Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report:
May 22, 2007
The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount
a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian
government, current and former officials in the intelligence
community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.
The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because
of the sensitive nature of the subject, say President Bush
has signed a "nonlethal presidential finding" that
puts into motion a CIA plan that reportedly includes a coordinated
campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of
Iran's currency and international financial transactions.
"I can't confirm or deny whether such a program exists
or whether the president signed it, but it would be consistent
with an overall American approach trying to find ways to put
pressure on the regime," said Bruce Riedel, a recently
retired CIA senior official who dealt with Iran and other countries
in the region.
A National Security Council spokesperson, Gordon Johndroe,
said, "The White House does not comment on intelligence
matters." A CIA spokesperson said, "As a matter of
course, we do not comment on allegations of covert activity."
The sources say the CIA developed the covert plan over the
last year and received approval from White House officials
and other officials in the intelligence community.
Officials say the covert plan is designed to pressure Iran
to stop its nuclear enrichment program and end aid to insurgents
in Iraq.
"There are some channels where the United States government
may want to do things without its hand showing, and legally,
therefore, the administration would, if it's doing that, need
an intelligence finding and would need to tell the Congress," said
ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, a former White House counterterrorism
official.
Current and former intelligence officials say the approval
of the covert action means the Bush administration, for the
time being, has decided not to pursue a military option against
Iran.
"Vice President Cheney helped to lead the side favoring
a military strike," said former CIA official Riedel, "but
I think they have come to the conclusion that a military strike
has more downsides than upsides."
The covert action plan comes as U.S. officials have confirmed
Iran had dramatically increased its ability to produce nuclear
weapons material, at a pace that experts said would give them
the ability to build a nuclear bomb in two years.
Riedel says economic pressure on Iran may be the most effective
tool available to the CIA, particularly in going after secret
accounts used to fund the nuclear program.
"The kind of dealings that the Iranian Revolution Guards
are going to do, in terms of purchasing nuclear and missile
components, are likely to be extremely secret, and you're going
to have to work very, very hard to find them, and that's exactly
the kind of thing the CIA's nonproliferation center and others
would be expert at trying to look into," Riedel said.
Under the law, the CIA needs an official presidential finding
to carry out such covert actions. The CIA is permitted to mount
covert "collection" operations without a presidential
finding.
"Presidential findings" are kept secret but reported
to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence and other key congressional
leaders.
The "nonlethal" aspect of the presidential finding
means CIA officers may not use deadly force in carrying out
the secret operations against Iran.
Still, some fear that even a nonlethal covert CIA program
carries great risks.
"I think everybody in the region knows that there is
a proxy war already afoot with the United States supporting
anti-Iranian elements in the region as well as opposition groups
within Iran," said Vali Nasr, adjunct senior fellow for
Mideast studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
"And this covert action is now being escalated by the
new U.S. directive, and that can very quickly lead to Iranian
retaliation and a cycle of escalation can follow," Nasr
said.
Other "lethal" findings have authorized CIA covert
actions against al Qaeda, terrorism and nuclear proliferation.
Also briefed on the CIA proposal, according to intelligence
sources, were National Security Advisor Steve Hadley and Deputy
National Security Advisor Elliott Abrams.
"The entire plan has been blessed by Abrams, in particular," said
one intelligence source familiar with the plan. "And Hadley
had to put his chop on it."
Abrams' last involvement with attempting to destabilize a
foreign government led to criminal charges.
He pleaded guilty in October 1991 to two misdemeanor counts
of withholding information from Congress about the Reagan administration's
ill-fated efforts to destabilize the Nicaraguan Sandinista
government in Central America, known as the Iran-Contra affair.
Abrams was later pardoned by President George H. W. Bush in
December 1992.
In June 2001, Abrams was named by then National Security Advisor
Condoleezza Rice to head the National Security Council's office
for democracy, human rights and international operations. On
Feb. 2, 2005, National Security Advisor Hadley appointed Abrams
deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security
advisor for global democracy strategy, one of the nation's
most senior national security positions.
As earlier reported on the Blotter on ABCNews.com, the United
States has supported and encouraged an Iranian militant group,
Jundullah, that has conducted deadly raids inside Iran from
bases on the rugged Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan "tri-border
region."
U.S. officials deny any "direct funding" of Jundullah
groups but say the leader of Jundullah was in regular contact
with U.S. officials.
American intelligence sources say Jundullah has received money
and weapons through the Afghanistan and Pakistan military and
Pakistan's intelligence service. Pakistan has officially denied
any connection.
A report broadcast on Iranian TV last Sunday said Iranian
authorities had captured 10 men crossing the border with $500,000
in cash along with "maps of sensitive areas" and "modern
spy equipment."
A senior Pakistani official told ABCNews.com the 10 men were
members of Jundullah.
The leader of the Jundullah group, according to the Pakistani
official, has been recruiting and training "hundreds of
men" for "unspecified missions" across the border
in Iran
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