TEL
AVIV – Did former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commit perjury
when she claimed in a Senate hearing that she did not know whether the
U.S. mission in Libya was procuring or transferring weapons to Turkey
and other Arab countries?
The goal of the alleged weapons shipments was to arm the rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Any training or arming of the Syrian rebels would be considered
highly controversial. A major issue is the inclusion of jihadists,
including al-Qaida, among the ranks of the Free Syrian Army and other
Syrian opposition groups.
During the recent hearings over the Obama administration’s handling
of the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Clinton
was directly asked about alleged U.S. weapons shipments out of Libya.
Clinton claimed she did not know whether the U.S. was aiding Turkey and other Arab countries in procuring weapons.
The exchange took place with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Paul asked Clinton: “Is the U. S. involved with any procuring of
weapons, transfer of weapons, buying, selling, anyhow transferring
weapons to Turkey out of Libya?”
“To Turkey?” Clinton asked. “I will have to take that question for the record. Nobody has ever raised that with me.”
Continued Paul: “It’s been in news reports that ships have been
leaving from Libya and that may have weapons, and what I’d like to know
is the annex that was close by, were they involved with procuring,
buying, selling, obtaining weapons, and were any of these weapons being
transferred to other countries, any countries, Turkey included?”
Clinton replied, “Well, Senator, you’ll have to direct that question
to the agency that ran the annex. I will see what information is
available.”
“You’re saying you don’t know?” asked Paul.
“I do not know,” Clinton said. “I don’t have any information on that.”
Clinton’s claims seem to now be unraveling.
Confirming WND’s exclusive reporting for over a year,
the New York Times earlier this week reported that since early 2012, the CIA has been aiding Arab governments and Turkey in obtaining and shipping weapons to the Syrian rebels.
Middle Eastern security officials speaking to WND have said
U.S.-aided weapons shipments go back more than a year, escalating before
the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. facilities in Benghazi.
In fact, the Middle Eastern security officials speaking to WND since
last year describe the U.S. mission in Benghazi and nearby CIA annex
attacked last September as an intelligence and planning center for U.S.
aid to the rebels in the Middle East, particularly those fighting Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The aid, the sources stated, included weapons shipments and was being coordinated with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The specifics of the New York Times reporting, meanwhile, open major
holes in Clinton’s sworn claims to be in the dark about the alleged
weapons shipments.
U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity told the Times that
American intelligence officers have helped the Arab governments shop
for weapons and then helped to vet rebel commanders and groups to
determine who should receive the weapons as they arrive.
The plan mirrors one
the Times reported last month
in a separate article that was proposed by Clinton herself. The Times
described Clinton as one of the driving forces advocating for arming the
Syrian rebels.
Last month, the New York Times reported Clinton and then-CIA Director
David Petraeus had concocted a plan calling for vetting rebels and
arming Syrian fighters with the assistance of Arab countries.
The Times report from earlier this week of U.S. arms shipments and vetting seems to be the Clinton-Petraeus plan put in action.
It may be difficult for most to believe the secretary of state was
not aware that her alleged plan was being implemented, especially when
arming the Syrian rebels is a serious policy with obvious major
repercussions internationally.
Clinton is not the only one in hot water.
As
WND reported yesterday,
the New York Times report threatens the longstanding White House
narrative that claims the Obama administration has only supplied
nonlethal aid to the rebels.
The White House has repeatedly denied directly arming the rebels.
Recruiting jihadists
Days after the Benghazi attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens,
WND broke the story
that Stevens himself played a central role in recruiting jihadists to
fight Assad’s regime in Syria, according to Egyptian and other Middle
Eastern security officials.
Stevens served as a key contact with the Saudis to coordinate the
recruitment by Saudi Arabia of Islamic fighters from North Africa and
Libya. The jihadists were sent to Syria via Turkey to attack Assad’s
forces, said the security officials.
The officials said Stevens also worked with the Saudis to send names
of potential jihadi recruits to U.S. security organizations for review.
Names found to be directly involved in previous attacks against the
U.S., including in Iraq and Afghanistan, were ultimately not recruited
by the Saudis to fight in Syria, said the officials.
The latest New York Times report has bolstered WND’s reporting,
citing air traffic data, interviews with officials in several countries
and the accounts of rebel commanders describing how the CIA has been
working with Arab governments and Turkey to sharply increase arms
shipments to Syrian rebels in recent months.
The Times reported that the weapons airlifts began on a small scale
in early 2012 and continued intermittently through last fall, expanding
into a steady and much heavier flow late last year, the data shows.
The Times further revealed that from offices at “secret locations,”
American intelligence officers have helped the Arab governments shop for
weapons, including a large procurement from Croatia. They have vetted
rebel commanders and groups to determine who should receive the weapons
as they arrive.
The CIA declined to comment to the Times on the shipments or its role in them.
The Times quoted a former American official as saying that David H.
Petraeus, the CIA director until November, had been instrumental in
helping set up an aviation network to fly in the weapons. The paper said
Petraeus had prodded various countries to work together on the plan.
Petraeus did not return multiple emails from the Times asking for comment.
Both WND’s reporting, which first revealed the U.S.-coordinated arms
shipments, and the Times reporting starkly contrast with statements from
top U.S. officials who have denied aiding the supply of weapons to the
rebels.
Rebel training
It’s not the first time WND’s original investigative reporting on
U.S. support for the Syrian rebels was later confirmed by reporting in
major media outlets. Other WND reporting indicates support for the
Syrian rebels that goes beyond supplying arms, painting a larger picture
of U.S. involvement in the Middle East revolutions.
A story by the German weekly Der Spiegel earlier this month reporting
the U.S. is training Syrian rebels in Jordan was exclusively
exposed by WND 13 months ago.
Quoting what it said were training participants and organizers, Der
Spiegel reported it was not clear whether the Americans worked for
private firms or were with the U.S. Army, but the magazine said some
organizers wore uniforms.
The training in Jordan reportedly focused on use of anti-tank weaponry.
The German magazine reported some 200 men received the training over
the previous three months amid U.S. plans to train a total of 1,200
members of the Free Syrian Army in two camps in the south and the east
of Jordan.
Britain’s Guardian newspaper also reported U.S. trainers were aiding
Syrian rebels in Jordan along with British and French instructors.
Reuters reported a spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department declined
immediate comment on the Der Spiegel report. The French foreign
ministry and Britain’s foreign and defense ministries also would not
comment to Reuters.
While Der Spiegel quoted sources discussing training of the rebels in Jordan over the last three months,
WND was first to report the training as far back as February 2012.
At the time, WND quoted knowledgeable Egyptian and Arab security
officials claimed the U.S., Turkey and Jordan were running a training
base for the Syrian rebels in the Jordanian town of Safawi in the
country’s northern desert region.
