Rocco Martino Explained

Rocco Martino (born September 20, 1938) is an Italian secret agent. He was born in Tropea, province of Catanzaro.

On October 18, 2001, Pollari sent a one and a half page letter to the CIA indicating that "the news about Niger comes from a reliable source, even if it is not possible to assess its quality" (Italian: "le notizie sul Niger arrivano da una fonte affidabile, anche se non si è grado di valutarne la qualità").[1] [2]

During the summer of 2001, Alain Chouet and others with France's DGSE investigated an alleged deal known later as Nigergate in which Iraq was trying to obtain yellowcake from a country in Africa and, by May and June 2002, they investigate any connection with Niger but find that the rumours are entirely false.[3] Furthermore, in July 2002, the Italian SISMI and the United States CIA are informed by the French DGSE that Rocco Martino, a former Italian intelligence agent, is trying to pass fake documents about Iraq obtaining yellowcake from Niger.[3] However, the SISMI report that a lady, who is controlled by SISMI's Antonio Nucera, in the Niger embassy at Rome presents the fake documents in July 2002.[3] Later, in March 2003, George Tenet incorrectly states that Iraq, who has large quantities of yellowcake, is obtaining yellowcake from Niger.[3]

In late February 2002, Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, the husband of Valerie Plame and the last senior United States state department official to meet with Saddam Hussien, travelled to Niger and confirmed that the Niger-Gate documents were fake.[4]

Martino played a major role in the fabrication and the dissemination of the Yellowcake Forgery,[3] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] when he approached CIA Rome station chief Jeffrey W. Castelli with documents on Niger government letterhead describing secret plans for the sale of uranium to Iraq. Reportedly, Castelli dismissed the documents right off as forgeries, and never bothered passing them to Langley.

Although claiming to be an intelligence/disinformation conduit on his own account, it is likely Martino was deliberately deployed as a double agent by SISMI, Italian military intelligence, originally to spy on the French.

According to Nicholas Ruffard of the Sunday Times, Giacomo admitted that he received documents from the Nigerian embassy.[11] Carlo Rossella, the editor of Panorama, had the documents during the third week of September 2002 and passed the documents to the American embassy in Rome on October 9, 2002.[12] Elisabetta Burba was the author of an article about the documents which was never published in Panorama and was the person that gave the documents to the American embassy in Rome.[13] [14] Burba traveled to Niger and verified that the documents were fake.[1] Although Michael Ledeen, who had been a frequent contributor to Panorama, allegedly was involved, Ledeen denied it.[13] [15] [16] However, Philip Giraldi inferred to Scott Horton that Ledeen was involved and had received compensation.[16] [17] [18] [19] Vincent Cannistraro confirmed that Ledeen was involved with the forged documents.[16] The Italian magazine Panorama was owned by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore which was controlled by the family of Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.[1] [13]

On Sept. 9, 2002, Nicolò Pollari gave the forged documents directly to Stephen Hadley, who was the United States deputy national security advisor.[1]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. News: Wilkinson . Tracy . Italians Debate Role in Operative's Saga . . October 28, 2005 . September 7, 2021 . November 3, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20051103053904/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-leakitaly28oct28,0,1889406.story.
  2. News: Unger . Craig . Craig Unger . The War They Wanted, The Lies They Needed . . 5 . July 2006 . 8 April 2022 . 6 March 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080306074733/http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2006/07/yellowcake200607?currentPage=5.
  3. News: Bonini . Carlo . D'Avanzo . Giuseppe .

    it:Carlo Bonini

    .

    it:Giuseppe D'Avanzo

    . Alain Chouet, ex numero 2 dei servizi segreti transalpini racconta il ruolo di Parigi nell'affare del falso traffico di uranio: Nigergate, lo 007 francese che smonta la tesi del Sismi . Alain Chouet, former number 2 of the transalpine secret services, talks about the role of Paris in the affair of the false uranium trafficking: Nigergate, the French 007 that dismantles the thesis of the SISMI . it . . December 1, 2005 . September 7, 2021 . December 3, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20051203061244/https://www.repubblica.it/2005/j/sezioni/esteri/nigergate/francia007/francia007.html.
  4. News: Wilson 4th . Joseph C. . Joseph C. Wilson . What I Didn't Find in Africa . . July 6, 2003 . September 7, 2021 . November 23, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111123133110/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/06/opinion/what-i-didn-t-find-in-africa.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm.
  5. News: Bonini . Carlo . D'Avanzo . Giuseppe .

    it:Carlo Bonini

    .

    it:Giuseppe D'Avanzo

    . Doppiogiochisti e dilettanti, tutti gli italiani del Nigergate . Double agents and amateurs all the Italians of the Nigergate . it . . October 24, 2005 . September 7, 2021 . October 27, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20051027045942/http://www.repubblica.it/2005/j/sezioni/esteri/iraq69/sismicia/sismicia.html.
  6. News: Gellman . Barton . Barton Gellman . A Leak, Then a Deluge (page 1) . . October 30, 2005 . September 7, 2021 . October 8, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121008171546/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/29/AR2005102901478.html.
  7. News: Gellman . Barton . Barton Gellman . A Leak, Then a Deluge (page 2) . . October 30, 2005 . September 7, 2021 . October 25, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121025131257/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/29/AR2005102901478_2.html.
  8. News: Gellman . Barton . Barton Gellman . A Leak, Then a Deluge (page 3) . . October 30, 2005 . September 7, 2021 . March 24, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160324113703/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/29/AR2005102901478_3.html.
  9. News: Gellman . Barton . Barton Gellman . A Leak, Then a Deluge (page 4) . . October 30, 2005 . September 7, 2021 . March 24, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160324162522/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/29/AR2005102901478_4.html.
  10. News: Gellman . Barton . Barton Gellman . A Leak, Then a Deluge (page 5) . . October 30, 2005 . September 7, 2021 . March 24, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160324114841/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/29/AR2005102901478_5.html.
  11. News: Rufford . Nicholas . Italian spies ‘faked documents’ on Saddam nuclear purchase . Sunday Times . August 1, 2004 . September 7, 2021 . December 5, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20051205095043/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,2763-1198188,00.html.
  12. News: Luttazzi . Daniele . Daniele Luttazzi . Interviste random 2 . Random Interviews 2 . it . . danieleluttazzi.it . November 2004 . September 7, 2021 . October 12, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20061012014206/http://www.danieleluttazzi.it/?q=node%2F221 . See Intervista a Rolling Stone (novembre 2004) or Rolling Stone interview (November 2004)..
  13. News: Eisner . Peter . How Bogus Letter Became a Case for War: Intelligence Failures Surrounded Inquiry on Iraq-Niger Uranium Claim . . April 3, 2007 . September 7, 2021 . August 21, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070821100407/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/02/AR2007040201777.html.
  14. News: Morley . Jefferson . The Niger Papers: Obstacles to Coverage . . October 29, 2005 . September 7, 2021 . October 29, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20051029225557/http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/worldopinionroundup/2005/10/obstacles_to_co.html.
  15. News: Alexandrovna . Larisa . American who advised Pentagon says he wrote for magazine that found forged Niger documents . . January 17, 2006 . September 7, 2021 . January 27, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060127000018/http://rawstory.com/news/2005/American_who_consulted_for_Pentagon_says_0117.html.
  16. News: Masters . Ian . Ian Masters (journalist) . Who Forged the Niger Documents: Interview of Vincent Cannistaro, the former CIA head of counterterrorism operations and intelligence director at the National Security Council under Ronald Reagan . . . April 3, 2005 . September 7, 2021 . April 8, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20050408190634/http://www.ianmasters.org/breaking_news_040305.html.
  17. News: Neal . Terry M. . Questions Remain About the Arguments for War (page 1) . . November 3, 2005 . September 7, 2021 . November 11, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121111130205/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/03/AR2005110301021.html.
  18. News: Neal . Terry M. . Questions Remain About the Arguments for War (page 2) . . November 3, 2005 . September 7, 2021 . September 13, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140913011926/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/03/AR2005110301021_2.html.
  19. News: Morley . Jefferson . DSM Sequel: Roots of a Scandal . . October 28, 2005 . September 7, 2021 . October 29, 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20051029225534/blogs.washingtonpost.com/worldopinionroundup/2005/10/dsm_the_sequel.html.

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