1110 Philip Giraldi (ex-CIA) says US may have hacked Transponder to Provoke Iran Shootdown

Philip Giraldi (ex-CIA) says US may have hacked Transponder to Provoke
Iran Shootdown

Newsletter published on January 20, 2020

(1) Philip Giraldi (ex-CIA) says US may have hacked Transponder to
Provoke Iran Shootdown
(2) Malaysia rallies Islsmic countries against Saudis & UAE -
accomplices of Israel
(3) Malaysia & Indonesia can't take on China over Uighurs
(4) Claims (by Larouche writers EIR, Tarpley, Engdahl), that Tibetans &
Uighurs are funded by CIA

(1) Philip Giraldi (ex-CIA) says US may have hacked Transponder to
Provoke Iran Shootdown

From: chris lancenet <chrislancenet@gmail.com>

https://www.globalresearch.ca/who-targeted-ukraine-airlines-flight-752-iran/5700765

Who Targeted Ukraine Airlines Flight 752? Iran Shot It Down but There
May be More to the Story

By Philip Giraldi

Global Research, January 16, 2020

The claim that Major General Qassem Soleimani was a "terrorist" on a
mission to carry out an "imminent" attack that would kill hundreds of
Americans turned out to be a lie, so why should one believe anything
else relating to recent developments in Iran and Iraq? To be sure,
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 departing from Tehran’s Imam
Khomeini International Airport on the morning of January 8th with 176
passengers and crew on board was shot down by Iranian air defenses,
something which the government of the Islamic Republic has admitted, but
there just might  be considerably more to the story involving
cyberwarfare carried out by the U.S. and possibly Israeli governments.

To be sure, the Iranian air defenses were on high alert fearing an
American attack in the wake of the U.S. government’s assassination of
Soleimani on January 3rd followed by a missile strike from Iran directed
against two U.S. bases in Iraq. In spite of the tension and the
escalation, the Iranian government did not shut down the country’s
airspace. Civilian passenger flights were still departing and arriving
in Tehran, almost certainly an error in judgment on the part of the
airport authorities. Inexplicably, civilian aircraft continued to take
off and land even after Flight 752 was shot down.

Fifty-seven of the passengers on the flight were Canadians of Iranian
descent, leading Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to point the finger both
at the Iranian government for its carelessness and also at Washington,
observing angrily that the Trump Administration had deliberately and
recklessly sought to "escalate tensions" with Iran through an attack
near Baghdad Airport, heedless of the impact on travelers and other
civilians in the region.

What seems to have been a case of bad judgements and human error does,
however, include some elements that have yet to be explained. The
Iranian missile operator reportedly experienced considerable "jamming"
and the planes transponder switched off and stopped transmitting several
minutes before the missiles were launched. There were also problems with
the communication network of the air defense command, which may have
been related.

How Iran’s Soviet Era Air Defense System Shot Down America’s Global Hawk
UAV over Strait of Hormuz The electronic jamming coming from an unknown
source meant that the air defense system was placed on manual operation,
relying on human intervention to launch. The human role meant that an
operator had to make a quick judgment in a pressure situation in which
he had only moments to react. The shutdown of the transponder, which
would have automatically signaled to the operator and Tor electronics
that the plane was civilian, instead automatically indicated that it was
hostile. The operator, having been particularly briefed on the
possibility of incoming American cruise missiles, then fired.

The two missiles that brought the plane down came from a Russian-made
system designated SA-15 by NATO and called Tor by the Russians. Its
eight missiles are normally mounted on a tracked vehicle. The system
includes both radar to detect and track targets as well as an
independent launch system, which includes an Identification Friend or
Foe (IFF) system functionality capable of reading call signs and
transponder signals to prevent accidents. Given what happened on that
morning in Tehran, it is plausible to assume that something or someone
deliberately interfered with both the Iranian air defenses and with the
transponder on the airplane, possibly as part of an attempt to create an
aviation accident that would be attributed to the Iranian government.

The SA-15 Tor defense system used by Iran has one major vulnerability.
It can be hacked or "spoofed," permitting an intruder to impersonate a
legitimate user and take control. The United States Navy and Air Force
reportedly have developed technologies "that can fool enemy radar
systems with false and deceptively moving targets." Fooling the system
also means fooling the operator. The Guardian has also reported
independently  how the United States military has long been developing
systems that can from a distance alter the electronics and targeting of
Iran’s available missiles.

The same technology can, of course, be used to alter or even mask the
transponder on a civilian airliner in such a fashion as to send false
information about identity and location. The United States has the cyber
and electronic warfare capability to both jam and alter signals relating
to both airliner transponders and to the Iranian air defenses. Israel
presumably has the same ability. Joe Quinn at Sott.net also notes an
interested back story to those photos and video footage that have
appeared in the New York Times and elsewhere showing the Iranian missile
launch, the impact with the plane and the remains after the crash, to
include the missile remains. They appeared on January 9th, in an
Instagram account called ‘Rich Kids of Tehran‘. Quinn asks how the Rich
Kids happened to be in "a low-income housing estate on the city’s
outskirts [near the airport] at 6 a.m. on the morning of January 8th
with cameras pointed at the right part of the sky in time to capture a
missile hitting a Ukrainian passenger plane…?"

Put together the Rich Kids and the possibility of electronic warfare and
it all suggests a premeditated and carefully planned event of which the
Soleimani assassination was only a part. There have been riots in Iran
subsequent to the shooting down of the plane, blaming the government for
its ineptitude.

Some of the people in the street are clearly calling for the goal long
sought by the United States and Israel, i.e. "regime change." If nothing
else, Iran, which was widely seen as the victim in the killing of
Soleimani, is being depicted in much of the international media as
little more than another unprincipled actor with blood on its hands.
There is much still to explain about the downing of Ukrainian
International Airlines Flight 752.

(2) Malaysia rallies Islsmic countries against Saudis & UAE -
accomplices of Israel

From: "Sandhya Jain" <jsandhya@gmail.com>

http://www.vijayvaani.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?aid=5285

https://mideastsoccer.blogspot.com/2020/01/ripples-of-1mdb-scandal-likely-to.html

Ripples of 1MDB scandal likely to complicate Malaysian ties to key Gulf
States

by James M Dorsey on 20 Jan 2020

Disclosures of taped phone calls between embattled former prime minister
Najib Razak and a person believed to be United Arab Emirate crown prince
Mohammed bin Zayed go a long way to explain Malaysian efforts to counter
UAE and Saudi influence in the Muslim world. The disclosures are the
latest incident in what have been complex, if not strained relations
with the UAE and Saudi Arabia since prime minister Mahathir Mohamad
returned to office 19 months ago on the back of the 1Malaysia
Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

The scandal involves the siphoning off of billions of dollars from the
government investment fund for which Mr. Razak is standing trial.

Strains in relations between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the
kingdom’s closest ally, were on display last month when Mr. Mahathir
convened in cooperation with Turkey, Iran and Qatar - countries with
which the two conservative Gulf states are at odds - an Islamic summit
that did not involve the Saudi-controlled, Riyadh-based Organization of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The OIC groups 57 Muslim countries and is the
usual convener of Islamic summits.

In line with the summit that called for Muslim nations to jointly
confront problems Muslims face, Mr. Mahathir earlier this week, in
contrast to the Gulf states, condemned the killing in Iraq of Iranian
general Qassim Soleimani in a US drone strike as a violation of
international law. Saudi Arabia and the UAE called for restraint in the
wake of the killing but few in the two states mourned the commander’s death.

Mr. Mahathir’s critical view of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, rooted partly
in their alleged associations with the 1MDB scandal, was evident almost
from the moment he assumed office. Mr. Mahathir appointed as defense
minister Mohamed Sabu, known for his critical views of Saudi Arabia.
Within a few months, Mr. Sabu closed the King Salman Centre for
International Peace (KSCIP), a Saudi-funded anti-terrorism centre
established together with the Malaysian defense ministry.

Similarly, Mr. Mahathir re-appointed Seri Mohd Shukri as head of the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Mr. Shukri noted in one of
his first statements that "we have had difficulties dealing with Arab
countries (such as) Qatar, Saudi Arabia, (and the) UAE." Mr. Shukri
initially resigned in 2016 as the government’s anti-corruption czar
because he had been pressured by Mr. Razak to drop his plans to indict
the then prime minister.

Excerpts of tapes played by the MACC at a news conference this week
suggested that Mr. Razak asked a person believed to be Prince Mohammed
to assist in unidentified ways to resolve the scandal and as a "personal
favour" help his stepson, Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, evade charges of
money laundering. The voice of the person Mr. Razak was speaking to on
the tapes did not identify himself, but was addressed by the prime
minister as "Your Highness." The MACC believes on the basis of the
context of the conversations that the voice is that of Prince Mohammed.

In the recordings, Mr. Razak advises the person that "it is important to
resolve this impasse with respect to 1MDB… so that we put closure as
soon as possible because it’s embarrassing to both countries,
embarrassing Malaysia and embarrassing the UAE as well as personalities
close to you." The person rejects a request by Mr. Razak to discuss the
issue in person but delegates an associate to talk to the prime
minister. He "has the full authority from me and I really, genuinely,
want to find a solution…. It’s in our both interests, Mr. Prime
Minister, to solve it," the person said.

It’s not clear from the tapes whether the UAE actually stepped in a bid
to help Mr. Razak and his stepson out of their predicaments.

Approaching the UAE for help made sense for Mr. Razak not only because
of the country’s alleged links to the scandal but also because it has
established itself as a financial and/or physical safe haven for
politicians, businessmen and others while in office or positions of
influence as well as those who have fallen into disgrace like former
Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf and his former Thai colleagues
Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra.

A Pakistani court last month sentenced Mr. Musharraf to death on charges
of treason. Mr. Musharraf lives in Dubai where he is receiving medical
treatment. Mr. Shinawatra, who was toppled in a military coup in 2006,
fled into exile in Dubai after escaping Thailand to evade serving a
prison term for a conflict of interest conviction. Ms. Shinawatra, Mr.
Shinawatra’s sister, followed him in 2017 after being removed in 2014 by
another military intervention and having been charged with negligence
while serving as prime minister.

Political scientist Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, whose views are often seen as
reflecting UAE government thinking, anticipating a possible change in
relations, disparaged Mr. Mahathir and his election victory at the time.
Mr. Abdulla focussed on Mr. Mahathir’s age as well as the fact that he
had forged an alliance with his former deputy prime minister and rival
Anwar Ibrahim, an Islamist believed to be close to the Muslim
Brotherhood, a bête noir of Prince Mohammed.

"Malaysia seems to lack wise men, leaders, statesmen and youth to elect
a 92-year-old who suddenly turned against his own party and his own
allies and made a suspicious deal with his own political opponent whom
he previously imprisoned after fabricating the most heinous of charges
against him. This is politics as a curse and democracy as wrath," Mr.
Abdulla said on Twitter, two days after the election.

(4) Claims (by Larouche writers EIR, Tarpley, Engdahl), that Tibetans &
Uighurs are funded by CIA

From: Michael

https://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-sponsored-uyghur-insurgency-in-xinjiang-70-years-of-u-s-destabilisation-in-china/5698425


Reply (Peter M.)

Yes, I have seen that sort of thing before. Larouche writers (EIR,
Webster Tarpley, F. William Engdahl) have been saying it for more than
20 years - about the Tibetans, so I guess they'd say it about the
Uighurs too.

That's probably why I kept quiet for so long. Now I feel bad about that.
Why should we defend Chinese bullies?

Don't forget, in the Uighur case, China started the problem when it
trained Afghan Mujahideen in Xinjiang during the 1980s. And let some
Uighurs fight in the war against the Soviet Union.

Did Global Research mention that?

Did the Larouche writers?

Global Research published an article by Larry Romanoff, who vehemently
denies the Tiananmen Massacre on 1989. He and I have had long debates
about it.

Webster Tarpley denies the Ukraine Famine.

I checked Global Research a couple of weeks ago, wondering if I might
send them an article to publish on the Uighurs, but when I saw their
pro-China line, I did not bother.

I am disgusted with the lot of them.

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