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In the continuation, the Dutch
Government report continues to reveal the shocking disregard
Clinton administration had toward the United Nations' arms
embargo resolution, but also toward American NATO allies.
Dutch Government Srebrenica Study:
Secret arms supplies to the Bosnian Muslims:
The Black Flights to Tuzla
Here presented short excerpts come from "Appendix II" entitled:
"Intelligence and the war in Bosnia 1992 – 1995: The role of the
intelligence and security services," Chapter 4. The chapter itself
is entitled: "Secret arms supplies and other covert actions." We
have a mirror of those pages (in case they disappear from the
original web site) at this link.
The original, Dutch page is
here.
The original quotes are on green "stickers." The titles on
these stickers are ours.
For fair use only
Published under the provision of
U.S. Code, Title 17, section 107.
Secretly supplying weapons
while pretending to talk about
lifting the arms embargo
|
[The U.S. Secretary of State Warren] Christopher still
feared leaks [about Iran-Bosnia arms supply line,
supported by the Washington] and angry reactions from London,
Ottawa and Paris, which could lead to the departure of
[their troops dressed as] UNPROFOR.
Meanwhile, a [pretend] debate was raging in the US Congress
about lifting the arms embargo against Bosnia. This debate
also did not go unnoticed in various capitals and in UNPROFOR.
For instance, Netherlands Prime
Minister Wim Kok told
President Clinton by phone of his great concern about the
possible lifting of the arms embargo. Clinton expressed
understanding, but pointed to the domestic political
pressure from Congress for lifting the arms embargo,
which he himself called 'hypocritical', because in the
event of a unilateral decision it would not be American
but other troops who would run large security risks.
In a gloomy and comprehensive scenario, Akashi outlined
from Zagreb [Croatia] the possible consequences for the
UN peacekeeping operations. The UNPROFOR commanders
considered that lifting
the arms embargo could be deemed by the Bosnian Serbs
to be a de facto declaration of war by the international
community. This had consequences for the
humanitarian efforts and would lead to the VRS stepping
up military actions against UNPROFOR. Furthermore, the
VRS could feel forced to start large-scale military
operations before the arms reached the ABiH, and UNPROFOR
would lose any semblance of impartiality. The VRS would
consider lifting the arms embargo to be new evidence of
Western support to the Bosnian Muslims. Furthermore, the
VRS would immediately withdraw its heavy weapons from
the Weapon Collection Points in Sarajevo and other areas.
|
How shocking to see hypocrite Clinton talk about hypocrisy.
As he was regurgitating the word, he knew full well that
Bosnia arms embargo is a sham and that Iran-Bosnia arms supply
line, with American approval and supervision, was working
full well.
But, Clinton wanted more,... more weapons for the Bosnian
Muslims. As his reelection time was getting near he wanted
Bosnia closer to an "end game." For that he needed his
Muslim proxy supplied more efficiently. As Iranian weapons
were shipped through Zagreb, Croatia and Croats skimmed
good percentage of the weaponry for themselves, Clinton
wanted to eliminate this middleman markup. A more direct
supply route was needed. Muslim controlled air base at Tuzla
(North-East Bosnia) was a natural end point of the
supply route. Also, it was close to Srebrenica and other
besieged "safe areas," the Americans will use as an
excuse for even more direct involvement of America in
the conflict.
Black Flights over Tuzla
NATO allies kept in the dark
|
[I]t was decided at the highest
level [of American governmeent] to seek out opportunities
for the ABiH [Bosnian Muslim Army] to acquire arms and
ammunition without the intervention of Zagreb.
This meant direct supplies, but this was impossible
via Sarajevo because the airfield was frequently
under [Serbian] fire. Therefore Tuzla Air Base [TAB],
in East Bosnia was decided upon...
... ...
At 17.45 on 10 February 1995, the Norwegian Captain
Ivan Moldestad, a Norwegian helicopter detachment
(NorAir) pilot, stood in the doorway of his temporary
accommodation just outside Tuzla. It was dark, and
suddenly he heard the sound of the propellers of an
approaching transport aircraft; it was unmistakably
a four engine Hercules C-130. Moldestad noticed that
the Hercules was being escorted by two jet fighters,
but could not tell their precise type in the darkness.
There were other sightings of this secretive night-time
flight to Tuzla Air Base (TAB). A sentry who was on
guard duty outside the Norwegian medical UN unit in
Tuzla also heard and saw the lights of the Hercules
and the accompanying jet fighters. Other UN observers,
making use of night vision equipment, also saw the
cargo aircraft and the fighter planes concerned. The
reports were immediately forwarded to the NATO Combined
Air Operations Center (CAOC) in Vicenza and the UNPF
Deny Flight Cell in Naples. When Moldestad phoned
Vicenza, he was told that there was nothing in the
air that night, and that he must be mistaken. When
Moldestad persisted, the connection was broken.
The secretive C-130 cargo
aircraft flights and night-time arms drops on Tuzla
caused great agitation within UNPROFOR and the
international community in February and March
1995. When asked, a British general responded with
great certainty to the question of the origin of the
secret supplies via TAB [Tuzla Air Base]:
'They were American
arms deliveries. No doubt about that. And
American private companies were involved in these
deliveries.' This was no surprising answer, because
this general had access to intelligence gathered by
a unit of the British Special Air Services (SAS) in
Tuzla. The aircraft had come within range of this
unit's special night vision equipment, and the
British saw them land. It was a confirmation that
a clandestine American operation
had taken place in which arms, ammunition and military
communication equipment were supplied to the ABiH.
These night-time operations led to much consternation
within the UN and NATO, and were the subject of
countless speculations. The question is whether
the British general was right in his allegation that
these were American consignments, and who was involved
in these supplies on the Bosnian side...
Nothing was done with Moldestad's report on
10 February 1995 that he had heard a Hercules C-130
on Tuzla Air Base. The Norwegian logistics battalion
(known as NorLogBat), 4 kilometres from Tuzla West,
also reported observing three unidentified aircraft:
one cargo aircraft and two jet fighters. The cargo
aircraft was described as a four-engine Hercules;
the two fighters each flew close to either of the
wing tips of the C-130 and left the area immediately
after the Hercules has started the final approach.
This was a familiar flying trick, because it created
the impression on the radar screen that only one
aircraft was in the air. Independently of this,
Norwegian medical personnel (of NorMedCoy) reported
seeing the same C-130. Shortly afterwards, observers
heard how the jet fighters skimmed over Tuzla.
At 18.45 hours a report arrived that all the aircraft
had left again. These events were repeated on
12 February. After these observations, the Norwegian
commander drafted an official report (Vakrapport),
which summarized all the reports of NorLogBat and
NorMedCoy, including the observations of 10 and
12 February. The NorMedCoy observer was extremely
emphatic: he had seen the Hercules.
Not only did the Norwegians draft a report, but
the headquarters of Sector North East also immediately
sent a report to Bosnia-Hercegovina Command in
Sarajevo. The author was Lieutenant Colonel
C.A. Le Hardy. It started with: 'this is a
sensitive report.' The report set out the events:
immediately after the first reports, a patrol was sent
to investigate. It arrived on the spot one and a half
hours later. This patrol was fired on near the Tuzla
Highway Strip, and then surrounded by thirty ABiH
[Bosnian Muslim] soldiers. The patrol saw five trucks
near a few old hangars, but were forced to leave without
being able to observe an aircraft or inspect any
possible military cargo...
The clandestine flights almost
always seem to have taken place on nights either when
no AWACS were in the air, or AWACS aircraft with US
crews...
On 16 February, another C-130 was observed, and in
the following days two more. A
British daily newspaper even made a connection with
a visit by Holbrooke to Turkey in mid February.
This was not the end of the matter, because a further
four flights were observed, where one aircraft was
seen by a British UNMO using night vision binoculars.
On 17 and 19 February, UN
personnel made sixteen reports of helicopters
that landed on Tuzla Air Base. Yet another
cargo aircraft was said to have landed, or to have
ejected its load at low altitude. Norwegian UNPROFOR
patrols were consistently hindered by the ABiH. They
did observe a few days later
that the ABiH were wearing new American-manufactured
uniforms. UNPROFOR soldiers established that
a convoy of approximately 75 trucks left the airfield
in the evening...
On the question regarding Black Flights, the commander
of the Norwegian battalion, Colonel G. Arlefalk,
stated that his soldiers sometimes reported six
to eight aircraft to him, approaching from the
direction of Brcko. The aircraft flew low and mostly
without lights. One night, Arlefalk himself saw a
Hercules approximately at 100 metres above his head
at 03.00 hours. Arlefalk himself had flown in a
C-130 on several occasions, and its sound and
silhouette were unmistakable according to him.
A temporary observation post was set up to gain
a better view of these flights. In response to one
of his reports, he was told that they had been AWACS,
and moreover that they had been much further to the
east: 'all the soldiers laughed themselves silly
when that answer came', Arlefalk said. It is clear,
and Le Hardy's second report in no way detracts
from this, that aircraft were observed above Tuzla
in February that landed on the Highway Strip or
ejected their load from a very low altitude.
It was abundantly clear to all parties that something
was going on. There were even aerial photographs of
crates on the [Tuzla Airport] Highway Strip.
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Local delivery of arms, by helicopters
to U.N. protected, "demilitarized zone"
Srebrenica!
|
The equipment that was delivered
in Tuzla consisted mainly of quick-firing weapons,
ammunition, uniforms, helmets, new anti-tank weapons
and Stingers. The archive of the 281st ABiH Brigade in
Zepa [a U.N. "safe zone" next to Srebrenica] reveals
that much military equipment was delivered from Tuzla
by helicopter for Zepa, largely to be forwarded in
transit from there to Srebrenica. The ABiH
commander of Zepa reported, for example, that on
14 February 1995, a few days after the first
observations of the Black Flights, forty machine
guns were transported by air, some of which were
to be brought to Srebrenica. The VRS [Bosnian Serb Army]
did fire on the helicopter, but without result. At the
same time, the flight delivered DM 308,000. The commander
of Zepa did not know what he was supposed to do with this money,
but he assumed that it was destined for the 28th Division
in Srebrenica.
Two days later, on 16 February, an ABiH helicopter was
hit by VRS anti-aircraft fire. The increasing number
of helicopter flights with military equipment not only to
Zepa, but also directly to Srebrenica, led to an order
from the [Bosnian Serb] Drina Corps to various VRS units to
shoot down these aircraft. In mid April, the ABiH
commander of Zepa gave a summary of what he had
received by air and what had been forwarded in transit
to Srebrenica. Zepa had received
the following items: 23,500 7.62 mm calibre cartridges,
15 mines (82 mm), 25 mines (60 mm), 4 TF-8 rockets,
34 B.R. M-93 machine guns and 1 rocket launcher for
a TF-8 rocket. The total forwarded in transit to
Srebrenica was 50,000 7.62 mm calibre cartridges,
35 mines (82 mm), 75 mines (60 mm), 90 B.R. M-93
machine guns, 123 uniforms and 124 pairs of shoes.
A computer and a printer were also delivered to
Srebrenica...
In the spring, Dutchbat [stationed in Srebrenica]
would also establish that the ABiH received new
arms from Tuzla and that training was being
stepped up.
|
Helpless Serbs
could only watch
|
All in all, sufficient evidence exists that
these flights took place. However, little
protest was forthcoming from the Bosnian Serbs,
and the question is why that was the case...
The VRS [Bosnian Serb Army] was in any case well
aware of these flights. On 13 and 24 February 1995,
[Serbian] General Mladic sent letters to [NATO]
General De Lapresle in Zagreb and to [American]
General Smith in Sarajevo. According to Mladic,
aircraft had landed in Tuzla on these days,
escorted by two jet fighters, and they had
delivered arms and ammunition. Mladic complained
that this had happened in front of the eyes of
UNPROFOR, but they had not intervened. He accused
UNPROFOR of bias and stated that from now on he
could no longer guarantee the safety of NATO
aircraft in the air space. On 5 March 1995,
Mladic again complained to General Smith
about the flights.
It was also possible to deduce that the VRS
was well aware of the state of affairs from
an interview with the former Minister of
Information of the Republika Srpska, Miroslav
Toholj. He was minister from 1993-1996 and
asserted that the Bosnian Serb regime [sic!]
in Pale realized all too well that the military
and other assistance from Saudi Arabia, Egypt,
Syria, Malaysia and other Islamic countries
would eventually enable the ABiH to conduct
a long war. Toholj asserted that Pale knew
of the flights of the C-130s - according to
him not American but Turkish Hercules aircraft,
with an element of 'logistics patronage'
from the United States. According to Toholj,
the arms were transported from Tuzla to
Srebrenica and Zepa. The
VRS [Bosnian Serb Army] would not have
dared to fire on these aircraft for fear
that this would be interpreted and presented
by the media in the West as an attack on
an aircraft with humanitarian relief goods...
There are indications that the Bosnian Serbs
turned a blind eye to the Black Flights,
[what else could they do!?] for example
in Bihac, where similar flights took place.
This siege made the situation for ABiH [Muslim]
General Dudakovic's 5th Corps in the Bihac
enclave almost untenable. He told General
Rupert Smith so via the Joint Commission
Observers. One night, the Danish General
Helsø - the UNPROFOR commander in the Bihac
enclave - heard the sound of propellers on a
gravel airstrip in the enclave. He recognized
the specific sound of the four propellers of
the Hercules C-130, because they kept turning.
The Krajina Serbs fired a number of shells,
but they all fell next to the runway, and
this while the Krajina Serbs at other times
fired very accurately with their artillery.
This was, according to General Helsø, a warning
along the lines of: 'we
know what you are up to, but don't go too far'.
This is an indication that the only reason
for the VRS to permit the flights was that
the VRS
[Bosnian Serb Army] did not want the
Americans against them...
From 1992 onwards, daily helicopter flights
were made into [Muslim held enclave of] Bihac.
East European pilots were paid $5000 per
trip by the Bosnian Army's 5th Corps. In
August 1994, a large Antonov An-26 transport
aircraft, owned by a Ukrainian air charter,
was shot down by the VRS and the crew killed
while flying from Croatia to Bihac.
|
|
Who shipped the weapons?
|
Journalists and researchers have asked the
question whether it was not American aircraft
after all that carried out the Black Flights.
The most common answer was that only one country
actually qualified for these night-time operations:
the United States. The fact is that it is unlikely
that the Americans would 'blind' their AWAC
aircraft for Iranian planes. The operation was
said to be have been paid for from a Pentagon
Special Operations budget, with the complete
assent of the White House. Probably the most
important members of Congress were informed in
the deepest of secrecy, and they were therefore
'in the loop' concerning the events...
In Deliberate Force, Ripley describes how three
Southern Air Transport C-130s from Rhein Main
airfield in Germany carried out the flights.
It is not so strange that Southern Air Transport
(SAT) crops up in this account: it was, like Civil
Air Transport, Air Asia and Air America, former
CIA property. These companies were involved in
many secret CIA operations. They carried out
hundreds of Black Flights around the world.
It was only in the mid 1970s that these companies
were sold, but they continue to perform so-called
contract work for the CIA, and the service still
exercises considerable influence on the affairs
of the airline company...
A British researcher
put a question regarding
American involvement to various sources, and
most ('eyes were raised ceiling-wards') answered
him as follows: 'Who else has the skill and
expertise to carry out such a swift, delicate
mission covertly? The Saudis? The Turks? The
Iranians?' The specialized
crews and the types
of aircraft for these night-time operations
indeed appeared to point in only one direction:
that of the United States...
Nonetheless, it is improbable that US aircraft
were involved, but this does then raise the
question of who had organized the operation...
The [Clinton] strategy [to supply arms to Muslims]
via third party countries was then opted for...
Much points in the direction that this was
an operation by a third party country, with
the assent of parts of the US government.
Another indication that US services were not
directly involved, was Holbrooke's evidence
to Senate: 'US intelligence agencies were not
involved.' This is correct if it refers to an
operation that was sanctioned 'remotely'...
A prominent White House adviser confirmed that
the United States did not wish to violate the
arms embargo. It would undermine the authority
of Security Council resolutions, however much
the Americans were uncomfortable with this embargo.
If the Americans themselves were to violate
the embargo, then the imposition of an embargo
elsewhere would be made impossible.
Washington definitely did play a role in the
background, however...
A number of countries are candidates for having
supplied directly to Bosnia. Pakistan delivered
equipment, as did the Sultan of Brunei, who paid
for anti-tank missiles from Malaysia. In January
1993 already, a Pakistani vessel with ten
containers of arms, which were destined for the
ABiH, was intercepted in the Adriatic Sea.
Pakistan definitely defied the United Nations
ban on supply of arms to the Bosnian Muslims
and sophisticated anti-tank guided missiles were
air lifted by the Pakistani intelligence agency,
ISI, to help Bosnians fight the Serbs, an ex-ISI
Chief has officially admitted in a written petition
submitted before a court in Lahore. The document
was submitted by Lt. General (Retd) Javed Nasir,
who was head of the ISI from March 1992 to May
1993, in a case he filed against the owner and
editors of the largest newspaper and TV group of
Pakistan, in an anti Terrorism Court. It remains
unclear how the missiles were transported to
Bosnia and who did it.
Furthermore, tons of diplomatic post regularly
arrived by air in Sarajevo from Saudi Arabia,
Turkey and Iran. Doubts were raised about the
diplomatic immunity of the content of the load.
A foundation that was affiliated to the Saudi
royal family also provided millions of dollars
in arms assistance. Moreover, Malaysia attempted
to sidestep the embargo via merchant shipping
and the Malaysian UNPROFOR soldiers that were
stationed in Bosnia. All of these were direct
supplies to Bosnia, because the Bosnian government
was dissatisfied with the Croatian authorities’
practice of skimming the arms supplies, or because
the government did not want to become entirely
dependent on Zagreb. This could be avoided by
direct flights from certain countries.
In addition to Iran (via Croatia), Turkey proved
to be the most important supplier of arms to the
ABiH. Turkey had been closely involved in the
secret arms supplies to Bosnia for some time. As
early as 1992 Iran had opened a smuggling route
to Bosnia with the assistance of Turkey; this was
two years before the Clinton administration gave
'permission' for creating the Croatian pipeline.
Bosnian government officials acknowledged that
in 1993 a Turkish pipeline also existed, through
which the above-mentioned arms from Saudi Arabia,
Malaysia, Brunei and Pakistan were smuggled.
Other consignments came from Belgium, Hungary,
Uganda and Argentina. In Argentina a scandal
erupted because President Menem had issued a
decree for the delivery of 8000 FN-Fals (automatic
rifles), 155 mm guns, 2000 pistols, 211,000 hand
grenades, 3000 rockets, 30,000 grenades, 3000
landmines and millions of rounds of ammunition
to Bolivia. This country stated, however, that
it had ordered nothing and the Argentine parliament
discovered that the arms and ammunition were
destined for Croatia and elsewhere...
In the summer and autumn of 1994, the CIA
reported that spy satellites had taken photos
of Iranian aircraft on Turkish airfields. Two
days later, satellite photos were taken of the
same aircraft in Zagreb or at other airports
in Croatia, where the arms were unloaded.
According to O'Shea, Turkey's involvement was
clear. Specially modified C-130s from American
bases in the United Kingdom and Germany would
pick up their cargo on remote runways in the
Turkish part of Cyprus. The cargo, which
consisted of arms and ammunition, would have
been delivered there by Iranian and Turkish
aircraft. The aircraft would fly to Croatia
via the Adriatic, and then on to Bosnia. If
the Hercules, with its modest range, could not
achieve its objective in one hop, it could
always make a stopover on the Croatian island
of Brac, close to the coast near Split. The
population there indeed often observed C-130
aircraft that operated from this airfield.
From this island the CIA also operated its
UAVs flying over Bosnia. The Croatian
Minister of Defence, Susak, claimed that most
of the aircraft that landed there came from
Turkey and not Iran.[20] Also quite some military
goods were delivered to the Pula airport on the
Istrian peninsula.
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Not just arms for Bosnia Muslims...
Mujahedin (by thousands) were shipped, too.
|
The greatest tension was caused by the
participation of Muslims from Western
Europe and the Middle East in the ABiH.
'Approximately
4000 Mujahedin, supported by Iranian special
operations forces, have been continually
intensifying their activities in central
Bosnia for more than two years',
according to the American Lieutenant Colonel
John Sray, who was an intelligence officer
in Sarajevo from April to August 1994...
These were non-Bosnian,
Islamic-fundamentalist fighters from Turkey,
Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Jordan,
Lebanon, Algeria and Saudi Arabia. Furthermore,
the names of Jihad, Fis, Hamas and Hezbollah
were linked with the Mujahedin in Bosnia...
The Mujahedin formed part of the 4th, 7th and
8th Muslimski brigade, stationed around Zenica
in central Bosnia, and took part in the activities
of several paramilitary units, such as the Black
Swans. They fell under the responsibility of
the ABiH 3rd and 7th Corps. Furthermore, there
were approximately 25 other Muslim factions and
units active in Bosnia, which also included women.
These groups were supplied by the ABiH, but
operated decentrally as special units or
shock troops...
President Izetbegovic especially appeared to
see the fighters as 'a conduit for funds from
the Gulf and Middle East'. Within the framework
of the Dayton agreement, the Mujahedin fighters
should have left Bosnia before 13 January 1996.
In October, UNPROFOR concluded that the numbers
had declined to between 700 and 800... Only at
the end of 1996 did the US government get its
own way, and Bosnia severed the military and
intelligence links with Iran.
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RELATED TOPICS:
 Clinton approves turning Bosnia into Militant Islamic Base
Too little - too late. This "Republican
Committee" analysis is up to the point but a few years too late (issued
in January 1997). It gives all the basic facts needed but still cannot
fathom the depth of Clinton's treason. A MUST READ.
Clinton almost wrecks NATO over his covert arming of Al Qaeda
BBC presents its documentary "Allies and
lies" in June, 2001. The documentary talks about Clinton's secret arming
of Islam Fundamentalists in Bosnia.
BBC documentary - Clinton lied to everyone
Excerpts from the above mentioned BBC presents documentary "Allies and lies." A MUST READ. Not only allies
but not even American general, the current commander of NATO was informed
about Clinton's covert actions to give arms (EVEN STINGERS!) to Muslim fundamentalists.
"How we trained al-Qa’eda!"
British The Spectator goes a step further (in its article of September 23, 2003) to show that Islam fundamentalists were not only armed. They were
trained too.
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[ Srebrenica - mujahedin safe heaven! ]
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