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CIA, Culture of Corruption, david petraeus, Democrats, Director David Patraeus, director of national intelligence, DNI James Clapper, Ha'aretz report, IBA, Israel, Mabat, Mossad Chief secret visit, sen feinstein, Sen. Diane Feinstein-D CA, senate intelligence committee, senate select committee, Shin Bet, socialism, Socialist agenda, Tamir Pardo, what did she reveal?
[TheBlaze.com]
- Posted by Sharona Schwartz
- Posted by CWN, February 1, 2012
Israel’s diplomatic and military correspondents got quite the surprise watching the live feed of the Senate Intelligence Committee when Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) revealed the head of the Mossad had made a secret visit to Washington earlier this week to hold talks with senior U.S. officials.
The item led the “Mabat” main newscast on Israel’s government-run network IBA on Tuesday evening and was the headline on Ha’aretz newspaper’s website.
The travels of Mossad Director Tamir Pardo are usually kept secret and in fact, the name of the head of the Mossad and Shin Bet [Israel’s version of the FBI] were up until a few years ago kept secret from the public.
Ha’aretz reports:
The clandestine Washington visit was exposed during a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which was participated by CIA Director David Petraeus, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate panel.
During the meeting, Feinstein asked Clapper whether or not Israel intended to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, with the top U.S. intelligence official answering that he would rather discuss the issue behind closed doors.
Feinstein then indicated that she had met Mossad chief Pardo earlier in the week in Washington, with Petraeus adding that he too met Pardo and cited what he called Israel‘s growing concern over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
The CIA chief also said that it was important to note that Israel considered a nuclear Iran as an existential threat.
In Sen. Feinstein’s defense, the travels of the head of the CIA to close allies is not as closely guarded, and she might not have known Israel’s modus operandi on the matter. On the other hand, as head of the Intelligence Committee, the senior Senator from California might have considered that with tensions running so high, some meetings are best held close to the vest. The question also remains: why did CIA Director Petraeus also publicly confirm the meetings?
He called it “part of an ongoing dialogue.”