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Who leaked the details of a CIA-Mossad plot against Iran?
By Yossi Melman
Tags: Iran, Israel, Mossad 

Click here for more articles by Yossi Melman

The Bush administration is prolonging the hunting season against journalists. The latest victim is James Risen, The New York Times reporter for national security and intelligence affairs. About three months ago, a federal grand jury issued a subpoena against him, ordering Risen to give evidence in court. A heavy blackout has been imposed on the affair, with the only hint being that it has to do with sensitive matters of "national security."

But conversations with several sources who are familiar with the affair indicate that Risen has been asked to testify as part of an investigation aimed at revealing who leaked apparently confidential information about the planning of secret Central Intelligence Agency and Mossad missions concerning Iran's nuclear program.
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Risen included this information in his book, "State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration," which was published in 2006. In the book, he discusses a number of ideas which he says were thought up jointly by CIA and Mossad operatives to sabotage Iran's nuclear capabilities.

One of these ideas was to build electromagnetic devices, smuggling them inside Iran to sabotage electricity lines leading to the country's central nuclear sites. According to the plan, the operation was supposed to cause a series of chain reactions which would damage extremely powerful short circuits in the electrical supply that would have led to failures of the super computers of Iran's nuclear sites.

According to the book, the Mossad planners proposed that they would be responsible for getting the electromagnetic facilities into Iran with the aid of their agents in Iran. However, a series of technical problems prevented the plan's execution.

Another of the book's important revelations, which made the administration's blood boil about James Risen, appeared in a chapter describing what was known as Operation Merlin, the code name for another CIA operation supposed to penetrate the heart of Iran's nuclear activity, collect information about it and eventually disrupt it.

Operation Merlin

The CIA counter proliferation department hired a Soviet nuclear engineer who had previously, in the 1990s, defected to the United States and revealed secrets from the Soviet Union's nuclear program. His speciality was in the field of what is called weaponization, the final stage of assembling a nuclear bomb.

The scientist was equipped with blueprints for assembling a nuclear bomb in which, without his knowledge, false drawings and information blueprints were planted about a nuclear warhead that was supposedly manufactured in the Soviet Union. The plan's details had been fabricated by CIA experts, and so while they appeared authentic, they had no engineering or technological value.

The intention was to fool the scientist and send him to make contact with the Iranians to whom he would offer his services and blueprints. The American plot was aimed at getting the Iranians to invest a great deal of effort in studying the plans and to attempt to assemble a faulty warhead. But when the time came, they would not have a nuclear bomb but rather a dud.

However, Operation Merlin, which was so creative and original, failed because of CIA bungled planning. The false information inserted into the blueprints were too obvious and too easily detected and the Russian engineer discovered them. As planned, he made contact with the Iranian delegation to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna and handed over to them, also as planned, the blueprints.

But contrary to the CIA's intention, he added a letter to the blueprints in which he pointed out the mistakes. He did not do this with ill intent or out of a desire to disrupt the operation and harm his operators. On the contrary, he did so out of a deep sense of mission and in order to satisfy his American operators. He hoped that in this way he would simply increase the Iranians' trust in him and encourage them to make contact with him for the good, of course, of his American operators.

The result was disastrous. Not only did the CIA fail to prevent the Iranians in their efforts to enhance their nuclear program, this operation may also have made it possible for them to get their hands on a plan for assembling a nuclear warhead.

Freedom of the press

In Israel, military censorship would have prevented the publication of details such as these. But in the U.S., where the principle of freedom of the press is sacred and anchored in the constitution, there is no compulsory and binding censorship. There is, however, an expectation there that the press will show responsibility. This expectation has increased in recent years, particularly with the conservative Bush administration and in the wake of the events of September 11, 2001 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Risen is not the first journalist to have been subpoenaed to give evidence before a grand jury and reveal his sources. According to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, some 65 journalists have been summoned for such investigations since 2001. Some agreed, cooperated and testified. Most refused, so that they would not have to reveal their sources. In this way, they exposed themselves to being charged with contempt of court.

There were some who even preferred to be jailed so long as they were not forced to reveal their source. The best-known case was that of Judith Miller, another New York Times writer. The background to her 85-day imprisonment was her refusal to reveal who had leaked the name of Valerie Plame, a CIA agent, to the media.

"It is true that there is tension between the Bush administration and the media," says Steve Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy on behalf of the Federation of American Scientists, an independent body which aims at analyzing the activities of government with a critical eye, "but I would not go so far as to say that the administration is waging war against the media."

In Aftergood's assessment, the danger to the freedom of the press comes rather from private citizens and organizations, those who feel themselves harmed by journalistic publications and commentators and who would therefore like to limit the press' freedom. The most conspicuous of these is Gabriel Schoenfeld, a senior editor at Commentary, who believes that liberal newspapers like The New York Times are not sufficiently patriotic. In his articles and in testimony before a Senate committee that discussed the issue, Schoenfeld claimed that

The New York Times reporters had revealed confidential material that weakened America's struggle against Al-Qaida. He calls for relinquishing the soft approach which he says the administration has taken against journalists in whose publications, in his opinion, America's security is harmed.

There are many others who take the opposite approach and believe that the right of journalists to keep their sources secret should be anchored in law. Two Congressmen, the Republican Mike Pence, and Rick Boucher, a Democrat, have proposed legislation to this effect - a law for the free flow of information. The House of Representatives has already approved their proposal but the legislation is being held up in the Senate, to the displeasure of the American Civil Liberties Union.

On the face of it, this is a sensitive issue that is intended to draw the lines between the freedom of information, freedom of the media, and the public's right to know, against the right of a democracy to defend itself against enemies that are not democratic. But James Risen has no doubt that the correct and just moral act on his part has to be to defend his sources, even if this means he will lose his freedom.

The next test case in the U.S. concerning the freedom of the press could be of even greater interest to Israel. It is connected to next month's trial of two former senior American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) employees, Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, who have been charged with crimes based on an old First World War anti-espionage law, which has hardly ever been put into practice since.

The indictment states that they obtained confidential information from officials at the Pentagon and transferred it, inter alia, to Israeli diplomats and journalists. A number of American journalists have already been investigated by the CIA in connection to this, and it is possible that they will be called to give evidence incriminating the two senior AIPAC officials.
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  1.   soft on comprehension 13:42  |  Mark Lincoln 06/03/08
  2.   They gave Iran the Nukes and they complain 14:04  |  pal 06/03/08
  3.   I.E. GO IT ALONE MOSSAD! 14:15  |  Robert 06/03/08
  4.   Three Corrections 14:28  |  seth 06/03/08
  5.   plot againt iran???? 14:30  |  Shmuelshachor 06/03/08
  6.   American humint resembles Mel Brooks` "Get Smart". 15:12  |  Fortuna Benmayor 06/03/08
  7.   ah, not quite 16:09  |  al 06/03/08
  8.   Big trouble for the spooks 16:25  |  Brod 06/03/08
  9.   vvvv 16:27  |  aaa 06/03/08
  10.   As Long As Iran Has 25,000 Jews... 16:39  |  Yosemite 06/03/08
  11.   hahaha keystone cops 16:44  |  wtf 06/03/08
  12.   If Israel is censored, and the US is free... 16:55  |  Techs Arcana 06/03/08
  13.   The stupidity of the CIA 18:10  |  Agent Beans 06/03/08
  14.   yeah yea 18:15  |  raminPERSIANpride 06/03/08
  15.   Now we KNOW where the nuclear weapon "designs" came from 18:18  |  ManInTheMiddle 06/03/08
  16.   CHAMPION OF FREE PRESS? LoLLLLLLLLL 18:24  |  indrajaya 06/03/08
  17.   reporter leak 18:28  |  gw 06/03/08
  18.   Biased Story 18:30  |  Mark 06/03/08
  19.   Freedom of the Press - with a caveat 18:36  |  American Guy 06/03/08
  20.   CIA Leak was by Armitage, not Libby 18:36  |  GoodLt 06/03/08
  21.   CIA Leak was by Armitage, not Libby 18:36  |  GoodLt 06/03/08
  22.   Yellow Journalist 18:39  |  Russ 06/03/08
  23.   Correction Needed 18:41  |  Peter 06/03/08
  24.   leaks like a sieve 18:41  |  Jon 06/03/08
  25.   information in article 18:45  |  john paul rosas 06/03/08
  26.   Incorrectly named Lewis "Scooter" Libby as Valerie Plame leak 18:47  |  Kevin West 06/03/08
  27.   MErlin 18:49  |  J House 06/03/08
  28.   I agree with "three corrections" seth 18:49  |  Abdul 06/03/08
  29.   Scooter Libby 18:54  |  Nicholas J. Andrelli 06/03/08
  30.   Freedom of the press . . . to a point 18:59  |  Bill King 06/03/08
  31.   Soft on FACTS 19:00  |  B.S. Buster 06/03/08
  32.   Get Science Reporter who understands subject please 19:04  |  Editor Should 06/03/08
  33.   Who leaked the details 19:05  |  jim 06/03/08
  34.   Freedom of press stops at national secrets 19:05  |  Paul 06/03/08
  35.   Scooter Libby 19:06  |  H. 06/03/08
  36.   Let them get the bomb 19:07  |  La Paz 06/03/08
  37.   James Risen 19:08  |  PS 06/03/08
  38.   CIA-MOSSAD PLOT 19:16  |  J 06/03/08
  39.   Melman`s Whole Account is Suspect 19:22  |  Richard A. 06/03/08
  40.   They Should Jail This Traitor 19:26  |  MIKE 06/03/08
  41.   Risen and Leak of CIA-MOSSAD plans 19:29  |  Jeff Dover 06/03/08
  42.   Big difference between what Risen did and the 2 who spied on 19:30  |  lakshmi 06/03/08
  43.   Bungled research 19:31  |  snizzy 06/03/08
  44.   Yossi Melman is unprofessional, sloppy 19:36  |  Dan 06/03/08
  45.   Scooter Libby 19:38  |  Robert Olson 06/03/08
  46.   I quit reading 19:38  |  Bozo Rabebe 06/03/08
  47.   # 13, AMERICAN GUY 19:39  |  indrajaya 06/03/08
  48.   # 13, AMERICAN GUY 19:39  |  indrajaya 06/03/08
  49.   # 13, AMERICAN GUY 19:39  |  indrajaya 06/03/08
  50.   scooter was not the originala leaker 19:42  |  barb despain 06/03/08
  51.   Article Perpetrates a LIe! 19:44  |  Randolph S Knipp 06/03/08
  52.   three corrections 19:47  |  jbroomson 06/03/08
  53.   ZIONIST JEWS LOYAL TO ISRAEL ONLY; AND YANKEES KNOW IT 19:59  |  JACKAL 06/03/08
  54.   CIA-Mossad 20:05  |  JP 06/03/08
  55.   Who leaked the details of a CIA-Mossad plot against Iran? 20:05  |  Tom Van Gelder 06/03/08
  56.   Leaking 20:07  |  David 06/03/08
  57.   Who leaked the details of a CIA-Mossad plot against Iran? 20:09  |  Keith 06/03/08
  58.   Fact Check 20:10  |  Eric P.Miller 06/03/08
  59.   leak of mossad-cia plot on iran 20:12  |  quantumfoam 06/03/08
  60.   Lack of Integrity 20:14  |  Bill 06/03/08
  61.   ERROR: Libby not the leaker 20:14  |  Brad 06/03/08
  62.   ERROR: Libby not the leaker 20:14  |  Brad 06/03/08
  63.   CIA-Mossad 20:16  |  Tom Walsh 06/03/08
  64.   Poor Article Research! 20:20  |  Will 06/03/08
  65.   Truths in print 20:23  |  KC 06/03/08
  66.   isreal 20:24  |  joseph a canzoneri 06/03/08
  67.   Armitage was the original leaker, Rove and Libby also leaked 20:25  |  Brad 06/03/08
  68.   CIA Incompetence - Part 1 20:28  |  Bob in TX 06/03/08
  69.   Valerie Plame Leak 20:30  |  Michael Wilson 06/03/08
  70.   CIA - Mossad plot 20:32  |  Sean 06/03/08
  71.   Judith Miller portion of story 20:33  |  Joyce Bennett 06/03/08
  72.   Yo yo! 20:33  |  Bill Hawks 06/03/08
  73.   Who leaked the CIA Mossad iran connection 20:33  |  Miles Caughey 06/03/08
  74.   CIA Incompetence - Part 2 20:35  |  Bob in TX 06/03/08
  75.   Hey "pal"... 20:37  |  mjn1957 06/03/08
  76.   Mossad leaky 20:39  |  Richard Kinkead 06/03/08
  77.   Secrets 20:40  |  Robert 06/03/08
  78.   reporter melman is a liar 20:41  |  Jerry 06/03/08
  79.   CIA-Mossad plot against Iran? 20:43  |  LA Doc 06/03/08
  80.   Libby wasn`t the leaker. 20:44  |  t 06/03/08
  81.   Correction about Valerie Plame "leak" 20:46  |  Scott 06/03/08
  82.   Get the fact correct 20:52  |  John Moore 06/03/08
  83.   High Treason!! 20:53  |  CCH 06/03/08
  84.   Inaccuracy 20:53  |  Texan 06/03/08
  85.   Purposely inaccurate 20:54  |  chris 06/03/08
  86.   Your distortion of facts 20:56  |  Linda 06/03/08
  87.   Leaks 21:00  |  stan 06/03/08
  88.   hypocracy 21:00  |  terry 06/03/08
  89.   Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theory 21:01  |  Fred 06/03/08
  90.   ``Who leaked the details of a CIA-Mossad Plot against Iran? 21:05  |  K Sheppard 06/03/08
  91.   wow 21:13  |  Jim Wood 06/03/08
  92.   Brad from LA lies 21:24  |  David Smith 06/03/08
  93.   Treason pure and simple! 21:28  |  TTownHowie 06/03/08
  94.   Treason is treason 21:28  |  Jim 06/03/08
  95.   James Risen 21:47  |  Norman Brobst 06/03/08
  96.   LEAKED PLOT 22:52  |  DJT 06/03/08
  97.   "against" is wrong English 23:26  |  TimothyL 06/03/08
  98.   I don`t get it 23:42  |  Joe B 06/03/08
  99.   Risen`s OK... but kill CIA operative! 23:48  |  Karla H. 06/03/08
  100.   Complaints about Technical Accuracy are Right 00:01  |  Efox 07/03/08
  101.   to "Indrajaya" 00:01  |  Glad 07/03/08
  102.   94 Jim - Treason is Treason, hang Pollard, AIPAC spies??? 00:04  |  Pablo B 07/03/08
  103.   Media Unconcerned about Truth, Enemy Propagandists 00:04  |  Efox 07/03/08
  104.   US Media - Traitors 00:04  |  Bruce 07/03/08
  105.   Treasonous Liberals 00:10  |  Starman 07/03/08
  106.   Operation Merlin was a Clinton op 00:30  |  cbcarlisle 07/03/08
  107.   We have an administration which thinks it is cute 00:31  |  Mark Lincoln 07/03/08
  108.   Why blame Islam? 00:44  |  Qazi 07/03/08
  109.   press freedoms 00:47  |  jill 07/03/08
  110.   Freedom of Press is important, but... 00:49  |  boB 07/03/08
  111.   Nukes in Iran 01:31  |  Justin O. Smith 07/03/08
  112.   Funny, no mention of BJ Bill in the article? 01:31  |  Conservative 07/03/08
  113.   The god-awful truth 02:13  |  Mark Lincoln 07/03/08
  114.   Alan Premel, CIA also Subpoenaed 03:13  |  Martha Galloway 07/03/08
  115.   Who leaked CIA-Mossad plan 03:23  |  Naomi 07/03/08
  116.   Traitors to the People 03:36  |  Jericho 07/03/08
  117.   CIA-Mossad Plot 04:54  |  Ellie 07/03/08
  118.   Risen: firing squad or noose? 05:02  |  Infidel 07/03/08
  119.   So not only in America 05:09  |  Rocco 07/03/08
  120.   The Press is Not Being Investigated 05:51  |  Trogluddite 07/03/08
  121.   CIA = Feminized American Males 06:08  |  peebo 07/03/08
  122.   THE LEAKER 06:53  |  DORY 07/03/08
  123.   Article Perpetrates a LIe! 07:27  |  Randolph S Knipp 07/03/08
  124.   Who leaked the details of a CIA Mossad plot against Iran? 08:22  |  Greg Ruge 07/03/08
  125.   the press`s rights 08:39  |  Jimmy 07/03/08
  126.   CIA plot 10:16  |  M 07/03/08
  127.   How is it that the biggest treats to the US 10:24  |  Kris 07/03/08
  128.   Who leaked? 10:28  |  Dion Per Sona 07/03/08
  129.   Great Spy Story, Terrible and Unprofessional Demagoguery. 10:58  |  Jaime Porras 07/03/08
  130.   the "press" 13:19  |  Linda 07/03/08
  131.   Thank Bill Clinton....AGAIN!!! 13:43  |  Brian 07/03/08
  132.   Going after the wrong guys! Get the DoD, not 14:19  |  DagneyT 07/03/08
  133.   Reporters risk our security 14:25  |  Mike Taricani 07/03/08
  134.   Who leaked the details of a CIA 14:35  |  Alejandro 07/03/08
  135.   Treason 14:39  |  David Peterson 07/03/08
  136.   You people are fools 16:33  |  Seth 07/03/08
  137.   The Press is CORRUPT 16:41  |  Allen Ridge 07/03/08
  138.   It`s All Smoke... 21:45  |  Reed 07/03/08
  139.   smoke and mirrors 23:19  |  ian deal 07/03/08
  140.   we the leakers 00:44  |  mitch 08/03/08
  141.   "National Security" 01:04  |  Kim 08/03/08
  142.   #16; indrajaya, yes we all know how the Muslim world works 04:22  |  Doc Holliday 08/03/08
  143.   I don`t know why they even subpeona people like this 04:39  |  ASDF 08/03/08
  144.   Study Iran from 1953 and also PNAC 08:54  |  1984 08/03/08
  145.   who leaked the details of a cia-mossad plot against iran ? 18:32  |  2+2=4 08/03/08
  146.   #105 Qazi: Why blame Islam? 20:20  |  Jim 08/03/08
  147.   Applause for James Risen 15:42  |  Advocate4Liberty 09/03/08
  148.   CIA-Mossad plot 04:13  |  Thomas 20/05/08
  149.   Iran and Nukes 02:25  |  Fracas 17/06/08
  150.   Psychological Warfare 09:58  |  Judith Wagner 17/06/08
  151.   because 00:04  |  jan Dod 18/06/08
  152.   Iran does not plot against you. 10:12  |  michael mazur 18/06/08
  153.   information in article 15:59  |  maybiam 18/06/08
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