"Israeli intelligence agent Ari Ben-Menashe
who claims he worked for former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak
Shamir says that he visited Sri Lanka and met President
Premadasa, a minister, top officials and the PLO representative
in an attempt to sell US C-130 planes to Iran which was
forbidden by the United States. He also states that he went to
Jaffna on an $8 million arms deal involving the PLO. The plot he
says involved agreement between Shamir and the USSR to make
Jordan the homeland for Palestinians, closer collaboration
between Israel and the PLO and release three Israeli soldiers
who were held in Lebanon. Art Ben-Menashe was arrested in
the US for attempting to sell C-130 planes to Iran, charged
before courts but acquitted of the charges."
| Letter to
President Premadasa ORA
GROUP
22 July 1989
AZ-166-89
His Excellency R. Premadasa
President Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Subject: Proposal for sale of Five
C-130 E Aircraft to the Sri Lankan Air Force
Your Excellency,
In two most interesting
discussions I had with the Commander of your Air
Force he showed great interest in C-130 E transport
A/C for Sri Lanka. He said he would greatly support
any reasonable proposal for such aircraft due to
absolute necessity. The following is a proposal for
sale of these A/C to the Sri Lankan Air Force
directed to your Excellency in your capacity as
Defence Minister.
1. We are able and willing to
provide you with up to five C-130 Hercules transport
aircraft presently in service with the Israeli Air
Force and are in excellent condition. These A/C can
be used as troop carriers and military cargo
transporters as well as civilian transporters in
peace time, i.e. are very cost effective.
2. The price of the proposed
aircraft is US $9 million per unit. This price will
include the reconditioning of the A/C engines to
zero hours condition and a technical course for
maintaining and flying these A/C for your men.
Delivery of these A/C is immediate.
3. If your Excellency approves of
the purchase, our company will be able and willing
to arrange a credit package for this purpose with a
major western bank.
4. There are great advantages in
purchasing these A/C through our company. If you
order ex-factory A/C as you may well know, they will
cost you US $12 million per unit and you will have
to wait approx two years for delivery, you will also
run into political obstacles. The package we are
proposing is very reasonable, we will handle the
political problems and arrange the easiest credit
terms possible.
5. Thank you for your
consideration we await your reply. Our handling
agent in Sri Lanka is Globe Commercial Agencies
Ltd., 4011 Dickman's Road, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tel.
586191, 588924, 589783, 584698. Please direct your
reply to our agents in your country.
6. This proposal will be valid
until 1 November 1989.
Yours Faithfully,
Ari Ben-Menashe
Director
c.c. Commander of Sri Lankan Air
Force
Globe Commercial Agencies Ltd. |
Excerpts from book:
"For all his public image, Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir was a
very private man. Having fought underground against the British and
then, having spent the rest of his life in Mossad, rising to
operations chief for Europe, he had learned not to trust people. He
carried this mistrust into his position as prime minister, and there
were a number of decisions he made that he refused to share even
with his own party members.
Many of his secrets were learned only on a need-to-know basis.
Some of his secrets were known only by trusted advisors of whom I
was one. I knew, for example about the bank account held by Shamir's
son Yair, which had been started up after Admoni, I, and others had
taken some profits in 1987. I knew how often Shamir would get things
he believed were in Israel's interests done without cabinet consent
� such as sending me to Peru to collect the nuclear substances.
Exchange of Intelligence between Soviet Union and Israel.
And I was also well aware of Shamir's closeness to the Soviets.
As early as 1984 Shamir had authorized intelligence exchanges with
the Soviets, including sanitized American intelligence reports about
nuclear issues and evaluations of Soviet nuclear technology. These
reports were obtained in part through Rafi Eitan's US spy network.
One intelligence exchange meeting took place in New Delhi between
the KGB, Mossad, and Indian intelligence to discuss the Pakistani
nuclear reactor and India's desire to destroy it. The three nations
were all afraid of President Zia ul Haq's nuclear project, which was
known to the US but overlooked as his prize for backing the
Mujahedin in Afgfhanistan.
Shamir saw the Libyan-financed project, known as the Islamic
Bomb, as a direct threat to Israel, just like the Iraqi nuclear
program. It was bizarre, but on nuclear issues our American allies
and their friends such as Pakistan and Iraq were aligned against
Israel, forcing Shamir to find support from the Soviet Union.
In 1986, after Chebrikov and Shamir reached an agreement on the
immigration of Soviet Jews, the flow of Israeli intelligence to the
Soviet Union expanded even more. Israel began regularly exchanging
intelligence with the Soviets on the capabilities of the
pro-American Arab countries � Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and even
Iraq, although the Soviets were also arming the Iraqis. For their
part, the Soviets, as late as 1989, were handing over information to
Israel from their network in Iran about the Iraqi nuclear and
chemical arsenals. They were also reporting about US and other
nations' relations with the Iraqis.
It was altogether a very friendly affair, particularly after the
Israelis had transferred so much of the slush into Soviet
repositories. Shamir became very chummy with Chebrikov, as did other
members of the Joint Committee. As a result of these relationships
with the East Bloc, I was later accused of being a Soviet
sympathizer.
One of Shamir's best-kept secrets was his clandestine attempt to
negotiate a solution of his own to the Palestinian situation with
the PLO.
Despite Israel's generally perceived enmity with the Palestine
Liberation Organisation, Shamir and some of the PLO leadership
shared a common belief that peace in the Middle East would come not
by Israel's giving up the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, but by
allowing the Palestinians to establish their own nation in what is
now Jordan.
King Hussein became an American favorite. As long as he ruled
Jordan and there was no Palestinian state there, militant
Palestinians would be no threat to America's oil supply in
neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Golda Meir and other Labor leaders,
following America's lead, were not interested in dethroning King
Hussein.
PLO
In the meantime, after the 1967 war, the PLO and other
Palestinian groups moved out of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
into Jordan. Hussein thought wrongly that he would be able to
contain them. The PLO with its forces became a state within a state,
and the King lost complete control of large portions of his country.
The PLO began hijacking civilian airliners and bringing them to
Jordan. The situation reached a crisis in 1970 when the PLO landed
three commercial planes in Az-Zarqa, Jordan, ordered the passengers
off, and then blew the aircraft up, with the King unable to do a
thing about it.
Realizing how little power he had over the Palestinians, King
Hussein decided to unleash his army against them. He achieved some
success until the Syrians decided, in 1970, to intervene on behalf
of the Palestinians. At issue was the very existence of the King �
or the establishment of a Palestinian state in Jordan. It was then
that Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir arguably made the worst
political mistake in the history of Israel.
She ordered the Israel Defense Forces to be mobilized against the
Syrians. In doing so, she prevented the establishment of a
Palestinian state in Jordan, and she kept the King in power. The
threat by militant Palestinians to Saudi oilfields was prevented,
which made the Americans happy, but as far as Israel's long term
strategic interest was concerned, any hopes of creating a
Palestinian state in Jordan had received a major setback. Ultimately
the price of this decision could still be the very existence of
Israel.
As a result of Golda
Meir's decision, King Hussein was able to manoeuvre his army within
Jordan, massacre some 20,000 Palestinians, and throw all the PLO
people out of Jordan. As the PLO moved into Lebanon, many
Palestinian fighters came to the Jordan-Israel border and
surrendered to Israeli troops rather than fall into the hands of the
Bedouin army, which had a reputation for not taking prisoners.
After Likud took power in Israel in 1977, Prime Minister Menachem
Begin and Egypt's President Sadat came up with a face-saving formula
over the Palestinian issue and talked about autonomy in the West
Bank. Begin gave the Sinai back, and Sadat let go of the West Bank
and the Palestinian issue. All Sadat was interested in was getting
back the Sinai. The Gaza Strip, which had been under Egyptian
control before 1967, had no appeal for him because it had a large
Palestinian population. For Begin, the West Bank and Gaza Strip were
important for Israel to retain both for historical and strategic
reasons.
After the Camp David agreements, and after the Republicans had
taken over in 1981, the US and the 'moderate' Arab countries started
pressing for a mini-Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank, which would not threaten US oil interests, as would a
Palestine state in Jordan, which Likud wanted. Likud believed that
Israel could work closely with a Palestinian state established in
Jordan, but nothing was done about it. The 1984 election resulted in
a hung parliament and the formation of the famous Likud-Labor
coalition. Then Shimon Peres, who was prime minister from late 1984
to late 1986, agreed to consider some type of international
conference to discuss the issue of a Palestinian entity in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip, conforming with US policy. But Likud, a major
partner in the coalition, blocked the whole initiative and thus
accelerated the US tilt toward Iraq.
Conspiracy against Jordan where a Palestinian state to be
created and secret meeting with Arafat in Tunis.
With Shamir back in power after 1986, secret attempts were made
to talk to the Palestinian leadership, including the PLO � even
though to this day the organization is not publicly or officially
recognized by the Israeli government, especially Likud. The talks
involved a plan to get rid of the King of Jordan and take over his
country as a Palestinian state. The population was 70 percent
Palestinian anyway. Such a plan would have outraged the Labor Party
in Israel, the US Republican administration, the King of Jordan, and
the Saudis, if any of them found out about it. However, various
Palestinian circles, especially what was known as the radical camp,
along with the Syrians and the Soviet Union, were happy to go along
with it.
Soviets
The Soviets believed a Palestinian state sandwiched in the West
Bank between Jordan and Israel would just cause more trouble in the
Middle East, reducing Israel's standing as a balancing power in the
region. Even though publicly the Soviet policy was anti-Israel,
privately the Soviets wanted what Shamir wanted � a Palestinian
state in place of Jordan. At a secret meeting in 1986, Shamir and
Chebrikov agreed that there would be no negotiations with the PLO
over the West Bank as such. There would be an attempt for an overall
solution in the Middle East. And the cold solution would be to 'do
away' with King Hussein of Jordan.
The deal between Chebrikov and Shamir was that if the Likud Party
held out against a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
and against an American-dictated 'peace treaty', the Soviets would
help Israel. They would do this by helping Israel populate the West
Bank with Jews, not only from their country but also with immigrants
from Soviet-backed Ethiopia.
As events were to prove, the agreement was kept to the letter. By
1991 more than 250,000 Soviet Jews had emigrated to Israel with
another 30,000 Ethiopian Jews airlifted from Addis Ababa.
The bond that developed between Israel and the Soviet Union was
far stronger than anyone realized. Since Israel did not have
diplomatic representation in the Soviet Union, saying they wanted to
go to their homeland, but in Vienna and Rome they would apply for
immigration visas to the US. This was limited by opening an Israeli
consular section in Moscow through which the Israeli government
would grant visas to enter Israel for Soviet Jews. All paper work
was completed in Moscow, so emigrants would not go rushing off to
the US. They had to go directly to Israel, where they were needed to
populate the West Bank, thereby taking up the land and spoiling any
US plans to grant it to the Palestinians.
The Palestinian issue came to a head after the outbreak of the
Intifada in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in
1987. The US was talking about a peace conference with the
Palestinians and had officially sanctioned a dialogue between the US
ambassador in Tunis and the PLO leadership. Shamir, instead of
bowing to pressure and accepting the American proposals, announced
he would come up with a peace plan of his own.
That peace plan, which essentially would create a Palestinian
state in Jordan, was not made public. But Shamir discussed it with
his advisers. In this period of time, Yasser Arafat was beating the
wardrums against Jordan. It was risky, but risks had to be taken
because US pressure on Shamir was enormous.
It was against this background that Shamir decided that several
of his advisers should meet PLO leaders around the world with a view
to developing the 'Jordanian option'. Orders were given to one of
the advisers to travel to Tunis, to PLO headquarters, and meet
Yasser Arafat. It was in late June 1989, and that meeting was the
first of three with the PLO leader, on behalf of Shamir.
The feasibility and theoretical scenarios of starting a war
against Jordan, with Israel supporting an all-out Palestinian
uprising against the King, were discussed. This was an important
part of Shamir's secret plan to resolve the Palestinian situation.
Surprising as it may seem, this secret was shared with Arafat.
After these discussions with Arafat, a deputy minister in the
Prime Minister's Office, Ehud Ulmart, who was very close to Shamir,
met the PLO leader, in a private home in Tunis City, where further
discussions were held about the Jordanian option.
Secret proposed sale of C-130 transport planes to Iran in
return for Israeli soldiers held by Shi'ites.
Based on these discussions, Prime Minister Shamir had a new
secret mission for me. It was a complex plan, but if successful, it
would have a twofold effect � it would free the three Israeli
soldiers who were being held in Lebanon, and it would bring us
closer to the PLO In our talks with them. It would require my
presence in Sri Lanka.
As I flew to Colombo early in July 1989, I went over the plan,
which could be likened to a political chess game in which one side
moves forward but is careful to protect its interests. And at any
time something could go wrong.
Despite Shamir's earlier decision that the C-130 deal was off, he
decided to try again to negotiate the sale of the planes in return
for Tehran's help in securing the release of the soldiers. This time
we were to try to enlist the aid of the PLO, which had a
representative in Sri Lanka. If Iran could find out where the
soldiers were, the PLO might be able to get them freed from the
clutches of the Shi'ites, who were holding them.
Sri Lanka had been chosen because it was a different 'smoke
screen' country to send the aircraft through, and the PLO had a man
there I could talk to. Naturally, the PLO wanted a slice of the
cake. The demands that Arafat had laid down during the secret
meeting in Tunis were that, in exchange for their help, Israel
should make a donation to the Sri Lankan Tamil guerrillas, the LTTE,
who would then use the money to buy weapons from the PLO.
Sri Lankan Government as conduit for sale of aircraft to Iran
by Israel and LTTE to buy weapons from PLO with Israeli money.
So we would be using the Sri Lankan government as a conduit for
our aircraft to Iran � and we'd be using the LTTE as a cover for
putting money into the hands of the PLO for their cooperation. It
was a crazy situation. Israel had advisers helping the Sri Lankan
Army in its fight against the rebels, yet here was I, acting on
behalf of the Israeli government, arranging payment to the rebels so
they could buy weapons to fight the army.
I checked into the Ramada hotel in downtown Colombo and, later
that evening, wandered down to the lobby, where I ordered a welcome
dish of ice cream. I struck up a friendly conversation with a man
who introduced himself as the Egyptian charg� d'affaires. As we
chatted, neither of us could help but notice a Western man in his
late 60s, with a white beard, dancing alone to the small band.
`Just look at that crazy guy', said my Egyptian companion. 'He
either loves dancing alone, or he can't find himself a woman.'We
were soon to discover who he was. The music finished, and he flopped
down in the lounge seat beside me, flapping his shirt against his
chest. 'That was good exercise,' he said.
He reached into his shirt pocket and produced a business card. It
portrayed planets circling the earth. It read:
One Universe
A Non-Profit Alliance
Leon Siff, Chief Organizer
National Food Relief
Homes for the Homeless
Counselling Without Wall �Advocates Advocates for the Homeless
Siff extended a hand, explaining he was a retired probation
officer from Los Angeles, who was now involved with charitable work.
The full name of his organization, although his card didn't say it,
was Friends of the Universe, set up, he said, to help the homeless
living in and around Venice Beach in Los Angeles.
The American explained that he was Jewish and was in Sri Lanka to
visit his son, who had become a Buddhist monk. I was to see a lot
more of Siff during my stay in the steamy city.
Later I called the PLO representative, as previously arranged,
and he was delighted to see me. We spoke in Hebrew. He had been in
an Israeli jail for 12 years after trying to plant a bomb in the
town of Afula. It had blown up prematurely and almost killed him.
My next meeting also arranged beforehand, was with the Sri Lankan
Minister of Information, at his home. As a confidant of President
Ranasinghe Premadasa, he was my stepping stone. I explained to him
over dinner that my prime minister would be most grateful, and would
ensure increased military assistance to his army, if Sri Lanka would
agree to act as the conduit for the C-130s. The minister arranged
for me to meet Premadasa at the presidential palace the next day.
The first step of my mission had been accomplished.
The next morning I had a low key breakfast meeting with the PLO
representative. Israel, I said, was willing to pay the Tamils $8
million if the PLO would help Iran to get the three captured
soldiers out of the hands of the Shi'ite groups in Lebanon.
Officially, the money was to be used by the Tamils for 'humanitarian
purposes' although we were both aware it would go to the purchase of
weapons from the PLO.
Back at the hotel that evening, I spotted Leon Siff dancing on
his own again. When he saw me, he left the dance floor and made his
way over. He asked how my day had been and where I had gone, but I
dodged the topic. Then he turned the subject around to money.
'Ari', he said, 'my group needs all the support it can get. I
know you can help. I'd like you to come to the US some time and see
what we do. How about it?'
`Sure', I said, 'if I'm in Los Angeles, I'll look you up.'
In the next 48 hours I met the president, the commander of the
Sri Lankan Air Force, and the PLO representative, nudging them all
along toward the execution of the Israeli plan to sell the C-130s in
exchange for the three soldiers. I still had to meet the Tamils,
even though contact had been made with their London office, to
arrange their payment. Of course, this part of the deal was unknown
to the Sri Lankan government.
Trip to Jaffna
My journey to Jaffna was not the most relaxed. I had decided to
drive myself because I didn't want any witnesses to my movements or
negotiations. The narrow road took me through numerous roadblocks
set up by either the Sri Lankan Army or the Indian Army. The Indians
were highly suspicious of a 'tourist' heading north to Jaffna at a
time when the rebels were active. But after a great deal of argument
they allowed me to proceed, even though the area north had been
designated as a military operations zone.
That night, as previously arranged through the PLO
representative, I was picked up at the Subhas Hotel in Jaffna and
driven to a Tamil village. My guide took me to a large house where
teenage boys stood guard, each holding a Kalashnikov rifle. I was
ushered inside, where a number of men were waiting in the stark
light of a propane lamp. Their leader, whose codename was Tiger One,
spoke reasonably good English and introduced himself and his
compatriots. I was a sitting duck for their propaganda, but it had
to be done.
Tiger One, a middle-aged, short, chubby, dark-complexioned man,
paced the room as he informed me there were 50 million Tamils on the
Indian mainland in Tamil Nadu, and they were all very unhappy with
the way they had been treated by Rajiv Gandhi and his Congress
Party. Gandhi had created a pro-Indian front in Sri Lanka, and he
wanted to annex the Tamil areas in Sri Lanka to India.
'He has become a bully,' Tiger one snapped. 'He even wants the
top part of Sri Lanka � our homeland. Well, let us tell you that
Rajiv Gandhi will pay for his heavy-handedness. We will continue our
struggle for independence to the last man. We will fight whatever
and whomever they throw at us.'
I explained that I was there to make a contribution to their
cause. The Tamil leader was quick to point out that the Israeli
government might well be offering them $8 million, but the Israelis
were also assisting the Sri Lankan Army against the Tamils. They
conceded, however, they needed the money. I explained it was ransom
for the three soldiers, but I didn't tell them about the C-130s that
were going to Iran as well.
My hosts and I struck a deal. They would accept the money from
Israel, and they would contact the PLO mission in Colombo informing
them of the arrangement. Hopefully, we could then expect PLO
assistance in trying to secure the release of our soldiers.
The return journey to Colombo was horrendous. Inevitably, the car
broke down, and I ended up being towed, sleeping in the car, and
finding myself at the point of a gun as a gang of Tamil road bandits
demanded money.
Back in the capital, I phoned Nick Davies and told him to go
ahead. This was our prearranged signal for him to make the $8
million payment to the Tamils through their London office.
Naturally, the money came out of a Slush-fund account.
I flew back to Israel, right into a storm. The talks with the PLO
had been leaked, I found out, by Rabbi Ovadia Yusef, leader of the
Shas Party, who had himself had discussions about the Palestinian
question with Arab leaders. Some coalition members were furious.
Shamir was on the receiving end of their anger, and he realized he
had to be seen to be backing out of his commitment. He needed
scapegoats.
I guessed what was coming and decided to stay one step ahead. I
consulted the other two signatories to the slush-fund accounts, and
persuaded them that for the physical and financial protection of
everyone who'd been on the Joint Committee, we should move the CIA
money now controlled by Israel to the East Bloc.
The CIA money, by now up to $710 million, went into the East on a
series of straightforward transfers, without using Maxwell's
companies as a conduit. the move left Maxwell dangling. The banks
that had lent him money in 1988 no longer had their guarantees.
Shamir was furious that his friend had been left in such a
vulnerable position, and he had to conduct a swift public relations
exercise with the banks to ensure they continued to shore Maxwell
up.
In early fall 1989, Shamir called me into his office. He was
sitting behind his desk, his tiny body dwarfed in the large leather
chair. I stood in silence staring into his severe face. This was to
be the showdown.
`You have got too close to our enemies,' he said.
`If you're talking about the PLO contacts, you know I was only
following orders. And we couldn't back off anyway. I have personally
promised the families of those soldiers that we will do all we can
to help them.'
`You exceeded your authority.' His face was like a stone, cold
and grey. `And what about the money?' he asked. 'Are you stealing
it?'
An old Hebrew saying came into my head. Ganav ganav patur,' I
said. 'A thief from a thief is off the hook.'
He glared at me for a moment. Then with a flick of his hand he
dismissed me. 'Lech! � Go' he ordered. I went. I knew him well
enough to know that this was not the end of the affair.
Shamir's 1989 secret peace plan, from which he was now trying to
extricate himself, never got anywhere. Infighting in the cabinet
effectively ended any contact between the PLO and Shamir's office.
King Hussein, through his own intelligence network, heard about the
plan to unseat him and took precautionary steps. He aligned himself
even more closely with Saddam Hussein and extracted a promise that
the Iraqi leader would help the king if there were an uprising in
Jordan.
The Americans, meanwhile, kept up the pressure on Shamir. They
joined in full chorus with Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq, and insisted
that the West Bank and Gaza Strip should be the new Palestinian
state. The King of Jordan had also officially relinquished any
responsibility for the Palestinians or for the West Bank and said he
would no longer be interested in any negotiations over a
Jordanian-Palestinian federation. This was the situation when the US
finally fell out with Saddam Hussein in August 1990 and decided it
needed to establish its own military presence in the region.
When Saddam Hussein clashed with the US in early 1991, the
Palestinian populace all over the world suddenlystarted seeing him
as their hero. Here was an Arab leader fighting single handedly
against USA imperialism. Arafat had no choice but to show public
support for Iraq against the United States. The King of Jordan.
whose loyalties were divided, did not know where to turn at first,
but then decided to lean toward Saddam Hussein and show the
Palestinians that he was also a protector of the Arab cause. The
Syrians, however, who were anti Saddam Hussein, suddenly changed
sides and went to the Americans.
As events were to prove, when the Gulf War ended in Iraq's defeat
and the loss of tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers, Arafat lost his
standing. His money sources from Saudi Arabia and other gulf states
were cut off, and what little credibility he'd built up in the West
was nullified.
The King of Jordan, even though he had backed Saddam Hussein in
the Gulf War, quickly returned to the US fold.
The Syrians, for their cooperation in the Gulf War, were given
control over Lebanon, Israel found itself back in one of the most
difficult diplomatic situations possible, in which the Americans
were saying the 'moderate' Palestinians and not the PLO were to be
involved in negotiations with Israel over the West Bank and Gaza
Strip.
All the covert negotiations between Likud and the PLO leadership
in 1988 and 1989 went down the drain. A real attempt to solve the
Palestinian question, without threatening the existence of the State
of Israel, was again aborted by the Americans and their friends.
*
Profits of War : Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network