If you've been following the Khashoggi disappearance case, you're probably like me: baffled by it all. After all, there's not much about it that makes much sense, and there are so many connections that spill out from it that it raises a number of questions, all of them boiling down to "just what the heck is going on?" Mr. S.D. spotted this article at Zero Hedge, and it's an excellent summary, as far as it goes, of all those "connections":

Jamal Khashoggi: Where The Road to Damascus & The Path to 9/11 Converge

Not the least of the "problematical problematics" of the case are related to what the author of the article has to say about former CIA director John Brennan's sudden about face or "Road to Damascus" experience, where Brennan, who once opposed the release of the 28 redacted pages on 9/11 lest too much be revealed about the role of the (out)House of Saud seems to have changed his mind:

Regarding The 28 Pages, CIA Director, John Brennan once said, “releasing a classified section of the congressional investigation into the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States would be a mistake. A reason to keep them under wraps is they contain “unvetted information” that some could use to unfairly implicate Saudi Arabia in the terror attacks.” https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/278313-cia-director-28-pages-contains-inaccurate-information Yet, now when faced with the comparatively less significant disappearance and murder of only one man, Khashoggi (not the thousands on 9/11, the hundreds from Khobar and the Embassy bombings or the 17 U.S. sailors from the Cole), based on far less substantiated and convincing evidence from newspapers(rather than a several hundred page bi-partisan, bi-cameral Congressional Investigation’s Final Report), John Brennan is suddenly moved to hold the Saudis accountable. On Khashoggi’s disappearance, Brennan had this to say: “It appears increasingly likely that Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was detained and killed at Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul. There is still much that we don’t know, but if such an audacious act was carried out, it almost certainly would have required the approval of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman . Khashoggi was a particular irritant to the crown prince. Khashoggi was widely known and respected inside and outside the kingdom for his literary talent, political acumen and principled opposition to Mohammed’s increasing authoritarianism and arrogance. The news reports and Turkish government accounts of Khashoggi’s disappearance from the Saudi Consulate, and the contemporaneous arrival of two planeloads of Saudis, have the hallmarks of a professional capture operation or, more ominously, an assassination. As someone who worked closely with the Saudis for many years, and who lived and worked as a U.S. official for five years in Saudi Arabia, I am certain that if such an operation occurred inside a Saudi diplomatic mission against a high-profile journalist working for a U.S. newspaper, it would have needed the direct authorization of Saudi Arabia’s top leadership — the crown prince. I am confident that U.S. intelligence agencies have the capability to determine, with a high degree of certainty, what happened to Khashoggi. If he is found to be dead at the hands of the Saudi government, his demise cannot go unanswered — by the Trump administration, by Congress or by the world community. Ideally, King Salman would take immediate action against those responsible, but if he doesn’t have the will or the ability, the United States would have to act. That would include immediate sanctions on all Saudis involved; a freeze on U.S. military sales to Saudi Arabia; suspension of all routine intelligence cooperation with Saudi security services; and a U.S.-sponsored U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the murder. The message would be clear: The United States will never turn a blind eye to such inhuman behavior, even when carried out by friends, because this is a nation that remains faithful to its values.” Really, Mr. Brennan? Never turn a blind eye? You turned two blind eyes to the Saudis for nearly 20 years as you defended them and kept the truth of their misdeeds shrouded in secrecy from the 9/11 families, the Embassy Bombing families, the Khobar Tower families, and the USS Cole families. Cover up is complicity and you have been complicit for 20 years! And now you are worried about inhumane behavior? Now, you are interested in the United States taking immediate action and imposing sanctions?

Nor is the hypocrisy limited to Mr. Brennan; it has reached across the aisles to become "bi-partisan":

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was another one of the key members of Congress who chose to side with the Saudis instead of the 9/11 Families. Specifically, regarding JASTA and the Saudi role in the 9/11 attacks, Graham was “not convinced the Saudi government was culpable even though many of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi citizens.”They want to blame bin Laden,” Graham said about the Saudis. “All I can say is, from what I can tell, I don’t think the government of Saudi Arabia was involved here.” Graham, who said he’s in close contact with Saudi officials about the issue, warned it could destroy America’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, a critical ally in the tumultuous Middle East. “This is an odd situation in the sense that 9/11 families are high on everybody’s list to take care of,” Graham said. “It comes at a time when Saudi Arabia believes that America is not a reliable ally. It comes at a time when they think they’re being blamed for things they didn’t do. All I’m trying to find is a way to move forward with a legal process that doesn’t destroy the relationship. That’s worth investing some time in.” https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/16/politics/gop-senators-9-11-lawsuit-bill/index.html Now juxtapose that with what Graham has to say after the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi: “I’ve never been more disturbed than I am right now. If this man was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, that would cross every line of normality in the international community.” https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/10/lindsey-graham-hell-to-pay-if-saudi-arabia-killed-jamal-khashoggi.html “If they’re this brazen it shows contempt. Contempt for everything we stand for, contempt for the relationship.” https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/11/lindsey-graham-channels-john-mccain-over-missing-saudi-journalist.html Lindsey Graham has never been more concerned with such “brazen contempt” put forth by the Saudis in connection to the disappearance of Khashoggi? Apparently, for Lindsey, it wasn’t the 3,000 dead on 9/11, and fifteen Saudi hijackers flying planes into the Twin Towers and Pentagon that triggered the end of his Saudi love affair. No, it was Jamal Khashoggi getting killed in the Saudi Consulate in Ista

The hypocrisy here reveals a much deeper problem, that of the interconnectivity of "the deep state", and the deeply international entanglements that corruption of that breadth and depth creates. Consider just the connections that spin out from Khashoggi:

Which begs the obvious question: Who was Jamal Khashoggi and why has his disappearance and alleged murder triggered this unprecedented, and out of character response from so many in Washington DC? Unfortunately, the answer to that question makes the many statements and support currently being given by so many in Washington even more incomprehensible. Because Jamal Khashoggi was no Mother Theresa. First, let me be crystal clear—>Jamal Khashoggi was not merely a journalist working for the Washington Post. Additionally, Jamal Khashoggi was not just an outspoken critic of current Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. ... Also, please note that in one of the leading books written about the 9/11 attacks, Lawrence Wright’s, “The Looming Tower,” Jamal Khashoggi is portrayed by Wright as a “friend” of Bin Laden. Khashoggi is not a “journalist” who reports on bin Laden. Rather he is described as Osama Bin Laden’s friend. And the Bin Laden/Khashoggi friendship apparently spans more than a decade—from Afghanistan, to Pakistan, to the Sudan. In addition, also note that Jamal Khashoggi was closely connected to Prince Turki al Faisal. Prince Turki was the head of Saudi intelligence for more than 20 years. Interestingly, he resigned from his post 10 days before 9/11. Probably more interestingly, Turki is the man who allegedly brokered the deal with Bin Laden back in 1998 where, in exchange for money and support, Bin Laden would not attack the Saudi Royal Family. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/563318/posts Some believe that this agreement paved the way for the 9/11 attacks and various intelligence agencies around the globe “looking the other way” or “turning a blind eye” to al Qaeda’s actions in the lead up to 9/11. http://historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=turki_bin_faisal_bin_abdul_aziz_al_saud Notably, Prince Turki al Faisal was also one of the first named defendants in the 9/11 Families’ litigation. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/02/september11.politics He was dismissed from the case years ago due to grounds of sovereign immunity. Moreover, Jamal Khashoggi was also closely connected to Prince Alaweed bin Talal who was held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel last year by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Additionally, reporting also links Talal to the 9/11 attacks. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/saudiarabia/11390705/Saudi-princes-supported-al-Qaeda-before-911-claims-twentieth-hijacker.html and https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/world/middleeast/pre-9-11-ties-haunt-saudis-as-new-accusations-surface.html and https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-03-20/alwaleed-reveals-secret-deal-struck-to-exit-ritz-after-83-days Finally, there is Khashoggi’s family connection to Adnan Khashoggi, the notorious Saudi arm’s dealer at the center of the CIA’s Iran-Contra fiasco back in the 80’s. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/adnan-khashoggi-dead-saudi-arms-dealer-playboy-pleasure-wives-billionaire-lifestyle-wealth-profit-a7778031.html (Emphasis added)

By now you may be wondering why I'm citing such lengthy sections of the Zero Hedge article. There is method to my madness, and it is directly related to today's high octane speculation, for it's that connection to Adnan Khashoggi that reveals just how deep this rabbit hole may be, and why so many now seem more concerned about why Khashoggi was suddenly "disappeared" in a Saudi version of an Arkancide.

So who was Adnan Khashoggi, besides being another rich Saudi billionaire? Well, for one thing, he hovers in and around the BCCI affair(Bank of Credit and Commerce International, otherwise more popularly known as the Bank of Crooks and Criminals International), and was strongly rumored to have connections to the Iran-Contra scandal, being one of the brokers handling the sensitive financial and arms transfers involved. And just for kicks, let's recall that when the BCCI blew up, its fallout connected to all sorts of "other stuff", like Roberto Calvi, Banco Ambrosiano, Saddam Hussein's attempt to buy a "supergun" from Canadian ballistics and artillery genius Gerald Bull, the Ps-G scandal and more rumored connections between Licio Gelli, Michele Sindona... you name it.

Now why is the Iran-Contra connection important, and how does it involve Khashoggi? The allegations first came out in an interview given by Gunther Russbacher to Rodney Stich (Defrauding America: A Pattern of Related Scandals) on May 1, 1991, which Russbacher was in federal prison. Russbacher alleged that prior to Ronald Reagan's 1980 election victory, that he flew then vice-presidential candidate George H.W. Bush, William Casey - who was to be Reagan's CIA director, and (here it comes) Robert Gates to a secret meeting in Paris with Iranian counterparts. Among the people whom Russbacher alleges were Adnan Khashoggi and Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Ayatollah Khomeini's second in command (Stich, op. cit., pp. 215-216, 220).

Lest we forget, Adnan Khashoggi was also connected to the theft of Inslaw's PROMIS software by the Reagan Justice Department, and its modification with secret "back doors" and subsequent sale to several countries, and its arranged "theft" by the Soviet Union. (See

And lest we forget, Adnan was Jamal's uncle, and Jamal was a cousin to the late Princess Di's lover, Dodi Fayed: Missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is a nephew of a billionaire arms dealer and second cousin of Princess Diana's lover Dodi Fayed

I mention all this because of two overriding common features to all of these interesting connections; those features are (1) a connection to international finance; and (2) a connection to intelligence agencies, and especially, to the PROMIS software which could be - and according to some, was - modified to track financial transactions "in real time." And that, in my high octane speculation for today, is what I suspect the real story is here, for as I pointed out in my book Hidden Finance, Rogue Networks, and Secret Sorcery: The Fascist International, 9/11, and Penetrated Operations, there is a financial aspect to the 9/11 conspiracy that is quite large and which, in my opinion, is one of the centers and key motivations for the whole tragedy. The software would have facilitated the operations of a hidden system of finance, and moreover, made it possible to trace and track the financing of key cover operations and the entire network making it possible. The relationship between the PROMIS-Inslaw scandal and 9/11 may not seem apparent, until one considers the countries that suddenly quit using the software in the aftermath of 9/11. As I pointed out in my book, many of the countries warning about the impending 9/11 attacks also had purchased the modified software for use in their intelligence agencies, which suggests that the intelligence ultimately came from the very network involved in its planning.

But howsoever one speculates and connects the dots here, one thing emerges: the Khashoggis were involved in much deep state activity that connects a multitude of scandals.

In short, there is deep background to the deep state, and deep background to what is going on now. Back then, they called the whole alleged Bush flight to Paris in the 1980 election cycle to delay the Iranian release of American hostages until after the election, the "October Surprise", and it was none other than one of President Jimmy Carter's national security advisors, Gary Sick, who first uncovered and exposed the plot and popularized the expression itself in his book of the same title. And it can hardly be coincidental that once again, the Khashoggi family is in the news during the month of October. And that means, I suspect, that some in the "deep state" have some deep stress and anxiety right now, and that those anxieties concern that "deep background". Consider the Iran-Contra story that would not go away, not even after Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) complained of the CIA running an entire air force and guns-for-drugs operation. One leg of that story, according to Terry Reed's Compromised: Clinton, Bush, and the CIA, ends up in Mena, Arkansas...

See you on the flip side...