994 London Israeli Attack?]

1996:  Saudi Hizballah attack against U.S. forces housed at Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, which killed xxx and injured xxx.  According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the perpetrators of those attacks “reported their surveillance activities to Iranian officials and were supported and directed in those activities by Iranian officials.”

ANALYSIS

Firstly, you notice that Brennan does indeed blame Tehran for the Buenos Aires bombings. (At least, the bombing of the Israeli  Embassy.) To my knowledge, the FBI found no evidence of Iranian involvement in this affair. Richard Marquise told me that several times while discussing the credibility of Iranian defector Mesbahi. On the other hand, former CIA Bob Baer has unambiguously told me that IRAN was behind the Buenos Aires bombings. (Of course, Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who – relying on Mesbahi – had accused Kirchner of shielding Iranian officials from prosecution over the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish centre, has by now been murdered/suicided…)

Secondly, it is also obvious that Brennan does not connect Tehran for the Lockerbie tragedy. Considering the importance of this document ( An advice on a major issue to the next POTUS), I would think that John Brennan – who worked for the agency  from 1980 to 2005 – would have mentioned Lockerbie among the worst cases of terrorism if he was aware of a link between Tehran and Pan Am 103. As I have said, the story of the US$ 10 Million payment from Tehran to Jibril is a piece of disinformation. (See: Lockerbie & The Legend of The Iranian Payment )

I am well aware that others may read the document in a different way. Sometimes, even friends must agree to disagree. This post is just an opinion… based on many years of discussions.

REFERENCES

CIA Director John Brennan emails

Leaked documents from CIA director’s email reveal thoughts on torture, Iran, Afghanistan

WikiLeaks releases documents from CIA director’s personal email account

Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman was ‘murdered’