Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Another Mysterious Plant Bombed in Khartoum

Speculation is of course centered on Israel:
"Four planes coming from the east bombed the Yarmouk industrial complex," Belal told a press conference. "They used sophisticated technology … We believe that Israel is behind it."
Israel has alleged that Sudan was making weapons for Hamas.  No word about how Sudan will attack back, perhaps they have some horses and bayonets available. 

Odd coincidence since the US once bombed a facility in Khartoum after accusing Sudan of hosting a pharmaceutical plant allegedly tied to bin Laden that was allegedly making VX nerve gas via the expertise of Iraqi scientists:
In 1998 Human Rights Watch said a coalition of Sudanese opposition groups had alleged that Sudan stored chemical weapons for Iraq at the Yarmouk facility but government officials strenuously denied the charges. In August of that year United States cruise missiles struck the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in North Khartoum, which the US said was linked to chemical weapons production. Evidence for that claim later proved questionable.
That was back when calling Saddam a threat to the world was cool. One of the perpetrators of that attack was Clinton NSA Sandy Socks Berger...
Under-Secretary of State Thomas Pickering claimed to have sufficient evidence against Sudan, including contacts between officials at Al-Shifa plant and Iraqi chemical weapons experts, with the Iraq chemical weapons program the only one identified with using EMPTA for VX production. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a Sudanese opposition in Cairo led by Mubarak Al-Mahdi, also insisted that the plant was producing ingredients for chemical weapons.[5]
Former Clinton administration counter terrorism advisor Richard Clarke and former national security advisor Sandy Berger also noted the facilities alleged ties with the former Iraqi government. Clarke also cited Iraq's $199,000 contract with al Shifa for veterinary medicine under the UN's Oil for Food Program. David Kay, a former UN weapons inspector also said that Iraq may have assisted in the construction of the Al-Shifa plant, noting that Sudan would be unlikely to have the technical knowledge to produce VX.[6]
Here's more, from CNN:
But U.S. National Security Advisor Sandy Berger said Sunday that the United States has "physical evidence" that the factory was manufacturing a chemical used to make deadly VX nerve gas. "The evidence, obviously, is highly classified," Berger said on CNN's "Late Edition." "We're not going to release it, but I can say that I have no question and the intelligence community has no questions." The United States claims Osama bin Laden, an exiled Saudi militant, was using the factory for chemical weapons production. Sudanese officials have denied that claim.
What a warmonger, that Bill Clinton!  As far as anyone knows Berger still hasn't backed off the attack rationale.  Actually, according to Timothy Noah, nobody from that team has backed off: 
George Tenet, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and Sandy Berger, who was national security adviser at the time, "still believe they made the right recommendation." Indeed, the authors of the report say they are not aware of any top Clinton advisers who will concede that the Al-Shifa bombing was a screw-up.
Most were never grilled on it, especially after 9/11.

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