U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Launders Drug Money

OK, here is the drill.
The DEA wants to know exactly where all the profits of drug money goes, they launder millions of dollars a year.


If it works, good. Considering the recent adventure of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the Fast and Furious, are we wasting our time?


U.S. Agents Launder Mexican Profits of Drug Cartels

A crime scene in Monterrey, Mexico, last week.

WASHINGTON — Undercover American narcotics agents have laundered or smuggled millions of dollars in drug proceeds as part of Washington’s expanding role in Mexico’s fight against drug cartels, according to current and former federal law enforcement officials.

The agents, primarily with the Drug Enforcement Administration, have handled shipments of hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal cash across borders, those officials said, to identify how criminal organizations move their money, where they keep their assets and, most important, who their leaders are.



The officials said that while the D.E.A. conducted such operations in other countries, it began doing so in Mexico only in the past few years. The high-risk activities raise delicate questions about the agency’s effectiveness in bringing down drug kingpins, underscore diplomatic concerns about Mexican sovereignty, and blur the line between surveillance and facilitating crime. As it launders drug money, the agency often allows cartels to continue their operations over months or even years before making seizures or arrests.

FULL STORY:NY TIMES



INTERACTIVE: AREAS OF CARTEL INFLUENCE AND DISPUTE

INTERACTIVE: MOVING INTO THE U.S.

Syria & the Arab League

Syrian Army in revolt, 4000 citizens killed and Iran's little buddy, President Bashar Assad seems to be on the way out.

That guy is so disgusting even the Arab League has had enough.

Syria says it’s still open to Arab League observer plan, as sanctions tighten

Syria said Sunday it is still negotiating with the Arab League over the bloc’s request to send observers into the country, as tightening sanctions by Arab and other nations fail to halt the eight-month crackdown on anti-government protesters.

New violence killed at least nine people on Sunday, including a female university professor and a father and his three children in central Syria


Syria’s failure to meet a Nov. 25 deadline to allow in observers drew Arab League sanctions, including a ban on dealings with the country’s central bank. Together with sanctions from the United States, the European Union and Turkey, the Arab League’s penalties are expected to deal significant damage to Syria’s economy and may undercut the regime’s authority.
Who would think?
Syria, which has already been suspended from the 22-member League, may be playing for time while its crackdown continues.

FULL STORY

IRAN, KILL ALL JEWS

Israel has long been a target of Iran.

That country, Iran, blames Israel for a myriad of problems in the Middle East.

Why not? Scapegoating is easy. What a shock, coming from a Muslim nation they add world Jewry in their blame game.

Iran moves on from "Destroy Israel!" to "Destroy all the Jews!"

Amid international and Israeli controversy over whether or not to attack Iran's nuclear program, the rulers of the Islamic Republic have just "upgraded" their strategic objective of wiping Israel off the map and extended it for the first time to the more ambitious one of annihilating the Jews worldwide. A virulently anti-Semitic book and film were released for nationwide distribution on orders from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They draw heavily on the infamous Elders of Zion fiction of a Jewish world conspiracy.


Two weeks ago, as their nuclear bomb moved menacingly up the pipeline, the ayatollahs in Tehran and Qom unleashed a virulent campaign of anti-Semitic propaganda in their sermons. A new book and a film were released for wide distribution on orders from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They draw heavily on the infamous Elders of Zion fiction to accuse the Jews and their rabbis of conspiring to corrupt and rule the world.

FULL STORY HERE-DEBKAfile