What defines "an agent?"
On the face of it, this doesn't pass the smell test.
"In a press release, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, David N. Kelley, and FBI officials in New York and Baltimore said Lindauer acted as an unregistered agent of the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS), the foreign spying arm of the Hussein government. The statement said the service 'played a role in terrorist operations, including the attempted assassination of former President George H.W. Bush, and attempted bombings during Operation Desert Storm,' the first Gulf war in 1991. Bush was the target of an assassination attempt when he visited Kuwait after the war.
"The press release said the intelligence service also 'located, intimidated and killed Iraqi defectors and dissidents living abroad.'"
Scary stuff. But wait...
"The indictment did not charge Lindauer with involvement in any such operations, or with actual espionage, but said that she had prohibited dealings with several members of the IIS from October 1999 through March 2002 in visits to the Iraqi Mission to the United Nations in New York. It said she also traveled to Baghdad in early 2002 to meet with IIS officers and received about $10,000 for her services during this period. The indictment did not specify what information or services she allegedly provided."
The Post doesn't say, but the indictment also indicated that she reported her contacts to a "representative of the U.S. government." So, what defines "an unregistered agent" of a foreign government?
"In a press release, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, David N. Kelley, and FBI officials in New York and Baltimore said Lindauer acted as an unregistered agent of the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS), the foreign spying arm of the Hussein government. The statement said the service 'played a role in terrorist operations, including the attempted assassination of former President George H.W. Bush, and attempted bombings during Operation Desert Storm,' the first Gulf war in 1991. Bush was the target of an assassination attempt when he visited Kuwait after the war.
"The press release said the intelligence service also 'located, intimidated and killed Iraqi defectors and dissidents living abroad.'"
Scary stuff. But wait...
"The indictment did not charge Lindauer with involvement in any such operations, or with actual espionage, but said that she had prohibited dealings with several members of the IIS from October 1999 through March 2002 in visits to the Iraqi Mission to the United Nations in New York. It said she also traveled to Baghdad in early 2002 to meet with IIS officers and received about $10,000 for her services during this period. The indictment did not specify what information or services she allegedly provided."
The Post doesn't say, but the indictment also indicated that she reported her contacts to a "representative of the U.S. government." So, what defines "an unregistered agent" of a foreign government?
posted by John at 5:25 PM
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