ISIS, INTELL, AND ANTIQUITIES
When Mr. S.D. sent the following article to me this week I knew I would be blogging about it, and accordingly, it went straight to my "final seven" folder right away, which is a rare occurrence. Normally, I sort email articles as I receive them into a "semi-finals" and "finals" folder, and at the end of the week, comb through both and pull articles for blogging which go into the "final seven". Not this one; it went directly to the final seven. I think you'll see why once we get to my high octane speculation of the day. But first, the article:
Isis Makes Up to $100 Million a Year Smuggling Ancient Artifacts From Iraq and Syria
What makes this article so delicious, from a certain point of view, is that it comes from a lamestream corporate controlled media "source" like Newsweek; it's not a conspiracy theory coming from an "alt media" site. So here's what I want to concentrate on:
The Islamic State militant group (ISIS) makes as much as $100 million annually by trafficking looted antiquities out of Iraq and Syria and selling them on the black market.
The Wall Street Journal reported that while it was not possible to put a precise figure on the amount of revenue generated for ISIS by the trade of the artifacts, an unnamed French security official believed it to be around $100 million. Estimates from other sources ranged from the low tens of millions upward.
One could hardly expect an "outlet" like Newsweek to pass up the opportunity to tar Hobby Lobby, an American retail chain whose owners are evangelicals, en passant with the implication that they might have been wittingly or unwittingly dealing with ISIS. The real story here however is the allegation that antiquities trafficking forms a large income source to the terrorist group.
And this is where my high octane speculation of the day comes in, for as most readers here probably know, the internet is rife with suspicion, some of it very well argued, that the real backing of ISIS comes from a variety of western or allied intelligence agencies; people have argued cases for Israeli intelligence, Saudi intelligence, British intelligence, and various American intelligence agencies being connected to, and supplying, and helping even to train, the group.
That, of course, now puts a very different spin on this story, for if one combines these two ideas, then one is left with the implication that these intelligence agencies are in the antiquities smuggling business, and that means by further implication, that the antiquities allegedly being smuggled are also being vetted by these agencies prior to being sold on the black antiquities market, as Mr. S.D. observed in his accompanying comments to the article. I could not agree more, for I have argued, since the appearance of my book Babylon's Banksters some years ago, that the recovery of antiquities and any potential information that might be gleaned therefrom was a hidden objective of the latest American-British invasion of Iraq, and that it may form one of the hidden reasons for their ongoing attempts to topple the regime of Mr. Assad in Syria, and that this same motivation may ultimately lie behind those advocating a military intervention in Iran as well. Such a scheme would indeed "fit the pattern" of designing operations to fulfill several objectives, in this case, to create yet another funding mechanism for covert operations and projects, while at the same time, using that mechanism to search for knowledge and or technology, and "pull" it from public view.
In short, I am viewing this odd story as a little bit of confirmation of my high octane speculation that antiquities are at the top of a very covert agenda in the Middle East.
See you on the flip side...
11 Comments
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I think the referenced-article is misdirection. Al Qaeda* never had a need to generate money. The deep state and vassal nations always gave them whatever cash/arms was needed for the current ‘op’. Al Qaeda had/has access to a botto mless cash flow; it never needed to sell antiquities…
As Joseph pointed out, ancient tech (or references to same) is likely the ‘core’ of these invasions. Anything else – like oil or pipelines – is just a perk. The big question is whether this is for information (meaning the baddies do not already have the tech up and running) or to simply deny the info to the rest of the world (German and French archeologists were digging-up additional ‘tels’ before the uproar). Either way, the tumult has effectively-prohibited ground research…
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* (I will never use ISIS, as this is an attempt by *cough* a certain Tribe to change word-usage in the sheeple’s minds. Isis was/is a benevolent Egyptian goddess. All-CIA-Duh wants to shift this word to the negative, just like they did with 911 which used to be more-known as a phone number for as sistance. Diabolical.)
This joins the ongoing destruction of indigenous artifacts from the Americas, Australia, Africa and even Pre-Christian Europe. He Who Controls the Past controls the Future. He Who Controls the present controls the Past Eric Blair writing under the penname George Orwell 1984.
Like hitting a jackpot; once you hit one, you want more. At it hits are variable, it becomes more addictive.
Hence, it must have been quite a jackpot[or two, three, ….].
Whatever these were, “we” are out of the Breakaway loop.
No hidden arrow in the night… ?
It does bring to mind some sci-fi plots, where the artifact has been split into pieces that must be assembled to complete the puzzle/[w]hole.
As Aristotle said,
The [w]hole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Dr. F.,
Did this one get to you?: http://en.shafaqna.com/u-s-stealing-syrias-ancient-artifacts/
Yes…. I may blog about it.
Great find Sophia. And talking about construction work in significant places…
http://en.shafaqna.com/binladin-group-resume-expansion-mecca-grand-mosque-report/
Throughout history, only one group of people stand out above all the others who worship money and the power it brings with it. If there is a buck to be made, they will be in the thick of it; and they always work from the shadows. Why would antiquities, and any knowledge gleaned from them, be any different?
They are parasites which always kill their host if left untreated.
If the Fall Street Journal and NukesWeek say it, it MUST be true, complete with the sinister “Russian buyer” of those “antique Bibles” – for some reason not destroyed by “militants”. Indeed, in the midst of such alleged iconoclastic fury, maybe that unnamed “buyer” actually did a good deed? Anyway, as for the “priceless statues and sculptures”, though it is probable that some destruction may have taken place, the NukesWeek photo actually depicts a stone tablet in ARABIC. So who do they think they’re kidding?
The Sheeple, who arent informed enough to make a proper decision.