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本帖最后由 I'm_zhcn 于 2009-4-15 21:51 编辑
Spooky murder in Loudoun County, VA
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/04/04/spooky_murder_in_loudon_county_va_connected_1999_chinese_embassy_bombing
在南斯拉夫引炸中国使馆的前CIA雇员三月在弗吉尼亚家中被谋杀
Sat, 04/04/2009 - 8:39pm
Lastmonth, former Army officer William Bennett was found murdered afterbeing out with his wife on an early morning walk in a residentialneighborhood in Lansdowne, Virginia. His wife Cynthia was badly injuredbut survived the March 22nd attack, which is being investigated bylocal and federal authorities.
In 1999, sources bring to our attention,Bennett was a retired Army lieutenant colonel working at the CIA oncontract as a targeter during the 78-day NATO air war on Kosovo. He wasone of the people, according to a former U.S. intelligence source,found responsible by the Agency for feeding the target into the systemthat resulted in the May 7, 1999 NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy inBelgrade.
CIA spokesman George Little told the Loudoun Independent that Bennett left his job at the Agency in 2000.
Theformer U.S. intelligence source says Bennett was fired as a consequenceof the CIA investigation into how the Chinese embassy was targeted.
On April 8, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reportedthat the CIA “has fired one employee and sanctioned six others,including a senior official, in the first official punishment of thoseinvolved in the deadly incident. …The State Department informed theChinese Embassy in Washington on Saturday of the disciplinary actionsby the CIA … The CIA declined to identify those who were disciplinedfor the bombing, which killed three Chinese civilians and wounded 27others. But a U.S. official said the agent who was fired ‘was the onewho selected the target . . . and essentially put the X on the map inthe wrong place.’"
According to the former intelligence source, that one person fired by the CIA over the incident was Bennett.
TheCIA would not confirm that. “When it comes to Bennett, the CIA has notcommented on what his responsibilities were as a contractor, notingonly that his service with the Agency ended in 2000,” CIA spokesmanPaul Gimigliano told Foreign Policy Saturday.
Gimiglianowould not comment on whether extra security precautions were beingadvised for the other CIA officials who were reported as having beensanctioned by the CIA for the incident.
The bombing of theChinese embassy was immediately declared a terrible mistake by the U.S.government, but it caused severe diplomatic strain on U.S. relationswith Beijing. The U.S. government said the bombing of the Chineseembassy was the result in part of targeting based on old maps, that didnot note that the Chinese embassy had moved to nearby the targetedlocation, the headquarters of the Yugoslav Federal Directorate ofSupply and Procurement.
“According to administration, defense andintelligence officials, the bombing was caused by a fundamentallyflawed process for trying to locate the directorate's headquarters inthe New Belgrade section of the Yugoslav capital,” the New York Times reportedin 2000. “Armed with only an address, 2 Bulevar Umetnosti, the officerwho was dismissed used an unclassified military map to try to pinpointthe building's location, based on a limited knowledge of addresses on aparallel street.”
“On the map, which the National Imagery andMapping Agency produced in 1997, the building that turned out to be theembassy was not identified,” the Times report continued.“Instead, the map showed the embassy in its former location in centralBelgrade. After a location was identified, the target was discussedduring at least three meetings among C.I.A.officials, none of whom,evidently, questioned the identification process, the officials said.The target was then turned over to Pentagon officials, who, alsowithout questioning it, put it on a list of targets to bomb inBelgrade.”
“It was the first and last target the C.I.A. selected during the war, Mr. Tenet testified last year,” the Times’ report said.
“Chinaexpressed strong dissatisfaction today with CIA disciplinary actiontaken against several employees in connection with the bombing of theChinese Embassy in Belgrade and once again rejected U.S. conclusionsthat human error caused the attack,” the Washington Post reporteddays after the CIA announced the disciplinary action against the sevenofficers. “Beijing said it was not appeased by Saturday's announcement."
The FBI has reportedly joined the Loudon County Sheriff’s office in investigating Bennett’s murder.
Update: More recently, before retiring, the Washington Post previously reported,Bennett, 57, had done stints as a contract worker, including trainingtroops in Iraq. Cynthia Bennett, who had been hospitalized since theattack, is the director of procurement for the architect of the U.S.Capitol.
Update II: ACIA official said Monday, "At this point, there is absolutely noindication that Mr. Bennett’s murder had anything to do with hisservice with the army or the CIA. Naturally, you’d want to double-checkwith law enforcement, as it’s their investigation."
A spokesmanfor the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office told Foreign Policy Monday:"All I can say at this point is, We haven't ruled out any angle. Arethere indications leading us in their direction? There is no indicationleading us in that direction at this point but we certainly can't ruleit out. Where we are in the investigation, we can't rule anything out."He said the LCSO has 13 investigators devoted full time to the case,and is being assisted by other federal agencies, including the FBI'sWashington field office. He said last he heard as of Friday, CynthiaBennett was still hospitalized in critical condition.
UPDATE III:The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said in an April 7 update that theyhave now begun to be able to communicate with Cynthia Bennett and areseeking four to five individuals: "Loudoun County Sheriff’sInvestigators have begun communicating with a Lansdowne woman who wasbrutally attacked last month on Riverside Parkway. ... Loudoun Deputieswere initially called to the area around 5:38 a.m. on Sunday, March 22,2009, for a report of a suspicious vehicle. The complainant stated theyheard a commotion outside and observed a white panel van and severalsubjects outside. The van was further described as having no windows oneither of the rear sides of the vehicle.
The van returned to the areaand left the scene again before authorities were contacted. A deputyarrived on the scene and conducted a foot patrol when the discovery wasmade. ... The Loudoun Sheriff’s Office is currently seeking four tofive individuals involved in the attack of the woman and the homicideof her husband. All of these individuals have knowledge of the attack,but have varying degrees of involvement in the activities that tookplace that morning. The Sheriff’s Office is making an appeal to thepublic to be aware of anyone who may be exhibiting changes in theirbehavior since the day of the attack. ..."
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狗仔卡
发表于 2009-4-14 23:03
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发表于 2009-4-15 14:37
