OPERATION GLADIO Exposed with COLONEL TOWNER in The Skorzeny Papers Chapter 18-19

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0:48 Okay. Hopefully everybody can hear and see me. Okay. We may actually only doing the one chapter. I did mention to y'all that it was going to be a short chapter because I'm on babysitting duty and I'm not sure I can keep a straight face with this guy sitting next to me.

1:22 Oh, my gosh. All I do is laugh every time he's around. He's the best comedy you can buy for the money. So, anyway. I was hoping he'd come out here and just go over there and go to sleep. I'm not sure that's going to work. Sorry. It's going to be a family show today. All right. So, anyway.

2:07 So we're going to talk in Chapter 18 about Elsie. As we have learned, Elsie started off being a refuge for Skorzeny when he first ran away from home, left Germany, went to, I believe it was Austria, and then she accompanies him to Paris.

2:38 Then on to Spain. So that's kind of where we've already confirmed that she is definitely a spy and works with him. So throughout the 50s, Skorzeny continued to expand his network of companies out of his office in Madrid. And remember, he's got like a fake construction company and all these front companies to include a steel one that he's doing business out of, which allows him to.

3:09 travel the world and organize these stay-behind units in South America, Africa, Vietnam, and Europe. And he does it under the auspices of these fake CIA cutout businesses. So, an incomplete list included steel, scrap metal, cement, oil, electronics, arms and munitions, aircraft and aircraft parts, financial lending,

3:42 land ventures, real estate, construction, import, export, energy development, automotive companies, meat products, and even snake skins. You know, everything that you would need in order to, everything that you would need in order to equip, stay behind units. It's also pointed out at several junctures in this book.

4:12 that the steel industry is very important to Skorzeny's clandestine network. Skorzeny's greatest asset was his wife, Elsie, who by all accounts was herself a brilliant businesswoman. She was engaging in developing contacts and attending meetings at locations outside of Spain and then reporting back to Otto. She had a sister named Gertrude living in New York. Gertrude had met a Jewish-American army captain named Sidney.

4:41 P. Barnett at the end of World War II and returned to the U.S. as Captain Barnett's wife in 1946. The author could not find out details on Sidney Barnett, despite significant attempts to do so. Could have been a fake name. He left the service after he went back to the States. He settled in New York City and went into the fine fur business. His father, Barnard,

5:11 Barnett had been a clothing merchant, a tailor from England who immigrated to the United States in 1901. Captain Barnett's war service also remains unknown. Despite the lack of information on the family of Sidney Barnett, the marriage between Elsie and Otto in 1954 effectively gave Skorzeny a Jewish brother-in-law. Really?

5:42 Late 1950s, Elsie would travel to the U.S. and would often visit with Gertrude and her husband Sidney in New York. She would continue to visit them when they later moved to Florida. In March 1957, a significant expansion of Skorzeny's business activity occurred when Elsie arrived in New York to establish a headquarters of sorts for his operation. Her arrival was noted by Jane.

6:14 Roman, of James Angleton's CIA staff. And it was said in a secret interagency message to the State Department and FBI that basically they were tracking Elsie. Roman, one of Angleton's executive secretaries, informed State, the Secretary of State, that Elsie Skorzeny was in the United States for purposes of assisting her husband in promoting some business deals.

6:45 You know, like stay behind units. Fully aware of Mrs. Skorzeny's presence in the United States is what came back from the State Department. The business that Elsie Skorzeny then became associated with in New York was called Previews, Inc. It was a luxury real estate company. Exactly who arranged her position with the company is not known. Previews was ran by a guy by the name of John Tyson, T-Y-S-E.

7:16 S-E-N. He was a powerful real estate tycoon born in France, Paris exactly, of American parents. Tyson grew up in England, attended schools there to include Trinity College at Cambridge. In 36, he came to New York and was hired as a salesman for previews. And remember that real estate is often the vehicle to launder the money.

7:46 So potentially, they are laundering Skorzeny's money that he's being paid by the CIA into real estate through this company. By 1940s, he was a sales manager and at some later point became president of the company. We're talking about John Tyson.

8:09 In a 1960 article, the company is said to have been an international clearinghouse that handled everything from farms to feudal estates. Skorzeny's papers reveal that Elsie Skorzeny's employment at Previews was clearly related to intelligence operations and suspicious major criminal syndicates in the Bahamas. The man she worked directly under

8:38 at Purviews was a reserved United States Air Force colonel by the name of Herschel Williams. Colonel Williams was from New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from Yale in 1931. Just prior to World War II, he was an advertising executive in New York. During the war, he served in the United States Army Air Corps in North Africa as an intel officer under Colonel Robert Story.

9:09 a military officer and Dallas native that has made many appearances in this book. Colonel Williams briefly left military service after the war, but was recalled for special duty at the Pentagon for unspecified reasons. In 1957, he was the executive vice president of Previews, Inc. Elsie Skorzeny, a rival in New York,

9:39 was the beginning of an extensive travel period for her, not only in the U.S., but also to Cuba, the Caribbean, and other countries around the world. Skorzeny was in constant contact with her by phone, telegram, and post. At least some of this correspondence was written in code, confirmed by the existence of a code sheet relating to arm cells in the Middle East.

10:05 and intelligence-related matters to be discussed in detail in the next few chapters. Unfortunately, there is only one cipher sheet in the papers, but it does confirm the couple was writing in code. While Elsie was operating from New York, Otto traveled from Madrid to Ireland to develop that country as another base of operations.

10:36 Skorzeny attended a high-class party at a country club in Dublin. The purpose of that visit is not known. Now, what's interesting about this is he buys a big estate in Ireland, like this huge farm. And in the future, anytime the UK needs a distraction, the IRA...

11:05 would pose a terrorist threat. I'm going to put two plus two together, and I'm going to get four. Another extremely important connection to Skorzeny was a guy by the name of John Regan, they called him Text, like T-E-X, McCrary, a remarkable man with the highest connections in the United States government. He was also

11:36 a power player in organized crime with strong ties to Meyer Lansky. Incredibly, McCrary, M-C-C-R-A-R-Y, was also a senior level government advisor at the presidential level and a CIA conduit to foreign governments. McCrary, intimate connections originated from the fame that he obtained on radio and TV.

12:05 and his highly classified work during the OSS period of World War II. Tex McCrary was born in Calvert, Texas. Like everybody involved in this entire operation is from Texas. Are y'all getting this? But spent considerable time in New York City where he had family. He graduated from Yale in 1932 and in later years was considered the wide sage.

12:34 of the Scullin' Bones fraternity. A number of important future CIA officers who passed through the halls of Yale were his close friends. He was also close to Elsie at Previews, Inc.'s boss, Colonel Herschel Williams. One big club. McCreary served in World War II as a public relations officer.

13:04 in the Army Air Forces. He would rise to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was part of the special group that saw considerable frontline action. He was a brave man. He flew bombing missions with 8th Air Force out of England. He attended parachute jump training with the OSS and accompanied the Jedburgh team into occupied France. He was one of the very first correspondents to enter Hiroshima.

13:36 after the city was leveled by the first atomic bomb. I think that's odd. I think all of that is very odd for one guy. In 1945, McCrary married the famous movie actress, Eugenia Lincoln Jenks, was her nickname, Falkenberg. She was born to American parents in Barcelona, Spain.

14:05 Jinx Falkenberg would rise to become one of the most popular and highly paid cover girl models in America. Tex McCrary was considered one of the most political insiders in the Republican Party. Jinx McCrary was equally admired for her abilities as an interviewer and intellectual. Tex became an active campaigner for men he felt should be in power. He was considered the key factor.

14:34 and Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidential run in 1952. McCrary's counsel was highly sought after in Washington circles. His clandestine connections to Otto Skorzeny, unknown until the writing of this book, is a major discovery. An interesting fact about McCrary is that his number two man was William Safire, S-A-F-I-R-E, the future White House speechwriter.

15:03 for Richard Nixon. Sapphire was with McCrary's firm from 54 to 61. It is not known if McCrary disclosed his close friendship with Otto and Elsie Skorzeny to Sapphire, but it is difficult to imagine that he would not have. Both McCrary and Sapphire were close and former advisors to Richard Nixon and accompanied him to Russia.

15:32 Here's what I got from this. If this guy's as big a mover or shaker as everybody, as he's alluding that he is, and we know he's the one behind Eisenhower getting in office, was he the one that suggested to Eisenhower that Richard Nixon be his vice president? Because he's very close to Richard Nixon as well.

16:07 McCrary and Sapphire accompany Nixon to Russia in 1959, which is really interesting because Nixon is getting ready at that point to announce his presidency. In 1950, because remember, he ran against JFK for the 1960 presidential election.

16:36 In 1950, McCrary already had extensive links to organized crime through his Hollywood connections. But in 1959, they expanded. He entered into a close partnership with a 300-pound Canadian financier called Lou Chesler, C-H-E-S-L-E-R. They nicknamed him Moose. As in public relations advisor for Chesler's

17:05 General Development Corporation. McCrary promoted a number of enterprises, including real estate, movie companies, casinos, and horse track racing. Chesler was also the point man for Meyer Lansky, the organized crime figure. Now, another thing that we've learned in this whole discovery is if they're in horse rank racing and casinos, they're in the mafia family.

17:35 By the early 1960s, Lou Chesler would also be in business with Wallace Groves and Sir Stafford Sams, two prominent figures in the Bahamas who ran the Lansky enterprise there. This occurred after the mob was pushed out of Cuba by Castro. Another Chesler partner was mob boss Dino Cellini, who ran a number of casinos for Lansky.

18:06 Tex McCrary, Otto, and Elsie Skorzeny became connected to broad criminal enterprises, including the Bahama Mafia intrigues of Sir Stafford Sands around 1962. Skorzeny's deep connections to organized crime are direct references to Skorzeny's papers that outlined meetings during this period with

18:36 For Gencio Batista, in references to mob bosses Jake Lansky, which was Meyer Lansky's brother, and Dino Cellini, the entire Tex McCrary mafia connection involving Skorzeny is likely a CIA-directed intelligence operation involving criminal networks. Importantly, all of this occurred under the watchful eye of James Angleton.

19:03 who controlled the Caribbean desk and headed the counterintelligence staff at the CIA. While Elsie was in Cuba, Tex McCrary was willing and dealing with mafia bosses like Dino Cellini and Meyer Lansky. This overlap positioned Elsie as an intelligence operative working alongside Tex McCrary, who was a secret back channel to the mafia. And this is very important, hearkening back.

19:33 to the realignment of, this is just, it's huge. So remember when we talked about eventually Richard Nixon does get elected and he transfers the processing of all of the heroin from the Corsican mafia to the Sicilian mafia and the Sicilian mafia.

19:59 from Sicily is shipping the stuff to Cuba and then into the United States. Well, they lose Cuba, as we just read, and that gets shifted to South America primarily. The casino stuff that was there gets shifted to the Bahamas. The drug stuff primarily goes to South America. So to find these same people in all of those same locations and the connection to the mob in those locations is...

20:28 huge when you overlay this information on top of the information map, if you will, that we have already created based on Operation Gladio. There can be no misunderstanding. What we're talking about here is the Operation Gladio drug slash mafia slash

20:57 stay behind units being created and the financing mechanisms that go along with it. So anyway, that's basically what it's saying. It brings in the Dallas, Texas angle, the money laundering, real estate angle, everything in that short little chapter. That's just crazy. Okay.

21:30 So, um, we're going to go ahead and go into 19. He's being pretty good and we will definitely probably not get done with it because there's so much here. All right. So let's get started with 19. 19 is about a project that's identification was Q J slash win. W I N.

22:00 In 1958, William K. Harvey, the hard-drinking, flamboyant chief of the Berlin operations base, remember that thing called Bob, Berlin operations base, got notification of a new assignment. He was to lead the new arm within the CIA called Staff Diaz in Delta. The special unit had

22:25 responsibility for handling highly classified intercept communications provided to the CIA by the NSA. The unit also had its own in-house intercept capability. They had even more sensitive missions assigned to him by the Deputy Director of Plans, Richard Bissell, on direct orders from Director Alan Dulles.

22:52 This was to establish a high-level government assassination program exceeding all previous security programs. Now, this again is in 1959, okay? That's 58, sorry. That's important. Such as those used for the enemy agent liquidations. They also go by the terminology wet works.

23:24 The intended purpose was to give the United States a deniable strategic capability that would be used against foreign leaders. Very importantly, Staff D had special liaisons with James Angleton and a few select members of the counterintelligence branch. The CIA operations associated with the code word QJWIN was initiated because of Harvey's pre-

23:52 existing covert relationship with Otto Skorzeny. The Skorzeny papers confirm Skorzeny had contact with men with extensive assassination experience from his old command, including Horst Issel, I-S-S-E-L, who was the leading assassin working for Hitler. The code name Q.J. Wynn

24:21 first appeared publicly in 1975 when it was revealed during a U.S. Senate Select Committee hearing investigating CIA's assassination program. Q.J. Wynn was said to be the agency's executive action program, which is a euphemism for assassination, because supposedly all assassinations had to be authorized by executive order.

24:51 Not an executive order. By the president. I want to be clear. There had to be a finding. Okay. So there was great interest in the identity and history of the foreign agent said to have been selected by Harvey for the deniability head of this project. This resulted in the code name Q.J. Wynn being associated with that individual.

25:29 Despite the challenges of analyzing the QJWIN program, and again, it's capital letters QJ with a slash W-I-N, the basic organizational structure of the program did surface, such as the operation being housed in Staff D. Uncovered were two historical milestones of the program.

25:54 an associated project named ZR slash Rifle, R-I-F-L-E, and the dispatch of Q.J. Wynn's foreign lead to the Congo in 1960. Other basic facts confirm that the Q.J. Wynn program contained operators with past involvement in the OSS, the Army Counterintelligence Corps, and the Foreign Intelligence Service of various criminal outfits.

26:23 The committee was never given the name of the Q.J. Wynn program lead, but they were given background data on him. What appears to be a fragmented arrangement of sometimes undeterminable documents, reliance on testimony from CIA officers grilled during the investigation on Q.J. Wynn should be weighed with the knowledge that they were under oath of secrecy, not...

26:54 oath of them swearing on a Bible telling the truth. They were given an oath of secrecy by the CIA. Harvey himself suggested records concerning Q.J. Wynn program had been backdated, altered, deleted, and mystified to mislead anybody trying to decipher the program. A few prominent points about Q.J. Wynn align with the personal history of auto scores.

27:24 It is revealed, for example, that Q.J. Wynn had a reputation as a cold-blood killer, which of course certainly fits Skorzeny, while he was in the service of the French intelligence, which Skorzeny clearly was. This matches Skorzeny's involvement when he was working for Roger Wybot's DST and other French elements that we've already talked about. Harvey's handwriting

27:54 notes about the QJWIN program also recommended using veterans from the French resistance. Here again, a match to the evidence of Skorzeny papers showing a close relationship between Skorzeny and the French resistance that happened to be in Algeria that we talked about yesterday. QJWIN, according to Harvey's suggest, hold on, QJWIN,

28:25 According to Harvey, suggested that the use of a Middle Eastern gambling syndicate that had a pool of assassins. In the Skorzeny papers, there is a direct evidence for such an outfit, including numerous Middle Eastern contacts. Also, the presence is repeatedly mentioned by the paper mentions Otto.

28:54 Begus, B-E-G-U-S. He is a former SS officer who served under Skorzeny with extensive experience in organized gambling and assassination operations in Greece and later Italy during World War II. In fact, a clandestine meeting took place in May 16, 1958, between Skorzeny and CIA officer David Wright.

29:20 from the Madrid embassy concerning the agency's use of Begas. Skorzeny mentions the contact to Elsie stating the exchange with Wright, quote, will result in work opportunities for Begas, unquote. Also, Skorzeny's notification to Elsie of potential CIA work for Begas brings us to another Q.J. Wynn point of identification. Q.J. Wynn...

29:51 Q.J. Wynn's wife was described as extremely discreet and totally aware of his activities, which of course aligns with Elsie. Another, perhaps most decisive point of comparison between Skorzeny and C.J. Wynn comes from the information stating that he was supposed to go on trial in Europe in 1962 over a nickel.

30:19 smuggling charge dating back to 1954. In fact, Skorzeny was involved in nickel smuggling, like the metal nickel, in 1954 as confirmed by a declassified CIA document from Skorzeny's 201 file. This document was dated 15 July 1954 and states,

30:45 According to Overt Information, H.S. Lutz, L-U-C-H-T company, maintains business connections with a firm which is known to engage in illegal trade within the Soviet zone. The Madrid representative of Lutz company is Otto Skorzeny, which appears to be involved in the smuggling of nickel out of Spain for eventual block destinations.

31:16 Unidentified firm reported as engaging in illegal trade may be one of the links in this traffic. Now, what's really interesting about that is we just read that Richard Nixon and those two other guys travels to the Soviet Union. And then we find out that they're actually smuggling trading of precious metals.

31:50 In a letter dated April 14, 1962, Skorzeny says he is expecting the arrival that day of Encio, who is arriving from Luxembourg and is curious to know what news he's bringing. Nothing good. Encio was not further identified by Skorzeny in his papers, but may have been Fulgencio Batista, the former dictator.

32:19 Of Cuba, who was living in Portugal at the time, which, of course, is very interesting because remember, Batista is the CIA installed guy that Castro gets rid of. Batista is the guy that was on the tape through the CIA and the mafia. And when he gets kicked out of Cuba, he shows up in Portugal where a genter press is, where the CIA is.

32:49 where all of the stay-behind unit training is coming out of and fake documents. Yeah, okay. Twelve days later, on April 26th, a message from the CIA station chief in Luxembourg is sent to Director Alan Dulles concerning Q.J. Wynn in a nickel smuggling case from 1954. This Q.J. Wynn nickel case appears to be the same case as the one we just described.

33:24 In the message to the director, it suggests Q.J. Nguyen was being utilized in the CIA Congo operations. Skorzeny was indeed dealing with the Congo officials during this time frame, which are the same people that murdered the prime minister there in an Operation Gladio hit, supposedly their first one. Oh, and look, didn't that happen?

33:56 At the beginning of the 1960s, and here we are in 58, and they're planning to set up the unit. I'm sure that's just a coincidence. The mysterious business of H.S. Lutz, mentioned above, is far too complex for the book to completely lay out. But the company was created in the 1950s by Warner Newman, N-A-U-M-A-N-N.

34:25 the former Nazi state secretary to propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. Newman survived the war but was arrested in February 1953 by the British Secret Service as a suspected leader of a Nazi group. This was called the Newman Affair, Nauman Affair, I don't know how you say his last name, it's N-A-U-M-A-N-N, and involved the company H.S. Luce.

34:56 to which both Skorzeny and Victor Oswald were also tied. The British penetration of the Lutz Company was in reality a deep intelligence operation centered on the acquisition of nuclear material, the subject of a future study. So again, what's very important is tying all these pieces together. So what did we learn yesterday about the...

35:28 What was the precious metal in Congo? Oh, gosh, wasn't that uranium? Well, yes, it was. So if the prime minister of Congo becomes an issue because he wants his whole country back and not just the part that Belgium wanted to give up, and his whole country has uranium in it, and we're talking about nuclear material, isn't that interesting?

36:02 The foreign head of the QJWIN program was considered a highly trained and talented intelligence operative with impeccable skills in the art of deception, disguise, evasion, and overall counterintelligence work, a skill set that fits Skorzeny to a T. The committee reported that QJWIN, the foreign head of the program, was hired not to be an assassin.

36:30 but instead to spot, identify, recruit, and perhaps direct assassins. In other words, he was the commander of the assassins or an assassin's assassin. One particularly revealing 1962 CIA financial document distilled his role in part. Q.J. Wynn, this is a quote, is under written contract as a principal agent

36:58 with the primary task of spotting candidates, unquote. The placement of the assassination program within Staff D, the most secure office within the agency, was intentional. One retired CIA officer who wrote a biography on William Harvey stated, Staff D was simply off limits and rarely mentioned, not even in jokes.

37:26 Staff D was the recipient of classified intercepts obtained by NSA. The reports provided an excellent control mechanism for Harvey as he could monitor foreign government entities, intelligence networks, and even the underworld. If any information came to light exposing QJ Wynn program operations, both Angleton and the counterintelligence chief and Harvey, as head of Staff D, would then initiate countermeasures.

37:54 This would include modifications of plans, changes in ongoing operations, and outright cancellations of operations. In the initial phases of Q.J. Nguyen's assignment, Harvey reportedly started looking for a foreign asset to lead the organization before leaving his job at the Berlin operation base, BOP. This was sometime in 1958.

38:24 would be activated the following year. An excellent organizer of operations, Harry discreetly queried top CIA station chiefs for a suitable person with the appropriate background. He then began to travel around Europe to gather data for the project. He returned briefly to the US in 59, only to turn around and take an extended tour of Europe and the Middle East with his wife, who was also

38:55 working for the CIA. No one seems to know anything about this mysterious trip, and some even deny it happened, such as CIA officer Jim Critchfield, who returned from Germany at the same time Harvey, who came back from Bob at the same time Harvey did. Critchfield stated that he had no recollection of Harvey even making the trip. So, whoa, whoa, whoa. That's very interesting.

39:36 Scorzini's secret meeting with Colonel David Sterling, S-T-I-R-L-I-N-G. So another writer who wrote a book called Spycatcher that was published in 1987 said that William Harvey and James Angleton made a visit to London in 1959 during the run-up phase to the establishment of a...

39:59 the American assassination program. The two CIA officers were wanting to know about British's capability in covert planning. They questioned Wright on the details of the recent British operations in Africa and other places. We are developing a new capability in the company, meaning the CIA, to handle these kinds of problems, and we're in the market for that expertise.

40:27 Special Air Services, or SAS Commandos, the highly successful special program unit originally set up during World War II, is basically the ones that were involved in that kind of thing for the British. Otto Skorzeny arrived in London, the airport from Spain, to meet personally with the equally legendary Commandos.

40:57 of World War II, Colonel David Sterling. The meeting between Sterling and Skorzeny supposedly took place at the London airport. Unknown to anyone at the time, Skorzeny was taken into London to an undisclosed location for confidential discussions of an extremely important nature. It is likely William Harvey was present when Skorzeny was in the meeting with Sterling.

41:26 Having taken up Peter Wright's advice on contacting the former SAS operatives, CIA officer Bayard Stockton, B-A-Y-A-R-D Stockton, who knew Harvey well and published an account of Harvey's CIA career, wrote, quote, Harvey would have especially wanted to meet Q.J. Wynn out of curiosity.

41:53 To understand the backstory of Skorzeny's visit to London and what its implications are for Harvey Staff D, we turn to the pages of a book called Commando Extraordinary, which talks about, it details information about Skorzeny's life. It was first published in 1954 by a guy by the name of Charles Foley. Foley gives a foreshadowing.

42:24 of Harvey's staff deactivities in 1960, and hints of the QJWIN program or the assassination program. In a section of his book dedicated solely to the expose of the use of special forces in future wars, Colonel David Sterling speaks to the very formation of a professional private commando group.

42:53 Quote, in my view, there should be set up a directorship of strategic assault personnel. The terms of reference of this new directorship would enable it to straddle the watershed between paramilitary operations carried out by troops in uniform and political warfare, which is conducted by civilian agents, unquote. This description is basically the description of

43:23 QJ Wynn program and the mission assigned to Skorzeny via a paramilitary capability for the CIA. They're basically describing what Skorzeny's doing. It would be the primary task of the director to plan operations within the widest scope, highly diversified force at his disposal.

43:48 full use of all current military and political intelligence for the selection of his targets and the assessment of their priority. So, you know, just a kill list, no big deal. The high state of readiness, day-to-day operations for specific tasks and other things would be delegated and the director should have a vision and boldness and be backed by the chiefs of staff with full authorities from the government.

44:22 Colonel Sterling was documented to have formed just such an organization by recruiting former members of the elite SAS. Sorry, not like there's a difference. The same month David Sterling met with Skorzeny, he formed a company called Television International Enterprise, or TIE, T-I-E, Television International Enterprise. TIE was later a cover.

44:57 for WatchGuard, a clandestine mercenary unit operating out of the same offices as TIE. Okay, so stop right there. So we have another fake company called Television International Enterprise. It occupies the same building with a company called WatchGuard, which is a clandestine mercenary, you know, an assassin unit. No big deal.

45:27 British intelligence, like the CIA, was also involved in major covert operations at the time all over the world. One area in particular was Yemen. Not like there's any trouble there, right? Yeah, exactly. All right, let's see. In Yemen, where the British were supporting the royalist governments fighting the Egyptian regime.

46:09 So the problem in Yemen at the time was Egypt was trying to take over Yemen, but Yemen had a royal family, no doubt one made up like the rest of them. And surprisingly, Britain wanted to support the royal family. That's weird because then you only have one person to control.

46:42 The British did not want an official military force, either conventional or special forces, to be involved. Instead, Prime Minister Harold MacMillan agreed to the formation of a mercenary unit. You know, plausible deniability. The British mercenary organization, Sterling's BMO, was capable of staging its own covert operations independent of London.

47:09 and was used extensively in Yemen and other parts of the Middle East and Africa. Only 17 days after his meeting with Sterling, Otto Skorzeny purchased the 165-acre farm in Ireland. The land was sold to Skorzeny by Dan Stevenson of James North and Company. The author was unable to determine if Dan Stevenson was related to Sir William Stevenson.

47:40 which we've talked about throughout this entire book. If he was, the land purchased by Skorzeny would take on a completely different tone, which, come on. The sale was reported by the press, but the meetings with Colonel Sterling just prior to the purchase were not known at the time.

48:03 It would appear that Skorzeny-Sterling meetings indicate high-level approval for both the British and American governments in developing a private paramilitary capability. Harvey was instructed by Peter Wright to clear his contact with former SAS with MI6. It is highly possible the British had turned to Sterling for use in the Middle East.

48:29 Plausible deniability. A civilian paramilitary group equipped to perform assassinations operating at the behest of the government with seemingly no ties to the government. So, while the Americans gained Skorzeny for Staff D, Wright also...

48:54 mentioned that during his 1959 meeting with William Harvey and James Eggleton, quote, it was apparent the CIA was preparing for covert actions against Cuba, unquote. In the 1950s, Cuba was a money-spending environment due to the criminal relationship between the mafia and the dictator Batista.

49:19 Having originally served as the elected president of Cuba from 40 to 44, Batista seized power by a military coup in 52. The island had become a mafia stronghold after the arrival of Lucky Luciano after World War II. Once in Cuba, the mafia quickly expanded its operations to a large-scale gambling operation.

49:48 fake banks, and all kinds of stuff. Other big names in the mafia were welcomed by Batista, including Meyer Lansky, Santo Traficante Jr. The island exploded with gambling houses, erotic hotels, and large-scale prostitutions. And they were basically taking local girls, Cubans, not necessarily all.

50:16 over 18, and drugging them and getting them into prostitution. It was a mess. And all the rich and famous people, to include all the movie stars, all the singers, everything, were routinely seen in Cuba. The island began hosting U.S. politicians, including Vice President Richard Nixon and Senator JFK.

50:47 Both Nixon and Kennedy had a passion for Cuba and its captivating enticements. Nixon had visited the island just after getting married in 1940. He returned as the vice president in 1955, despite pleas from a group of concerned exiled Cuban businessmen to take notice of Batista's despotic rule. He turned a blind eye.

51:18 important mafia ties, including significant ones through a friend and close confidant named Charles B.B. Rebozo. These mafia links would be developed by Nixon over the years into major clandestine assets he used once he was in office as the vice president. The exploitation of Batista and his mafia friends was devastating to the nation's population.

51:48 giving rise to unimaginable poverty. There began local bands of guerrilla leaders led by Fidel Castro and a former Argentine doctor named Che Guevara. As the situation continued to spiral out of control, Batista increased his police state terror, torture, and assassination. These outrages caused the American intel

52:16 to back clandestine efforts to help the rebels. Although known later as fervent communists, at this point Castro and Guevara were not considered at all to be communists. Gosh, that sounds familiar. How many times are we going to read this story?

52:44 Americans were actually moved by Castro's revolution and went to the island to assist the fighters. Among them were men connected to the CIA who helped facilitate the transfer of funds and weapons to the rebels. While at the same time, they're behind the mafia? Yeah, because we do that on both sides. And they do it initially to see if they could buy Castro because they know Batista is on his way out, right? So if I can help...

53:15 Castro and I can co-opt him, they will go one wave after another wave after another wave of dictators. They don't give a shit about the people. They just want to know if they can buy the leader. So they are funding Cuba or Castro at this point. Just make that clear. Two of the more famous of these adventures were a Marine, William Morgan and Frank Sturgis. And Sturgis shows up.

53:50 as a CIA operator all through Gladio. He is also one of the ones that were part of the Watergate burglary later on. These men had organized a rebel army called the 26th of July Movement, or MR267. The name memorialized the date of one of the attacks on Batista's forces.

54:17 MR-26-7, operated in both rural areas and the city. It is also known that Otto Skorzeny was approached to help Castro, a fact he himself admitted in an interview with Canadian television in October 1960. The interviewer asked Skorzeny if he had been contacted by Cuban rebels to assist the country in paramilitary activities. Skorzeny answered yes.

54:49 but the contact was unofficial and he would not say who approached him, nor would he specify exactly what they wanted him to do. Skorzeny's reference to an unofficial approach may be veiled reference to his business partner, to a business partner of his named Jorge Antonio, who had met with the rebel leader Che Guevara around the same time that

55:22 He's alluding that he was approached. Although the U.S. government was not exactly clear on the strategy to replace Batista, it is believed that a leader would be found if the revolution was successful. All of the support for Castro by the CIA and its surrogates was an attempt to transfer power to a government with interests aligned with the U.S. See what I said? Fishing.

55:49 Throw some arms at them, throw some money at them, see if we can co-opt them. Castro's forces initiated a full-scale attack on the island at multiple points. Che Guevara seized Santa Clara, while other rebel forces took control of Havana. Castro seized the nation's second largest city, Santiago de Cuba. These rebel forces were heavily supported by sympathizers in the cities.

56:19 soundly defeating Batista's forces. The Cuban people rushed into the street to celebrate their long-awaited liberation, and Batista beat a hasty retreat for the Dominican Republic, flying out with some of his key staff and planes loaded with millions of dollars. Several days later, Castro entered Havana, making his headquarters at the Hilton Hotel. In February 1959, the Cuban Prime Minister

56:49 Cardona, resigned his post at the insistence of the U.S. government. Fidel Castro took over. Cardona was soon destined to play a role in one of Skorzeny's most secret endeavors. March 10, 1959, the U.S. National Security Council held a classified meeting to go over what the options were for Cuba, like they get a vote. The decision was then made.

57:19 in washington that the intent of opening a channel of communication with castro to see what his intentions were the historic mission was passed to tex mccrary who was at the time staying at the hilton havana imagine that what so the guy that's like totally connected to everybody just happens to be at the same hotel with castro

57:52 in the middle of their revolution, it was hoped that this clandestine diplomacy might bear fruit in swaying the new leader to remain in the U.S. camp and not drift to the Soviet Union. Because just like today with Russia, it was an either or, and not in any real terms. So the U.S.'s position on everything was you do exactly what I say when I say to do it.

58:24 or you are by default in the Russian camp or the Soviet camp, right? There's no in between. There's no, I'm going to do my own shit and I don't want you or them telling me what to do. There's no such thing as that. It's, I'm going to tell you what to do. And if you don't do what I tell you, you're going to do, then I'm going to tell everybody and label you a communist. That's literally the political scheme.

58:53 That went on for decades. On April 11, 1959, McCrary managed to carry out the mission and met secretly with Castro in his cabinet in Havana. Also present was a top aide of McCrary's by the name of Barry Farber, later a noted radio celebrity. Farber admitted that he was on an espionage mission at the Castro meeting. Castro agreed to the meeting.

59:28 And he agreed during the meeting to go to New York and meet with Nixon. The meeting between the two was subsequently announced in the press April 12, 1959. Now keep in mind, Nixon is vice president and he is going to be running for president. Castro was flown out of Cuba on an aircraft piloted by former United States Air Force colonel turned CIA contract pilot Charles Chuck Hayes.

1:00:00 Earlier that year, Hayes had flown clandestine airdrops of arms and ammo to Castro for the CIA. It is reputed by J. Orlin Grabe, G-R-A-B-B-E, that these CIA arm drops were financed, are you ready, by oil man George H. W. Bush.

1:00:36 George H. W. Bush, the same guy that opened Zapata Oil, because there's a Zapata Cuba in a bay that it was found to have oil off the coast of Cuba, and he set up that company in order to drill oil. But if Castro's not under their thumb,

1:01:09 None of that's going to work. Castro arrived in New York to enthusiastic crowds. Everybody wanted to get a glimpse of the revolutionary chief, basically making him a celebrity. The Castro trip was couched as an invitation for him to speak at a convention.

1:01:35 of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. He would not meet with President Eisenhower, who conveniently was away during his visit. Instead, Vice President Nixon was assigned the task and appropriate duty for the man spearheading the Cuban effort within the U.S. government. Nixon had invited Castro to his residence, but the Cuban leader refused the invitation. Instead, they met in Nixon's Washington office.

1:02:05 The meeting held only between the two men lasted for three hours, after which both left disappointed with the other. Nixon filed a report afterwards indicating he did not trust Castro and felt that he was going to be a danger to America. Castro, too, was unimpressed with the vice president and was disgusted at his country not being offered aid, complaining, quote, that son of a bitch Nixon.

1:02:35 He treated me bad, unquote. Mysteriously, Castro also met for three hours with Jerry G-E-R-R-Y Droller, D-R-O-L-L-E-R, a CIA officer leading a secret effort to raise a Caribbean legion to retake the island. What this side meeting was about is anyone's guess, but it is likely

1:03:03 a complete ruse to allow Drahler to secure information that could be gleaned from Castro for intelligence purposes. January 1960, CIA Director Allen Dulles had taken a Cuban covert action plan before the Committee for Special Groups or a Special Team. A handful of government, it's like the NSC now, a handful of senior government officials from the CIA and National Security Council

1:03:33 who advised the president on highly classified projects. After hearing Dulles' plan, the special group granted conditional authorization. The special group included Assistant SecDef for Logistics, Perkins McGuire, who had established the original MAG program connected to Skorzeny. A Cuba project team was formed to handle the operational planning.

1:04:00 This effort was led by the CIA officer Tracy Barnes. Another important government official involved with the task force was Admiral Arleigh Burke, Livingston merchant, National Security Advisor Gordon Gray, a close friend of Perkin McGuire's, and Alan Dulles. At the operational level, the team included E. Howard Hunt, who of course was involved in the Watergate.

1:04:33 affair as well. Alfonso Rodriguez, the original CIA station chief in Madrid when Skorzeny arrived there. Gary Drahler, who also went by an alias, Frank Bender. And finally, two top CIA officers, Jake Esterline and David Phillips. Official approval for the Cuba project came on March 17, 1960. Now,

1:05:05 1960 is the year of the election. So this is Eisenhower and Nixon's last years, last months in office. And Nixon is actively running for president at this point against JFK. The committee was directed to create a Cuban government in exile, initiate a propaganda campaign and create an operational intelligence.

1:05:34 capability inside Cuba and form a paramilitary force for future operations. It is known that Vice President Nixon was the action officer for this group, Timberwolf. So another author that wrote a book, Live by the Sword, The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK, in which he cites interviews from government sources strongly suggesting, quote,

1:06:06 that Nixon, along with his military aide, General Robert Cushman, secretly undertook an anti-Castro operation that operated outside of presidential and Security Council controls, unquote. Part of the program was to create a Cuban government in exile. Nixon turned to Mario Coley, a prominent Cuban investment banker. Coley had lost power once.

1:06:37 Castro took over and moved to the U.S. in early 1959, where he immediately began organizing former members of the Cuban military into Cuban liberators. May 1959, Coley had met a very prominent D.C. attorney by the name of Marshall Diggs, D-I-G-G-S, a former deputy comptroller of the U.S. Treasury.

1:07:05 Diggs was heavily involved with international corporate financing and banking. Diggs was born in Tennessee, but for many years lived in Dallas, Texas. Come on. He served in the city's government. He had many acquaintances in Dallas and was also a close personal confidant.

1:07:28 of Vice President Nixon. With authorization to proceed at full speed against Castro, things were now moving in a very serious direction. Eisenhower's Chief of National Security Advisor, Gordon Gray, later recalled that the president's original order for covert action in Cuba contained what he termed drastic measures, which was a clear sign of assassination.

1:07:55 Once such drastic measures was reportedly conceived by Castro's ambassador to Britain, Sergio Santa Marina, who resigned his post in late June of 1960 and returned to Cuba. Information on this assassination attempt on Castro comes from a copy of an unidentified newspaper retained by Skorzeny that he had secured within his papers. So, in other words, the author who has Skorzeny's papers.

1:08:25 had a clip that Skorzeny had saved from a newspaper, but didn't have the heading of what newspaper it was from. Before proceeding with the description of the events from the article, we want to pause to highlight a memo written by William Harvey, exposed during the Senate investigations into assassinations in 1975. The memo stated that the asset, Q.J. Wynn, which we think is Skorzeny,

1:08:54 had been developed for the original ZR rifle project. ZR was an acronym for Division D, which is the CIA assassin program. And the rifle designation, a secret code reference for an operation to assassinate Fidel Castro. Harvey's memo suggests that there are two different versions.

1:09:27 of this project, the original ZR rifle and a subsequent one. Much has been written about the second one, missions involving Harvey and the mafia boss Johnny Roselli after 1961. This has been analyzed by authors and determined as evidence Skorzeny was involved.

1:09:54 in the original ZR rifle project as well, and one referenced in the article in which is in Skorzeny's papers. We also note that Santa Maria was in London at the time of Skorzeny's timely meeting with the Colonel Sterling in June 1959, in which it is believed by the author William Harvey was also present.

1:10:17 Santa Maria had in fact stated to the press that his resignation was in response to Cuba's shift towards communism. His first act was to seek refuge in the Argentine embassy in Havana, and his second was a mission to remove Castro. So in other words, you have a guy that was supposedly representing Cuba in the...

1:10:46 ambassadorship in London, who was in a meeting with Skorzeny and the leadership in London talking about creating an assassination program. And then that guy is the one that makes the allegation, the very first allegation that after Castro is pissed off the U.S. and made it clear that he's not going to let them dictate what goes on in Cuba.

1:11:18 This Cuban ambassador in UK who sets in on a meeting that hires Skorzeny for an assassination program is the very first person that screams Castro is in bed with the communists. Just leave that right there. The article begins with the details of a meeting in Argentine embassy where Santa Marina began to collaborate with Dr. Jose.

1:11:52 Mauro Cardona. Cardona had accepted the role of Cuban ambassador to the U.S. after Castro's takeover, but later resigned around the same time Santa Marina had. The two men were aware that plotting already existed in exile circles to remove Castro and decided to initiate their own plan for assassination. So these are Castro's own ambassadors.

1:12:21 that were basically in bed with the US and the UK. The idea was hatched to approach Otto Skorzeny to lead the mission. The men had selected to approach Skorzeny is seemingly odd. This is a well-known Hollywood press agent and a public relation man named Guido Orlando. Orlando was born in Italy and immigrated to the US. It is not clear why Orlando was selected.

1:12:54 For such a secret matter, perhaps not to draw attention. Orlando is an interesting character, having influenced the careers of famous movie stars like Greto Garbo, Rudolph Valentino, and Ingrid Bergman. But he also had a mysterious side as serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. So basically, he had a confidential relationship with Howard Hughes, secret government aircraft projects.

1:13:25 Final hint to Orlando's claim is he participated directly in the Italian elections of 1948 to defeat communism, which tells you he's part of Operation Gladio. That's not mysterious. This guy is part of the CIA's Operation Gladio. If he participated in that election, because that's the very first thing the CIA ever did in relationships to op.

1:13:53 Operation Gladio was spent $5 million to throw the Italian election to the party that had been approved and to the guy who said he would put Italy in NATO. The other guy that he was running against, they accused of being a socialist slash communist leaning guy, which he was not. And they did it because that guy said he didn't want Italy.

1:14:23 in nato he didn't want italy in anything he wanted italy to be italy because keep in mind they had been under the fascist mussolini and the corrupt king before that he was running for president to restore a republic in italy and he didn't want to be under the thumb of the eu so he had to go and this is one of the guys guido orlando that made that happen

1:14:58 As the article maintains, once Skorzeny heard about Santa Marina and Cardona's plan, he decided to back the venture. The information for the plan was then passed to the CIA planners and gave the plan Operation Tropical. That's going to be the name of it. The approximate date for these events would have been mid-July to early June 1960. And keep in mind, that's exactly what happens.

1:15:28 because we're approaching a presidential election and remember what i said um one of the things that we've learned in this study is they put the um controversial operations during the transition from one president to another the article states that in august 1960 planning for operational tropical began the cia purchased through special assistant

1:16:02 of defense perkin mcguire the civilian airline southern air transport which we know is the cia airline that eventually becomes all kinds of other different ones but so you have the sec def for logistics in the pentagon buying a civilian airline southern air transport for the cia's use

1:16:32 The airline had been operating out of Miami since 1947 and was previously owned by former United States Air Force pilots. The purchase of the airline was explained by Fred Moore, M-O-R the third, whose father was the original owner. Moore's small book on the company. Then came the CIA, the early years of Southern Air Transport. That's the name of the book.

1:17:03 gives the details of the acquisition by the agency. Moore cites the CIA document he acquired in 2010 under a FOIA request that states Southern Air Transport was being acquired as a CIA proprietary firm due to operational missions levied on the agency. It went on to say that Southern Air Transport possessed certain air rights in the Caribbean that made it

1:17:32 of interest to the agency for contingency operation use. It was clear the inference to Operation Tropical and other covert missions for the Cuba project that Southern Air Transport was given a CIA code name ZR Cliff, C-L-I-F-F, establishing a hard link to William Harvey's Staff D operations, which is assassinations. In addition,

1:18:08 Perkins McGuire, the purchase of Southern Air Transport included Percival Brundage, B-R-U-N-D-A-G-E, who was the former director of the Bureau of Budgets. Brundage left his position in the Bureau of Budgets in 1958, but remained for two years afterwards as a key consultant. As a senior member of the Bureau of Budgets,

1:18:39 He was heavily involved in the preparation of black budgets, secret stuff, dealing with covert operations of the CIA and the military. Brundage, a Unitarian, was curiously a former founder of the American Friends of Albert Schweitzer's College. The wind is blowing crazy. This whole thing is moving.

1:19:09 The mysterious university in Switzerland that Lee Harvey Oswald applied to but never attended. Okay, so let's go back over this. So Brundage, a Unitarian, was the founder of American Friends of Albert Schweitzer College in Switzerland, where Lee Harvey Oswald applied but never went.

1:19:35 The timing and purchase of Southern Air Transport by McGuire and Brundage placed a major CIA air proprietary at the disposal of Otto Skorzeny. Training began in September 1960 at a secret location. The final plan included the classic Skorzeny-style airborne commandos paragliding in with the objective not only to assassinate

1:20:04 Fidel Castro, but Raul Castro and Che Calvera as well. And keep in mind, this is before they've done anything that they ended up doing, right? It is likely that Southern Air Transport was tapped to supply the aviation assets for the paratroopers. On the suggested timeline for operations, intel would be provided by CIA Station Chief James

1:20:35 Noel, N-O-E-L, who was in contact with secret assets throughout the country. Oh, maybe like stay behind units. November 1963, Noel would be assigned to the station chief position of Madrid. That'll be important later. One of Noel's chief contacts in Cuba was Bernard Barker, a former member of Batista's secret police who had worked with the FBI.

1:21:10 At this point, it may come as no surprise to the reader that Barker would also be a future Watergate burglar. What? The ambush site selected for Operation Tropical was a remote area near a Cuban military training base. Intelligence had been received that Castro would be returning to Havana from a visit to the base.

1:21:38 Intelligence also reported Castro had a bodyguard contingent of about 30 well-armed men because he knew they were after him. The force of Operation Tropical consisted of 47 paratroopers, including 20 Cubans, 20 Germans, and seven headquarter personnel. Skorzeny, so the 20 Germans, you know, are Skorzeny's old teammates, right? They're all Nazis.

1:22:08 Or SS. Not necessarily the same thing, but Skorzeny was to personally lead the raid. The commando unit trained for seven months and millions of dollars were spent in preparation. The commando group was reported to have trained at secret locations in Florida, Keys. And that can be about two bases. Marathon and Key West. There's not a lot of places for training.

1:22:42 big enough to do this kind of stuff without a whole lot of people noticing. But again, with the islands, love them islands. A note of curiosity, the CIA had a secret training base off the coast of North Carolina known as Isolation Tropic at the exact same time.

1:23:11 Coinciding with the suggested start date of Operation Tropical was the initiation of what appears to have been simultaneous propaganda campaign set against Cuba. Right on cue, both Santa Marina and Skorzeny became involved in psychological warfare efforts to making public statements directed at Cuban leadership. Skorzeny quit first when he took the opportunity.

1:23:40 During the same Canadian television interview that aired on September 15, 1960, when Skorzeny was asked if he had been approached since the war to conduct operations like the type that he had done during the war, Skorzeny said yes, and that many countries had approached him, including the U.S. When asked to elaborate, he just simply said, oh, some special work.

1:24:12 When he pressed him, he said, I wouldn't say, you don't talk about things like that. The interviewer then asked if Skorzeny had been approached by Cuba, which Skorzeny answered honestly, but with little detail, saying, I'm not officially approached, but unofficially, I was approached also. Was that by Castro? Skorzeny mused, it was first by Castro and now by the enemies of Castro.

1:24:40 Here, Skorzeny appears to be making a point. Given the orders for psychological warfare, Skorzeny's reference in the present tense and now by the enemies of Castro appears to be for effect. It was supported by facts because the initial training had already begun. These mind games are precisely in line with Skorzeny's warfighting principles outlined in

1:25:10 a book called Commando Extraordinaire. That is psychological panic, broadcast that you can hit a certain target whenever you want to, and then you hit it. Santa Marina joined in October 24th, 1960, with the headlines in U.S. newspapers calling for a coming struggle to regain Cuba. Fidel Revolt, it was titled Fidel Revolt, Aim of Ex-Envoy.

1:25:41 Santa Marina had managed to escape Cuba and get back to Britain and now is preparing to fly to Florida to join the formation of a counter-revolutionary army. It will be a civil war, another Korea. Except for Korea wasn't a civil war. Castro is a mad dog, he says. He must be wiped out. Having important talks with people all over Europe for three weeks.

1:26:13 This is not just another Latin American revolution, but a battle against communism in the... So here he is again. So this is the guy that started the accusation that Castro was in bed with communism when all that had happened that point was him turning down the U.S. to be controlled. He exaggerated statements for...

1:26:42 by saying that the Cuban exiles had capabilities that they did not, and basically implying that they were preparing for a surgical strike. The two PSYOPs efforts described a drop in the bucket compared to what they actually, but that's just the caliber of what they were trying to do. They included a CIA leaflet drop over Havana by Frank Sturgis.

1:27:14 and another cuban air force officer two important events occurred in the fall of 1960 that would have directly impacted operation tropical first was the exploding crisis in the congo that started earlier that summer and the second was the presidential election so the congo we talked about

1:27:45 It diverted Skorzeny from Operation Tropical to Congo for the CIA because they were going to assassinate the prime minister of Congo. The disruption of Operation Tropical timeline had other implications since Vice President Nixon wanted to remove Castro before the U.S. elections, thus helping his bid for presidency.

1:28:19 The final assault date for Operation Tropical was set for April 18th, 1961. This date coincides with the eventual Bay of Pigs operation that occurred on the next day. And let me just tell you, the next day was my birth date. Literally, April 19th, 1961. Which is disgusting because most of these I learned after the Oklahoma...

1:28:50 bombing that from the 19th of April until the 29th of April is a 10-day satanic sacrifice period of which lots of bad crap happens on April 19th. Just saying. So I always have my eyes out for that one.

1:29:13 According to article on Operation Tropical, although millions of dollars were spent and thousands of hours conducted in training, the mission would not go down unless the Bay of Pigs was the mission. In November, Nixon lost his bid for presidency to JFK. In January, within 24 hours of leaving office, Nixon arrived at Perkins McGuire's Island Resort in the Bahamas.

1:29:41 It would be pointed out here that after the election of JFK, McGuire left his position as the Assistant Secretary of Defense, the logistics guy, and became a CIA contract officer, which is what he was there anyway. Also present was Lindsay Hopkins of Zenith Technical Enterprises, a cover company for the CIA that was involved in the covert operations of Cuba.

1:30:11 Some plan of action relative to Operation Tropical must have been discussed, including briefing the new president. At this point, things were evidently still proceeding, as former Cuban ambassador Santa Marina had reported as the leader of the anti-Castro forces. Operation Tropical article intimates that President Kennedy was briefed on the full details, including the use of autoscores any.

1:30:43 The article stated that in attendance included CIA Director Alan Dulles, McNamara, Dean Rusk, Senator William Fulbright, the man Kennedy wanted as his Secretary of State, and Robert Kennedy. Fulbright was

1:31:04 reported as shocked at the revelation concerning the use of Skorzeny. Russ McNamara and Dulles were in favor of the action, but Robert Kennedy and Senator Fulbright worried that if the mission failed, the political fallout of using Skorzeny would be disastrous. Kennedy concurred with Senator Fulbright and canceled the mission. The validity of Operation Tropical article seems highly probable. More analysis is needed, but it seems fairly

1:31:37 accurate. President Kennedy abolished the operations control board, the government's covert action approval body at the point of the timeline he would have received Operation Tropical Briefing. So the fact that President Eisenhower had kept a picture of Skorzeny on his desk in the Oval Office. Did anybody know that? I didn't remember this. So the one guy that told me on

1:32:10 X, the other day, I'm folding, my daughter's cringing right now, but I'm folding the corner down in my book because I'm posting that crap. Somebody goes, oh no, you've got that all wrong. I think Ike was good. Yeah, okay, right, buddy. You don't know what you're talking about, but go ahead. So Kennedy, his first briefing on an operational plan that the CIA is going to do is,

1:32:40 to cancel the approval board for those operations. So do you think he was okay with assassination programs? Yet they're involved in one. Kennedy went on to approve other Cuban operations, but not ones involving Otto Skorzeny. He did include, he did approve an invasion by paramilitary forces.

1:33:15 Which basically ended up being similar to the Bay of Pigs, which failed on the beaches. And there's a lot of discussion about whether he approved the air support, whether he canceled it at the last minute. I've read both. I've read some people, the CIA was the one that canceled the air support that made it fail.

1:33:42 So they could embarrass Kennedy because he had shut off their assassination program. But I've heard other people say that, that, so some people say that he insisted on the air support and beeping it up, but that it was canceled by the CIA. And then some people say that the CIA had it and it was canceled by JFK.

1:34:13 But we've already established that at this point, the CIA hates JFK. So I'm going with whatever makes the CIA look the worst because that's who they are. So retired U.S. Army Colonel Anthony Herbert, who was a captain, who as a captain had been slated to lead Army Pathfinder teams in the invasion.

1:34:48 noted that the anger and frustration over the cancellation of the mission, quote, when the invasion was called off, I began to hear generals and colonels cursing President Kennedy as a weak-kneed, candy-ass, chicken-livered coward, unquote. The colonel went on to point out their anger over missing their chance for glory was misguided, quote,

1:35:10 There were international complications and considerations, and the civilian commander-in-chief had given an order. Ironically, Captain Herbert had earlier attended Skorzeny School of Commando Tactics. Now, let me just say this. I, having spent my entire career in the United States military, love our military. What he just described not only was in existence then, it is in existence today.

1:35:41 A very dear friend of mine still on active duty, getting ready to pin on Colonel in the Air Force, works closely with the Army. And there are Army senior officers at the 06, 07, 08 level. 06 is a Colonel and on up throughout the General Officer Corps that seek conflict.

1:36:11 because their ass ain't on the front line, in order to make them look better for promotion. And when you're talking about special forces, that means they globetrot around for difficult areas involved in conflict and constantly advocate for the insertion of our special forces people.

1:36:44 in these troubled hot spots irregardless of whether it's a good idea from a strategic operational or tactical level they do it for their own glory because if it goes wrong and people die they understand they'll just get another assignment they will never be held accountable but if on the other hand something good comes out of it

1:37:17 They have their next promotion. The guy that did the Afghan withdrawal, the little silly ass guy with the two star army guy who never you always allow the last person on the ramp to be somebody below you. He didn't because he's in it for the glory. He totally botched up that and he would it would have been his call to take the sniper out. He did or the for the sniper to take the.

1:37:48 guy that blew up and killed the 13 people. He's the one that would have nixed it. So 13 people die in an evacuation he's responsible for because he is on the ground there as the commanding officer and he got promoted. That's our military. The fact that...

1:38:14 Historians have never mentioned Operation Tropical is interesting since there are references to it in newspapers. Perhaps this was because the basic storyline seemed sensational or the lack of evidence at the time confirming Otto Skorzeny as a covert asset of the United States. This book presents just such evidence throughout its pages, thus changing the view of Operation Tropical.

1:38:41 So I'm going to have to post about Operation Tropical. In determining the validity of Skorzeny's involvement, the author did make one dramatic discovery that was highly significant, not only for Operation Tropical, but more importantly, for the final conclusion of this book.

1:39:02 The stunning revelation was made by a former CIA contract officer named Robert Morrow who worked on the Cuban covert operations for the agency. Morrow authored several books in which he claimed the CIA covert operations he was involved with somehow connected to a covert network that was linked to the assassination of President Kennedy. Because it was. His specific participation

1:39:31 in a covert operation was directed at Cuba and involved gun running and counterfeiting operations. Morrow admits he did not have direct knowledge of the events in Dallas, but established the links in retrospect. He also claimed that Jack Ruby was involved in the gun running network. In hindsight, Morrow attempted to piece together the assassination story using his own personal experiences combined with

1:40:01 how the pieces fit in that he had knowledge of. In his book, First Hand Knowledge, Morrow firmly establishes that his CIA boss, while working as a CIA contract officer, was the aforementioned Washington lawyer, Marshall Diggs, D-I-G-G-S. Morrow claimed that Diggs had requested an urgent meeting with him prior to the death of Mary Meyer. Now, keep in mind,

1:40:32 Mary Meyer is Cord Meyer's wife. She is the one that was murdered and was supposedly had an affair with JFK that was documented in her diary. Shortly after the Warren Commission report was released. So let's go back.

1:40:55 I interrupted myself. Morrow claimed that Diggs had requested an urgent meeting with him after the death of Mary Meyer, the wife of the CIA officer Cord Meyer, and shortly after the Warren Commission report was released in the fall of 1964. Morrow and Diggs was worried about a potential compromise of the CIA operations that they had been working on and explained.

1:41:20 There is a prominent lady here in Washington who knows too much about the company, the CIA, its Cuban operations, and specifically the president's assassination. Diggs would go on to tell Morrow that Meyer's loose lips were a threat to still classified CIA operations. Morrow was not sure of the significance of Diggs' comments since his participation had been dealing with counterfeiting and covert arms. These operations had been shut down.

1:41:50 by Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, sometime before the assassination. As the conversation progressed, however, Diggs made it clear that the woman in question was Mary Meyer, and she knew the men behind the Cuban operations were also behind the assassination of Kennedy. And keep in mind, the men that she's referring to is Skorzeny's group, not Cuban's.

1:42:22 And not disaffected Cuban people living in Miami either. This was correct, at least in the broader scheme. Diggs then told Morrow that Mario Coley, the Cuban leader they had been working with, must be warned. He then instructed Morrow to go to New York and warn Coley about Mary Meyer's potential for disclosure. According to Morrow, a few days later, he did meet with Coley.

1:42:51 who responded, just tell Diggs I'll take care of the matter. One week later, she was murdered on the banks of Chesapeake and Ohio Canal outside of Washington, D.C. Here, the author will inform the reader that Marshall Diggs' office phone number is listed in the Skorzeny's papers with an annotation on the side of it, M.G. Coley.

1:43:19 This document confirms Skorzeny knew of these men. The document is dated 1967, sometime after the events described but long before Morrow's story was ever revealed. It must be assumed, therefore, that Morrow was totally unaware of Otto Skorzeny or how the network functioned. This is why Morrow

1:43:41 In Morrow's mind,

1:44:10 To stop the threat, the Cubans, and specifically Mario Colli, had to liquidate Mary Meyer. That may be true, but the Skorzeny papers also indicate that Corley knew Skorzeny, and it was Skorzeny who was at the head of the assassination capability. But Mauro did not know about Skorzeny at all. Therefore, his analysis could only go so far. The Mafia and Cubans had nothing to do

1:44:40 with the central assassination, but were connected to the Skorzeny network and may have been used in post-assassination cleanup operations to deflect blame, if you will. Digging into these links, and for that matter, Operation Tropical, would eventually expose Skorzeny's paramilitary assassination group, a group that was fully active and in Dallas.

1:45:09 On November 22nd, 1963, Mary's voice is no longer silent. So then we're going to go into the, I'm going to stop right there because the next one is where they target Lumumba. And we've pretty much covered that. I will go through that today before Sunday. And if there's any other details that I've left out.

1:45:41 Because this is just rehashing the story that I've already written on Substack about Lumumba. But I will go through and make sure I didn't leave anything out as it relates to that. And that's the rest of the chapter. So we'll come back with chapter 20 called The Motive. And let's see. I'm going to put that marker there. And let me go back to the front real quick.

1:46:12 So we are on, we've got two chapters left, the motive and the network and we'll be done. So we'll go through the motive on Sunday and probably finish up on this coming Tuesday. So that's it for today. And I have to show y'all as we close up, this is how we ended up.

1:46:45 That's how he always sits up. You got to love him. That's so crazy. All right. Let's see. My screen froze up there for just a second. All right. So that's what we got. I'm going to go through here real quick. I think I got everybody. So there's that.

1:47:21 And it's not going to let me go back. I had to refresh my screen. So, and then same name, Sharif, who met with the Nazis in South America. Yeah, for Bush. Yeah. So Skorzeny is well known for having said that he met Bush and Bush was using the name S-C-H-E-R-F-F.

1:47:50 when he met them, met him. So Liza is absolutely right. Okay. So if anybody, if we don't have any questions, we're going to close up there for now. And I thank you for being here. I will be back on Sunday night at seven. And also we will probably not start our new book until after the Strawberry Festival.

1:48:22 Because I do have a lot of concerts going on. Or if we do, I will do them in the morning. And then if people can just listen to them whenever they want to. I'll have to kind of work that out. But the festival starts on the 29th and goes through like the 9th of March. So we'll come up with a schedule on when we're going to do it.

1:48:51 um, based on, uh, Liza and Bridget, we'll get together and figure out the best, um, timeframes to do it. Cause I'd really like to get it started because it is a crazy, crazy book. Um, but, um, we'll see. So again, please give us a, um, thumbs up if you wouldn't mind. And also, um, follow us if you haven't, um,

1:49:18 Click the follow button. I really appreciate it. We finally made it to a thousand. Yay. Appreciate y'all being here. Have a nice weekend, everybody.

Entities here

Claims made here

Otto Skorzeny operated_in Spain documented ▶ 2:38

“Then on to Spain. So that's kind of where we've already confirmed that she is definitely a spy and works with him. So throughout the 50s, Skorzeny continued to expand his network of companies out of h…”

Elsie Skorzeny member_of Barnett Family documented ▶ 4:12

“that the steel industry is very important to Skorzeny's clandestine network. Skorzeny's greatest asset was his wife, Elsie, who by all accounts was herself a brilliant businesswoman. She was engaging …”

Otto Skorzeny married Elsie Skorzeny documented ▶ 5:11

“Barnett had been a clothing merchant, a tailor from England who immigrated to the United States in 1901. Captain Barnett's war service also remains unknown. Despite the lack of information on the fami…”

Elsie Skorzeny operated_in New York City documented ▶ 5:42

“Late 1950s, Elsie would travel to the U.S. and would often visit with Gertrude and her husband Sidney in New York. She would continue to visit them when they later moved to Florida. In March 1957, a s…”

Jane Roman member_of CIA documented ▶ 6:14

“Roman, of James Angleton's CIA staff. And it was said in a secret interagency message to the State Department and FBI that basically they were tracking Elsie. Roman, one of Angleton's executive secret…”

Elsie Skorzeny member_of Previews, Inc. documented ▶ 6:45

“You know, like stay behind units. Fully aware of Mrs. Skorzeny's presence in the United States is what came back from the State Department. The business that Elsie Skorzeny then became associated with…”

John Tyson headed Previews, Inc. documented ▶ 7:46

“So potentially, they are laundering Skorzeny's money that he's being paid by the CIA into real estate through this company. By 1940s, he was a sales manager and at some later point became president of…”

Otto Skorzeny laundered_money_for CIA host_asserted ▶ 7:46

Herschel Williams studied_at Yale University documented ▶ 8:38

“at Purviews was a reserved United States Air Force colonel by the name of Herschel Williams. Colonel Williams was from New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from Yale in 1931. Just prior to World War I…”

Elsie Skorzeny did_business_with Herschel Williams documented ▶ 8:38

Herschel Williams member_of United States Army Signal Corps documented ▶ 8:38

Herschel Williams member_of Previews, Inc. documented ▶ 9:09

“a military officer and Dallas native that has made many appearances in this book. Colonel Williams briefly left military service after the war, but was recalled for special duty at the Pentagon for un…”

Otto Skorzeny operated_in Ireland documented ▶ 10:05

“and intelligence-related matters to be discussed in detail in the next few chapters. Unfortunately, there is only one cipher sheet in the papers, but it does confirm the couple was writing in code. Wh…”

Tex McCrary did_business_with Meyer Lansky host_asserted ▶ 11:36

“a power player in organized crime with strong ties to Meyer Lansky. Incredibly, McCrary, M-C-C-R-A-R-Y, was also a senior level government advisor at the presidential level and a CIA conduit to foreig…”

Tex McCrary studied_at Yale University documented ▶ 12:05

“and his highly classified work during the OSS period of World War II. Tex McCrary was born in Calvert, Texas. Like everybody involved in this entire operation is from Texas. Are y'all getting this? Bu…”

Tex McCrary member_of Jedburghs documented ▶ 13:04

“in the Army Air Forces. He would rise to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was part of the special group that saw considerable frontline action. He was a brave man. He flew bombing missions with 8th …”

Tex McCrary married Eugenia Jenks documented ▶ 13:36

“after the city was leveled by the first atomic bomb. I think that's odd. I think all of that is very odd for one guy. In 1945, McCrary married the famous movie actress, Eugenia Lincoln Jenks, was her …”

Tex McCrary did_business_with Dwight D. Eisenhower documented ▶ 14:34

“and Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidential run in 1952. McCrary's counsel was highly sought after in Washington circles. His clandestine connections to Otto Skorzeny, unknown until the writing of this bo…”

Tex McCrary did_business_with Richard Nixon documented ▶ 15:03

“for Richard Nixon. Sapphire was with McCrary's firm from 54 to 61. It is not known if McCrary disclosed his close friendship with Otto and Elsie Skorzeny to Sapphire, but it is difficult to imagine th…”

William Safire did_business_with Richard Nixon documented ▶ 15:03

William Safire did_business_with Tex McCrary documented ▶ 15:03

Tex McCrary did_business_with Lou Chesler documented ▶ 16:36

“In 1950, McCrary already had extensive links to organized crime through his Hollywood connections. But in 1959, they expanded. He entered into a close partnership with a 300-pound Canadian financier c…”

Lou Chesler did_business_with Meyer Lansky documented ▶ 17:05

“General Development Corporation. McCrary promoted a number of enterprises, including real estate, movie companies, casinos, and horse track racing. Chesler was also the point man for Meyer Lansky, the…”

Lou Chesler did_business_with Dino Cellini documented ▶ 17:35

“By the early 1960s, Lou Chesler would also be in business with Wallace Groves and Sir Stafford Sams, two prominent figures in the Bahamas who ran the Lansky enterprise there. This occurred after the m…”

Lou Chesler did_business_with Stafford Sands documented ▶ 17:35

Dino Cellini did_business_with Meyer Lansky documented ▶ 17:35

Lou Chesler did_business_with Wallace Groves documented ▶ 17:35

Otto Skorzeny did_business_with Mafia documented ▶ 18:06

“Tex McCrary, Otto, and Elsie Skorzeny became connected to broad criminal enterprises, including the Bahama Mafia intrigues of Sir Stafford Sands around 1962. Skorzeny's deep connections to organized c…”

Otto Skorzeny did_business_with Tex McCrary host_asserted ▶ 18:06

James Jesus Angleton headed CIA documented ▶ 19:03

“who controlled the Caribbean desk and headed the counterintelligence staff at the CIA. While Elsie was in Cuba, Tex McCrary was willing and dealing with mafia bosses like Dino Cellini and Meyer Lansky…”

William Harvey headed QJWIN documented ▶ 22:00

“In 1958, William K. Harvey, the hard-drinking, flamboyant chief of the Berlin operations base, remember that thing called Bob, Berlin operations base, got notification of a new assignment. He was to l…”

Allen Dulles ordered_assassination_of QJWIN documented ▶ 22:25

“responsibility for handling highly classified intercept communications provided to the CIA by the NSA. The unit also had its own in-house intercept capability. They had even more sensitive missions as…”

Richard M. Bissell Jr. ordered_assassination_of QJWIN documented ▶ 22:25

William Harvey did_business_with Otto Skorzeny documented ▶ 23:24

“The intended purpose was to give the United States a deniable strategic capability that would be used against foreign leaders. Very importantly, Staff D had special liaisons with James Angleton and a …”

Otto Skorzeny did_business_with Horst Paul Issel documented ▶ 23:52

“existing covert relationship with Otto Skorzeny. The Skorzeny papers confirm Skorzeny had contact with men with extensive assassination experience from his old command, including Horst Issel, I-S-S-E-…”

QJWIN operated_in Congo documented ▶ 25:54

“an associated project named ZR slash Rifle, R-I-F-L-E, and the dispatch of Q.J. Wynn's foreign lead to the Congo in 1960. Other basic facts confirm that the Q.J. Wynn program contained operators with …”

Otto Skorzeny member_of French intelligence host_asserted ▶ 27:24

“It is revealed, for example, that Q.J. Wynn had a reputation as a cold-blood killer, which of course certainly fits Skorzeny, while he was in the service of the French intelligence, which Skorzeny cle…”

Otto Skorzeny did_business_with Otto Begus documented ▶ 28:54

“Begus, B-E-G-U-S. He is a former SS officer who served under Skorzeny with extensive experience in organized gambling and assassination operations in Greece and later Italy during World War II. In fac…”

David Wright member_of CIA documented ▶ 29:20

“from the Madrid embassy concerning the agency's use of Begas. Skorzeny mentions the contact to Elsie stating the exchange with Wright, quote, will result in work opportunities for Begas, unquote. Also…”

Otto Skorzeny did_business_with H.S. Lutz Company documented ▶ 30:45

“According to Overt Information, H.S. Lutz, L-U-C-H-T company, maintains business connections with a firm which is known to engage in illegal trade within the Soviet zone. The Madrid representative of …”

Otto Skorzeny founded H.S. Lutz Company documented ▶ 30:45

Otto Skorzeny did_business_with Fulgencio Batista speculative ▶ 31:50

“In a letter dated April 14, 1962, Skorzeny says he is expecting the arrival that day of Encio, who is arriving from Luxembourg and is curious to know what news he's bringing. Nothing good. Encio was n…”

Fulgencio Batista lived_in Portugal documented ▶ 32:19

“Of Cuba, who was living in Portugal at the time, which, of course, is very interesting because remember, Batista is the CIA installed guy that Castro gets rid of. Batista is the guy that was on the ta…”

CIA installed Fulgencio Batista host_asserted ▶ 32:19

Otto Skorzeny did_business_with Congo documented ▶ 33:24

“In the message to the director, it suggests Q.J. Nguyen was being utilized in the CIA Congo operations. Skorzeny was indeed dealing with the Congo officials during this time frame, which are the same …”

Warner Naumann founded H.S. Lutz Company documented ▶ 33:56

“At the beginning of the 1960s, and here we are in 58, and they're planning to set up the unit. I'm sure that's just a coincidence. The mysterious business of H.S. Lutz, mentioned above, is far too com…”

Victor Oswald did_business_with H.S. Lutz Company documented ▶ 34:56

“to which both Skorzeny and Victor Oswald were also tied. The British penetration of the Lutz Company was in reality a deep intelligence operation centered on the acquisition of nuclear material, the s…”

William Harvey headed Staff C documented ▶ 37:26

“Staff D was the recipient of classified intercepts obtained by NSA. The reports provided an excellent control mechanism for Harvey as he could monitor foreign government entities, intelligence network…”

William Harvey operated_in Berlin Operation Base book_quoted ▶ 37:54

“This would include modifications of plans, changes in ongoing operations, and outright cancellations of operations. In the initial phases of Q.J. Nguyen's assignment, Harvey reportedly started looking…”

William Harvey did_business_with James Jesus Angleton book_quoted ▶ 39:36

“Scorzini's secret meeting with Colonel David Sterling, S-T-I-R-L-I-N-G. So another writer who wrote a book called Spycatcher that was published in 1987 said that William Harvey and James Angleton made…”

William Harvey recruited Otto Skorzeny book_quoted ▶ 41:26

“Having taken up Peter Wright's advice on contacting the former SAS operatives, CIA officer Bayard Stockton, B-A-Y-A-R-D Stockton, who knew Harvey well and published an account of Harvey's CIA career, …”

David Stirling founded Television International Enterprise documented ▶ 44:22

“Colonel Sterling was documented to have formed just such an organization by recruiting former members of the elite SAS. Sorry, not like there's a difference. The same month David Sterling met with Sko…”

Television International Enterprise front_for Watchguard International book_quoted ▶ 44:57

“for WatchGuard, a clandestine mercenary unit operating out of the same offices as TIE. Okay, so stop right there. So we have another fake company called Television International Enterprise. It occupie…”

Harold Macmillan funded BMO book_quoted ▶ 46:42

“The British did not want an official military force, either conventional or special forces, to be involved. Instead, Prime Minister Harold MacMillan agreed to the formation of a mercenary unit. You kn…”

Dan Stevenson sold_to Otto Skorzeny documented ▶ 47:09

“and was used extensively in Yemen and other parts of the Middle East and Africa. Only 17 days after his meeting with Sterling, Otto Skorzeny purchased the 165-acre farm in Ireland. The land was sold t…”

Otto Skorzeny acquired Ireland documented ▶ 47:09

Fulgencio Batista did_business_with Lucky Luciano documented ▶ 49:19

“Having originally served as the elected president of Cuba from 40 to 44, Batista seized power by a military coup in 52. The island had become a mafia stronghold after the arrival of Lucky Luciano afte…”

Fulgencio Batista did_business_with Meyer Lansky documented ▶ 49:48

“fake banks, and all kinds of stuff. Other big names in the mafia were welcomed by Batista, including Meyer Lansky, Santo Traficante Jr. The island exploded with gambling houses, erotic hotels, and lar…”

Fulgencio Batista did_business_with Santo Trafficante Jr. documented ▶ 49:48

Richard Nixon relationship_with Charles B. Rebozo documented ▶ 51:18

“important mafia ties, including significant ones through a friend and close confidant named Charles B.B. Rebozo. These mafia links would be developed by Nixon over the years into major clandestine ass…”

Fulgencio Batista moved_to Dominican Republic documented ▶ 56:19

“soundly defeating Batista's forces. The Cuban people rushed into the street to celebrate their long-awaited liberation, and Batista beat a hasty retreat for the Dominican Republic, flying out with som…”

Fidel Castro overthrew Fulgencio Batista documented ▶ 56:19

Manuel Urrutia Lleó removed_from_power Cuba documented ▶ 56:49

“Cardona, resigned his post at the insistence of the U.S. government. Fidel Castro took over. Cardona was soon destined to play a role in one of Skorzeny's most secret endeavors. March 10, 1959, the U.…”

Tex McCrary did_business_with Fidel Castro documented ▶ 58:53

“That went on for decades. On April 11, 1959, McCrary managed to carry out the mission and met secretly with Castro in his cabinet in Havana. Also present was a top aide of McCrary's by the name of Bar…”

Chalmer Charles Hayes supplied_arms_to Fidel Castro book_quoted ▶ 1:00:00

“Earlier that year, Hayes had flown clandestine airdrops of arms and ammo to Castro for the CIA. It is reputed by J. Orlin Grabe, G-R-A-B-B-E, that these CIA arm drops were financed, are you ready, by …”

George H.W. Bush financed_via Chalmer Charles Hayes book_quoted ▶ 1:00:00

George H.W. Bush founded Zapata Oil documented ▶ 1:00:36

“George H. W. Bush, the same guy that opened Zapata Oil, because there's a Zapata Cuba in a bay that it was found to have oil off the coast of Cuba, and he set up that company in order to drill oil. Bu…”

Richard Nixon did_business_with Fidel Castro documented ▶ 1:01:35

“of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. He would not meet with President Eisenhower, who conveniently was away during his visit. Instead, Vice President Nixon was assigned the task and appropria…”

Jerry Droller did_business_with Fidel Castro documented ▶ 1:02:35

“He treated me bad, unquote. Mysteriously, Castro also met for three hours with Jerry G-E-R-R-Y Droller, D-R-O-L-L-E-R, a CIA officer leading a secret effort to raise a Caribbean legion to retake the i…”

Allen Dulles proposed Cuba documented ▶ 1:03:03

“a complete ruse to allow Drahler to secure information that could be gleaned from Castro for intelligence purposes. January 1960, CIA Director Allen Dulles had taken a Cuban covert action plan before …”

E. Perkins McGuire member_of Committee for Special Groups documented ▶ 1:03:33

“who advised the president on highly classified projects. After hearing Dulles' plan, the special group granted conditional authorization. The special group included Assistant SecDef for Logistics, Per…”

E. Perkins McGuire founded MAG Program documented ▶ 1:03:33

Tracy Barnes headed Cuba documented ▶ 1:04:00

“This effort was led by the CIA officer Tracy Barnes. Another important government official involved with the task force was Admiral Arleigh Burke, Livingston merchant, National Security Advisor Gordon…”

Richard Nixon headed Timberwolf book_quoted ▶ 1:05:34

“capability inside Cuba and form a paramilitary force for future operations. It is known that Vice President Nixon was the action officer for this group, Timberwolf. So another author that wrote a book…”

Richard Nixon did_business_with Robert Cushman book_quoted ▶ 1:06:06

“that Nixon, along with his military aide, General Robert Cushman, secretly undertook an anti-Castro operation that operated outside of presidential and Security Council controls, unquote. Part of the …”

Mario Coley moved_to Cuba documented ▶ 1:06:37

“Castro took over and moved to the U.S. in early 1959, where he immediately began organizing former members of the Cuban military into Cuban liberators. May 1959, Coley had met a very prominent D.C. at…”

Mario Coley did_business_with Marshall Diggs documented ▶ 1:06:37

Marshall Diggs relationship_with Richard Nixon documented ▶ 1:07:05

“Diggs was heavily involved with international corporate financing and banking. Diggs was born in Tennessee, but for many years lived in Dallas, Texas. Come on. He served in the city's government. He h…”

Sergio del Valle removed_from_power Cuba documented ▶ 1:07:55

“Once such drastic measures was reportedly conceived by Castro's ambassador to Britain, Sergio Santa Marina, who resigned his post in late June of 1960 and returned to Cuba. Information on this assassi…”

William Harvey developed QJ Wynn documented ▶ 1:08:54

“had been developed for the original ZR rifle project. ZR was an acronym for Division D, which is the CIA assassin program. And the rifle designation, a secret code reference for an operation to assass…”

William Harvey did_business_with Johnny Roselli book_quoted ▶ 1:09:27

“of this project, the original ZR rifle and a subsequent one. Much has been written about the second one, missions involving Harvey and the mafia boss Johnny Roselli after 1961. This has been analyzed …”

Sergio del Valle did_business_with Otto Skorzeny book_quoted ▶ 1:09:54

“in the original ZR rifle project as well, and one referenced in the article in which is in Skorzeny's papers. We also note that Santa Maria was in London at the time of Skorzeny's timely meeting with …”

Sergio del Valle did_business_with Manuel Urrutia Lleó book_quoted ▶ 1:11:18

“This Cuban ambassador in UK who sets in on a meeting that hires Skorzeny for an assassination program is the very first person that screams Castro is in bed with the communists. Just leave that right …”

Guido Orlando did_business_with Otto Skorzeny book_quoted ▶ 1:12:21

“that were basically in bed with the US and the UK. The idea was hatched to approach Otto Skorzeny to lead the mission. The men had selected to approach Skorzeny is seemingly odd. This is a well-known …”

Guido Orlando member_of U.S. Air Force host_asserted ▶ 1:12:54

“For such a secret matter, perhaps not to draw attention. Orlando is an interesting character, having influenced the careers of famous movie stars like Greto Garbo, Rudolph Valentino, and Ingrid Bergma…”

Guido Orlando relationship_with Howard Hughes host_asserted ▶ 1:12:54

Guido Orlando carried_out_attack 1948 Italian election host_asserted ▶ 1:13:25

“Final hint to Orlando's claim is he participated directly in the Italian elections of 1948 to defeat communism, which tells you he's part of Operation Gladio. That's not mysterious. This guy is part o…”

CIA funded Operation Gladio host_asserted ▶ 1:13:25

CIA financed_via 1948 Italian election host_asserted ▶ 1:13:53

“Operation Gladio was spent $5 million to throw the Italian election to the party that had been approved and to the guy who said he would put Italy in NATO. The other guy that he was running against, t…”

Otto Skorzeny member_of Operation Tropic book_quoted ▶ 1:14:58

“As the article maintains, once Skorzeny heard about Santa Marina and Cardona's plan, he decided to back the venture. The information for the plan was then passed to the CIA planners and gave the plan …”

Otto Skorzeny recruited Sergio del Valle book_quoted ▶ 1:14:58

E. Perkins McGuire acquired Southern Air Transport book_quoted ▶ 1:15:28

“because we're approaching a presidential election and remember what i said um one of the things that we've learned in this study is they put the um controversial operations during the transition from …”

Southern Air Transport front_for CIA documented ▶ 1:17:03

“gives the details of the acquisition by the agency. Moore cites the CIA document he acquired in 2010 under a FOIA request that states Southern Air Transport was being acquired as a CIA proprietary fir…”

ZR Cliff member_of Staff C book_quoted ▶ 1:17:32

“of interest to the agency for contingency operation use. It was clear the inference to Operation Tropical and other covert missions for the Cuba project that Southern Air Transport was given a CIA cod…”

Southern Air Transport renamed_to ZR Cliff book_quoted ▶ 1:17:32

Percival Brundage member_of Bureau of the Budget book_quoted ▶ 1:18:08

“Perkins McGuire, the purchase of Southern Air Transport included Percival Brundage, B-R-U-N-D-A-G-E, who was the former director of the Bureau of Budgets. Brundage left his position in the Bureau of B…”

Percival Brundage founded Albert Schweitzer College book_quoted ▶ 1:18:39

“He was heavily involved in the preparation of black budgets, secret stuff, dealing with covert operations of the CIA and the military. Brundage, a Unitarian, was curiously a former founder of the Amer…”

Lee Harvey Oswald applied Albert Schweitzer College book_quoted ▶ 1:19:09

“The mysterious university in Switzerland that Lee Harvey Oswald applied to but never attended. Okay, so let's go back over this. So Brundage, a Unitarian, was the founder of American Friends of Albert…”

Otto Skorzeny ordered_assassination_of Fidel Castro book_quoted ▶ 1:19:35

“The timing and purchase of Southern Air Transport by McGuire and Brundage placed a major CIA air proprietary at the disposal of Otto Skorzeny. Training began in September 1960 at a secret location. Th…”

Otto Skorzeny ordered_assassination_of Che Guevara book_quoted ▶ 1:19:35

Otto Skorzeny ordered_assassination_of Raul Castro book_quoted ▶ 1:19:35

Otto Skorzeny trained Operation Tropic book_quoted ▶ 1:19:35

Southern Air Transport supplied_arms_to Operation Tropic speculative ▶ 1:20:04

“Fidel Castro, but Raul Castro and Che Calvera as well. And keep in mind, this is before they've done anything that they ended up doing, right? It is likely that Southern Air Transport was tapped to su…”

James Noel spied_on Cuba book_quoted ▶ 1:20:35

“Noel, N-O-E-L, who was in contact with secret assets throughout the country. Oh, maybe like stay behind units. November 1963, Noel would be assigned to the station chief position of Madrid. That'll be…”

Bernard Baruch member_of Fulgencio Batista book_quoted ▶ 1:20:35

Bernard Baruch carried_out_attack Watergate scandal book_quoted ▶ 1:21:10

“At this point, it may come as no surprise to the reader that Barker would also be a future Watergate burglar. What? The ambush site selected for Operation Tropical was a remote area near a Cuban milit…”

Operation Tropic operated_in Florida book_quoted ▶ 1:22:08

“Or SS. Not necessarily the same thing, but Skorzeny was to personally lead the raid. The commando unit trained for seven months and millions of dollars were spent in preparation. The commando group wa…”

Otto Skorzeny carried_out_attack Cuba book_quoted ▶ 1:23:11

“Coinciding with the suggested start date of Operation Tropical was the initiation of what appears to have been simultaneous propaganda campaign set against Cuba. Right on cue, both Santa Marina and Sk…”

Otto Skorzeny relationship_with CIA book_quoted ▶ 1:23:40

“During the same Canadian television interview that aired on September 15, 1960, when Skorzeny was asked if he had been approached since the war to conduct operations like the type that he had done dur…”

Otto Skorzeny relationship_with Fidel Castro book_quoted ▶ 1:24:12

“When he pressed him, he said, I wouldn't say, you don't talk about things like that. The interviewer then asked if Skorzeny had been approached by Cuba, which Skorzeny answered honestly, but with litt…”

Frank Sturgis carried_out_attack Cuba book_quoted ▶ 1:26:42

“by saying that the Cuban exiles had capabilities that they did not, and basically implying that they were preparing for a surgical strike. The two PSYOPs efforts described a drop in the bucket compare…”

Richard Nixon targeted_for_regime_change Fidel Castro book_quoted ▶ 1:27:45

“It diverted Skorzeny from Operation Tropical to Congo for the CIA because they were going to assassinate the prime minister of Congo. The disruption of Operation Tropical timeline had other implicatio…”

Otto Skorzeny moved_to Congo Crisis book_quoted ▶ 1:27:45

Operation Tropic merged_with Bay of Pigs Invasion book_quoted ▶ 1:28:19

“The final assault date for Operation Tropical was set for April 18th, 1961. This date coincides with the eventual Bay of Pigs operation that occurred on the next day. And let me just tell you, the nex…”

Zenith Technical Enterprises front_for CIA book_quoted ▶ 1:29:41

“It would be pointed out here that after the election of JFK, McGuire left his position as the Assistant Secretary of Defense, the logistics guy, and became a CIA contract officer, which is what he was…”

E. Perkins McGuire reassigned CIA book_quoted ▶ 1:29:41

John F. Kennedy removed_from_power Operation Tropic book_quoted ▶ 1:31:04

“reported as shocked at the revelation concerning the use of Skorzeny. Russ McNamara and Dulles were in favor of the action, but Robert Kennedy and Senator Fulbright worried that if the mission failed,…”

Dwight D. Eisenhower relationship_with Otto Skorzeny book_quoted ▶ 1:31:37

“accurate. President Kennedy abolished the operations control board, the government's covert action approval body at the point of the timeline he would have received Operation Tropical Briefing. So the…”

John F. Kennedy removed_from_power Operations Coordination Board book_quoted ▶ 1:31:37

Anthony Herbert studied_at Skorzeny School of Commando Tactics book_quoted ▶ 1:35:10

“There were international complications and considerations, and the civilian commander-in-chief had given an order. Ironically, Captain Herbert had earlier attended Skorzeny School of Commando Tactics.…”

Robert Morrow member_of CIA book_quoted ▶ 1:39:02

“The stunning revelation was made by a former CIA contract officer named Robert Morrow who worked on the Cuban covert operations for the agency. Morrow authored several books in which he claimed the CI…”

Jack Ruby member_of CIA book_quoted ▶ 1:39:31

“in a covert operation was directed at Cuba and involved gun running and counterfeiting operations. Morrow admits he did not have direct knowledge of the events in Dallas, but established the links in …”

Robert Morrow trafficked Cuba book_quoted ▶ 1:39:31

Marshall Diggs headed Robert Morrow book_quoted ▶ 1:40:01

“how the pieces fit in that he had knowledge of. In his book, First Hand Knowledge, Morrow firmly establishes that his CIA boss, while working as a CIA contract officer, was the aforementioned Washingt…”