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Insider Report: Intel Official: Cuba Has Biological Weapons Special From NewsMax's Most Informed Sources
Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories): 1. Intel Official: Cuba Has Biological Weapons Cuba "almost certainly" has the ability to use weapons of mass destruction against the U.S., a former senior U.S. intelligence official tells NewsMax. The official responded to a recent NewsMax report by Kenneth R. Timmerman regarding Congress' closed-door briefing about a Defense Intelligence Agency analyst who spied for Cuba for 16 years. Ana Belen Montes was arrested in September 2001 on spying charges, but until now most of the details of her work as a traitor have remained classified. The Montes affair "has even bigger strategic significance than generally recognized," the intelligence official opined.
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"Cuba started an offensive biological weapons program in the 1960s as part of its launch into bio-tech medicine and engineering, where it has long been advanced and energetic. "In the '60s or '70s, they are reported to have run a funny little experiment to see how they might deliver biological weapons via bottles thrown into the Gulf Stream. "Throughout the '70s and '80s, it was common knowledge that Cuba had a biological weapons program. One of the great values of Montes was that she basically instructed Havana on how to conceal it. "The strategic significance of this is that Cuba almost certainly has a WMD capability against the U.S. in the form of offensive biological weapons configured for swift delivery, or possibly pre-emplacement. Covert delivery — not via MiGs or missiles — would be the best mode." The biggest value of this weapons program for Cuba would be to deter the U.S. "in the event of a confrontation over some scenario of 'regime change' or preservation when Castro dies," the official continued. "Many thousands could die if such a scenario escalated." Cuba could also sell or give biological weapons to American adversaries, warned the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Montes illustrates the great effectiveness of Cuban offensive and defensive [counter] intelligence," the official added. "They learned from the best of the Soviet bloc partners and then improved even on them. This has given them the ability to sell or give all sorts of intelligence goodies to U.S. adversaries around the world." Among other things, Montes, in 1998, authored a National Intelligence Estimate on Cuba that discounted the communist nation's biological weapons research. But as recently as February, the Miami Herald reported that a former top Cuban military official was calling for international weapons inspections of a secret underground lab near Havana, where he said Castro's government was conducting research in offensive biological weapons. Editor's Note: 2. Bush Family Hedging Bets on '08 Followers of President George Bush and his brother Jeb are lining up against each other for the 2008 presidential race, with George's people supporting John McCain and Jeb's camp backing Mitt Romney. Terry Nelson, Mark McKinnon, and Steve Schmidt, who worked on President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, now serve Sen. McCain. Nelson was Bush's political director, while McKinnon and Schmidt handled media strategy. Matt David, who handled rapid response, also works for McCain, the Washington, D.C.-based publication The Hill reports. Brian Jones and Danny Diaz, who worked for the president as media specialists for the Republican National Committee, are also in McCain's camp. More than 50 of the president's biggest fundraisers — those who have raised at least $100,000 — are supporting the Arizona Republican. The list of Jeb Bush followers backing former Massachusetts Gov. Romney includes Sally Bradshaw, who was Florida Gov. Bush's campaign manager in 1994 and 1998 and his first gubernatorial chief of staff; Ann Herberger, the governor's campaign finance director; Mandy Fletcher, who recently headed Bush's think tank, Foundation for Florida's Future; and Alan Philp, Bush's former policy director. Jeb's former Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings; Al Cardenas, who was Florida GOP chairman under Jeb; David Griffin, who ran Jeb's second-term transition office; Sherri McVay, executive director of Jeb's statewide advocacy council; and Kristy Campbell, the former governor's press secretary, are also working for Romney's campaign, according to The Hill. Ross K. Baker, a professor of political science at Rutgers University, said Romney "represents the fallback position of the Bush White House without having the Washington Bush supporters withdraw their support of McCain. "It's betting on two horses. It seems to me an effort to diversify their portfolio." Editor's Note: 3. Poll: 91 Percent of Americans Believe in God A new poll indicates why God and religion could play a significant role in the 2008 elections — more than nine in 10 American adults say the believe in God, and 87 percent identify with a specific religion. The Newsweek poll of more than 1,000 adults also found that nearly half — 48 percent — reject the scientific notion of evolution. Perhaps even more surprising, 34 percent of college graduates say they reject evolution and accept the biblical account of creation as fact. Other findings of the poll include:
Editor's Note: 4. Many Talkers Not Supporting Iraq War Talk-radio hosts who support President Bush on the Iraq war seem to be losing audience share — while those who have turned against the war are benefiting from their flip-flop. That's the view of John Ziegler, a talk-show host on KFI in Los Angeles. Writing in Talkers Magazine, he notes: "Conventional wisdom has always held that listeners to talk radio are far more conservative than the general public and therefore seemingly among the least likely people on the planet to 'punish' a host who continues to back the Iraq war while 'rewarding' many who have changed their minds and are now against it."
However, he continues, "even the most ardent conservative or Bush-backer . . . can understandably be frustrated with the war to the point of no longer being in favor of it and perhaps not wanting to be reminded of their 'betrayal' by listening to a host who still thinks going into Iraq was the right thing to do." Citing evidence that hosts who formerly supported the war but now oppose it have enjoyed a boost in ratings, Ziegler says the increase suggests that talk radio audiences are not nearly as politically conservative as presumed. It also indicates that the audience does not find fault with a host for dramatically switching positions on a major issue, according to Ziegler, who adds: "I guess in talk radio, like almost every other area of the media these days, credibility is simply optional." Editor's Note: 5. We Heard . . . THAT the Tribune Co. media empire could soon be in the hands of a major contributor to Republican causes. Chicago real estate mogul Samuel Zell has placed an $8.2 billion bid for the company, whose holdings include the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and more than two dozen TV stations. Zell has given $107,700 in political contributions since the 1998 election cycle, most of it to Republican candidates and causes, according to the Center for Public Integrity. Presidential hopefuls who have received donations from Zell include John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Rudolph Giuliani. Zell's wife Helen, however, has given more than $50,000 in political contributions under her own name, and directed her contributions almost entirely to Democratic candidates and abortion-rights groups. THAT the New York City Police Department has hired a new Islamic chaplain to counsel Muslim members of the force. Khalid Latif, 24, is the second Islamic chaplain hired by the department. The first chaplain left more than a year ago. Latif served as leader of New York University's Islamic Center. Since graduating, he has worked as a volunteer chaplain for NYU's 1,000 Muslims and as the chaplain for Princeton University's 300 Muslims, the New York Sun reports.
The police department job is part-time. THAT outspoken talk-radio host Michael Savage has brought his syndicated show "The Savage Nation" to a powerful California station. The new AM 830 KLAA in Los Angeles boasts the fourth-largest radio signal in California and can be heard in six Southern California counties.
"The Savage Nation," currently heard on more than 300 stations nationwide, is now on the air live in Los Angeles weekdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. "We are extremely pleased to be adding Michael Savage to the new AM 830 lineup," said the station's General Manager Allen Fuller. "There is no question whatsoever that Michael is the nation's premier afternoon talk-show host and we feel privileged to be adding the nation's third largest talk program to our station." Talk Radio Network's Savage has been named the 2007 recipient of Talkers Magazine's Freedom of Speech Award. Editor's Note: Editor's Notes:
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