Al Qaqaa, Drudge, Moon, "Jack" Shaw, Nick Berg, Mossad -- AIEEE!

As you may know from the post below -- or from the latest by Joshua Marshall -- Drudge and the Moonie Times have tried to blame the Al Qaqaa "missing explosives" debacle on those damned Russkies, who supposedly transported tons of the stuff to Syria before the Americans showed up.

I've already discussed why I consider this idea ludicrous. Why do we even bother to fund our spy satellite program if our eyes-in-the-sky can't spot a massive arms convoy?

The Iraqis also scoff at the "blame Russia" gambit. Iraqis who were on the scene after the 3rd infantry division rolled into town say that the site was unprotected and open to mass looting. Chief Iraqi scientist Dr. Muhammad Sharaa discounts the idea of the material disappearing before the invasion.

It's worth noting that even Larry Di Rita, the Pentagon's spokesman, has shied away from the version of events promoted by the Moon press.

But the story gets stranger. The Washington Times article quotes as its primary source John "Jack" Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security. And this is not the first time Shaw has found his way into the news this year.

In an earlier controversy, Shaw did not emerge as a fire-breathing neocon ideologue. Instead, he presented us with a contradictory picture.

Note, for example, this excerpt from a piece by Wayne Madsen:

According to Pentagon and Justice Department sources, U.S. investigators discovered that Ahmad Chalabi and his business partners were involved in fraudulently obtaining cellular phone licenses in Iraq. The Pentagon's Undersecretary of Defense for International Technology Security John (Jack) Shaw smelled a neo-con rat when the Iraqi Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), in late 2003, awarded cellular phone contracts to three companies - Orascom, Atheer, and Asia-Cell - with ties to Ahmed Chalabi. As with all those who challenge the impropriety and illegal activities of the neo-cons, Shaw was, in turn, charged with improperly steering Iraq cell phone contracts to Qualcomm and Lucent. However, it is Shaw, reported by his longtime colleagues to be a solid and trustworthy public servant, who has the confidence of law enforcement, Pentagon investigators, and the military brass.

That sounds like a ringing endorsement of Mr. Shaw.

However, the story has more than one side. Regarding Shaw's ties to these Iraq contracts, L.A. Times writer T. Christian Miller presented another angle on July 7 of this year:

A senior Defense Department official conducted unauthorized investigations of Iraq reconstruction efforts and used their results to push for lucrative contracts for friends and their business clients, according to current and former Pentagon officials and documents.

John A. "Jack" Shaw, deputy undersecretary for international technology security, represented himself as an agent of the Pentagon's inspector general in conducting the investigations, sources said.

In one case, Shaw disguised himself as an employee of Halliburton Co. and gained access to a port in southern Iraq after he was denied entry by the U.S. military, the sources said.

In that investigation, Shaw found problems with operations at the port of Umm al Qasr, Pentagon sources said. In another, he criticized a competition sponsored by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority to award cellphone licenses in Iraq.

In both cases, Shaw urged government officials to fix the alleged problems by directing multimillion-dollar contracts to companies linked to his friends, without competitive bidding, according to the Pentagon sources and documents. In the case of the port, the clients of a lobbyist friend won a no-bid contract for dredging.

The Department of Defense later exonerated Shaw, and claimed that he was never even under investigation regarding the telecommunications contracts.

I'm probably going way out on a limb here -- but perhaps we should note that telecommunications specialist Nick Berg was in Iraq at the same time Shaw was conducting his bizarre undercover "investigation." We never did learn why the American military arrested Berg, or why he acted so mysteriously in the period between his release and his re-capture by terrorists.

I have argued at some length (as have others) that Berg may have himself been involved with espionage.

Even if we discount that angle, the fact remains: "Jack" Shaw (as most know him) is an intriguing fellow. He's not friendly with the pro-Chalabi neocons (the Ledeen faction) or with the Halliburton crowd. He seems to have a separate agenda.

So why is Shaw now pushing a dubious scenario about Russkies making off with tons of explosives? Where did he get his info?

Let's take a closer look at the Washington Times piece...

Mr. Shaw said foreign intelligence officials believe the Russians worked with Saddam's Mukhabarat intelligence service to separate out special weapons...

Ah. And just which foreign intel service provided this material?

Perhaps I will get into trouble for mentioning this, but Qualcomm and Lucent (the two firms Shaw allegedly helped) have strong ties to Israel. And that nation defnitely counts Syria as an enemy. (For what little it may be worth, Shaw's name also came up -- though not in a very comprehensible way -- in the course of a story involving Israel's use, or misuse, of the infamous PROMIS software.)

Back to the Washington Times article. The piece goes on to speak of "documents" which have come into Shaw's hands, apparently from those very same enigmatic "foreign intelligence officials." Although the documents purportedly detail itineraries and cargo lists, I've yet to see any indication that they have been verified by anyone outside Shaw's office.

Unverified documents. Questionable data relayed via unnamed foreign intel spy shops. The conservative press pushing a dubious story. A possible Israeli connection.

Y'know, these details remind me of a movie I've seen before...

A movie set in Niger. The title, if I recall correctly, was "Yellowcake."