“Bernard Kalb resigned today as chief spokesman for Secretary of State George P. Shultz in protest of the government’s disinformation program directed at Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi.”
Los Angeles Times
(Oct. 8, 1986)
April 5 2022 — In a piece published by the Washington Post on April 7 2017, Amber Phillips wrote that President Ronald Reagan’s 1986 bombing raid on Tripoli and Benghazi was retaliation for the 1988 attack on Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie. At the time, I would have bet the farm that this would be the most idiotic story ever reported by the Washington Post. On February 11 2020, Greg Miller taught me a good lesson: ‘The worst is — always — yet to come.” Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
RELATED POST: Two Years Ago — The Washington Post Rewrites History [Lockerbie]
RELATED POST: Salisbury Incident — Skripal Case Investigators Could Learn From The Lockerbie Affair
RELATED POST: Remembering Lockerbie — Pan Am 103 Quotes
RELATED POST: One Year Ago — Hillary’s Email Reveals Truth about Libya Bombing: Oil and Golden Dinar
RELATED POST: One Year Ago — Libyan intervention based on erroneous assumptions — David Cameron ultimately responsible
RELATED POST: Disinformation — Who Coined That Word Anyway?
“The trial was murky and marred by what the court called a ‘limited willingness’ by the American and German governments to share evidence.”
BBC News Report
UPDATE (April 5, 2024) — I remain convinced that this event is an important story of the Cold War. This morning, I checked what ChatGPT had to say about the bombing of the La Belle Discotheque.
“The German trial highlighted some uncertainties. The trial, which lasted four years, faced challenges in obtaining sufficient evidence to conclusively prove Libya’s involvement.
Additionally, there were criticisms of limited cooperation between the American and German governments in sharing evidence, which further complicated the investigation.
Some skeptics have suggested alternative theories about the perpetrators of the bombing, including the possibility of involvement by other state actors or non-state actors with different agendas.
However, despite these doubts, the prevailing narrative remains that Libya was behind the attack, primarily due to the circumstantial evidence linking Libyan agents to the bombing.
Ultimately, the La Belle Discotheque bombing remains a contentious and debated event in history, reflecting the complexities and uncertainties often associated with attributing responsibility for terrorist acts.”
In a recent piece [Lockerbie bombing: The ultimate detective story?], David Cowan (Home affairs correspondent, BBC Scotland) wrote:
“Thirty-five years on, there are more chapters in this story to come.”
One thing is obvious. In both case, the Truth is yet to be told… Stay tuned!
END of UPDATE
“Finally, please remember that Agela Masud is NOT an alias for Megrahi. He is/was a real ESO agent.”
Intel Today
Email to FBI R. Marquise
Head of the Lockerbie Investigation
(February 8 2010)
UPDATE (April 5 2022) — On December 21 2020, the 32nd anniversary of the Lockerbie tragedy, the US DoJ announced new charges against a third former Libyan intelligence operative for his role in the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103.
RELATED POST: LOCKERBIE — Analysis of the New Indictment [Intel Today Conclusions]
According to the FBI affidavit, Libyan Intelligence Officer Abu Agela Masud also built the bomb that was used in the La Belle Discotheque.
“41 — One of the other operations MASUD admitted to committing was the bombing of the LaBelle Discotheque, which took place in Berlin, West Germany, shortly after midnight on April 5, 1986. MASUD explained that he was asked by a Libyan intelligence official to travel to East Berlin to meet with the security officer at the Libyan embassy. When MASUD met with this person at the embassy, he informed MASUD that MASUD was to build an explosive device to be used against an American target. MASUD prepared the explosive device from plastic explosive “dough,” as well as a detonating fuse and a timing device that were present at the embassy.”
US media give Ken Dornstein the credit for discovering the trail that led to MASUD in a series he wrote and produced for PBS in 2015.
If you just take a look at the quote at the top of this post update, you will see that US media have no idea what really goes on…
MASUD has been on the radar for a long time. And, according to a CIA document dated Oct. 8 1988, they knew him as a TELECOM expert, not a bomb-maker… More importantly, they knew that MASUD was often traveling with Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-MEGRAHI, the alleged Lockerbie bomber.
Ken Dornstein was told that the FBI monitored the La Belle trial for evidence of a connection to Lockerbie.
This begs the question why did they not tell the Scottish police and prosecutors about the link? After all, this information would have greatly strengthened the circumstantial case against Megrahi.
Ken Dornstein believes that the FBI simply missed the Masud-Megrahi link. The claim that the FBI missed what was sitting under their noses is not simply incredible. I know that this claim is not true…
“In 2001, following a four-year German trial often described as murky [BBC News], and marred by what the court called a “limited willingness” by the American and German governments to share evidence, a court found that the bombing had been “planned by the Libyan Intelligence Service and the Libyan embassy”, but absolved Gaddafi of responsibility.” [Wikipedia — West Berlin discotheque bombing]
Today, we know that the CIA and the BND were the real owners of CRYPTO AG. This may explain some of the “limited willingness” by the American and German governments to share evidence.
Yet, I do not believe that it explains all the murkiness of this case. The TRUTH has not been told yet.
Stay tuned!
END of UPDATE
“Your White House, specifically your national security adviser, constructed an operation whereby the free press in this country was going to be used to convey a false story to the world, namely that Qaddafi was planning new terrorist operations.”
New York Times
(October 3 1986)
UPDATE (April 5 2021) — The Other Side of Deception — The following text comes from a police statement made by John McGowan who was seconded in Germany during the early months of the Lockerbie investigation.
If the name sounds familiar, it is because I have mentioned him a few times while I was investigating the GOLFER.
RELATED POST: Lockerbie — Unmasking the GOLFER. Who was Lockerbie Deep Throat?
Several things are a bit odd about this statement. First, it is not clear whether the defence did a precognition or not, but, if they did, the document did not make it into the files of the defence team (Taylor & Kelly).
This statement is also interesting because part of it is redacted and, to the best of my knowledge, no other disclosed police statements has been redacted.
As you can see, the statement relates to Adnan Younis and refers to an informant who first told the German police about Younis in 1986.
The organisation that informant was working for is redacted, but appears to be six letters long, which clearly points to the Mossad, rather than BfV, BKA, BND, or even CIA or M!6.
The informant was relocated and given a new name. You will remember that one of the La Belle suspects who features in the ZDF documentary and was relocated to Norway, admitted being a Mossad asset.
So what? As I explained in this post (see explanation below), Reagan claimed that the US IC had intercepted communications from Libya to East Berlin which were related to this bombing.
In his second book [The Other Side of Deception (1994)] former MOSSAD Victor Ostrovsky asserts that these communications were actually emitted by a radio device — named the TROJAN — which the MOSSAD had planted in a rented apartment in Tripoli.
The true story of the La Belle Discotheque Bombing has yet to be written. Stay tuned!
PS — Please, keep in mind that the key piece of evidence in the Lockerbie investigation — a Swiss timer known as MST-13 — made its first appearance right in the middle of this disinformation campaign. (Timeline below)
END of UPDATE
“Then, the U.S. and West German spies sat back and listened. They monitored Iran’s mullahs during the 1979 hostage crisis, fed intelligence about Argentina’s military to Britain during the Falklands War, tracked the assassination campaigns of South American dictators and caught Libyan officials congratulating themselves on the 1986 bombing of a Berlin disco.”
The intelligence coup of the century
Washington Post
Greg Miller
(Feb. 11, 2020)
According to Greg Miller [The intelligence coup of the century — Washington Post (Feb. 11, 2020)], US President Ronald Reagan appears to have jeopardized the Crypto operation after Libya was implicated in the 1986 bombing of a West Berlin disco popular with American troops stationed in West Germany.
Two U.S. soldiers and a Turkish woman were killed as a result of the April 5 1986 bombing of the La Belle Discotheque.
“Reagan ordered retaliatory strikes against Libya ten days later. Among the reported victims was one of Gaddafi’s daughters. [Intel Today — Hana Gaddafi is doing quite well. She graduated from medical school.]
In an address to the country announcing the strikes, Reagan said the United States had evidence of Libya’s complicity that ‘is direct, it is precise, it is irrefutable.’
The evidence, Reagan said, showed that Libya’s embassy in East Berlin received orders to carry out the attack a week before it happened.
Then, the day after the bombing, ‘they reported back to Tripoli on the great success of their mission.’
Reagan’s words made clear that Tripoli’s communications with its station in East Berlin had been intercepted and decrypted.”
There is problem. That story is simply not true. Noam Chomsky told me many years ago that Libya was not involved in this affair. [He got that inteligence from a German general who spoke to him after a conference.]
Without realizing it, Greg Miller makes it clear that the the bombing of the La Belle disco is a textbook False Flag Operation.
Like the CIA & the NSA, ‘Operation Rubicon’ provided German Intelligence Services with direct access to all Libyan communications.
RELATED POST: Crypto AG — The Ghost of Danny Casolaro
And, in the aftermath of the 1986 bombing, various German officials stated very clearly that there was NO evidence of Libya involvement in this attack.
In case you wonder who may be responsible, I will share with you this piece of information.
Last year, a trusted source told me that the MOSSAD is almost certainly involved in this operation. The evidence the source showed me is very credible.
PS — For the record, I would like to make it clear that neither I, nor the source of this information, have ever pointed the finger at the MOSSAD before… even when most people do so as in the case of Gerald Bull’s assassination.
“There is a wonderful book that you might read… And the title of it is from a quote from Winston Churchill: ‘In time of war, the truth is so precious, it must be attended by a bodyguard of lies.'”
George P. Shultz
Secretary of State
(October 3 1986)
President Reagan’s Address to the Nation on U.S. Air Strike against Libya – 4/14/86
Bob Woodward: “Gadhafi Target of Secret U.S. Deception Plan” (Oct. 2 1986)
On October 2 1986, the Washington Post published an extraordinary story whiten by legendary journalist Bob Woodward: “Gadhafi Target of Secret U.S. Deception Plan”. Under orders from the White House, the US Intelligence Community was planting false information in the US media.
If you read this blog, chances are they you are familiar with the Iran-Contra Affair. At the same time, it is quite likely that you have never heard of a major US scandal that was running parallel to the Iran-Contra Operation.
The two operations were in fact two branches of a single policy. If the delivery of weapons to Iran was the “Carrot” part of the plan suggested in the 1985 “Fuller MEMORANDUM“, the disinformation regarding “Libyan terrorism” was the “Stick”.
I would argue that one must know and understand this ‘old story’ in order to understand past cases, such as the Lockerbie Affair, or current ones such as the nonsensical tale of the Salisbury Novichok attack.
Disinformation
Although, the word ‘disinformation’ was certainly used long before by English-speaking Intelligence Agencies (CIA, MI6), it did not appear in English dictionaries until the late 80s.
‘Disinformation’ first made an appearance in English dictionaries in 1985, specifically in the Webster’s New College Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary.
English use increased in 1986, after revelations that the Reagan Administration engaged in disinformation against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The facts are well documented. But as the world — and the US Congress — discovered with horror the Iran-Contra Affair, the “Libyan Scandal” was quickly forgotten.
There never was an investigation. And only one person resigned over this affair.
“Bernard Kalb resigned today (08 October 1986) as chief spokesman for Secretary of State George P. Shultz in protest of the government’s disinformation program directed at Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi. (…)
He said his choice was to remain at the department and vanish into acquiescence or to quit in protest.” LA Times
TIMELINE
Here is the timeline/story of one of the major US scandals you probably never heard of.
08 January 1986
STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT IN LIBYA UNDER QADDAFI New York Times
“Qaddafi has used terrorism as one of the primary instruments of his foreign policy and supports radical groups which use terrorist tactics.”
The report lists the anti-US illegal activities of Libya in Europe, Africa, the near and far-east, Central and Latin America as well as direct threats against the US.
The Reports specifically names the activities of Qaddafi in Nicaragua and his support for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command.
The Report concludes : “Qaddafi has abused diplomatic privilege for terrorist purposes, reneged on international agreements and blatantly used terrorist violence against political opponents. In addition, Qaddafi’s support of terrorism, regardless of his direct operational involvement in a given terrorist act, helps legitimize terrorism as an acceptable political activity. “
05 April 1986
La Belle Disco bombing — Reagan accuses Libya
Evidence: a pair of intercepted cable transmissions from the Libyan People’s Bureau–its embassy–in East Berlin.
A witness names the cables’ recipient as Said Rashid.
[INTEL TODAY: This is the “Said Rashid” who allegedly ordered the MST-13 timers from a Swiss company MEBO. The owner of MEBO — Edwin Bollier — claims that he delivered the first series of MST-13 timers to Rashid in Libya sometimes between September and November 1985. According to the Lockerbie trial, Pan Am 103 was destroyed with the use of this type of timer. The link between Lockerbie and the MST-13 timers has been discredited by several scientists. NB: Bollier’s passport has no Libya entry stamp for this period.]
Germany Finally to Try ’86 Disco Bombing Case
“The despicable attack in Berlin fits the pattern of increased Libyan activities including Rome and Vienna. We have suspicions that this bombing is part of that pattern.”
Bernard Kalb
German authorities do not support this theory.
Christian Lochte, Head of the Hamburg Branch of the BfV speaks on TV the next week:
“I cannot rule out that Libya, in some way, is responsible. But I must say that such hasty blame regarding Rome and Vienna, for which Libya had immediately been made responsible, did not prove to be correct.”
14 April 1986
US President Ronald Reagan orders retaliatory strikes on Tripoli and Benghazi
France denies airspace
Malta warns Tripoli. Le Monde , NYT (See 06/08/1986)
The week after the raid, Reagan said: “If their government continues its campaign of terror against Americans, we will act again.”
17 July 1986
The US Senate ratified the Supplementary Extradition Treaty (Supplementary Treaty) between the United States and the United Kingdom.
“The pact was eagerly sought by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who seeks the return of Irish Republican Army members accused of crimes in Great Britain.”
NYT PACT WITH BRITAIN ON EXTRADITIONS BACKED BY SENATE
“President Reagan had asked for quick Senate approval of the treaty as a sign of gratitude to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for her support of the April 14 U.S. bombing raid against Libya.”
British Extradition Treaty, Irish Aid Approved
About the 1986 U.S. bombing of Tripoli, Thatcher wrote in her 1993 memoirs:
“There were revenge killings of British hostages organized by Libya, which I bitterly regretted. But the much vaunted Libyan counter-attack did not and could not take place.”
[INTEL TODAY: EXCUSE ME? What does it mean about Lockerbie? Two Libyan citizens were indicted by the US and the UK in 1991!]
23 July 1986
Alleged Libyan Plot to Bomb US Embassy in Lomé, Togo.
Togo’s Interior minister Lade said that “two suitcases, which were loaded with explosives, an automatic pistol, and three grenades, were intercepted. These containers had been sent from Libya to its embassy in Cotonu, the capital of neighboring Benin, and the transshipped to Togo.” (See 11&13/08/1986)
06 August 1986
NYT: MALTA SAYS LIBYA GOT A TIP ON RAID
07 August 1986
NSC Letter; Operation VECTOR
Howard R Teicher proposes “to shame France into joining in some action… White House might have to go around the civilian government and rely and military to military channels… as political channels have failed earlier this year.”
“Given the stated desire of some French general officers to cooperate with us against Gadhafi, we might actively encourage them to sell the proposal to their civilian leadership.”
Around this day – DDI Richard Kerr and Tom Twetten are sent to the White House to explain what the CIA could do “to apply psychological pressure on Gaddafi”.
Twetten said it would be no problem for the CIA “to plant false stories in publications abroad” to unnerve Gaddafi.
10 August 1986
MALTA SAYS IT WARNED LIBYA OF U.S. RAID
“Prime Minister Mifsud Bonnici said the planes were picked up on radar 30 to 45 minutes before the raid, and Libya was notified shortly thereafter.”
11 August 1986
Togo’s Interior Minister: “A terrorist attack on the United States Embassy here using explosives sent from Libya has been thwarted.” NYT
13 August 1986
Le Monde: Plot against US Embassy in Lomé
The information was discussed in a four-States mini-summit. Although Senegal is not a member state of this summit, its defense minister was invited.
Arrestation de neuf personnes accusées de préparer des attentats
14 August 1986
11AM. Reagan meets with Shultz, Weinberger, Casey, Poindexter and Admiral William Crowe (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)
“Poindexter lavished praise on Defense, saying that the April 14 raid had been technically impressive, that it had deterred terrorism…”
Poindexter Memo is agreed.
The MEMO states: “U.S. intelligence officials have concluded in August that Gadhafi was quiescent on the terrorist front.”
16 August 1986
Reagan signs NSDD: “Deception and Disinformation”
Top Secret. Code word VEIL
25 August 1986
Wall Street Journal: Collision course
“Libya is plotting new terrorist attacks”
26 August 1986
“Officials indicated today that Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi was planning terrorist attacks, and the White House warned that it was prepared to take whatever action is necessary to thwart the Libyan leader. ”
NYT: U.S. SAYS LIBYA MAY HAVE PLANS FOR NEW TERROR
27 August 1986
”The Reagan Administration has perhaps launched a deliberate campaign of disinformation.”
Le Monde Un nouveau raid sur la Libye?
23 September 1986
Attempted Coup in Togo; “MST-13 Timers appearance” . US team brings one timer back to Washington.
Keep in mind that without this MST-13 timer, PT/35(b) [The key evidence in the Lockerbie investigation] would not have helped the Lockerbie investigators since it would never have been matched to a MST-13 MEBO timer.
02 October 1986
Gadhafi Target of Secret U.S. Deception Plan
Elaborate Campaign Included Disinformation That Appeared as Fact in American Media.
Washington Post, Bob Woodward
03 October 1986
“Disinformation Program” widely covered in the US; 5 stories in the NYT, 3 on the front page!
INITIAL REPORT ON LIBYAN PLOTS STIRRED SKEPTICISM
“Your White House, specifically your national security adviser, constructed an operation whereby the free press in this country was going to be used to convey a false story to the world, namely that Qaddafi was planning new terrorist operations.”
03 October 1986
In the evening, Shultz speaks to reporters at a Press Briefing:
There is a wonderful book that you might read… And the title of it is from a quote from Winston Churchill: “In time of war, the truth is so precious, it must be attended by a bodyguard of lies.”
04 October 1986
F.B.I. WILL SEEK AIDE WHO CITED NEWS DECEPTION
Senator William S. Cohen, Republican of Maine, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he grew worried last summer while reading news reports indicating that Colonel Gaddafi had become increasingly unstable and was facing internal threats.
”That did not seem consistent with other information I was looking at, Cohen said. I can only conclude that the reports were without foundation or someone was deliberately seeking to plant such information.”
08 October 1986
Bernard Kalb resigned today as chief spokesman for Secretary of State George P. Shultz in protest of the government’s “disinformation” program directed at Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi.
Kalb Quits State Dept. Post to Protest ‘Disinformation’: Fears Loss of His Own Credibility
03 November 1986
The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa exposed the Iran-contra scandal.
REFERENCES
German TV exposes CIA, Mossad links to 1986 Berlin disco bombing — Frontal report (27 August 1998)
The German report states the following conclusions:
1) The lead defendant presently on trial, Yasser Chraidi, is very possibly innocent, and is being used as a scapegoat by German and American intelligence services.
2) At least one of the defendants, Musbah Eter, has been working for the CIA over many years.
3) Some of the key suspects have not appeared in court, because they are being protected by Western intelligence services.
4) At least one of those, Mohammed Amairi, is an agent of Mossad, the Israeli secret service.
Diskothek La Belle Bombenanschlag 5 April 1986 – Die Hintermänner
German TV exposes CIA, Mossad links to 1986 Berlin disco bombing — WSWS.org
Libya: Background and U.S. Relations — WikiLeaks
Baker Cable (1992 April 8)
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On This Day — The West Berlin La Belle Discotheque Bombing (April 5 1986) [False Flag — CRYPTO AG]
Intel Today 