21st Century Wire says…
The events of last weeks attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils continue to unravel into a myriad of complexity concerning key players and ‘whodunnit’. It is now understood that the deceased so called ‘imam’ of the cell, Albdelbaki Es Satty, was previously ruled as ‘no real threat’ as far back as 2015.
Two of the four remaining suspects have pinned the masterminding of the operation on Es Satty. One of them, Driss Ouakbir, handed himself into Spanish authorities claiming his identification papers were stolen. He was not arrested, as mistakenly reported by other media outlets. It is convenient to blame a dead man who can’t confess in court, and furthermore even more convenient that the individual died in a ‘accidental blast’ in Alcanar prior to the attack where it is alleged that the cell attempted to construct their explosives.
So where do state intelligence services fit into this? Often we find critical questions missed by media outlets and their analysts who tend to walk around this subject matter rather than dig deeper to help the pieces fit.
In 2016, the VSSE (Belgian Security Services) requested information from Spain’s CNI if Es Satty had links with Islamic terrorism, then only to be told that in fact he did not, although we do know that Es Satty had a criminal record regarding shipping hashish between Morocco and Spain. Spanish media claim that El Satty was radicalised in prision after he came into contact with perpetrator of the Madrid 2004 bombing, although we have no credible sources let alone further evidence to verify this information.
Out of the European intelligence agencies involved in this matter, such as the VSSE, CNI, Catalonia’s Mossos d’Esquadra, we have not heard from French DGSE/DGSI and especially Morocco’s DGT, as the suspects are of French/Moroccan descent. As discussed by Professor Michel Chossudovsky in the article below, it was in fact the CIA who warned Spanish authorities before the attack and even mentioned that the event could take place in La Ramba.
This would deduct that yes, this cell and its individuals were in fact monitored by the CIA, most likely with the help of their European intelligence associates on the ground. As reports have shown from various media outlets in past days, canisters of butane were found amongst other bomb making materials and equipment at the location of the cell. Yet where is the intervention by authorities, tipped off by security services when the planning of an imminent attack has reached a dangerous precedence and they’ve already been warned by the CIA. Why didn’t they act?
Recently it was reported that the FBI warned British authorities of a ISIS/Daesh funding operation in Wales, United Kingdom. Why are the Americans scooping their British intelligence counterparts in advance. Are British SIS that slow or inept to intervene? One would certainly think not, for the safety and security of the government and citizens of the country.
It has been explored by various analysts, including former MI5 officer and whistleblower Annie Machon, that some of these agencies are e.g. ‘drowning in information’ that is holding them back from doing their job. Other reports suggested difficulty due to the high tourism in Barcelona at the time of the event, i.e. peak summer season.
However we have seen state intelligence work very well alongside local authorities on operations to intercept potential or high risk threats. Take the case of ‘The Three Musketeers‘ in Birmingham, United Kingdom where their operation was dismantled in a combined sting by MI5 and Metropolitan Police.
Barcelona, Manchester, London, Nice, Berlin and so forth; we have discussed the subject of ‘patterns’ in great detail of these events (see Shawn Helton’s reports here) and have asked pertinent questions about the information provided by media, authorities, including the security services especially when it doesn’t make sense. This often has lead to a lot of reaction from some corners who feel that these events are purely the dastardly work of evil Islamic terrorists and nothing more.
Alas, attacks are continuing with many people dying and these patterns also continue to find their way back to us. Surely we have to stop and ‘ask more’, to shine a brighter light of responsibility on those whom are supposed to be keeping us safe.
READ OUR FULL REPORT HERE: BARCELONA: As The Dust Settles, The Story Emerges (Updated) and a further update from Miles Elliot here.
More on this report from Global Research…
The area of La Rambla, Barcelona, close to the recent attack (Photo: Sergi Larripa, Source: Wikicommons)
Prof. Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research
According to IntelNews.org quoting Catalonia’s daily El Periodico, the CIA had warned the Spanish authorities that the Islamic State was planning to attack Barcelona, they even mentioned that it could take place in Las Ramblas.
In the hours following the attack, several observers noted that Barcelona was always an obvious target for the Islamic State, given that the group had already perpetrated terrorist attacks in Berlin, London, Paris and Brussels. They also raised questions about the low level of police presence and the absence of anti-vehicle barrier systems in Barcelona —one of Europe’s busiest tourist destinations. Late on Thursday, the Catalan newspaper El Periódico reported that two months ago, the CIA alerted the Mossos d’Esquadra, the autonomous police and security service of Catalonia, of a possible terrorist attack by the Islamic State. According to the Barcelona-based daily, the CIA even mentioned La Rambla as the main target of Islamist militants.
Even before the CIA issued its warning, the Islamic State had directed several threats against Spain since 2014, when the group first appeared in Syria. As El Periódico said, the group’s followers “consider themselves obligated to re-establish Islam” in areas that were ruled by Muslim leaders in the past.
For much of the medieval period, Spain and Portugal were known as Al-Andalus, and were ruled by a succession of Muslim caliphs. The Spanish daily also reported that a Twitter account associated with the Islamic State issued several warnings against Spain two weeks ago. Specifically, on July 30, the account twitted a series of messages that read: “We will implement the caliphate in Spain and will recover our land. Impending attack on Al-Andalus, God willing”. Similar threats had been issued a year ago on social media, but were later disregarded after they failed to materialize, said El Periódico. (IntelNews.org)
This news report is in large part propaganda. It’s disinformation.
It portrays the CIA as “going after” the terrorists, i.e. as a major actor in the “war on terrorism” advising Catalonia’s police of an imminent danger. “CIA alerted the Mossos d’Esquadra, the autonomous police and security service of Catalonia, of a possible terrorist attack by the Islamic State.”
The CIA is said to have warned the authorities as part of the US-led counterterrorism campaign.
The report tacitly places the blame on the Catalan police force for not having heeded to the advice and authority of US intelligence.
The unspoken truth (amply documented) is that the CIA has always been behind the terrorists. The CIA is the architect of Al Qaeda going back to the outset of the Soviet Afghan war in 1979.
All Al Qaeda affiliates are “intelligence assets” covertly supported by US intelligence in liaison with Pakistan’s ISI, Saudi Arabia’s General Intelligence Presidency (GIP); (رئاسة الاستخبارات العامة ) not to mention Britain’s MI6, and Israel’s Mossad.
The ISIS has a certain degree of independence in relation to its State sponsors. That is the nature of what is called an “intelligence asset”. But an “intelligence asset” is always on the radar of the intelligence services.
ISIS-Daesh has from the very outset in 2014 been supported and financed by the western military alliance, with direct funding provided by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States in consultation and liaison with Washington.
The US-led counterterrorism operation initiated by Obama in 2014 was not meant to go after the ISIS. Quite the opposite: the coalition was killing civilians while providing covert support including weapons to the ISIS. Of significance, Spain was not part of the 14 countries US-led coalition.
The claim that the Islamic State wanted to restore the caliphate in Spain which prevailed in medieval Spain borders on the absurd. It’s a lie. It is nonsensical. It is intended to reinforce the wave of Islamophobia…
Continue this report at GlobalResearch
READ MORE BARCELONA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire BARCELONA Files
SUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV
Log in to see hashtag stats as you type Login |