An open letter to Jeremy Scahill regarding his appearance on the Rachel Maddow Show tonight

Hi Jeremy,

I just got your tweet saying that you will be going on the Rachel Maddow show tonight. So here's some feedback from me to you to prepare you for the interview - for what it's worth.

First you should carefully review Maddow's show in response to Obama's Afghanistan troop announcement. Here it is for easy reference.




Here's what I noticed about her views. First off, I think this is an excellent analysis. She is dead on with the point that President Obama has adopted the Bush Doctrine. And she is also correct to point out the role of the CIA. But what she doesn't seem to fully understand is the role of JSOC and Blackwater which you have pointed out in your article.

So here are some talking points for your interview on tonight's Rachel Maddow show.

JSOC and Blackwater

The part that you need to emphasize to her is the role of JSOC. And how that is used to get around congressional oversight. And then of course the connection between JSOC and Blackwater which is your area of special expertise.

You can also point out to her the connection between your writing and the revelations of Seymour Hersh about Cheney's "secret assassination wing". And then there are the recent revelations about the "black" prison at Bagram which is also run by JSOC - probably in association with the CIA.

General McChrystal

You should also make clear that General McChrystal was the commander of JSOC and so he is deeply involved in all of these covert operations - including the ones that involve Blackwater. JSOC people were punished for their roles in Abu Ghraib, yet McChrystal was promoted. It is very troubling that McChrystal was promoted to a full general by President Obama and put in charge of Afghanistan. McChrystal also has strong ties to Cheney and Rumsfeld.

Pakistan

Finally, there is a nuanced point about Pakistan. There is a growing tendency to turn Pakistan into a new enemy of the United States. This seems to be following the pattern that all Muslim nations are alleged to be enemies of the US. This is a dangerous trap to fall into, and I see a little bit of that in Rachel's commentary.

It's clear that Israel, AIPAC and the neo-cons had a plan to turn the US against Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran. It seems that it is now Pakistan's turn. You've already uncovered some covert operations in Pakistan. It's clear that they are covert because no one in the State Dept. will comment on them. It is not to the advantage of the US to use black ops to destabilize Pakistan.

Conclusion

That's it. Easy, right? I'm glad it's you and not me. It's a lot of material to cover, but Rachel is a good person and I think she will give you a chance to make your point. If she tries to steer you off course and keeps emphasizing the CIA, you have to set her straight. Because that is the cover story that Blackwater and Erik Prick (nee Prince) are trying to use to deflect attention from the JSOC-Blackwater connection.

Good luck!
Frank Hope

[UPDATE: Dec 3 8 PM]

I just got some information from Tofu Charlie about Inter-risk in Pakistan. Here are his posts on the subject.

• Pakistan: New Arrests in Inter-Risk / DynCorp / US State Dept Scandal…
• Pakistan: Ali Zaidi and Inter-Risk; More US Diplomats “Arrested”; Kestral’s “Blackwater Arms Warehouse” in Islamabad…

Here is an article from The Nation (Pakistani newspaper) about Inter-risk


PS to State Minister of Int in FIA custody

Now it would appear that these activities may be revived again and expanded to include the creation of a covert rapid intervention security force under DynCorp made up of retired Pakistani Special Services commandos. The US embassy is also seeking the release of the arrested persons of DynCorp and those linked to it, probably with the intent of having them quietly leave the country. For the security apparatus of the country, it is the importing into the country of a cache of sophisticated banned weapons without the knowledge of the country’s security officials.

Judging from this and the information Tofu Charlie provides, this appears to be related to what Seymour Hersh was saying about a secret US plan for Pakistani nukes.

In an unstable Pakistan, can nuclear warheads be kept safe?


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• Blackwater (aka Xe) exposed by Scahill... again!
• "All the news..." - except Blackwater
• Blackwater and JSOC in Pakistan going viral - then squashed