Richard Barlow discusses his experience as a counter-proliferation intelligence officer with the CIA in the 1980s, his work for the Office of the Secretary of Defense under Dick Cheney, and his incredible journey in trying to stop the proliferation efforts of the now infamous A.Q. Khan. He talks about the ‘real politics’ involving our relations with Pakistan and the Congress’ role, the draconian State Secrets Privilege, current disheartening status of whistleblower protection laws, and more!

Richard Barlow worked as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) counter-proliferation intelligence officer in the 1980s. He learned that top U.S. officials were allowing Pakistan to manufacture and possess nuclear weapons, and that the A.Q. Khan nuclear network was violating U.S. laws. He also discovered that top officials were hiding these activities from Congress, since telling the truth would have legally obligated the U.S. government to cut off its overt military aid to Pakistan at a time when covert military aid was being funneled through Pakistan to Afghan Jihadists in the war against the Soviets. Barlow’s response: to organize the first interagency efforts to go after the A.Q. Khan nuclear network, well before it spread nuclear weapons to Iran, North Korea and Libya. After engineering the arrests of Khan’s nuclear agents operating in the U.S. in 1987, Mr. Barlow was sent by high levels of the CIA to testify before Congress, where he revealed that certain members of the Reagan administration had been misleading Congress. Barlow’s efforts to enforce the law and tell the truth caused Congress to come within an inch of terminating aid to Pakistan. As a result, he was persecuted as a traitor by some cold warriors in the CIA and State Department, shutting down his operations and clouding his future in the Agency.

For additional information on Richard Barlow and related documents visit POGO.

Here is our guest Richard Barlow unplugged!

Luke Rosiak of Sunlight Foundation has published the second installment of his series on the Turkish Lobby. I strongly urge you to read it. Here are a few excerpts:

The Defense Department’s request last week for congressional approval of the sale of $8 billion worth of PAC-3 missiles to Turkey was the latest victory for a disparate group of interests including defense contractors, finance and energy corporations, trade groups, the Turkish government and a well-financed network of domestic advocacy groups. Intersecting interests have led them to join forces and lobby on a number of issues, including the characterization of distant historical events.

Turkey and the domestic advocacy groups that promote the interests of Turkish-Americans did so to protect the Turkey’s image, while U.S. companies sought to bolster their own bottom lines. The efforts appear to have been successful for all the parties.

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Here is a very ‘interesting’ player named by Rosiak: Hittite Microwave

Turkey’s efforts have now been augmented by a domestic effort launched by a Turkish-American entrepreneur. Yalcin Ayasli founded Hittite Microwave in 1985 as a one-man company with a grant from the U.S. Air Force, and built the electronics company into a firm worth $1.2 billion, with half of its products sold overseas, according to a company presentation. The company had $180 million in revenue in 2008, according to SEC filings.

Since 2004, Hittite Microwave has received roughly $30 million in contracts directly from the government—mostly to sponsor research and development—and has also done business with Lockheed Martin and other prime contractors, many of whom use Hittite electronics in their jets and other equipment, sold to both the U.S. military and Turkey.

In 2007, Ayasli transferred $30 million in stock to fund a new endeavor, the nonprofit Turkish Coalition of America. The organization is headquartered in a Washington suite that has also been listed as the address for the Turkish Coalition USA PAC, the lobbying firm of Lydia Borland (who has represented the Turkish government), and the law firm of Bruce Fein and Associates (Fein comprises half of the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund).

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Visit the site and read the entire piece here, and pay a lot of attention to ‘Hittite Microwave.’ In what context? Those of you who have followed my case and past interviews are very familiar with my using the label ‘Shady Turkish Front Companies.’

For now, let’s forget about the ‘classified’ and ‘buried’ aspects, and take a look at the following public information available on ‘Hittite Microwave’:

The Department of Commerce charged the multi-billion dollar company, Hittite Microwave, with 7 violations which occurred in 2000-2001:

6 Violations of Exporting Items without the Required Licenses, and

1 Violation of False Statement on Shipper’s Export Declaration Concerning Authority to Export

Hittite Microwave accepted all charges and agreed to pay the imposed fine.

Now, let’s keep this thought, and go back and read a brief but very informative piece written by Philip Giraldi, the Retired CIA Officer who used to be stationed in Turkey. It’s a short piece, and here is the relevant paragraph for our purposes on this post:

Investigators are also looking at Israel’s particular expertise in the illegal sale of US military technology to countries like China and India. Fraudulent end-user certificates produced by Defense Ministries in Israel and Turkey are all that is needed to divert military technology to other, less benign, consumers.

I took the liberty of highlighting the ‘key phrase’: Fraudulent End-User Certificates.

Now, I want to present you with a related article on the Nuclear Black Market. It’s a lengthy article, so I will point out the relevant info:

Karni then contacted Zeki Bilmen, head of Giza Technologies of Secaucus, N.J. On Aug. 6, Giza ordered 200 of the switches from PerkinElmer for $89,400, submitting certificates saying they would be used in a Soweto, South Africa, hospital.
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Traffickers frequently ship restricted U.S. items to Dubai, Malta and other unrestricted trade zones worldwide and then re-export them to third countries to hide the origin or destination and avoid laws aimed at curbing nuclear proliferation, authorities say.
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Giza, which had certified to PerkinElmer that the switches were for hospital use, sent them to Karni’s Cape Town office by declaring them “electrical splices and couplings for switchings,” which don’t require an export license, Brigham’s affidavit says. Providing such false or misleading information is a violation of federal law, he noted.
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In court records, authorities said Karni often sent air freight to Pakistan and that he either completed or discussed other suspicious deals. In one, Karni bought for Khan a type of sophisticated oscilloscope often used in nuclear weapons and military programs, also through Giza.
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Bilmen, of Giza Technologies, has not been charged. His lawyer, Robert C. Herbst, said Giza employees “were a victim of Asher Karni as much as anyone else was.”

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Zeki Bilmen of Giza Technology was a Turkish Businessman. This important piece of information was omitted by LA Times, although they were well aware of it. Giza Technologies’ CEO Zeki Bilmen happened to be a much higher-level operator in this highly distorted LA Times story than even Karni. Citing this fact, mentioning the Turkish connection, and going after Giza Technologies, would have cost a lot when it came to our MIC, oil companies, certain elected and appointed officials, and the Turkish operatives and lobbyists in US.

Now, back to our multi-billion-dollar and highly connected Hittite Microwave. In those Department of Commerce violations case, Ayasli’s company was playing in the same game as Karni and Giza Technologies. Of course they got away with a slap on the wrist. Their protectors, our MIC + the State Department and Congressional guardian angels + the ‘lobby, made sure Hittite got off the hook and flourished even further under their protective umbrella.

Did the FBI notify the Department Commerce of it’s own files on Giza & Hittite? One wonders. How many people know about the relationship and business partnership between Hittite Microwave & Giza Technologies in the late 90s and early 2000? One wonders. Will we get to read further investigative reports on how the American Turkish Council (ATA) and ATAA facilitate these nuclear and illegal weapons market related operations via False End-User Certificates? I certainly hope so.

Again, I want to thank Sunlight Foundation for this excellent investigative piece. Let’s hope no one from the ‘establishment’ gets to them. I’ve seen it happen in the past. Please visit their site and show your support.

Please stay tuned for BREAKING NEWS tomorrow. I will need your support in having it disseminated. Please visit this site tomorrow for the latest.