Playboy - I only read it for the geopolitical context

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the credibility and implications of various claims related to intelligence failures and fraudulent devices used in the context of the Iraq War. Participants explore the involvement of conmen and questionable technologies that were purportedly used for detecting weapons, as well as the role of foreign intelligence agencies in influencing U.S. decisions.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant references an article about a conman who deceived U.S. intelligence agencies with software claiming to detect hidden messages in Arab news broadcasts, leading to significant financial losses.
  • Another participant mentions a conman who allegedly influenced the decision to invade Iraq, suggesting ongoing connections to Iraqi leadership.
  • A claim is made regarding the ADE-651, a device sold to Iraq for weapon detection, which has never been scientifically proven to work and is likened to a dowsing rod.
  • Participants discuss the irony of the arrest of the device's inventor, noting that he was arrested despite the device's ineffectiveness in detecting actual weapons.
  • There is a humorous exchange about the French military's role in convincing U.S. agencies of their errors, highlighting the unexpected nature of their influence in the context of U.S. foreign policy.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of skepticism and irony regarding the effectiveness of the devices used in Iraq and the intelligence failures that led to the war. There is no consensus on the implications of these events or the credibility of the involved parties.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various articles and external sources to support their claims, but the discussion does not resolve the validity of the claims made about the devices or the intelligence failures. There is an underlying uncertainty about the motivations and effectiveness of the individuals and technologies discussed.

mgb_phys
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Actually I don't read it - but 'the reg' linked to it.
http://www.playboy.com/articles/the-man-who-conned-the-pentagon-dennis-montgomery/index.html?page=1

if this is blocked at work, a conman took the CIA/NSA/other-secret-three-letter-agencies for millions with some software that could detect hidden messages in Arab news broadcasts.
Eventually the French military intelligence (!) convinced them it was rubbish, but not until after an Al-Jazera cameraman spent a few years in Cuba and Bush planned to bomb them off the air.
 
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How about the conman that helped get you guys into Iraq in the first place?
http://www.newsweek.com/id/105450

(And he's still kicking around in the Iraqi leadership!)
 
This is even more ridiculous:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8471187.stm

Iraq has bought thousands of the detectors for a total of $85m (£52m).

The device is sold by Jim McCormick, based at offices in rural Somerset, UK.

The ADE-651 is in use at most checkpoints in Baghdad

The ADE-651 detector has never been shown to work in a scientific test.

There are no batteries and it consists of a swivelling aerial mounted to a hinge on a hand-grip. Critics have likened it to a glorified dowsing rod.
 
mgb_phys said:
the French military intelligence (!)
Hey, what do you mean !?
 
McCormick was arrested last night.
 
Ironic if the only person arrested over Iraqi weapon detection is somebody who invented something that didn't find real weapons that actually existed!
 
humanino said:
Hey, what do you mean !?

That the only people able to convince the US top secret three letter agencies that they had all been a bunch of muppets - were the French!
Generally with reference to invading Iraq, the US government hasn't been rushing to ask the French for their opinion.
That must have take some powers of persuasion!

What did the conversation go like?
Mr president, looks like we have been made to look like a bunch of idiots.
Who says?
The French !
The ones we called 'cheese eating surrender monkeys'?
Yes Mr president
Oops!
 

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