Washington/London: US-based security
think-tank Stratfor spied for the Dow Chemicals on the
activists of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, WikiLeaks alleged
on Monday as the whistleblower website started publishing millions
of confidential emails of this prominent private intelligence
analyst group.
The e-mails date between July 2004 and late December
2011, WikiLeaks said.
"They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts
as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential
intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's
Dow Chemical Co, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon
and government agencies, including the US Department of
Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence
Intelligence Agency," WikiLeaks alleged.
Stratfor was not immediately available for its reaction
on the allegations by WikiLeaks. But the website of this
Texas-based organisation said that it is offering all its
contents for free.
"I wanted to warn you that individuals continue to send
out false communications that appear to be from Stratfor.
These spam emails may contain malware and attachments, and may
attempt to lead you to websites that look like our own. They
may also attempt to convince you to provide your private
information," says Stratfor CEO George Friedman on its
website.
The emails posted by WikiLeaks on its website, revealed
that Stratfor not only provided to Dow Chemicals and Union
Carbide the analysis of the daily developments on the case
related to the Bhopal Gas tragedy in Indian courts, but also
the activities including the travel plans and like where they
are staying or what they plan to do.
Media has not been able to independently verify the
authenticity of these emails.
The correspondence also contains code names for people of
particular interest such as 'Hizzies' (members of Hezbollah),
or 'Adogg' (Mahmoud Ahmedinejad), WikiLeaks alleged.
The whistleblower website said that Stratfor did secret
deals with dozens of media organisations and journalists.
WikiLeaks, claimed, to have also obtained Stratfor's list of
informants and, in many cases, records of its payoffs,
including USD 1,200 a month paid to the informant "Geronimo" ,
handled by Stratfor's Former State Department agent Fred
Burton.
WikiLeaks has built an investigative partnership with
more than 25 media organisations, including The Hindu from
India. The organisations were provided access to a
sophisticated investigative database developed by WikiLeaks
and together with WikiLeaks are conducting journalistic
evaluations of these emails.
PTI
First Published: Monday, February 27, 2012, 20:52