AUCTIONING OFF FORMER STATESMEN AND DIME-A-DOZEN GENERALS THE HIGH-JACKING OF A NATION
By Sibel Edmonds
CounterPunch, CA
Nov 29 2006
Part Two
"The real rulers in Washington are invisible and exercise power from
behind the scenes."
—Justice Felix Frankfurter
It used to be the three branches–congress, the executive, and
the courts–that we considered the make-up of our nation’s federal
government. And some would point to the press as a possible fourth
branch, due to the virtue of its influence in shaping our policies.
Today, more and more people have come to view corporate and foreign
lobby firms, with their preponderant clout and enormous power, as
the official fourth branch of our nation’s government. Not only do
I agree with them, I would even take it a step further and give it
a higher status it certainly deserves.
Operating invisibly under the radar of media and public scrutiny,
lobby groups and foreign agents have become the ‘epicenter’ of our
government, where former statesmen and ‘dime a dozen generals’ cash
in on their connections and peddle their enormous influence to the
highest bidders turned clients. These groups’ activities shape our
nation’s policies and determine the direction of the flow of its
taxpayer driven wealth, while to them the interests of the majority
are considered irrelevant, and the security of the nation is perceived
as inconsequential.
In Part1 of this series I used Saudi influence via its lobby and
foreign agents by default as a case to illustrate how certain foreign
interests, combined with their U.S. agents and benefactors, override
the interests and security of the entire nation. This illustrative
model case involved three major elements: the purchasing of a few
‘dime a dozen generals,’ bidding high in the auctioning of ‘former
statesmen,’ and buying one or two ex-congressmen turned lobbyists. In
addition, the piece emphasized the importance of the "Military
Industrial Complex (MIC)," which became a de facto ‘foreign agent’
by the universally recognized principle of ‘mutual benefit.’
This article will attempt to illustrate the functioning of the
above model in the case of another country, the Republic of Turkey,
and its set of agents and operators in the U.S. In doing so, I want
to emphasize the importance of separating the populace of example
nations–Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, Pakistan–from their regimes
and select key participating actors. As is the case with our nation,
they too suffer the consequences of their regime’s self-serving
policies and conduct. Not only that, they also have to endure what
they consider ‘U.S. imposed policies’ that further the interests of
only a few. Think of it this way, the majority of us in the States
do not see the infamous and powerful neocon cabal as the chosen and
accepted representatives of our nation’s values and objectives. We
do not want to be perceived and judged based on the actions of a few
at Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo. The same is valid for these nations’
citizenry; so let not their corrupt and criminal regimes be the basis
of our judgment of them.
Moreover, as we all know, those subject to criticism in these
articles have mastered the art of spinning when it comes to the media
and propaganda. The Israeli lobby is quick to stamp all factually
backed criticism as ‘anti-Semitic’ and attack it as such. The Turkish
lobby, in this regard, as with everything else, follows its Israeli
mentors; they label all dissent and criticism as anti-Turkey, or,
Kurdish or Armenian propaganda; while the Saudi lobby goes around
kicking and screaming ‘anti-Muslim propaganda.’ I am not known to
be ‘politically correct’ and am often criticized for it. I readily
accept that and all responsibilities associated with it. I am not
seeking a position as a diplomat, neither am I serving any business,
organization, or media channel furthering a particular ideology. This
is me, saying it as I see it; no more, no less. By the end of this
series it should be obvious, at least for many, that the selection
of the nations encompasses varied sides and affiliations. Moreover,
the main purpose, and the target of these commentaries, goes to the
heart of our own government and its epicenter; lobbyists and the MIC.
* * * *
Many Americans, due to the effective propaganda and spin machine of
Turkey’s agents in the U.S., and relentless efforts by high-level
officials and lobbying groups on Turkish networks’ payroll, do not
know much about Turkey; its position and importance in the areas
of terrorism, money laundering, illegal arms sales, industrial and
military espionage, and the nuclear black-market. Not many people in
the States would name Turkey among those nations that threaten global
security, the fight against terrorism, nuclear proliferation, or the
war on drugs. For the purpose of this article it is necessary to have
at least a rudimentary knowledge of Turkey, its strategic location
within global criminal networks, its various networks and entities
operating behind seemingly legitimate fronts, and its connection to
the military and political machine in the U.S.
For many Americans Turkey is one of the closest allies of the United
States; a most important member of NATO; a candidate for EU membership;
and the only Middle-Eastern close ally and partner of Israel. Some
acknowledge Turkey’s highly prized status in the United States due
to its location as the artery connecting Europe to Asia, its cross
borders with Iran, Iraq and Syria to its East and South, with the
Balkan states to its west, and with the Central Asian nations to its
north and northeast. Others may recognize the country as one of the
top U.S. customers for military technology and weapons.
Interestingly enough, these same qualities and characteristics which
make Turkey an important ally and strategic partner for the nation
states, make it extremely crucial and attractive to global criminal
networks active in transferring illegal arms and nuclear technology
to rogue states; in transporting Eastern Narcotics, mainly from
Afghanistan through the Central Asian states into Turkey, where it is
processed, and then through the Balkan states into Western Europe and
the U.S.; and in laundering the proceeds of these illegal operations
via its banks and those on the neighboring island of Cyprus.
The Real Lords of the Poppy Fields
It is a known fact that there often is a nexus between terrorism and
organized crime. Terrorists use Narco-traficking and international
crime to support their activities. Frequently, the same criminal
gangs involved in narcotics smuggling have links to other criminal
activities, such as illegal arms sales, and to terrorist groups. The
Taliban’s link to the drug trade is irrefutable. In 2001, a report
by the U.N. Committee of Experts on Resolution 1333 for sanctions
against the Taliban stated that "funds raised from the production
and trade of opium and heroin are used by the Taliban to buy arms and
war materials and to finance the training of terrorists and support
the operation of extremists in neighboring countries and beyond."
Afghanistan supplies almost 90% of the world’s heroin, which is the
country’s main cash crop, contributing over $3 billion a year in
illegal revenues to the Afghan economy, which equals 50% of the gross
national product. In 2004, according to the U.S. state department,
206,000 hectares were cultivated, a half a million acres, producing
4,000 tons of opium. "It is not only the largest heroin producer in
the world, 206,000 hectares is the largest amount of heroin or of
any drug that I think has ever been produced by any one country in
any given year," says Robert Charles, former assistant secretary of
state for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, overseeing
anti-drug operations in Afghanistan.
Heroin trafficking is also the main source of funding for the
al-Qaeda terrorists. A Time Magazine article in August 2004 reported
that al-Qaeda has established a smuggling network that is peddling
Afghan heroin to buyers across the Middle East, Asia, and Europe,
and in turn is using the drug revenues to purchase weapons and
explosives. The article states: "al-Qaeda and its Taliban allies
are increasingly financing operations with opium sales. Anti-drug
officials in Afghanistan have no hard figures on how much al-Qaeda and
the Taliban are earning from drugs, but conservative estimates run
into tens of millions of dollars." Anti-drug officials say the only
way to cut off al-Qaeda’s pipeline is to attack it at the source:
by destroying the poppy farms themselves. This year, Afghanistan’s
opium harvest is expected to exceed 3,600 tons-enough to produce
street heroin worth $36 billion.
Key congressional leaders have been pressing the Pentagon to crack
down on the major drug traffickers in Afghanistan upon learning
that Al Qaeda is relying more than ever on illicit proceeds from
the heroin trade. Congressional investigators who returned from the
region in 2004 found that traffickers are providing Osama bin Laden
and other terrorists with heroin as funds from Saudi Arabia and other
sources dry up. "We now know Al Qaeda’s dominant source of funding
is the illegal sale of narcotics," said Rep. Kirk-IL, a member of the
House Appropriations foreign operations subcommittee, as reported by
Washington Times. Rep. Kirk added that Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terror
organization is reaping $28 million a year in illicit heroin sales.
It is puzzling to observe that in reporting this major artery of
terrorists’ funding, the U.S. mainstream media and political machine
do not dare to go beyond the poppy fields of Afghanistan and the
fairly insignificant low level Afghan warlords overseeing the crops.
Think about it; we are talking about nearly $40 billion worth of
products in the final stage. Do you believe that those primitive
Afghan warlords, clad in shalvars, sporting long ragged beards,
and walking with long sticks handle transportation, lab processing,
more transportation, distribution, and sophisticated laundering of
the proceeds? If yes, then think again. This multi billion-dollar
industry requires highly sophisticated networks and people. So,
who are the real lords of Afghanistan’s poppy fields?
For Al Qaeda’s network Turkey is a haven for its sources of funding.
Turkish networks, along with Russians’, are the main players in these
fields; they purchase the opium from Afghanistan and transport it
through several Turkic speaking Central Asian states into Turkey,
where the raw opium is processed into popular byproducts; then
the network transports the final product into Western European and
American markets via their partner networks in Albania. The networks’
banking arrangements in Turkey, Cyprus and Dubai are used to launder
and recycle the proceeds, and various Turkish companies in Turkey and
Central Asia are used to make this possible and seem legitimate. The
Al Qaeda network also uses Turkey to obtain and transfer arms to its
Central Asian bases, including Chechnya.
Since the 1950s Turkey has played a key role in channeling into Europe
and the U.S. heroin produced in the "Golden Triangle" comprised of
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. These operations are run by mafia
groups closely controlled by the MIT (Turkish Intelligence Agency)
and the military. According to statistics compiled in 1998, Turkey’s
heroin trafficking brought in $25 billion in 1995 and $37.5 billion
in 1996. That amount makes up nearly a quarter of Turkey’s GDP. Only
criminal networks working in close cooperation with the police and
the army could possibly organize trafficking on such a scale. The
Turkish government, MIT and the Turkish military, not only sanctions,
but also actively participates in and oversees the narcotics activities
and networks.
In July 1998, Le Monde Diplomatique reported that in an explosive
document made public at a press conference in Istanbul, the MIT,
Turkish Intelligence Agency, accused Turkey’s national police, of
having "provided police identity cards and diplomatic passports to
members of a group which, in the guise of anti-terrorist activities,
traveled to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Hungary and Azerbaijan
to engage in drug trafficking". MIT provided a list of names of some
of the traffickers operating under the protection of the police. The
Turkish police returned the compliment and handed over a list of
named drug traffickers employed by the MIT!
In January 1997, Tom Sackville, minister of state at the British
Home Office, stated that 80% of the heroin seized in Britain came
from Turkey, and that his government was concerned by reports that
members of the Turkish police, and even of the Turkish government,
were involved in drug trafficking.
In an article published in Drug Link Magazine, Adrian Gatton cites
the case of Huseyin Baybasin, the famous Turkish heroin kingpin
now in jail in Holland. Baybasin explains: "I handled the drugs
which came through the channel of the Turkish Consulate in England,"
and he adds: "I was with the Mafia but I was carrying this out with
the same Mafia group in which the rulers of Turkey were part." The
article also cites a witness statement given to a UK immigration case
involving Baybasin’s clan, and states that Huseyin Baybasin had agreed
to provide investigators with information about what he knew of the
role of Turkish politicians and officials in the heroin trade.
The article quotes Mark Galeotti, a former UK intelligence officer and
expert on the Turkish mafia, "Since the 1970s, Turkey has accounted for
between 75 and 90 per cent of all heroin in the UK. The key traffickers
are Turks or criminals who operate along that route using Turkish
contacts." In 2001, Chris Harrison, a senior UK Customs officer in
Manchester, told veteran crime reporter Martin Short that Customs
could not get at the Turkish kingpins because they are "protected"
at a high level.
In 1998, the highly official International Narcotics Control Strategy
Report (INCSR) of the U.S. State Department, revealed that "about 75%
of the heroin seized in Europe is either produced in, or derives from,
Turkey", that "4 to 6 tons of heroin arrive from there every month,
heading for Western Europe" and that "a number of laboratories for the
purification of the opium used in transforming the basic morphine into
heroin are located on Turkish soil". The report stresses that Turkey is
one of the countries most affected by money-laundering, which takes
place particularly via the countries of the ex-Soviet Union, such
as Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan, through the medium of
casinos, the construction industry, and tourism. INCSR’s 2006 report
cites Turkey as a major transshipment point and base of operations
for international narcotics traffickers and associates trafficking
in opium, morphine base, heroin, precursor chemicals and other drugs.
We know that Al Qaeda and Taliban’s main source of funding is the
illegal sale of narcotics. Based on all the reports, facts, and
expert statements, we know that Turkey is a major, if not the top,
player in the transportation, processing, and distribution of all the
narcotics derived from the Afghan poppies, and as a result, it is the
major contributing country to Al Qaeda. Yet, to date, more than five
years into our over exhaustive ‘war on terror propaganda’, have we
heard any mentioning of, any tough message to, any sanction against,
or any threat that was issued and targeted at Turkey?
We all know of our president’s ‘selective evilization’ of countries
that have been ‘chosen’ to be on our hit list. But how many of us
know of our government’s ‘selective go free cards’ that have been
issued to those ‘ally countries’ that directly fund and support the
terrorist networks? In fact, our government would rather move heaven
and earth, gag ‘whistleblowers’ with direct knowledge of these facts,
classify congressional and other investigative reports, create a
media black-out on these ‘allies’ terrorist supporting activities,
than do the right thing; do what it really takes to counter terrorism.
and the WMDs we actually located & have known about
In his 2002 State of the Union address, President Bush declared he
would keep "the world’s most destructive weapons" from Al Qaeda and
its allies by keeping those weapons from evil governments. Later he
told a campaign audience in Pennsylvania, "We had to take a hard
look at every place where terrorists might get those weapons and
one regime stood out: the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein." Well,
the Iraqi WMD that never was!
Here is what CIA Director Porter Goss said bluntly before the Senate
Intelligence Committee in February 2004, "It may be only a matter
of time before Al Qaeda or other groups attempt to use chemical,
biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons. We must focus on that."
And we know that he knows; has known for the longest time!
Seymour Hersh in his March 2003 article quotes Robert Gallucci,
a former United Nations weapons inspector who is now dean of the
Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, "Bad as it is with
Iran, North Korea, and Libya having nuclear-weapons material, the
worst part is that they could transfer it to a non-state group.
That’s the biggest concern, and the scariest thing about all this.
There’s nothing more important than stopping terrorist groups from
getting nuclear weapons."
Although numerous prestigious reports by agencies and organizations
such as IAEA, and news articles in the European media, have clearly
established Turkey, and various international networks operating in and
out of Turkey, as major players within the global nuclear black-market
and illegal arms sales, the relevant agencies and main media in the
U.S. have maintained a completely silent and hands off position.
Nuclear black-market related activities depend on Turkey for
manufacturing nuclear components, and on its strategic location
as a transit point to move goods and technology to nations such as
Iran, Pakistan, and others. Not only that, Turkey’s status and close
relationship with the U.S. enables it to obtain (steal) technology
and information from the U.S.
Lying at the crossroads not only between Europe and Asia, but also
between the former Soviet Union and the Middle East, Turkey is
already a well-established transit zone for illicit goods, including
nuclear material and illegal weapons sales. According to a report by
Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEA), at least 104 nuclear smuggling
incidents had occurred in the past eight years in Turkey.
For instance, in September 1999, 5 Kilograms of Uranium enriched to
4.6 percent were confiscated from an international smuggling ring
in Turkey, which included four Turkish, one Azerbaijani, and three
Kazakhstani citizens. The report cites over one hundred incidents like
this, and these are only cases that have been intercepted and reported.
Turkey played a major role in Pakistan and Libya’s illicit activities
in obtaining nuclear technologies. In June 2004, Stephen Fidler,
a reporter for Financial Times reported that in 2003, Turkish
centrifuge motors and converters destined for Libya’s nuclear
weapons program turned up in Tripoli aboard a ship that had sailed
from Dubai. One of those detained individuals in this incident,
a ‘respected and successful’ Turkish Businessman, Selim Alguadis,
was cited in a public report from the Malaysian inspector-general
of police into the Malaysian end of a Pakistani-led clandestine
network that supplied Libya, Iran and North Korea with nuclear
weapons technologies, designs and expertise. According to the report,
"he supplied these materials to Libya." Mr. Alguadis also confessed
that he had on several occasions met A Q Khan, the disgraced Pakistani
scientist who has admitted transmitting nuclear expertise to the three
countries. Selim Alguadis remains a successful businessman in Turkey
with companies in several other countries. He was released immediately
after being turned over to Turkish authorities. His partner, another
well-known and internationally recognized wealthy businessman, Gunes
Cire, also actively participated in transferring nuclear technology
and parts to Iran, Pakistan and North Korea.
Although under investigation by several international communities,
Alguadis and his partners continued to roam free in Turkey and conduct
their illegitimate operations via their ‘legit international business’
front companies.
David Albright and Corey Hinderstein of the Institute for Science
and International Security (ISIS) identify Turkey’s major role in the
nuclear black-market. According to their report, workshops in Turkey
made the centrifuge motor and frequency converters used to drive the
motor and spin the rotor to high speeds. These workshops imported
subcomponents from Europe, and they assembled these centrifuge items
in Turkey. Under false end-user certificates, these components were
shipped from Turkey to Dubai for repackaging and shipment to Libya.
Turkey’s illegal arms smuggling activities are not limited to Europe
and the Middle East; many of these activities reach U.S. soil.
According to a report published by the Institute for the Analysis
of Global Security, in April 2004 the Italian police searched a
container destined for the port of New York onboard a Turkish ship
at the port of Tauro during a routine customs inspection, sparked by
discrepancies between the various customs declarations. Inside the
container more than 8,000 AK47 assault rifles, 11 submachine guns,
and magazines worth over seven million dollars were discovered.
Our tough talking president works very hard to sound convincing when
he says ‘we have to take a hard look at every place where terrorists
might get those weapons;’ in fact, he has succeeded in fooling many
into believing those words. However, while he was determined to
move heaven and earth to get our nation into a war and a quagmire
with a country that did NOT possess ‘those weapons,’ he refused
and continues to refuse to look at his own ‘allies-packed backyard’
where he would find a few that not only do possess ‘those weapons,’
but also distribute and sell them to the highest bidders no matter
what their affiliation.
* * * *
Curiously enough, despite these highly publicized reports and
acknowledgements of Turkey’s role in these activities, Turkey continues
to receive billions of dollars of aid and assistance annually from the
United States. With its highly placed co-conspirators and connections
within the Pentagon, State Department and U.S. Congress, Turkey never
has to fear potential sanctions or meaningful scrutiny; just like Saudi
Arabia and Pakistan. The criminal Turkish networks continue their
global criminal activities right under the nose of their protector,
the United States, and neither the catastrophe falling upon the U.S. on
September Eleven, nor their direct and indirect role and ties to this
terrorist attack, diminish their role and participation in the shady
worlds of narcotics, money laundering and illegal arms transfer.
The ‘respectable’ Turkish companies established and operate bases in
Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and other similar former soviet states. Many
of these front companies, disguised under construction and tourism
entities, have received millions of dollars in grants from the U.S.
government, allocated to them by the U.S. congress, to establish and
operate criminal networks throughout the region; among their networking
partners are Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and the Albanian Mafia. While
the U.S. government painted Islamic charity organizations as the
main financial source for Al Qaeda terrorists, it was hard at work
trying to cover up the terrorists’ main financial source: narcotics
and illegal arms sales. Why?
For years and years, information and evidence being collected by the
counterintelligence operations of certain U.S. intelligence and law
enforcement agencies has been prevented from being transferred to
criminal and narcotics divisions, and from being shared with the Drug
Enforcement Agency and others with prosecutorial power. Those with
direct knowledge have been prevented from making this information
available and public by various gag orders and invocation of the
State Secrets Privilege. Why?
Is this due to the fact that the existence and survival of many U.S.
allies; Turkey, almost all Central Asian nations, and after the
September Eleven attack, Afghanistan; greatly depend on cultivating,
processing, transporting, and distributing these illegal substances?
Is it caused by the fact that a major source of income for those
who procure U.S. weapons and technology, our military industrial
complex’s bread and butter, is being generated from this illegal
production and illegal dealings? Or, is it the fear of exposing our
own financial institutions, lobbying firms, and certain elected and
appointed officials, as beneficiaries?
When it comes to criminal and shady global networks most people
envision either Mafiosi like entities who keep to themselves and are
separated from society, or, street level gangster-like criminals.
Contrary to these expectations, the top tier Turkish criminal networks
consist mainly of respectable looking businessmen, some of whom are
among the top international businessmen, diplomats, politicians,
and scholarly individuals. Their U.S. counterparts are equally
respected and recognizable; some of whom are high-level appointed
bureaucrats within the State Department and the Pentagon; some are
elected officials, and others consist of the combination of the two
who have now set up their own companies and lobbying groups.
The American Turkish Council (ATC)
Operating tax-free and under the radar is one of the most powerful
"non-profit" associations in the U.S., the American Turkish Council
(ATC). Some who are familiar with its operations and players describe
it as ‘Mini AIPAC;’ this description aces it. ATC followed the AIPAC
model; with the direct help of AIPAC & JINSA, it created a base out of
which to stretch its tentacles, reaching the highest echelons of our
government. While the ATC is an association in name and in charter,
the reality is that it and other affiliated associations are the
U.S. government, lobbyists, foreign agents, and MIC.
Investigative journalist, John Stanton, correctly describes the ATC
as an extraordinary group of elite and interconnected Republicans,
Democrats and corporate and military heavyweights who are spearheading
one of the most ambitious strategic gambits in U.S.
history.
Included in ATC’s management, board of directors, and advisors; in
addition to Turkish individuals of ‘interest;’ is a dizzying array
of U.S. individuals. The ATC is led by Ret. General Brent Scowcroft,
who serves as Chairman of the Board; George Perlman of Lockheed
Martin, the Executive Vice President; other board members include:
Former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, Ret. General Elmer
Pendleton, Ret. General Joseph Ralston, Ret. Col. Preston Hughes,
Alan Colegrove of Northrop Grumman, Frank Carlucci of Carlyle Group,
Christine Vick of Cohen Group, Representative Robert Wexler, Former
Rep. Ed WhitfieldBasically many formers; statesmen, ‘dime a dozen
generals,’ and representatives.
On the members–paying clients side; their list includes all the
MIC’s who’s who, such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman;
the Washington Lobby scene’s who’s who; The Cohen Group, The Livingston
Group, Washington Group International
Of course, there are also many Turkish companies that are members
of the ATC. Most of these companies have branches and operations in
Libya, Dubai, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and
Turkmenistan. Although the official listings of their businesses
are cited as ‘construction,’ ‘real estate’, ‘manufacturing,’ and
‘tourism’; the main activities of these businesses are known to be
related to global illegal arms sales and narcotic processing and
trafficking. These companies provide necessary fronts and channels to
launder proceeds. Curiously enough, hundreds of millions of dollars
have been granted by the United States government, approved by the
congress, to these Turkish companies under the guise of various ‘U.S.
Central Asian development programs;’ and ‘Iraq & Afghanistan
reconstruction programs.’
Stanton notes: ‘ATC is joined in the creation of the New EuroAsia by
the American Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (AACC). AACC’s Honorary
Council of Advisors just happens to have General Scowcroft and the
following persons of significance: Henry Kissinger and James Baker
III. Former Council members include Dick Cheney and Richard Armitage,
and Board of Trustee members include media-overkill subject Richard
Perle of AEI, and Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas.’
The MIC Factor
In part 1 we discussed the MIC as ‘agents by default;’ marriages
and loyalties based on ‘mutual benefit;’ our previous example was
Saudi Arabia, top customer of U.S. weaponry. Well, Turkey only trails
the Saudis slightly in that category; between 1992 and 1996, Turkey
was the second largest importer of weaponry, spending more than $7
billion in four years. A report by the World Policy Institute shows
that Turkey is the third largest recipient of U.S. military aid,
behind Israel and Egypt. Between 1994 and 2003, Turkey took delivery
of more than $6.8 billion in U.S. weaponry and services.
In fiscal year 1989, U.S. aid to Turkey was $563,500,000. According
to a Multi National Monitor Report, in 1991, Turkey received
more than $800 million in U.S. aid, "an exceptional return" on
its $3.8 million investment in Washington lobbyists. At the time,
International Advisors, INC. (Douglas Feith & Richard Perle lobbying
firm as registered agents for Turkey) was paid more than $1 million
for representing Turkey in the U.S. for the purpose of securing these
types of deals. In 2003, Turkey received a $1 billion aid package.
During this period their registered and known lobbyists were the
Livingston Group, headed by the former Speaker of the House Bob
Livingston, and Solarz Associates, headed by a formerly powerful
Representative, Stephen Solarz. Turkey, from 2000 to 2004, for only
four years, paid Livingston $9 million for his lobbying services.
What did the Republic of Turkey get for its $2 million per year
investment in Ex-Congressman Livingston’s services?
A Joint Report by the Federation of American Scientists and the World
Policy Institute found that the vast majority of U.S. arms transfers
to Turkey were subsidized by U.S. taxpayers. In many cases, these
taxpayer funds are supporting military production and employment in
Turkey, not in the United States. Of the $10.5 billion in U.S.
weaponry delivered to Turkey since 1984, $8 billion in all has been
directly or indirectly financed by grants and subsidized loans
provided by the U.S. government. Many of the largest deals–such
as Lockheed Martin’s sale of 240 F-16s to the Turkish air force
and the FMC Corporation’s provision of 1,698 armored vehicles to
the Turkish army–involve co-production and offset provisions which
steer investments, jobs, and production to Turkey as a condition of
the sale. For example, Turkey’s F-16 assembly plant in Ankara–a
joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Turkish Aerospace Industries
(TAI)–employs 2,000 production workers, almost entirely paid for
with U.S. tax dollars.
Let’s recap the above data: Not only does our government, actually,
our taxpayers, subsidize $8 billion of Turkey’s $10 billion weapons
purchases; the production of this weaponry and the associated
employment occurs not in the U.S., but overseas, in Turkey. We,
the taxpayers, are subsidizing these purchases; our nation readily
transfers its technology to a country that ranks high in global
narcotics, terrorist and WMD related activities; while a select
few MIC related firms such as Lockheed and the pimping middlemen,
the lobbyists, get fatter and richer.
One Stop Shop: The Cohen Group
Like many other former statesmen, William Cohen, former Secretary
of Defense, dived into the business of lobbying and consulting,
and created his own Washington firm, The Cohen Group, which works
for some of the largest companies in the defense industry, such as
Lockheed Martin, and serves numerous foreign players. The Cohen Group
is one of the primary and most active members of the American Turkish
Council (ATC). Cohen’s client, Lockheed Martin, happens to be on the
board of ATC, in addition to being listed as ATC’s top paying client.
The group claims on its Website that its principals have "a century and
a half of combined experience in the Congress, the Defense Department,
the State Department, the White House, and state and local governments"
and that they "have developed extensive expertise and relationships
with key international political, economic, and business leaders and
acquired invaluable experiences with the individuals and institutions
that affect our clients’ success abroad." Abroad indeed. With a few
‘dime a dozen generals’ and former statesmen, the firm owes its
phenomenal speedy success to interests ‘abroad’ and of course, the
MIC! Let’s look, with great amazement, I hope, at how this ingenious
lobby venture serves as foreign agent for several influences without
having to register as such; with complete immunity against any
scrutiny.
According to Intelligence Online, in its March 27, 2006 issue, Cohen
accompanied Bush on his trip to India and Pakistan in March 2006. The
Cohen Group is very active in India; Joseph Ralston, Cohen’s Vice
Chairman, led two delegations of U.S. Defense Chiefs to India the
previous year. The trips were organized in conjunction with the U.S.
India Business Council; among the participants were Lockheed Martin,
Northrop Grumman, and Boeing.
On June 9, 2006, Intelligence Online reports ‘already operating
in India, the Cohen Group headed by William Cohen, has just opened
an office in Beijing… Since 2003 the Cohen Group has equally been
employing Christine Vick. She is a former Vice President of Kissinger
Associates; the consultancy founded by former Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger, and had been in charge of the firm’s Chinese business.’
Prior to the October 2005 release of Paul Volcker’s report on
violations of the United Nations’ Iraq oil-for-food program, the
Australian wheat exporter AWB Limited hired Cohen’s firm. AWB paid
approximately $A300 million in trucking fees on its wheat contracts
to a Jordanian company, Alia, which owns no trucks! The funds were
funnelled to Saddam’s regime. AWB hired Cohen Group as part of its
‘strategy, ‘ code-named ‘Project Rose’, to deal with the UN inquiry
headed by Paul Volcker and corruption allegations made against it by
U.S. wheat farmers and ‘hostile US politicians.’ Cohen Group is not
a law firm; what kind of services and representation is it providing
for this criminal case?
So who are the key players at Cohen’s lobby firm, giving it its
value? Well of course, a handful of powerful formers; in addition
to Cohen as the top principal we have former Undersecretary of State
Mark Grossman, and two formerly high-level ‘dime a dozen generals:’
General Joseph Ralston and General Paul Kern; let’s briefly look at
them; shall we?
Ret. General Paul Kern
Cohen Group senior counselor is retired general Paul J. Kern, a former
head of the Army Materiel Command, who recently served on a panel
convened by the Defense Department to recommend improvements in how
it acquires weapons systems; of course, a topic of great interest to
Cohen clients.
Pentagon’s Defense Acquisition Performance Assessment Panel ,
DAPAP, was created to recommend changes in the awarding of military
contracts. Over half of this panel is executives of large defense
corporations. Among the Committee’s six members are Frank Cappuccio,
VP of Lockheed Martin, and retired General Kern, who is the Senior
Counselor of the Cohen Group!
When the Pentagon is informed of wasteful practices, it commonly
ignores them. Congressman Walter Jones, (R-N.C.) is quoted as
understating, "We’ve got an agency that is not doing its job of being
a watchdog for the taxpayers." Retired Army Reserve officer Paul
Fellencer Sr. complained to the Pentagon’s fraud hot line last year
about $200-million worth of outrageous overpayments for ordinary
supplies. Pentagon investigators never bothered to call him and
dismissed his tip as "unsubstantiated," the news service said.
One wonders how many American citizens are aware of the fact that
a ‘dime a dozen general’ such as Kern, who happens to be a Senior
Counsel of a lobby firm with foreign interests and MIC representation,
who happens to sit on the board of Lockheed Martin, gets to sit on
a panel that monitors and advises on awarding military contracts to
the private MIC companies by the Pentagon. Would it take an absolute
genius to figure out that this is ‘putting a fox in charge of the hen
house’? If not, then how could this get past the decision makers at
the Pentagon? How come our lawmakers, those in charge of ensuring
the checks and balances in our government, those we consider our
representatives, sit there either unaware or unbothered by this red
flag visible from a hundred miles away? What happened to ‘investigative
journalists with good noses;’ were they all inflicted by congested
sinuses at the same time?
Fmr. Gen. Joseph Ralston
General Joseph Ralston, one of Cohen Group’s Vice Chairmen, is on
the board of Lockheed Martin, which paid the Cohen Group $550,000 in
2005, according to a Lockheed filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Ralston is also a member of the 2006 Advisory Board of the
American Turkish Council (ATC), and one of Turkey’s top advocates. If
you think this ‘dime a dozen general’ ended one career and removed
himself from the U.S. government by becoming ‘the foreign agent man,’
think again after reading the following.
On August 28, 2006, the U.S. State Department appointed the former
U.S. Air Force General, current Vice Chairman of the Cohen Group, board
member of American Turkish Council, registered lobbyist for Lockheed
Martin, Joseph Ralston, as a "Special Envoy" for countering the
Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK)! Lo and behold, Ralston’s appointment
came as Turkey was finalizing the purchase of 30 new Lockheed Martin
F-16 aircraft valued at $3 billion, and as Turkey was due to make its
decision on the $10 billion purchase of the new Lockheed Martin F-35
JSF aircraft. Coincidentally, the U.S. Congress approved the sale of
the F-16s to Turkey in October 2006, shortly after Ralston’s return
from Turkey.
While the implications of Ralston’s appointment caused a major stir
within the Kurdish community and organizations, mainly pointing to
Ralston’s position with the Turkish lobby in the U.S. (he is on
the board of ATC), and within Turkey’s own communities, pointing
to Ralston’s position with Lockheed Martin (he is on the board of
Lockheed Martin), our own media, watchdog organizations, and congress
let this gargantuan conflict of interest pass under the radar.
Our government sent this man, Ralston, as a special envoy to help
resolve the highly critical Northern Iraq situation with possible dire
consequences in the near future. Considering Ralston’s livelihood
and his loyalties, as a member of the board of the directors of
Lockheed Martin, as the vice chairman of a lobbying firm with foreign
interests, as an advisor and board member for the most powerful
Turkish Lobby group, ATC, who did this man represent while in Turkey
as the special envoy? What interests did he really represent; Iraq’s
situation, Lockheed’s livelihood, which depends on further conflicts
and bloodshed; the corrupt and criminal government of Turkey and its
representation via ATC; or, the furthering of the Cohen Group’s future
pimping opportunities?
Why in the world did no one within the U.S. mainstream media give even
the slightest coverage of this conflict of interest? Why did no one,
Democrat or Republican, in our congress make a peep? Why haven’t we
heard anyone asking Ralston the most important question, in dire need
of an answer: ‘Who’s your daddy Ralston; boy?’ Ralston’s position is
no different than what is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as:
"A person conceived and born out of wedlock." With the possibility
of any one of four daddies, and without the benefit of a DNA test,
how do we go about determining Ralston’s real daddy?
Fmr. Undersecretary Marc Grossman
The second Vice Chairman of Cohen’s firm is Marc Grossman, who was
the U.S. Undersecretary for Political Affairs in the State Department
from 2001 until 2005. From November 1994 to June 1997, he served as
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey. In January 2005 Grossman resigned from his
position and joined the Cohen Group. In late December 2005, Grossman
joined Ihlas Holding, a large and alleged shady Turkish company
which is also active in several Central Asian countries. Grossman is
reported to receive $100,000 per month for his advisory position with
Ihlas.’ Most and foremost, Grossman is known for his extraordinarily
cozy relationship with Turkey and Israel; followed by Pakistan.
Here is Grossman as the key speaker at an ATC conference in March 2002;
while Undersecretary of State; and here it is followed by Grossman’s
visit to Turkey in December 2002, to approve the $3 billion U.S. aid
to Turkey for the Iraq Cooperation deal. There he goes again, Grossman
back to Turkey in December 2003 re: approval of Turkey’s eligibility to
participate in tenders for Iraq’s reconstruction! Here is Grossman as
the key speaker at an ATC Conference held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel
in December 2004, while Undersecretary. Here is Grossman as the guest
of honor and key speaker at the American Turkish Society dinner in
New York in February 2005, while Undersecretary. Here he is again,
at the lavish Turkish Ottoman Dinner Gala in November 2005. Here is
Grossman at the award dinner gala by the Turkish lobby group, the
Assembly of American Turkish Association (ATAA), in Chicago, receiving
his award in November 2005. Here is Grossman as the key speaker at the
ATC annual conference in March 2006, and later, in June 2006, at the
MERIA Conference to discuss Turkey’s importance to the U.S. & Israel.
This list can go on for pages and pages; but I believe you all get
it; right?
Here is a comment by Wolfowitz during his visit to Turkey:"I’m
delighted to be back in Turkey and so is my colleague Marc Grossman,
who feels like Turkey is a second home." Second home indeed, Mr.
Grossman!
Please do not make the grave and naive mistake of assuming that
Grossman found and obtained his highly lucrative and questionable
positions after his resignation in January 2005. Within two months
after his confident resignation, this boy got the vice chairmanship of
the Cohen Group. Only six months later, Grossman ended up securing a
‘special advisory’ position for a foreign company that reported his
monthly fee at $100,000 a month. The industrious Grossman seems to
be juggling so many balls simultaneously: numerous foreign sponsored
dinner speeches, the demanding pimping activities of Cohen’s firm,
the very ‘special advising’ of a shady foreign company
We all have a pretty good idea how long and how much work it takes
to secure that level of income and those positions. Did Grossman beat
the odds and get lucky as soon as he got out of the State Department?
Did he hit the jackpot? Or, did he diligently and industriously
work at it, while in his position as the ambassador to Turkey and as
Deputy Secretary of State? Did he sell his soul while under his oath
of office? Did he sell our government’s soul? Did he sell our nation
and its interests? If so; for what and how much?
* * * *
Long gone are the days when generals were content to retire and go
back home where they held their heads high as honorable patriots and
heroes who had served their nation; where they marched in their towns’
parades as proud distinguished men and women who had fulfilled their
duty to the people. Today, as we clearly see, they perceive themselves
and their authority as a commodity; they go about marketing their
worth (nationally and internationally; foreign and domestic) long
before they leave their positions as public servants.
The same goes for many of our statesmen. While in office, Grossman and
others like him appear to have one objective in mind and in action:
to make sure that their future employer who is waiting for them on the
other side of the revolving door will receive special and lucrative
arrangements so that they can be compensated handsomely later.
In Part1, we briefly described the Foreign Agents Registration Act
(FARA), established to insure that the American public and its
lawmakers know the source of propaganda intended to sway public
opinion, policy, and laws; and the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA)
of 1995, which was passed to make the regulation and disclosure of
lobbying the federal government more effective. The article emphasized
that both of these cosmetic laws are filled with exemptions and
loopholes that allow minimization of, and in some cases complete escape
from, warranted scrutiny, and have serious loopholes and limitations.
The Cohen Group is an excellent case, illustrating the futility of
FARA, since the firm does not have to be registered. They can claim
that Turkey is not their ‘direct’ client; they can argue that they are
not getting paid ‘directly’ by the government of Turkey or any other
foreign entity or government. They certainly can; no matter that
Grossman receives hundreds of thousands of dollars from a dubious
Turkish company. Does Cohen discount Grossman’s Vice Chairmanship
salary accordingly? No matter that half a million dollars per year from
their client Lockheed Martin is mainly for services provided to Turkey,
and having the group’s second chairman serve on Lockheed’s board is
another way to get around all restrictions. The incestuous relationship
twists and turns: The Cohen Group on the board of ATC, The Cohen Group
a paying member client of ATC, The Cohen Group as Lockheed’s lobbyist,
Cohen’s men on the board of Lockheed, Lockheed on the board of ATC,
Lockheed also a paying client of ATCHow is your head; spinning yet?
We are proud of the large turnout at the ballot box for the midterm
elections a few weeks ago; a sign of participatory citizenship.
Perhaps we’ll be repeating this phenomenon, if not increasing
it, for the presidential elections in two years; another means to
demonstrate our ‘democratic government process in action’ for badly
needed change. But who really runs our country? Who really shapes our
public policies and determines the flow of our hard-earned tax money
entrusted to our government? If you had the patience to go through
this article, which sheds light on only a fragment of what really
takes place behind our backs, within the halls of our government,
in all three branches, you would start questioning your significance
as a voter and taxpayer, and you would begin wondering whether you
are governed by who you think you are.
The foreign influence, the lobbyists, the current highly positioned
civil servants who are determined future ‘wanna be’ lobbyists, and
the fat cats of the Military Industrial Complex, operate successfully
under the radar, with unlimited reach and power, with no scrutiny,
while selling your interests, benefiting from your tax money, and
serving the highest bidders regardless of what or who they may be.
This deep state seems to operate at all levels of our government;
from the President’s office to Congress, from the military quarters
to the civil servants’ offices. Let’s let Marcus Cicero’s timeless
warning from over two thousand years ago put the finishing touch on
this article:
"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it
cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less
formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the
traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers
rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government
itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents
familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments,
he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He
rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night
to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so
that it can no longer resist. A murder[er] is less to fear."
Sibel Edmonds is the founder and director of National Security
Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC). Ms. Edmonds worked as a language
specialist for the FBI. During her work with the bureau, she
discovered and reported serious acts of security breaches, cover-ups,
and intentional blocking of intelligence that had national security
implications. After she reported these acts to FBI management, she
was retaliated against by the FBI and ultimately fired in March 2002.
Since that time, court proceedings on her case have been blocked by
the assertion of "State Secret Privilege"; the Congress of the United
States has been gagged and prevented from any discussion of her case
through retroactive re-classification by the Department of Justice.
Ms. Edmonds is fluent in Turkish, Farsi and Azerbaijani; and has
a MA in Public Policy and International Commerce from George Mason
University, and a BA in Criminal Justice and Psychology from George
Washington University. PEN American Center awarded Ms. Edmonds the
2006 PEN/Newman’s Own First Amendment Award. She can be reached at:
[email protected]
© Copyright 2006, National Security Whistleblowers Coalition.
Information in this release may be freely distributed and published
provided that all such distributions make appropriate attribution to
the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition.
92006.html
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