It seems that Bush’s visit to Europe last week has produced some recommitment to his ever-expanding Mid-East War, at least from the Brits. I’m figuring that Palau isn’t quite ready to invade Iran for us. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, however, did promise tougher sanctions on Iran and an increase in its troop strength in Afghanistan. Brown announced that he has ordered a freeze on the assets of Iran’s biggest bank.

The New York Times reported Monday that Brown sought to speak directly to the Iranian people during the joint Bush/Brown press conference.

“We will take action today that will freeze the overseas assets of the biggest bank in Iran, the Melli bank, and secondly, action will start today for a new phase of sanctions on oil and gas.”

Bush reiterated that “all options” were on the table in regards to U.S. actions against Iran, which includes military strikes. Brown committed to increased troop strength in Afghanistan as NATO began redeploying forces to meet a new threat there as hundreds of Taliban fighters took over villages in the south over the weekend during heavy fighting, releasing hundreds of insurgents from the Kandahar prison.

U.S. troops are primarily bogged down in Iraq, supplying the bulk of troops in that country, with fewer than 20,000 troops in Afghanistan. This years after “success” of the missions was declared – it looks like we’ve had less trouble ejecting leadership in those countries than we’ve had in “securing the peace” in either. Some troops have done as many as six tours of duty and are being prevented from leaving the service by “stop loss” directives.

Where the heck is he planning to get troops to deal with Iran? I mean, if he just sends in the Air Force to bomb them, what makes him think the Iranian Army won’t cross into Iraq and Afghanistan to wreak havoc on our troops there?

Despite Bush’s desire to leave America in much, much worse shape than he found it in 2000, opening yet another front in his ‘forever-war’ isn’t a very good idea. Will Congress act to prevent it this time?

FBI translator Sibel Edmonds

Britain’s Sunday Times published an article on January 6 entitled For Sale: West’s deadly nuclear secrets, detailing the extraordinary claims of FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds about how corrupt US government officials allowed Pakistan and other states to ’steal’ nuclear weapons secrets. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a real “bombshell” that ties together many years’ worth of nefarious dealings in the Middle East by officials charged specifically with the task of protecting those nuclear weapons secrets from theft by the very people who were allowed to ’steal’ them!

Edmonds, a Turkish language translator before turning whistleblower, listened to hundreds of sensitive communications intercepted by the FBI while she was stationed at the FBI’s D.C. field office, described to the Sunday Times how foreign intelligence agents enlisted the support of US officials to establish a network of ‘moles’ inside sensitive US military and nuclear installations. The officials involved included one well-known senior official in the US State Department, whom Edmonds says was being paid by Turkish agents in D.C. Those Turks then sold the information to black market buyers, including Pakistan.

The Times did not reveal the name of that State Department official, but did contact him about Edmonds’ allegations which he denied strongly. Yet according to Edmonds, who is currently forbidden from speaking about her knowledge in the US by judicial gag order…

“He was aiding foreign operatives against US interests by passing them highly classified information, not only from the State Department but also from the Pentagon, in exchange for money, position and political objectives.”

Edmonds further claims that the FBI was gathering evidence against senior Pentagon officials – including some well-known to the public – who were also aiding foreign agents. Her revelations illustrate just how much US officials aided countries such as Pakistan to acquire nuclear weapons technology. In turn, Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan sold nuclear weapons technology to rogue states like Libya, Iran and North Korea – violating every sense of nuclear non-proliferation treaties and protections. US-backed military dictator Pervez Musharraf (lately implicated in the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto) pardoned Khan, who is seen as a national hero in Pakistan for his contributions to their nuclear weapons program.

For those who have not been following Edmonds’ case, she has given testimony and evidence in closed sessions of Congress and to the 9-11 commission, with key testimony remaining secret. She is now divulging some of that information in defiance of the gag order after becoming disillusioned with US authorities’ failure to act.

Political blogger Chris Floyd writes a fine overview of how Edmonds’ latest revelations ties in with the notorious activities of BCCI [Bank of Credit and Commercial International], which a US Senate investigation called “one of the largest criminal enterprises in history.” BCCI was a prime vehicle for clandestine nuclear proliferation (among other things), while also being used by the CIA and the Reagan and Bush-I White House as cover and financier for covert operations including military and financial support for Saddam Hussein back when he was our ally instead of our worst enemy. On a side note, BCCI also once gave G.W. Bush $25 million to bail him out of one of his many business catastrophes.

Floyd’s article, The Bomb in the Shadows: Proliferation, Corruption and the Way of the World is a worthy read for background and historical information linked to the revelations of ongoing US involvement in nuclear proliferation from Edmonds.

The ties are myriad and twisted, the implications very serious. The full report of the Senate’s 1992 investigation of BCCI (which left several big boulders unturned) is available in full from the Federation of American Scientists. If you’re fond of spy skullduggery, plot twists ala Ludlum (where it’s never a good idea to trust anybody) and shady characters that just won’t stay dead, click on some of these informative links and let your head start spinning. Caution: Be careful not to let your spinning head explode. This has been known to occur…

[UPDATE] Investigative reporter Dave Lindorff’s take on this story echoes my concerns related to those very strangely “missing” nukes from late August that were flown from Minot to Barksdale, a forward deployment station for Iraq/Afghanistan. Check out his post A Real 9/11 Cover-Up? Sibel Edmonds, Turkey and The Bomb.

Links:

For Sale: West’s deadly nuclear secrets

The Bomb in the Shadows: Proliferation, Corruption and the Way of the World

The Atlantic: The Wrath of Khan

No Quarter: Check Out Sibel Edmonds

Those Very Strangely “Missing” Nukes