-Caveat Lector- Spy data 'sent via Australian station' By LINCOLN WRIGHT Canberra Times Thursday Jan 28 A former United States National Security Agency officer, Bill Arkin, has reportedly told the New York Times that intelligence data from Iraq might have been transmitted through an Australian communications station in Victoria, used during the Cold War. Mr Arkin, who once worked for the NSA the world's largest electronic spy outfit has joined former United Nations Special Commission officer Scott Ritter in his criticism of UNSCOM'S activities in Iraq, where it has been accused of spying for the US. Electronic interceptions made by Australian intelligence officers around the world at the height of the Cold War were transmitted through the Watsonia station, in Victoria, but a national security specialist said yesterday that he doubted the station was used for intelligence gathered in Iraq. He said it was more likely that any such data was first transmitted to the US through the joint-intelligence facility at Pine Gap in the Northern Territory, or through the NSA's station at Menwith Hill, Yorkshire. "These are the two most secure routes," he said. The Federal Government rejected yesterday the reports that Australians spied for the United States in Iraq, and said Mr Ritter, the former head of UNSCOM'S Concealment Unit in Iraq, lacked credibility. Mr Ritter said in The Canberra Times yesterday that last July the US Government had directed the head of UNSCOM, Australian Richard Butler, to pass on any intelligence it gathered in Iraq to the US. The Australian Government was fully aware of this peculiar arrangement, he said, despite its endangering lives of UNSCOM members and breaching the UN's mandate in Iraq. He had also said the US did not want to disarm Saddam Hussein's regime, only to contain it with economic sanctions. Before December's bombing of Iraq, the US was fearful of having to back down again; to avoid this, Washington decided to "rein in" UNSCOM's intelligence activities. A spokesman for the Minister for Defence, John Moore, said yesterday, "We think Mr Ritter lacks credibility. The Economist says he lacks credibility and so do we. All staff provided by Australia to UNSCOM were provided in response to specific requests by the UN. ''The purpose of their involvement was to assist in efforts to establish the location, extent, type and destruction of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq." Mr Ritter has said that by withholding intelligence support at a crucial moment, the US Government blocked a surprise inspection of the document sites of Saddam Hussein's secretary, Abid Hamid Mahmoud, and that at least six times between November, 1996, and August, 1998, the US had intervened directly to stop surprise inspections. ====================================================================== "Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." - Universal Declaration of Human Rights ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.angelfire.com/mi/smilinks/thirdeye.html http://www.headwatersforest.org/david.chain/index.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
