E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Missing Iranian official "fled to the US" - report
Cairo - An Iranian military adviser and former general who disappeared in Turkey last month is said to have sought asylum in the United States. Pan-Arab newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat said on Tuesday, quoting high-profile sources, that Ali Reza Askari left for the US shortly after arriving in the Turkish capital.
I guess the only thing better than "First Class" is flying "Defector Class".
Flying from Damascus, Askari arrived in Istanbul on February 7, but disappeared only a few hours after checking into an Iranian-owned hotel. Askari was seen leaving the hotel and initial reports of the mysterious disappearance speculated that he was abducted by foreign secret services, the CIA and Israel's Mossad topping the list. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Monday that Askari had 'disappeared without a trace' and he held Turkey responsible for his fate.

Iran has formally asked both Interpol and Turkey to conduct an investigation into the adviser's disappearance, according to reports. The al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper sources, however, claim the adviser was not abducted but left for the United States 'along with the secrets he carried.'
Anyone check Dick Cheney's plane when he got back?
Askari, a former deputy to the Iranian secretary of defence, facilitated government weapon deals and may have personal knowledge of Iran's uranium enrichment programme and defence strategies, according to the newspaper.

Meanwhile according to Israel's Haaretz daily, Arab sources insist that Askari was captured by American and Israeli intelligence. 'Unnamed Arab diplomats have been quoted in Israeli media as charging that the Israeli Mossad and the Central Intelligence Agency kidnapped Askari,' the paper said.

Israel denies any involvement in the disappearance, but still fears retaliation as a result of the speculation. Israeli daily Maariv reported Tuesday that the Israeli secret service has stepped up its protection for representatives of the Israeli state abroad.
Posted by: Steve 2007-03-06
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=182374