“I made a significant error in my April 16 profile of Gina Haspel. It took a while to figure out where I went wrong. Here is the correction: […] The intelligence about the ducks and children were based on an early intelligence report, according to people familiar with the matter. The intelligence was presented to the US in an effort to share all that was known, not to deceive the Trump administration. This correction was delayed because conducting the research to figure out what I got wrong, how I got it wrong and what was the correct information took time. I regret the error and offer my apology. I strive to get information right the first time. That is what subscribers pay for. But when I get something wrong, I fix it. ”
Julian E. Barnes (June 5 2019)
“In March 2018, Gina Haspel lied to President Trump about the Skripal Affair in order to persuade him to escalate measures against Moscow. On April 16 of this year, The New York Times reported it without correcting Haspel’s falsehood. Please, note that the story told by the Times is not only false, it also contradicts the official narrative.”
Intel Today (June 5 2019)
“Spygate is the first American scandal in which the government wants the facts published transparently but the media want to cover them up.”
British journalist John O’Sullivan — Tweet (May 24 2019)
“Which [story] is worse? (…) The answer is they’re both as bad. In both scenarios, an utterly false picture of what happened in Salisbury was given to the sceptical President to twist his arm into taking action he didn’t want to take. As they say, when in a hole, better stop digging.”
Rob Slane — The Blogmire
June 9 2019 — First, the New York Times told us that CIA Director Gina Haspel had showed President Trump some (fake) pictures of dead ducks and sick children to persuade him to retaliate against Russia for the Skripals’ poisoning. Two months later, the New York Times journalist claims that he made a mistake. Such pictures do not — of course — exist. And now, the readers are asked to believe that Haspel showed some pictures of actual nerve agent victims who were never anywhere near Salisbury to persuade Trump to take the strongest action. Seriously? Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
RELATED POST: On This Day — The Skripals Drama Begins (March 4 2018)
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RELATED POST: Skripal Poisoning : Medics Reveal Fears [Documentary]
RELATED POST: Salisbury Incident — President Putin : “Skripal Would Be Dead If Poisoned By Novichok”
RELATED POST: Salisbury Incident — OPCW Corrects Own Director Over Novichok
RELATED POST: Salisbury Incident — UK Media silenced by D-Notices Over Skripal Affair
UPDATE (June 9 2020) — This story raises an important question. Does the CIA collect Intelligence and advise the President, or does the CIA actually write Foreign Policies?
As I am currently writing a short book on the Lockerbie tragedy, I will tell you a story about Bill Clinton that clearly answers this fundamental question.
A month later, in March of 1998, U.S. President Clinton visited President Mandela in Johannesburg.
South African government sources say that after discussing a variety of issues, Mandela asked for Clinton’s aides to leave so that he could speak with the American president privately.
After the doors closed behind the American aides, Prince Bandar unexpectedly dropped in for five minutes to participate in a talk about the Libyan sanctions.
“We were surprised to find how little Clinton knew about this matter,” Gerwel [Mandela’s chief of staff] noted.
“[US National Security Advisor] Sandy Berger almost had a heart attack over having the president talk on something he hadn’t been briefed on before. It was clear he actually knew very little about the matter.” [Strategic Moral Diplomacy]
Obviously, the facts about the Lockerbie negotiations had not been relayed to the US President.
For example, President Clinton was not even aware that Libya had committed in writing to a trial under Scottish law as first suggested by Professor Black in 1994, and to the two accused being imprisoned in Scotland if convicted.
This short anecdote speaks volumes…
END of UPDATE
On April 16 2019, the New York Times published a report by Julian E. Barnes and Adam Goldman about the relation between CIA Director Gina Haspel and President Donald Trump.
“During the discussion, Ms. Haspel, then deputy C.I.A. director, turned toward Mr. Trump. She outlined possible responses in a quiet but firm voice, then leaned forward and told the president that the “strong option” was to expel 60 diplomats.
To persuade Mr. Trump, according to people briefed on the conversation, officials including Ms. Haspel also tried to show him that Mr. Skripal and his daughter were not the only victims of Russia’s attack.
Ms. Haspel showed pictures the British government had supplied her of young children hospitalized after being sickened by the Novichok nerve agent that poisoned the Skripals. She then showed a photograph of ducks that British officials said were inadvertently killed by the sloppy work of the Russian operatives.“
On June 5 2019, The NYT issued a correction :
“An earlier version of this article incorrectly described the photos that Gina Haspel showed to President Trump during a discussion about responding to the nerve agent attack in Britain on a former Russian intelligence officer.
Ms. Haspel displayed pictures illustrating the consequences of nerve agent attacks, not images specific to the chemical attack in Britain. This correction was delayed because of the time needed for research.”
Rob Slane of the Blogmire quickly noted a serious issue with the original narrative:
“In addition to the extraordinary nature of this revelation, there is also a huge irony here. Along with many others, I have long felt that the duck feed is one of the many achilles heels of the whole story we’ve been presented with about what happened in Salisbury on 4th March 2018. And the reason for this is precisely because if it were true, there would indeed have been dead ducks and sick children.
According to the official story, Mr Skripal and his daughter became contaminated with “Novichok” by touching the handle of his front door at some point between 13:00 and 13:30 that afternoon. A few minutes later (13:45), they were filmed on CCTV camera feeding ducks, and handing bread to three local boys, one of whom ate a piece. After this they went to Zizzis, where they apparently so contaminated the table they sat at, that it had to be incinerated.
You see the problem? According to the official story, ducks should have died. According to the official story children should have become contaminated and ended up in hospital. Yet as it happens, no ducks died, and no boys got sick (all that happened was that the boys’ parents were contacted two weeks later by police, the boys were sent for tests, and they were given the all clear).”
Why the correction? Why now?
In a recent post, I reminded you that CIA Director Gina Haspel was the Chief of Station in London from 2013 to 2017.
RELATED POST: How Did Spygate Begin?
And I concluded:
” There can be only one conclusion: Haspel was running the European chapter of Russiagate.”
Indeed, it seems clear now that CIA — and therefore Brennan & Haspel — were profoundly involved in the Russiagate project.
The Spygate investigation could reveal that the CIA, in collaboration with European Intelligence Agencies, attempted to sabotage Trump, first as a candidate and then as the President.
I have long argued that the Skripal Affair is also part of Russiagate. And again, the Spygate investigation may very well reveal the Novichok story as a complete fabrication.
The CIA has plunged into full panic mode. Time to spell it CYA (Cover Your Ass)…
NYT Apologizes For Misreporting On Skripal Incident
REFERENCES
Gina Haspel Relies on Spy Skills to Connect With Trump. He Doesn’t Always Listen. — NYT
No children or ducks harmed by novichok, say health officials — The Guardian
Odd NYT ‘Correction’ Exculpates British Government And CIA From Manipulating Trump Over Skripal Novichok Incident — Moon of Alabama
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NYT Apologizes For Misreporting On Skripal Incident
One Year Ago — NYT Apologizes For Misreporting On Skripal Incident
Intel Today 