Tag: cia

Whistleblower Was Ignored After He Provided Information About 9/11 Attacks to CIA

In December 1998, Michael Riconosciuto was serving out a 26-year prison sentence at Allenwood Penitentiary in Pennsylvania on drug charges when he was given information by a rabbi close to his family about an al-Qaeda plot to hijack airplanes and crash them into the World Trade Center, Pentagon and U.S. military bases around the Washington, D.C., area.

Riconosciuto had been a scientist working for U.S. intelligence agencies and CIA consultant whose family had close ties with people working in Israeli intelligence and in high levels of the Israeli government.[1] Riconosciuto himself mowed CIA Director William Casey’s lawn as a child.

There is strong evidence that Riconosciuto had been set up on the drug charges because he knew too much about secret CIA operations, including the theft of computer software known as PROMIS (Prosecutor’s Management Information System) from entrepreneur Bill Hamilton that was used by the CIA to facilitate illegal surveillance and money laundering.

Riconosciuto had helped modify the PROMIS software for the CIA and knew about all kinds of CIA criminal activity, including the CIA’s paying off drug lords with a vast secret cash supply.[2]

According to Daniel Sheehan, an investigator and attorney who interviewed Riconosciuto at length, the rabbi provided Riconosciuto with the information on the al-Qaeda terrorist plot drawn from Israeli intelligence with the hope that Riconosciuto could negotiate a reduction of his prison sentence after alerting federal authorities about it.

The plan did not work because when Riconosciuto reported his tip to agents from the CIA and a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agent, nothing was done. A presidential briefing from CIA Director George Tenet to Bill Clinton on December 4, 1998, did note Riconosciuto’s warnings about bin Laden preparing to hijack U.S. aircraft, though Clinton and the White House did not act on it.

In early 2001, Riconosciuto’s lawyer, Louis Buffardi, reached out to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell and Attorney General John Ashcroft, as well as attorney Scott Lassar and Keith Cutri, an FBI Special Agent from the Williamsport, Pennsylvania, office, about the planned attacks involving hijacked planes but was ignored.

Sheehan spoke about all this on February 26 on the “Uncontrolled Opposition” radio program airing on WBAI and the Progressive Radio Network with Peter Osborne, a researcher close to Riconosciuto, whose software company was stolen by the CIA in the late 1990s and whose life was threatened by CIA agent Robert Booth Nichols.

Both Sheehan and Osborne are speaking out now because they want the public to be alerted to the failure of government authorities to act on Riconosciuto’s information and to investigate what happened. They want the public to demand a proper investigation, a real 9/11 commission, unlike the fraudulent official one that failed to investigate so many things.

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Declassified Documents Link U.S. Bioweapons Program to Lyme Disease Outbreak

An extensive investigation based on declassified government documents and previously suppressed scientific research has uncovered compelling evidence that U.S. biological weapons programs contributed to the emergence of Lyme disease, which now affects hundreds of thousands of Americans annually.

The investigation reveals a pattern of concealment spanning six decades, including the systematic suppression of critical medical research and the release of nearly 300,000 radioactive ticks across Virginia to study how the disease-carrying insects would spread.

CIA Deployed Infected Ticks Against Cuba

Declassified documents and testimony from a CIA operative describe the 1962 deployment of infected ticks against Cuban sugarcane workers as part of Operation Mongoose, the Kennedy administration’s effort to destabilize Fidel Castro’s regime.

The operative, now in his seventies, told researchers that the “strangest thing he ever did was drop infected ticks on Cuban sugarcane workers” using C-123 transport aircraft flying nighttime missions “almost skimming the surface of the Caribbean to avoid Cuban radar.”

After returning from Cuba, the operative’s four-month-old son developed life-threatening fever requiring emergency surgery. His CIA commander advised him to “burn all the clothes you took to Cuba. Burn everything,” indicating contamination concerns.

The deployment was canceled when “Cuba’s shifting winds made accurate payload delivery difficult,” according to the operative’s account.

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The Iran War’s Most Precious Commodity Isn’t Oil

The CIA calls it the “strategic commodity” of the Middle East. But it’s not referring to oil or natural gas. What the American spy agency has in mind is far more prosaic: drinking water. Don’t underestimate it, though, because if military hostilities continue to escalate, water could become the geopolitical commodity that decides the war between the US and Iran.

The Persian Gulf is gifted with a fabulous hydrocarbon endowment, worth trillions of dollars. What its desertic countries don’t have is water. From the 1970s onward, the oil money bought a solution: desalination plants. Today, the region relies on nearly 450 facilities to stop everyone going thirsty.

The US Central Intelligence Agency has been briefing American policymakers for decades on the inherent risk of relying on those plants for such a crucial supply. In a secret assessment in the early 1980s — since declassified — the CIA said: “Senior government officials in some of the countries perceive it [water] as more important than oil to the national well-being.”

More than four decades later, not much has changed. Desalination remains a relatively cost-effective technology to transform sea water into drinking water. The downside is the vulnerability of the installations, and the oil and gas consumption required to fire the power generators that run the plants.

About 100 million people live in the countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman — all now under Iranian attack. Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE are, for all practical purposes, completely dependent on the desalination plants, particularly for metropolises such as Dubai. Saudi Arabia, and especially its capital, Riyadh, also relies heavily on them.

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US destroys Iranian submarine; Report: CIA facilities hit in drone attacks

The United States has destroyed an Iranian submarine and 16 other vessels as part of its ongoing military campaign against Iran, while two CIA facilities in the region were reportedly damaged in Iranian drone attacks.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said American forces have struck nearly 2,000 targets in Iran using more than 2,000 munitions since the start of the operation, which the U.S. has dubbed Operation Epic Fury.

In a briefing, Cooper said U.S. forces are carrying out strikes against Iran “24/7” and that the Iranian regime’s ability to retaliate is rapidly weakening.

“In retaliation, the Iranian regime has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones,” Cooper said. “We are seeing Iran’s ability to hit us and our partners is declining, while our combat power, on the other hand, is building.”

Cooper said U.S. bombers have conducted major strikes against Iranian military infrastructure. B-2 stealth bombers and B-1 bombers carried out what he described as “uncontested surgical strikes against multiple missile facilities,” while B-52 bombers targeted ballistic missile sites and command-and-control posts.

He said the campaign has also dealt a major blow to Iran’s naval forces.

“We are also sinking the Iranian Navy — the entire navy,” Cooper said. “Thus far, we’ve destroyed 17 Iranian ships, including the most operational Iranian submarine, that now has a hole in its side.”

“For decades, the Iranian regime has harassed international shipping,” he added. “Today, there’s not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman.”

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CIA Moves To Arm Kurdish Forces To Foment Govt Collapse In Iran: Officials

Here are the most critical developments unfolding in the US-Iran conflict: 

  • CIA working to arm Kurdish forces to spark uprising in Iran, sources say: CNN
  • State Department securing military aircraft, charter flights to get Americans out of Middle East
  • Iran International is claiming (unverified) Iran’s Assembly of Experts chose Mojtaba Khamenei as new Ayatollah under heavy IRGC pressure to ensure hardline continuity and regime stability after his father’s death
  • Drone hits CIA station in Saudi Arabia, also reportedly a consulate in Dubai. WaPo: A suspected Iranian drone attack hit the CIA’s station in Saudi Arabia in what would amount to a significant symbolic victory for the Islamic Republic as it lashes out at U.S. targets and personnel across the Middle East.
  • IAEA’s Grossi says there has been no evidence of Iran building a nuclear bomb; Iran’s large stockpile of near-weapons grade enriched Uranium and refusal to grant IAEA full access are cause for serious concern
  • Trump Weighs Backing Militias to Dislodge Iran’s Regime. Future insurgency fragmentation and Iraq-style nightmare coming to Iran?
  • Trump tries to articular war justification: says if we have a little high oil prices, could be for a little while, but they will drop, and could even be below the levels before, but that he ‘had to’ act or else Iran would have ‘used nukes’. Claims Israel didn’t force America’s hand. Admits leadership vacuum.
  • US to offer military protection to ships/insurance in the Strait of Hormuz 
  • The Pentagon has released Operation Epic Fury’s objectives; 1- Demilitarization of Iran: destruction of its missile forces, production facilities, and naval fleet 2- Elimination of the terrorist regime 3- Protection of the United States from current and future threats 4-  Ensuring that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons
  • UAE mulling joining US-Israel attack on Iran, and the Saudis too, to stop Iranian missile and drone strikes on their countries.
  • The American Embassy in Riyadh has been hit in another drone attack, with WSJ reporting it was struck twice Tuesday, resulting in damage to the roof. More embassies across region are shuttering, including the US Embassy in Beirut.
  • President Trump mulling arming anti-Tehran militias. But he hasn’t decided yet while urging Iranians to rise up and be Washington’s ‘boots on the ground.’
  • The Israelis just struck the meeting of the Iranian Supreme Council where officials were gathering to choose a new Supreme Leader, a senior Israeli official told Fox News. “Israel struck while they were counting the votes for the appointment of the supreme leader.”
  • US-Israel bombing is expanding inside Iran. Explosions heard in the northwestern cities of Tabriz and Urmia, as the capital no longer the only focus.
  • Iraq’s crude oil output is being significantly curtailed. An update from Iraq specifies a shutdown of 460,000 bpd at West Qurna 2 and a cut of 700,000 bpd at Rumaila, while warning that more than 3 million bpd could be forced offline in the coming days if tanker access remains limited.
  • Export crude bottlenecks are developing across Iraq. Storage at southern export terminals is nearing critical capacity because tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been paralyzed. Iraq has also halted most Kurdistan-to-Turkey exports via Ceyhan, leaving only about 50,000 bpd for domestic use.
  • Iranian retaliation expanded on Tuesday, with Gulf states’ energy infrastructure hit by multiple drones. This included a drone strike on Fujairah in the UAE, a key bunkering and crude-loading hub outside the Strait of Hormuz, as well as a drone strike at the Port of Salalah in Oman.
  • The U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran is intensifying. Strikes are said to be hitting major targets, including state media, military command sites, and leadership compounds, with the reported Iranian death toll rising to 787 since the start of Operation Epic Fury.
  • The war is spreading into a broader regional conflict. Israel has expanded attacks into Lebanon, including renewed strikes on Beirut and a ground move into the south, while regional actors such as Qatar and possibly Saudi Arabia are portrayed as being drawn more directly into the conflict.
  • France sending aircraft carrier to Mediterranean, says Macron

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Declassified CIA files reveal chilling blueprint to manipulate Americans’ minds through covert drugging with vaccines

A newly released CIA document reveals a chilling blueprint to manipulate minds through covert drugging experiments.

The report, added to the CIA’s reading room in 2025, details the government’s once top-secret Project Artichoke that ran from 1951 to 1956, focusing on behavior control, interrogation techniques and psychological manipulation.

The seven-page document, titled ‘Special Research for Artichoke,’ with an attachment labeled ‘Suggested Fields for Special Research Relative Artichoke,’ outlines proposals to develop chemicals capable of altering human behavior.

It discusses drugs designed for both immediate effects, like truth serums and long-term influence, potentially administered through food, water, alcohol or cigarettes.

Researchers also suggested that such substances could be disguised in medical treatments such as vaccinations or injections.

The CIA was also looking into methods beyond chemicals, listing hypnosis, sensory deprivation, gases and other psychological methods for interrogation and behavioral control.

Artichoke served as a precursor to the CIA’s MKUltra program, which later broadened mind-altering experiments on a larger scale.

Many files were destroyed in the 1970s, leaving the full extent of the research and how far it progressed unknown.

The document was declassified in 1983, but has resurfaced on social media, where users are shocked to see the CIA discussing methods for ‘drugging entire populations.’

Project Artichoke emerged during the early Cold War, a period marked by intense anxiety over communist powers and reports of brainwashing techniques used on American prisoners of war in Korea. 

Internal CIA memos suggested that US intelligence feared enemy nations had developed ways to control human thought and behavior, prompting the agency to explore its own capabilities.

The declassified document reveals the depth of this research, noting the need for a study ‘to determine what drugs are best suited for direct use on subjects along the lines of amytal and pentothal and which drugs are best for an indirect or long-range approach to subjects.’ 

The researchers involved in the secret program emphasized that long-term compounds should be capable of producing ‘an agitating effect (producing anxiety, nervousness, tension, etc.) or a depressing effect (creating a feeling of despondency, hopelessness, lethargy, etc.).’ 

They also outlined practical considerations for concealment, such as substances that could be introduced surreptitiously in ‘food, water, Coca-Cola, beer, liquor, cigarettes, etc.,’ highlighting the CIA’s focus on undetectable methods of influence. 

Moreover, the report recommended consulting with the Army Chemical Warfare Service, noting they have conducted ‘exhaustive studies along these lines’ that could provide specific guidance for the program.

Beyond drugs, Artichoke explored a wide range of psychological tools. 

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CIA Admits There Was Political Bias In Obama-Era Intelligence

For years, anyone who questioned whether Washington’s intelligence machinery tilted left was told they were peddling conspiracies. That narrative fell apart on Friday, when CIA Director John Ratcliffe ordered the official retraction or major revision of nineteen intelligence products produced during the Obama years, citing political bias and substandard analytic tradecraft. It’s the first official acknowledgment that America’s most powerful spy agency let politics color its assessments.

“The intelligence products we released to the American people today — produced before my tenure as DCIA — fall short of the high standards of impartiality that CIA must uphold and do not reflect the expertise for which our analysts are renowned,” Director Ratcliffe said in a statement. “There is absolutely no room for bias in our work and when we identify instances where analytic rigor has been compromised, we have a responsibility to correct the record. These actions underscore our commitment to transparency, accountability, and objective intelligence analysis. Our recent successes in Operation ABSOLUTE RESOLVE and Operation MIDNIGHT HAMMER exemplify our dedication to analytic excellence.”

The bombshell came after the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) completed an independent review of hundreds of finished CIA reports spanning the past decade. This period includes Barack Obama’s second term and the Russian collusion hoax.

The PIAB identified nineteen intelligence products that “failed to be independent of political consideration.” Deputy Director Michael Ellis led an internal review that confirmed the findings. Ratcliffe’s response was swift and blunt. “The intelligence products we released to the American people today — produced before my tenure as DCIA — fall short of the high standards of impartiality that CIA must uphold and do not reflect the expertise for which our analysts are renowned,” he said. “There is absolutely no room for bias in our work… These actions underscore our commitment to transparency, accountability, and objective intelligence analysis.”

That’s a rather diplomatic way of saying that Barack Obama’s CIA got caught red-handed playing politics. The agency admitted that at least some of its Obama-era intelligence relied on questionable sourcing, including political activist groups. One report even drew on material from Planned Parenthood, something one official described as “clearly not an appropriate use of CIA resources.” For an organization that prides itself on independence and tradecraft, that revelation is a true humiliation.

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CIA Retracts 19 Different Intelligence Reports After Review Found Leftist Political Bias

CIA Director John Ratcliffe has ordered the withdrawal or major revision of 19 intelligence assessments after an internal review found they did not meet the agency’s standards for analytical rigor and political neutrality, the agency said Friday.

The CIA released unredacted versions of three of the affected reports, all of which had a strong left-wing political bias.

The topics covered included LGBT activists in the Middle East, women and white violent extremism, and access to contraception during the COVID pandemic.

The reports spanned multiple administrations, including one produced under Obama, one during Trump’s first term, and one during Biden’s tenure.

According to the agency, the reports “fall short of the high standards of impartiality that CIA must uphold and do not reflect the expertise for which our analysts are renowned.”

“There is absolutely no room for bias in our work, and when we identify instances where analytic rigor has been compromised, we have a responsibility to correct the record,” Ratcliffe said in a statement.

”These actions underscore our commitment to transparency, accountability, and objective intelligence analysis,” he continued.

The reports were identified during a broader review conducted by Trump’s Intelligence Advisory Board, which examined hundreds of CIA analytic products from the past decade.

An internal review led by Deputy Director Michael Ellis reached the same conclusion, the agency said.

The move follows earlier efforts by Ratcliffe to revisit past intelligence work tainted by political bias within the agency.

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CIA knew about Kiev plot to blow up Nord Stream – Der Spiegel

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) discussed a plan to blow up the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea with Ukrainian saboteurs, German outlet Der Spiegel has reported, citing sources in Kiev.

Berlin apparently believes the September 2022 explosions that crippled the key connectors that delivered Russian gas to Germany were detonated by several Ukrainian frogmen who, possibly with the assistance of Poland, allegedly rented a small yacht, sailed into the Baltic and blew up the pipelines.

Moscow has repeatedly expressed deep skepticism over this German version of events, highlighting then US-president Joe Biden’s open threats to blow up the pipeline, the presence of NATO ships above the explosion sites in the weeks prior to the blasts and arguing that such an operation could not have been executed without direct government assistance.

According to the latest Der Spiegel report, Ukrainian agents told the CIA about a plot to destroy Nord Stream in spring 2022, during a series of meetings following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.

The Americans “apparently liked the plan,” the Ukrainian sources told the outlet, and the two sides exchanged technical details about the operation, reportedly code-named ‘Diameter’.

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Red Defection: CIA deploys new video seeking to lure Chinese soldiers to U.S. amidst PLA turmoil

he CIA deployed a new recruitment video in the Mandarin language, hoping to lure Chinese soldiers to defect amidst significant turmoil inside the People’s Liberation Army where two generals have been removed by President Xi Jinping.

The new video, entitled “The Reason for Stepping Forward: To Save the Future,” follows a series of videos dating to late 2024 that the Agency said have been successful in encouraging some Chinese to defect or cooperate with the United States.

The prior videos had some “success” in getting around Chinese Internet censorship, prompting CIA Director John Ratcliffe to make the new one, a senior U.S.official told Just the News, “If the videos didn’t work we wouldn’t be making more of them.”

The new video “illustrates the real gulf between the Chinese elites who want what is best for their banks and the Chinese citizens who want what’s best for their country,” the official said,

The new video which debuted on YouTube, portrays a Chinese military officer who contacts the CIA after becoming disillusioned with his country’s leadership and thinking of his young daughter’s future. 

“This is the world I know, defending the homeland and protecting the people. But day after day, the truth becomes increasingly obvious. What leaders are really protecting is their own self interest,” the narrator states.

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