From
Raw Story:
The Department of Defense and Vice President Dick Cheney have retained the services of Iran-Contra arms dealer and discredited intelligence asset Manucher Ghorbanifar as their "man on the ground," in order to report on any interaction and attempts at negotiations between Iranian officials and US ambassador to Iraq, Zelmay Khalilzad, current and former intelligence officials say.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, three intelligence sources identified the Iran-Contra middleman as having been put back on the payroll, acting as a human intelligence asset and monitoring any movement in discussions about Iran's alleged burgeoning nuclear weapons program.
From the
Walsh report on Iran-Contra:
McFarlane met at the White House on July 3, 1985, with David Kimche, director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. McFarlane later testified that Kimche raised the possibility of a renewed political dialogue between the United States and Iran. According to Kimche, Iranians who had been in contact with Israel would show their good faith by using their influence over radical groups in Lebanon to obtain the release of American hostages. These Iranians would expect a reciprocal show of good faith from the United States -- most likely in the form of military equipment.
McFarlane mentioned Kimche's proposal to President Reagan. President Reagan expressed interest and instructed McFarlane to explore it further. On July 13, 1985, Ledeen told McFarlane that Adolf 'Al' Schwimmer, an adviser to Prime Minister Peres, said that Peres wanted McFarlane to know that Israel's principal Iranian contact had told Kimche and Schwimmer that he was in touch with a group of Iranians who wished to improve relations with the West and who could demonstrate good faith by arranging the release of the American hostages. In return, these Iranians needed to have 100 American-made TOW anti-tank missiles.
Schwimmer told Ledeen that the Iranian was Manucher Ghorbanifar. Ghorbanifar was an Iranian businessman who was well known to the American intelligence community as a prevaricator. The CIA had concluded, after past interaction with Ghorbanifar, that he could not be trusted to act in anyone's interest but his own. So strong were the CIA's views on Ghorbanifar that the Agency issued a 'burn notice' in July 1984, effectively recommending that no U.S. agency have any dealings with him. Nevertheless, Ghorbanifar was to play a major role over the next year as the initial intermediary (the 'First Channel') between Iran, the United States and Israel.
...
North instructed Ledeen to push the CIA to develop an intelligence relationship with Ghorbanifar. Ledeen met during December 1985 with Casey, Clarridge and Allen, advocating to each that Ghorbanifar be used in any future operations involving Iran. Casey had a favorable reaction, but knew of the CIA's ``burn notice'' on Ghorbanifar. In an effort to get beyond this bad history, Casey told George to reexamine Ghorbanifar's potential as an intelligence contact.
George did as asked. CIA officers polygraphed Ghorbanifar and reported that the CIA's earlier appraisal of Ghorbanifar was correct: The man could not be trusted.
Ghorbanifar has had a new-found close relationship with the neocons over the past few years. Several US officials
met with him in Europe, discussing regime change in Iran, among other topics.
Administration officials said at least two Pentagon officials working for the Undersecretary of Defence for Policy, Douglas Feith, have held "several" meetings with Manucher Ghorbanifar, the Iranian middleman in United States arms-for-hostage shipments to Iran in the mid-1980s.
The officials who disclosed the secret meetings said the talks with Mr Ghorbanifar were not authorised by the White House and appeared to be aimed at undercutting sensitive negotiations with Iran's Government.
As previously reported by RAW STORY, the Paris meetings, which were also attended by Congressman Curt Weldon (R-PA) on at least two occasions in the spring of 2003, involved attempts by Ghorbanifar to advance false intelligence in order to implicate Iran in a bizarre uranium theft claim. The assertions were debunked by the CIA and by other US intelligence and military experts.
According to two of the three intelligence sources, the arms dealer was brought in to observe attempts by Khalilzad or Iranian officials at diplomatic activities and report back to Rumsfeld and/or Cheney through whomever is "holding" Ghorbanifar, sources say.
Asked if Ghorbanifar was essentially being employed as a spy, one former senior counterintelligence official said, "You could put it that way."
Reports of the Bush administration's interest in meeting with Iranian officials continue to suggest that it is Iran that is pushing back against diplomatic talks. Yet all three intelligence sources and sources close to the UN Security Council say it is the US that is squashing attempts at talks between the two nations.
Earlier this month, for example, the New York Times reported that Iran's UN Ambassador, Javad Zarif, wanted discussions. In a New York Times op-ed, Zarif contended that Iran is committed to nuclear nonproliferation and eager for talks.
Goodbye Chalabi, hello Ghorbanifar.
If we read shocking and explosive intel reports about Iran and its nuclear program over the coming weeks, you can safely wager that it came from either Ghorbanifar or the MeK.
So this is what 'all options are on the table' looks like? Real, extensive direct diplomatic talks have never been a serious, valued option for the Bush administration. Anyone that claims differently is foolish.