THE LEAD
Russian Ambassador Assassinated in 'Open Provocation'; LaRouche Warns: Put Obama on the List of Suspects
December 19, 2016
Russian President Putin and President Obama, June 2012. Photo: kremlin.ru
Russian Ambassador Andrey G. Karlov was shot and killed Monday in Ankara, while speaking at the Contemporary Arts Center, in what Turkish President Recip Erdogan denounced—on behalf of President Vladimir Putin as well—was an open "act of provocation" against Turkey-Russian relations. The perpetrator, a 22 year old gunman, came to the event under false police ID, shouted radical slogans, and was himself shot within minutes of his crime, by Turkish special security forces.
The assassination comes on the eve of collaborative conferences on resolving the Syrian crisis, between Turkey, Russia, Iran and others, tomorrow in Moscow; and on Dec. 27 in Astana, Kazahstan, involving the Syrian government and moderate opposition. Turkey and Russia have recently cooperated in the evacuation of residents and rebels from eastern Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria, which began Dec. 15. This morning the UN Security Council unanimously approved the deployment of UN inspectors to monitor the ongoing process, following modifications to the draft in response to Russian objections.
On first reports of the assassination Monday, statesman Lyndon LaRouche warned, "Put Obama on the list of suspects." LaRouche made reference to the nature of the act, and to the nature of President Barack Obama. The assassination itself was "a deliberate kind of kill—a set-up." He said, "It's not just vengeance, it's a special operations act." He urged that authorities "run down the people involved in any way in this."
Secondly, LaRouche pointed out that Obama himself is on record for killings. He conducts, for example, the infamous Tuesday sessions for authorizing lists of drone targets. He deploys Americans to their harm and death in bloody regime-change military action in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere. Obama's stepfather himself was a killer-agent in Indonesia. As the step-child, "He is intrinsically a killer," LaRouche put it.
Obama specifically threatened action against Russia, at his Dec. 16 press conference and in an NPR interview. Obama asserted, without proof, that Russia hacked Democratic National Committee computers, and menacingly said, "I think there is no doubt that, when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections, that we need to take action, and we will, at a time and place of our choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be. But Mr. Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it."
Monday's assassination crime, and Obama's threats and campaign against Russia and other nations, focus our attention as citizens of all nations, that we must continue to bear down hard, to enforce a shift to a new paradigm of development and peace, and put Obama and his axis out of action. The fact that he leaves
office in 30 days is no cause for ease, but just the opposite.
This is underscored by new documentation of the evil character of the 16-year Bush/Obama regime, which came to light today. Newly-available FBI files—obtained under Freedom of Information Act demand—show that the FBI in 2012 was actively probing the support network for the 9/11 killer-hijackers—involving Saudi backers, when in 2004, the FBI denied anything like that ever existed, and said there were no leads to pursue, following the publication of the 9/11 Commission report. At least two new individuals were identified as key co-conspirators with the San Diego cell of hijackers. The 2012 investigation extended to New York, London and Copenhagen.
SUPPORTING MATERIAL
Russian Ambassador to Turkey Assassinated in Ankara
Russia's Ambassador to Turkey, Andrey G. Karlov, was shot dead on Monday, while delivering an address at an art museum in Ankara. After being wounded by the lone gunman, Karlov was transported to a hospital, where he died. Three other people were wounded in the attack.
Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu later identified the attacker as a 22-year-old former police officer by the name of Mevlüt Mert Altintas. According to news reports, he was heard shouting, "Don't forget Aleppo! Don't forget Syria! As long as our brothers are not safe, you will not enjoy safety." A Dutch website posted video footage of the shooting online, in which Altintas was seen wearing a suit and reportedly entered the premises using his police identification. He then shot Karlov in the back as the ambassador was speaking. RT reports that Turkish special forces killed Altintas following the shooting.
In both Ankara and Moscow, government officials vowed that Karlov's assassination would not affect Turkish-Russian relations and that those responsible would be found and brought to justice. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Russian President Vladimir Putin to brief him on the attack, according to Erdogan's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu was already on his way to Moscow for a tripartite meeting on Syria with the Russian and Iranian Foreign Ministers Lavrov and Zarif, when the attack occurred. He and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are expected to hold a joint press conference in Moscow on the assassination, reports Hurriyet.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said Monday, "Ambassador Karlov is a unique diplomat who earned appreciation of all state cadre by his professional and personal competences as he carried out successful works at a very difficult time in Turkey. His memory will always with us. We will not allow this attack to overshadow Turkish-Russian friendship."
Karlov had been ambassador in Ankara since July 2013 and had earlier in his diplomatic career worked extensively in North Korea.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Monday, that the Russian government considers the attack on Karlov a terrorist attack.
"Terrorism shall not pass, we will take resolute efforts against it," Zakharova stressed, reported TASS. "The memory of the outstanding Russian diplomat, the man who has done much to counter terrorism, Andrey Karlov, will always stay in our hearts."
She said that the issue of the attack will be raised immediately at the UN Security Council.
The attack was also condemned from around the world. According to a roundup in TASS, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini was among the first international diplomats to send condolences to the Russian government. Other messages came from Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, the Syrian Foreign Ministry, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and others.
"The United States condemns the assassination today in Ankara of Russian Ambassador Andrey Karlov,"
Kerry said in a statement. "We stand ready to offer assistance to Russia and Turkey as they investigate this despicable attack, which was also an assault on the right of all diplomats to safely and securely advance and represent their nations around the world."
Dramatic New FOIA Revelations: FBI Still Probed New 9/11 Leads in 2012
A new FBI document, obtained through an FOIA lawsuit related to the FBI's 9/11 Review Commission cover-up, shows that, as late as October 2012, the FBI was pursuing new leads on co-conspirators in the 9/11 attacks. The heavily redacted document was obtained by lawyers for the Florida Bulldog, which also has a separate FOIA action, seeking over 80,000 pages of FBI documents on the Sarasota Saudi family with ties to three of the hijackers.
On Monday, the Bulldog published a detailed report on the FOIA document, accompanied by the document itself, by publisher Dan Christensen. According to the FBI document, new leads on Saudi support networks for the San Diego terror cell were underway in New York and in Copenhagen, Denmark, as late as October 2012. Two individuals were identified as facilitators of the two San Diego terrorists, Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi: Osama “Sam” Mustafa and Mohdar Abdullah. Mustafa owned a San Diego gas station where al-Hazmi worked for a period of time, after coming to the United States directly from the Al Qaeda planning meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mustafa was arrested in Tampa, Florida, in May 2012 for Treasury check fraud, in a case filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Virginia. Mustafa was convicted a year later of the $17 million swindle, but he escaped while out on bond and is still a fugitive, according to the FBI document. In 2014, he was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison.
The second new name identified in the FBI report, Mohdar Abdullah, was identified as a close confidant of the two Saudi intelligence “handlers” of al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi, Osama Basnan and Omar al-Bayoumi. They assigned Abdullah to facilitate the “day-to-day life” of the two hijackers. Abdullah was arrested on Sept. 19, 2001, as a suspected accomplice of the hijackers but was eventually deported after he pled guilty to the immigration violations. While in custody awaiting deportation, according to the 2012 FBI document, he boasted that he had worked with the San Diego hijackers on the plot. The document also suggests that Abdullah was in contact with Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical cleric who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen years later, under President Obama's drone-kill program.
The new document is reportedly part of a larger number of FBI files set to be released under the FOIA case. The document alone shows that the claims that the 9/11 Commission completed the probe and showed that there was no Saudi Monarchy support for the terrorists, is a total lie, a lie that the FBI covered up until now. Former Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) and attorney Sean Carter (representing the 9/11 families) both told Dan Christensen that the existence of the document shows the magnitude of the FBI cover up, since the existence of the document was concealed right up until the FOIA release.
Paid for by the Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee P.O. Box 6157, Leesburg, VA 20178 • LaRouchePAC.com and Not Authorized by any Candidate or Candidate’s Committee