The Darkened Hour

Seth Hettena is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone and a freelance journalist. He reports on politics, organized crime, and international affairs. From 1997-2006, Hettena was a reporter and correspondent at The Associated Press in Detroit, Sacramento, Baltimore, and San Diego. Prior to that, he worked at two small newspapers in Iowa. He is the author of two books, Trump/Russia: A Definitive History and Feasting on the Spoils: The Life and Times of Randy "Duke" Cunningham, History's Most Corrupt Congressman. He is also runs a Weekly column at SpyTalk where we will discuss two of his articles at length involving the FBI investigation into Saudi government funding of two future 9/11 hijackers, Operation Encore, and the Canestraro documents revelations, as well as the current pre-hearings of four of the 9/11 defendants, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

Dan Christensen writes in his latest article that arguments are in and now it’s up to a federal judge in New York City to decide whether the momentous civil lawsuit pitting Saudi Arabia against the 9/11 wounded and families of the 2,977 dead lives or dies. I read the article and offer some additional thoughts.Gerald Shea Memorandum:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3_TRbjpy4x12TTCyK27dtyAmNHPKh-CFlorida Bulldog article:https://www.floridabulldog.org/2024/05/its-make-break-time-9-11-families-lawsuit-against-saudis/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

Iran has vowed retaliation for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven Revolutionary Guards officers including two senior commanders. I offer some insights as i read the latest news.Iran launches drone attack at Israel, expected to unfold 'over hours':https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/ukmto-receives-report-incident-50nm-northeast-uaes-fujairah-2024-04-13/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, i talk about the capture and eventual torture of the man alleged to have operated and planned the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Mohammed was captured while hiding in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on March 1st 2003. While in CIA custody, Mohammed underwent various torture methods, also known as, the enhanced interrogation techniques. Mohammed was subjected to punching to the face and stomach, sleep deprivation, rectal rehydration and waterboarding. He was transferred to various countries where secret CIA black sites were held including, Poland, Lithuania, Afghanistan and Romania. As of September 2006, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is a prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba where he currently awaits trial for conspiracy and other charges in facilitating the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks. However, because Mohammed was tortured, along with the 4 others charged in the conspiracy, his admission's cannot be used as evidence. What does the federal government and CIA have as evidence then? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

Cole M. Bunzel is a fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. A historian and Arabist, he studies the history and contemporary affairs of the Islamic Middle East, with a particular focus on violent Islamism and the Arabian Peninsula. He is the editor of the blog Jihadica and has written widely on the ideology of Sunni jihadism. His current book project, "Wahhabism: The History of a Militant Islamic Movement" which draws on an array of rare manuscripts and other primary sources in Arabic, provides a new account of the history and doctrine of Wahhabism, the puritanical Islamic revivalist movement that arose in central Arabia in the 18th century, will be the main focus of our conversation today.Bunzel received his MA in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and his BA and PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University. He has been a research fellow in Islamic law and civilization at the Yale Law School, and is a nonresident fellow at the George Washington University Program on Extremism. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, i conduct a detailed report on the two 9/11 congressional investigations, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission and the The Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities before and after the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001. I will be speaking in regards to the various failures of the state and federal levels of government and our domestic intelligence services between the Clinton and Bush administration. This will be a comprehensive breakdown of those failures and also i add some additional information in between making it clear that we still have not had an honest and open ended investigation into the 9/11 attacks. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

After the terrorist events of September 11th 2001, the Bush White House, led by its legal counsel, drafted memorandums that would not only infringe on the rights of detained foreign prisoners, but also deny them any protections afforded to them by the Geneva Conventions. The State Department also authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to implement a strategy at obtaining information "through any means necessary". So in 2002, the CIA would hire Mitchell, Jessen and Associates, to conduct a method on detainees entitled the SERE program where acts of torture would be implemented by captured prisoners to elicit information. Most of which would turn out to be false data. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

In this special episode of the Darkened Hour, i bring a very laid back attitude and offer some personal and direct thoughts on multiple facets of the 9/11 attacks before and after that i never entertained before! The conversation centers on various areas that include the intelligence services, radical arab fundamentalism, Israel and Saudi Arabia and the 9/11 truth movement. Who, What, When, Where, Why and How, i offer many differing thoughts on these questions while also explaining how i become involved with 9/11 and what we need in the future to open a new criminal investigation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

Ray Holcomb has over 30 years’ experience as a law enforcement and intelligence officer. He served for 23 years as an FBI Special Agent; 8 as a Strategic Planner with the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC); and 4 as a state Homeland Security Advisor. Ray’s FBI career included 15 years investigating foreign espionage, major drug trafficking organizations, organized crime and National Security matters. He also served as a member of the FBI’s New York office SWAT team and was appointed Commander of the team from 1998 to 2001. Under Ray’s leadership, the NY SWAT team assumed an expanded role, being involved in high risk domestic arrests and providing overseas security and enhanced investigative capability for FBI teams deploying internationally in response to terrorism.In 2003 Ray was promoted to Section Chief of the FBI’s Operational Response Section which managed the Fly Away Team, the FBI’s Military Liaison/Detainee Unit and the National Joint Terrorism Task Force, overseeing operations and budget of nearly 60 state-based terrorism task forces. In addition to overseeing Special Agents detailed worldwide to the various Unified Combatant Commands, the Military Liaison/Detainee Unit had oversight of the FBI’s interrogation of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. The Operational Response Section comprised a full-time complement of 58 Special Agents and 12 analysts. He is the author of Endless Enemies: Inside FBI Counterterrorism. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, i cover the period of Afghanistan between, 1992-1996, and the Taliban's war against the Northern Alliance while giving refuge to Osama Bin Laden, and Al Qaeda which became a brewing cesspool that would later shape the Middle East for decades to come and the rest of the world forever. Were the CIA and Pakistan ISI partly responsible for facilitating the fundamnetlist problem while arming them against the Soviets ten years prior? Or was this a case of willful ignorance and malfeasance which led to the predicament of international terrorism that simply reacted to US foreign policy? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

With the eve of the 22nd anniversary of the SEptember 11th 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States coming up Monday, myself and 9/11 researcher and co-host of the "Beyond Ground Zero" podcast, Sean Russell talk about various topics relating to 9/11. They include, US-Israeli Foreign Policy, 1993 WTC Bombing, the aftermath of the Soviet-Afghan war, Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, CIA-NSA surveillance of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda in the mid 90's, the Al Qaeda communications hub in Yemen, and addressing the false conspiracies pushed by certain mainstream media and the fringe elements of the 9/11 Truth Movement. This episode is dedicated to the families and loved ones of the 2,996 victims murdered in the September 11th attacks.Sean Russell (Beyond Ground Zero):https://odysee.com/@skrussellak:e/01-BGZ-1993-WTC-Full-Edit:1The Darkened Hour:https://adamfitzgerald.podbean.com/The Gerald Shea Memorandum: https://www.scribd.com/document/66321077/Gerald-Shea-Memo-to-the-9-11-CommissionThe Donald Canestraro Document:https://www.floridabulldog.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Canestraro-Declaration-dated-20-July-2021.pdf This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe

Tom Parker is the Project Coordinator for Counterterrorism Programming in Nigeria at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). He is also the author of “Avoiding the Terrorist Trap: Why Respect for Human Rights is the Key to Defeating Terrorism.” Parker is an experienced counter-terrorism practitioner, having formerly been Chief of Party of a European Union project providing assistance to the Office of the National Security Adviser in Baghdad, Iraq and also previously serving as an adviser on human rights and counter-terrorism to the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF). Avoiding the Terrorist Trap: Why Respect for Human Rights is the Key to Defeating Terrorism (Insurgency and Terrorism):https://www.amazon.com/Avoiding-Terrorist-Trap-Defeating-Insurgency/dp/1783266546 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit adamfitzgerald.substack.com/subscribe