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9/11 Hijackers Passports were Issued by CIA - US Consulate

Whistleblower
Tim King Salem-News.com

salem-news.com

Remember the name Mike Springmann. This one won't be going away any time soon.

Michael
Springmann:
Springman
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Michael Springmann

(SACRAMENTO, CA) - A man who spent two decades as a high level State Department official, at one
time in charge of issuing visas out of Saudi Arabia, Mike Springmann, has been trying to tell people the
most important news about a direct connection between the CIA and 9/11 for more than a decade.
As you will note in this review and the video below, recorded at the National Press Club on 10 June 2002
in Washington DC, (Nobody can say the major press was not exposed to this information) this extremely
credible eyewitness has been stonewalled by the government and major media for a long time, even as
they reported the lax security conditions that allowed those men now associated with the 9/11 attacks to
enter the U.S.
15 of the 19 did not qualify for a visa, yet they were granted one anyway.
10 of the individuals entered through the very agency Mr. Springmann once headed and then spent so
much energy trying to expose.
Springmann went public (after internal efforts failed) to expose the State Dept/CIA conduiting terrorists into
the USA. It occurs to me that there probably really will be a reinvestigation of 911 and that those involved
could actually be taken to trial and brought to justice. I can feel my country beginning to implode because
when the you know what really hits the fan, I do not think that the world will forgive us.
He wasn't small change in the State Dept.
Springman formerly headed the American visa bureau in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The BBC quotes
Springmann talking about the frustrations he encountered while trying to keep the visa issuance above the
board:

"In Saudi Arabia I was repeatedly ordered by high level State Dept officials to issue visas to unqualified
applicants. These were, essentially, people who had no ties either to Saudi Arabia or to their own country. I
complained
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bitterly at the time there. I returned to the US, I complained to the State Dept
here,
the
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complained bitterly at the time there. I returned to the US, I complained to the State Dept here, to the
General Accounting Office, to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and to the Inspector General's office. I
was met with silence."
- BBC News Source: "former head of the American visa bureau in Jeddah is Michael Springman".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/newsnight/1645527.stm
This program of issuing illegal visas began during the Afghan civil war in the late 1980's, Springmann
explains. The CIA was bringing Mujaheddin warriors back to the U.S. and training them in tactics to defeat
the Soviets. For the purposes of military training, the U.S. government granted visas that never would
normally have been issued.
The practice would have set the stage well for an inside 9/11 event. I think it is fair to conclude that people
are increasingly realizing for myriad reasons, that the government version of this story is extremely and
utterly impossible to even begin to believe. That is for those blinded not by nationalism, but science.
From History Commons...
September 1987-March 1989: Head US Consular Official Claims Hes Told to Issue Visas to
Unqualified Applicants

Michael Springmann

Michael Springmann, head US consular official in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, later claims that during this period
he is repeatedly ordered to issue [more than 100] visas to unqualified applicants. He turns them down,
but is repeatedly overruled by superiors. [BBC, 11/6/2001; St. Petersburg Times, 11/25/2001]
In one case, two Pakistanis apply for visas to attend a trade show in the US, but they are unable to name
the trade show or city in which it will be held. When Springmann denies them a visa, he gets an almost
immediate call from a CIA case officer, hidden in the commercial section [of the consulate], that I should
reverse myself and grant these guys a visa. Springmann refuses, but the decision is reversed by the chief
of the consular section. Springmann realizes that even the ambassador, Walter Cutler, is aware of the
situation, which becomes more brazen and blatant as time goes on. On one occasion Springmann is
even told, If you want a job in the State Department in future, you will change your mind. [CBC Radio
One, 7/3/2002; Trento, 2005, pp. 344-6]
Springmann loudly complains to numerous government offices, but no action is taken. He is fired and his
files on these applicants are destroyed. He later learns that recruits from many countries fighting for bin
Laden against Russia in Afghanistan were funneled through the Jeddah office to get visas to come to the
US, where the recruits would travel to train for the Afghan war. According to Springmann, the Jeddah
consulate was run by the CIA and staffed almost entirely by intelligence agents. This visa system may have
continued at least through 9/11, and 11 of the 19 9/11 hijackers received their visas through Jeddah (see
November
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2, 1997-June 20, 2001), possibly as part of this program (see October 9, 2002
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November 2, 1997-June 20, 2001), possibly as part of this program (see October 9, 2002 and October 21,
2002). [BBC, 11/6/2001; St. Petersburg Times, 11/25/2001; CBC Radio One, 7/3/2002; Associated Press,
7/17/2002
; Fox News, 7/18/2002]
pdf
file

Directly from Mr. Springmann

The CIAs Consulate General in Jeddah
Before leaving Washington, I had met with the then-US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Walter
Cutler, who spent nearly 45 minutes telling me about all the problems my predecessor had
caused him in refusing visas to various applicants. An administrative official in the Near East
Bureau, Ellen Goff, also mentioned that there were odd issues involving visas at Jeddah.
However, the State Department Desk Officer for Saudi Arabia, in response to my query about
these strange statements, said he had no idea of what they were talking about, opining only
that Cutler himself was a peculiar duck.
Upon arrival in Jeddah in September 1987, I learned the truth about the situation very quickly
and very unpleasantly. I was bombarded with demands (not requests) by the American Consul
General (Jay Philip Freres), the Political Officer and his successor, a Commercial Officer and
the head of the Political/Economic Section, to issue visas to people who had no ties (either to
Saudi Arabia or to their own country) strong enough to cause them to return to Jeddah or their
homeland once they had arrived in America.
When I refused them, because the US Immigration and Nationality Act and the State
Departments own regulations clearly stated that a visa applicant is an intending immigrant
unless and until he can prove otherwise, I was repeatedly overruled by the chief of the Consular
Section, Justice Stevens. Sometimes, in the face of very real and very vocal threats against
me, I issued the visas with a notation on the application form as to why I had refused it and that
I had reversed myself only upon direct order of the head of the consulate, Jay Philip Freres.
Things got so bad that, on Freres order, I wasnt allowed to issue any visas unless the CIA
Base Chief had approved them. As an example of what I had to deal with, the following is but
one instance:
Two Pakistanis came to me, seeking a visa to attend a US automotive parts trade show. They
could not name the trade show or the city in which it would be held. I then refused the visa. A
CIA Case Officer who worked in the Commercial Section called me within a few minutes,
demanding that I give them visas. However, he could not provide me with any reason why I
should overturn my decision. So I didnt. But, within the hour, he had contacted Justice
Stevens, chief of the Consular Section and had reversed my refusal.
Whistle-Blowing Does Not Advance Careers
I protested this state of affairs to Stevens, to Freres, to Stephanie Smith, Counselor for
Consular Affairs at the Embassy in Riyadh, and, on the advice of Smith, to the Bureau of
Consular Affairs at the State Department in Washington, DC. I also questioned Jean Bradford,
head of the Consular Sections other office, Citizens Services, about this. She told me that Jay
Freres just liked giving candy to babies. I also discussed this with the part-time consular

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assigned to my section, who professed dislike of the practice. (But then, he

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officer assigned to my section, who professed dislike of the practice. (But then, he frequently
issued visas to his own contacts, often saying Mike, let me handle this next guy in line, hes
one of mine.)
Mirabile dictu [2], upon my return to Washington, DC in 1991, I was fired. And the file I had
maintained on the questionable visa candidates was shredded after my departure from Jeddah.
The Truth Does Not Set You Free
In DC, which I call the State of Confusion, I went to the US House of Representatives
Committee on International Relations to protest both the visa issue and the CIAs direct
involvement in the visa process. There all I got was: Whats the matter, dont you think we
need the CIA? for a response. I also contacted GAO (then, the General Accounting Office,
now, the Government Accountability Office), Congress investigative arm and watchdog over
the Executive Branch. There was absolutely no interest in what went on at Jeddah (including
the disappearance of roughly $1 million annually in funds derived from Consulate liquor sales to
hundreds of Saudi and other Muslims, as well as to expatriates of all nationalities).
I then contacted the FBI and the Justice Departments Office of Professional Responsibility,
charging that US laws were being violated by US government employees and that I thought
these people had been taking bribes for issuing visas to their contacts. Indeed, I had been told
by one fellow that the price of a visa at the Jeddah consulate was the equivalent of $2,500.
There was absolutely no interest in or any follow-up on this.
Next, I went to the State Departments Bureau of Diplomatic Security and its
allegedly-independent Inspector General. I provided a lengthy statement, itemizing the issues
and laws violated. I asked that the State Department investigate the abuse of the visa process,
the questionable liquor sales, and, in one egregious incident, the Jeddah consulates attack on
an American businessman who had questioned the money flow from the liquor sales (which
had gotten him fired). The response was that, since I had a personality conflict with Jay Freres,
there was nothing to investigate.
- visasforterrorists.blogspot.com
As referenced above, thirteen of the 15 Saudi hijackers were issued visas to the United States, 10 of them
at the US Consulate in Jeddah, according to US officials. You can read more here:
http://www.boston.com/news/packages/underattack/news/driving_a_wedge/part1.shtml

To make matters even worse, it is reported by Guardian UK, there are solid accounts of U.S. officials
being told to 'back off' on Saudis and Bin Laden before September 11th. There is no question that former
U.S. President Bill Clinton viewed bin Laden as a serious terrorist and had invested much of the country's
time and energy trying to kill him. All of the accumulated data on Osama bin Laden was dismissed by the
incoming George W. Bush administration.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/nov/07/afghanistan.september11
CBC News transcript- Michael Springman
"...this operation in Jeddah was so peculiar, so strange, and it went against anything I had ever seen or
heard in my 20 years in government, that I thought that what these people were telling me about CIA
involvement with Osama, and with Afghanistan had to be true because nothing else would fit. By the
attempts to cover me up and shut me down, this convinced me more and more that this was not a
pipe-dream,
this was not a machination, this was not a conspiracy theory."
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pipe-dream, this was not a machination, this was not a conspiracy theory."
http://www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex/Documents/springmaninterview.htm
I have tried to interject as little as possible in this review and just bring readers the information that is
already available. For my part, I did go to the place in Afghanistan where bin Laden trained his forces while
fighting the Russians in the 80's. Based on everything I know and have observed personally and through
discussions and interviews with key people and via just plain logic, none of this Osama bin Laden 9/11
scenario made sense. I knew the second officials supposedly found terrorist's passports on the ground in
New York. I know it was enough, with the mainstream media's help, to convince Americans at large, but I
truly think it is changing and that a new day is dawning. It isn't just another brick in the wall, as shameful as
it all is, we have to do what is correct and remain vigilant and continue revealing this vital information to the
public.
Here are more incredible resources on this story from the YouTube page:
BBC News: Michael Springman
In Saudi Arabia I was repeatedly ordered by high level State Dept officials to issue visas to unqualified
applicants. These were, essentially, people who had no ties either to Saudi Arabia or to their own country. I
complained bitterly at the time there. I returned to the US, I complained to the State Dept here, to the
General Accounting Office, to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and to the Inspector General's office. I
was met with silence.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/newsnight/1645527.stm
Michael Springman Tv 1/4:
CIA Ordered Visas For 15 of The 19 9/11 Hijackers in Jeddah
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmjAg_-Vi9Y
9/11 Citizens' Commission - Michael Springman
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSebMjd50u0
Israeli security issued urgent warning to CIA of large-scale terror attacks
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1340698/Israeli-se...
15 Hijackers Obtained Visas in Saudi Arabia
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&conte...
C.I.A. Was Tracking Hijacker Months Earlier Than It Had Said
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/03/us/cia-was-tracking-hijacker-months-earlier...
Hijackers 'trailed by CIA before attacks'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/jun/03/usa.september11
C.I.A. Was Tracking Hijacker Months Earlier Than It Had Said
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/03/us/cia-was-tracking-hijacker-months-earlier...
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CIA Didn't Share Info About 9/11 Hijackers

abc news: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=129563&page=1#.Tv5tFdWwVM0
Hijackers Lived With FBI Informant
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/09/attack/main521223.shtml
Sept 9 2001: Bin Laden/Afgan War Plan was on Bush's desk
cbs news: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19tnCIBJtJQ
Hijack 'suspects' alive and well
BBC news: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1559151.stm
abc news: The political journal National Review obtained the visa applications for 15 of the 19 hijackers
and evidence that all of them should have been denied entry to the country.
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=130051&page=1#.Tv59NNWwVM0
CNN: Six months after Sept. 11, hijackers' visa approval letters received
http://articles.cnn.com/2002-03-12/us/inv.flight.school.visas_1_huffman-aviat...
Washington Post: Hijackers Got Visas With Little Scrutiny
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&conte...
9/11 commission report: 4 of the hijackers passports were found on 9/11
http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/staff_statement_1.pdf
great sources:
http://visasforterrorists.blogspot.com/
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed secured a visa in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
http://articles.cnn.com/2004-08-22/politics/911.commission_1_final-report-hij...
When Springmann denies a visa, he gets "an almost immediate call from a CIA case officer, hidden in the
commercial section [of the consulate], that I should reverse myself and grant these guys a visa."
Source: CBC Archive
http://www.btinternet.com/~nlpWESSEX/Documents/springmaninterview.htm
Video Source/Credit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgYFo79q1Ek
Tim King's reports about bin Laden on Salem-News.com
Jul-19-2012 Former CIA Agent Publicly States: Osama bin Laden Died Five Years Ago - Tim King
Salem-News.com
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Salem-News.com
Jun-19-2012 Bombshell: Newly Released CIA Documents Prove Bush Could have Killed Bin
Laden; Prevented 911 - Tim King Salem-News.com
May-07-2012 Abandoning Afghanistan, Great Job America - Political Perspective by Tim King
Salem-News.com
Jan-11-2012 Death Drones from Hell, Coming to a Nightmare Near You - Tim King
Salem-News.com
Sep-08-2011 Ahmad Massoud: the Lion in the Path of Understanding 9/11 - Tim King
Salem-News.com
Sep-03-2011: Gearing Up for 911 - Tim King Salem-News.com
May-06-2011 'Lion Sheik' bin Laden and the Confused American Public - Tim King
Salem-News.com
May-01-2011 Osama Bin Laden's Death Claimed, But How Does One Kill a Corpse? - Tim King
Salem-News.com
Jan-21-2011 Terrorism by the Numbers - Tim King Salem-News.com
Aug-01-2010: Great American Heroes: Ho Chi Minh, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden Tim King Salem-News.com
Jun-18-2010 A Colorado Ex-Con's Quest to Kill bin Laden - Tim King Salem-News.com
Dec-03-2009 Afghanistan and Obama's Point of No Return - Tim King Salem-News.com
Sep-11-2007 Afghanistan: Is Osama bin Laden Alive and Well? (VIDEO) - Tim King
Salem-News.com
Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer

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