Discussion of the murder of John P. Wheeler III

[Peace Patriot]

I just did a little research on this. Here are the links:

Police Trying to Unravel Timeline of Mysterious Wheeler Homicide
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/06/police-trying-to-unravel-timeline-of-john-wheeler-homicide/
(includes a parking lot surveillance camera vid of Wheeler wandering around in a confused state, carrying one shoe)

Final hours of former Pentagon official puzzle his neighbors
http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/06/delaware.pentagon.official.killing/?hpt=C1

Killing of Vietnam Memorial Advocate Baffles Friends, Investigators
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/01/04/killing-of-vietnam-memorial-advocate-baffles-friends-investigat/?ncid=txtlnkuspoli00000006

The articles stress that he was the man behind the Vietnam War Memorial, but they don't say much about who he was currently working for--a corporation named Mitre, which I had never heard of, which has former CIA Director, former Sec of Defense, former head of the Atomic Energy Commission and former Secretary of Energy James R. Schlesinger as Board Chairman...

http://www.mitre.org/about/bot/schlesinger.html
(the other Board members) http://www.mitre.org/about/trustees.html

Mitre appears to be at the heart of the U.S. national security state and of worldwide U.S. "security" (war) operations, including government/corporate information and surveillance technology, cyber-defense, aviation system development and airspace security, precision bombing from drone aircraft, and other Defense and Homeland Security systems, and coordination of U.S. defense technology with other countries. Very very big, very very well-connected, very very important company. Take a look at their web site...

http://www.mitre.org/

Wheeler is described in news articles as having been involved, in particular, in cyber-security...

http://www.mitre.org/work/cybersecurity.html

-----------------------------

One thing that puzzles me is this: I can understand how someone who works for the Mitre Corporation, with James Schlesinger as Chairman, can end up in a landfill. Schlesinger must have a lot of secrets he is protecting--from JFK's assassination all the way to 9/11 and beyond. He's been around a long time and is a major player in our corpo-fascist state. And Mitre is right in the middle of the cyber-terrorist world that the U.S. has been busy creating at least since 9/11. But if it was a corpo-fascist state hit, you'd think that Wheeler would have just disappeared and ended up as landfill. A bullet through the head. End of Wheeler and whatever problem Wheeler presented.

What the vid shows is a very disoriented man. Something's gone haywire with him. He insisted to somebody he met along the way, "I am not drunk. I am not drunk." But he surely looks drugged in that vid. Not drunk, more without his wits--memory loss. He told a parking attendant that his briefcase was stolen, his parking ticket was in the briefcase and he couldn't find his car. He wandered around in that state for some time, and was seen by several people, some of whom offered help which he refused. He goes from a drug store in New Castle, to the New Castle County Courthouse parking lot, to the Nemours Building in Wilmington. THEN he disappears and is found in one of the trucks that had driven to the landfill to dump its load on the morning of Dec. 30.

Could be a hit gone wrong. Could be he was being hunted when we see him in the vid, after someone drugged him or hit his head (although I see no wound). If so, how did a targeted man get free or wander around so freely for some hours. Did someone foil the assassin? Then the assassination team re-grouped and found him again?

This was a very important man and possibly one with a conscience, given his work on all of us remembering the 55,000-plus U.S. soldiers killed in Vietnam and every one of their names. This was someone who did not take war lightly.

This could be a murder with some other motive (other than "state secrets"). Some have been suggested but they don't seem very plausible. (Would someone kill the man who created the Vietnam Memorial over a building permit?) It could have been a mugging, although, again, he does not look hurt--he looks disoriented, as if drugged. It could have been more of a corporate sabotage or dirty contract sort of situation--that is, related to corporate secrets or bribes. It does have a bit of a mafia hit feel to it--with the dumpster and all.

I don't have a theory about this murder--other than to suggest a corpo-fascist state murder--an assassination, and also his condition in the vid suggests a sophisticated murder plan--that he was drugged, possibly for interrogation--not a mugging--unless the mugger hit Wheeler's head, causing disorientation, without leaving a wound. But then, would a mugger re-find him, kill him and dump his body in a garbage truck? That doesn't add up. What seems most compelling, currently, to me, is who he was working for.*

The police are saying murder; don't know what that is based on, nor what the cause of death was, or any such details. Very little has been released. If it is an official assassination, we may never know the true details.

What I mainly started this thread for is to ask if anyone knows anything about Mitre Corporation, Schlesinger or the other Board members, or Wheeler's particular work or activities that might go to motive.

------------------

*(I will just tell you what popped into my head. I follow events in Latin America closely, and something's going on with this Bush tool, Alvaro Uribe, president of Colombia during the Bush Junta. Colombian prosecutors are investigating Uribe for massive illegal domestic spying. Meanwhile, someone helped the prosecutors' chief spying witness against Uribe flee Colombia, to Panama, where she was given unusual, overnight asylum. I suspect CIA Director Leon Panetta of arranging this asylum, because I think that Panetta--an old cohort of Bush Sr--has been charged with cleaning up after Junior, and I suspect Junior and his Junta of aiding Uribe's spying and possibly aiding related death squad killings in Colombia. Six other spying witnesses against Uribe have also fled Colombia and asked for asylum--but Panama's president hasn't given it to them yet, possibly because the asylum he gave to the main spying witness is causing him local and regional political trouble--an indication of how unusual this asylum was. It was over the objections of Colombian prosecutors. And the other reason he is hesitating may be that these other six witnesses can't nail Uribe the way the main witness can.

(Further, Uribe and Bushwhack ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield last year arranged the midnight extradition of certain death squad witnesses, to the U.S., on mere drug charges, where they have been "buried" in the U.S. federal prison system--out of the reach of Colombian prosecutors and, again, over their objections--by the complete sealing of their cases in U.S. federal court in Washington DC. So there is a coverup going on, re Colombia. The U.S. government is protecting Uribe--some 70 of whose closest political cronies are under investigation or already in jail for ties to the death squads, drug trafficking, bribery, spying and other crimes. The U.S. is also coddling Uribe, with cushy academic sinecures at Georgetown and Harvard, and with a prestigious appointment to an international legal commission.

(Three other possibly important facts: The U.S. State Department recently "fined" Blackwater for "unauthorized" "trainings" of "foreign persons" IN COLOMBIA "for use in Iraq and Afghanistan." (I don't believe the word "unauthorized.") And, last year, Uribe and Brownfield also arranged a secretly negotiated and secretly signed U.S./Colombia military agreement which included a provision for total diplomatic immunity for all U.S. military personnel and all U.S. military 'contractors' in Colombia. Dyncorp is one of the 'contractors.' Dyncorp may have provided the pilot, the plane and the pinpoint nighttime bombing technology for the U.S./Colombia bombing/raid on Ecuador in March 2008, in which 500 lb U.S. "smart bombs" were dropped on a FARC guerrilla hostage release camp just inside Ecuador's border, killing 25 sleeping people--an act that nearly started a war between the U.S./Colombia and Ecuador/Venezuela.

(Could Wheeler have been involved in, or could he have known something about, U.S. "cyber-security" in Colombia--connected to Uribe's domestic spying and death squad killings, or to the bombing/raid on Ecuador? It would seem to be the sort of thing that Mitre does--and on their map of the worldwide reach of their clientele they include the top western portion of South America (that is, Colombia).)

[WinkyDink]

1. He might also have had a clue or two re: Mass animal deaths.

[Peace Patriot]

4. What are you thinking? Global surveillance data? Or some kind of high tech weapon?

Mitre could be a front for just about anything. And when you look at the range of technologies and regions they cover--just what's visible on their web site--they are likely thick in the middle of the some of the worst stuff going on--the drone killings in Afghanistan and Yemen and God knows where else (--were the drones tested in Colombia, where U.S. 'pacification' programs in Afghanistan may have been tested on local peasants?), high tech torture, airplane sabotage, false flag bombings, global cartel drug flights, global cartel trade of other kinds, a plethora of mysterious deaths, "Mission Impossible" sabotage and "dirty tricks" against leaders who oppose U.S. corporate/war profiteer interests, the Oil War II: South America plan at the Pentagon, manipulation of markets, domestic surveillance and plans for repression should the American people finally get fed up. They are at the center of multinational corporate/U.S. military technological control, and are at the least very likely profiting from fear and probably creating fear to enhance their profit. They ARE, in fact, the very definition of "war profiteer"--a corporation that is milking billions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers for "defense" (i.e., corporate war). And they may be more than that. I was struck by their involvement in airspace protection. That is exactly what was lacking on 9/11--normal airspace protection.

Get this, from their web site:

"What is an FFRDC?

"A Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) is a unique organization that assists the United States government with scientific research and analysis, development and acquisition, and/or systems engineering and integration. FFRDCs address long-term problems of considerable complexity, analyze technical questions with a high degree of objectivity, and provide creative and cost-effective solutions to government problems.

(SNIP)

"MITRE Operates Four FFRDCs

"MITRE is a not-for-profit corporation, chartered to work solely in the public interest. MITRE operates Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs). The FFRDC sponsored by the Department of Defense specializes in command, control, communications, and intelligence systems. The FFRDC sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration focuses on the development of a safe, efficient worldwide air traffic management system. MITRE's third FFRDC, co-sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), provides technical and program management advice to the IRS and other Treasury Department agencies in support of enterprise systems modernization. Our newest FFRDC, the Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute, coordinates support to the Department of Homeland Security and its mission partners to protect the nation from terrorist threats, aid the flow of legal immigration and commerce, and recover from natural disasters and other national emergencies."

http://www.mitre.org/about/ffrdcs.html

[intheflow]

8. The bird death/Wheeler connection appears to have originated

with the European Union Times, a conspiracy theory site, per The Legal Schnauzer: http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2011/01/was-john-wheelers-murder-connected-to.html

I don't think Wheeler's death has anything to do with the bird deaths.

[WinkyDink]

29. And some people never connected the Vatican to a "suicide" on a bridge, either.

Google "BCCI."

[intheflow]

33. And some people will believe anything.

If you read down he thread you'd have seen I actually think Wheeler's death was a professional hit. But given it happened before the mass wildlife die-offs AND the story originated with an unreliable source AND he was an expert in cyber-warfare and not chemical warfare, I stand by my original assertion that's it most likely coincidental with the wildlife deaths.

[truth2power]

36. But you don't know for certain, any more than anyone else here...

You "think" and it's "likely". You're entitled to your point of view, but so are others, even if you think their views are too bizarre.

Who was that guy who constructed that extensive flow chart that showed all the interlocking relationships among govt., military and financial interests worldwide? It was so complex my eyes glazed over. I think that guy was "suicided" or something. Maybe some DUers will remember what I'm talking about. Sorry I can't be more specific.

[WinkyDink]

38. Cynicism vs. naivete. Which, over the years, has proven sensible? (Cf. Wikileaks.)

[truth2power]

35. Exactly! No one can say, with certainty, what events are connected these days. eom

[struggle4progress]

10. Or maybe he just had a stroke and wandered around too long near a drug deal

and so was dispatched as too much of an inconvenience to somebody

[emilyg]

2. Kick for interesting.

[mimitabby]

3. I'm glad you posted this

I have been concerned and befuddled about this myself. It's just too strange.

[struggle4progress]

5. I knew a fellow about 25 years ago who worked briefly for MITRE. He told me MITRE

originally stood for MIT REsearch, which makes sense based on the company history. I don't think he worked for them for very long, and I lost touch with the guy decades ago. Back then, I had the impression MITRE did computer-related DoD consulting

[Peace Patriot]

12. Thanks for the info about MIT.

Mitre has been thickly involved with U.S. airspace protection and the FAA since the late 1950s. And you're right, it started at MIT.

"In July of 1958, MITRE was founded as a private, not-for-profit corporation to provide engineering and technical services to the federal government. In doing so, it fulfilled a request by Secretary of the Air Force James Douglas for a specialized services group to provide the system engineering and ongoing support for the massive, multi-billion dollar, continental air defense system called SAGE. SAGE, or Semi-Automatic Ground Environment, was developed for the United States Air Force from 1950 to 1957 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Digital Computer Laboratory, the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory, and MIT's Lincoln Laboratory. MITRE was incorporated one month following the installation of the first of 23 national SAGE centers at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. MITRE first settled in the Boston area."

(SNIP)

"MITRE expanded again in 1963 after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave the company system engineering responsibility for the National Airspace System (NAS)."

[starroute]

6. Watch out -- Mitre will lead you down the rabbit hole of 9/11 conspiracy theories

. . . and that way lies madness.

[Peace Patriot]

9. Yeah, well, where was Mitre when we needed them, if they're such experts on airspace security? Hm?

nt

[WinkyDink]

31. Working for those who wanted no security, who wanted remote-control planes.

[WinkyDink]

30. Really? And men haven't been killed via poisoned umbrella-tips?

Etc. Etc.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Ah reality is always far better than...

the science fiction posted by the European News outlet... still laughing about that one.... phosgene... RLOL

[intheflow]

11. Don't know about Mitre, but his briefcase had been stolen

shortly before his death, according to a parking garage attendant interviewed by Philly's ABC affiliate a couple days ago:

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/crime&id=7878520

I think this was either an extortion or a covert operation gone wrong. I think he looks like he's dazed in the video, and limping; perhaps he had escaped captors who'd tortured him multiple ways over multiple days. Waterboarding wouldn't leave any outward marks, for instance, but they could have injured his ankle. He could have been disoriented from sheer fear for his life.

It would be good to know the cause of death. I can't believe how long the toxicology report is taking!

On edit: just watched the CNN link you posted. He changed his clothes in the hours before his death? WTF!? This story just gets weirder and weirder.

[Peace Patriot]

13. That could be why he took his shoe off--his ankle was injured.

Yeah, I think you're right that he was limping. At first, I thought his gait was a little off just because he had one shoe on, one shoe off. But why would he have a shoe off (other than temporary insanity/disorientation)? Of course it's very likely because his foot or ankle hurt.

A mugger might grab his briefcase, but then a mugger wouldn't find him again, kill him and toss his body in a trash can or truck. So his ordeal is very likely related to the missing briefcase. He specifically told someone that it had been "stolen." Not that he lost it or dropped it. However, given his state, we can't be sure that he knew what happened to it. "Stolen" seems to imply that he didn't see who took it. And if that is the case, then where do the abductors, druggers and torturers come in? He seems NOT TO KNOW. He says briefcase stolen, parking ticket in briefcase, can't find his car. If he was abducted, drugged and tortured/interrogated, he surely would have said something about it to the first people he met and asked for help. However, if he was given drugs that wiped his memory, he may not have known the sequence of events. He wakes up somewhere in a disheveled state (near the drug store? his first known stop) and his briefcase is gone. He proceeds to the next normal thing he would do, with a blank memory on what had just occurred-he goes to find his car. He refuses help offered by several people--including the pharmacist offering to call him a cab. No, in his confused state of mind, the next thing is retrieving his car--he says to himself. He doesn't think he needs help. So, if something like this happened to him--kidnapping, interrogation--he doesn't remember it.

I was impressed with his final gesture in the parking lot hallway. He goes and closes the outer door. (Why?) Then he throws up his arms just like any frustrated driver who can't find his car in a parking lot. But this man is marked for death. And he had just gone wandering around in the hallway and other places, putting his hand to the wall to steady himself, with one shoe off, and probably an injured ankle or foot. He is disheveled and unfocused. He's THINKS that he is just a guy who can't find his car. But that is not the reality, neither before this vid footage, nor afterward. Something happened to him before, and he was killed afterward.

Okay. Here's an idea. His kidnappers/torturers thought they had given him a final lethal dose of the drug. They left him for dead. But he was not dead. He wakes up--wherever he is--doesn't know what just happened, can't find his briefcase and goes into the drug store--a familiar landmark. Why does he go into the drug store? Maybe just to try to orient himself. He doesn't try to buy anything. He asks the pharmacist--someone he knows--for a ride to Wilmington. The pharmacist says no but offers to call him a cab, which he refuses. He's now remembering that he left his car somewhere. And that is his next stop.

Meanwhile his killers have realized that he was not dead, that is up and about, and are possibly watching him as he tries to recover and find his car. He is in great danger but he doesn't know it or he would be hiding. He would have asked the pharmacist to hide him and call the cops. He would not have left the drug store.

[intheflow]

15. I'm sure this wasn't a random act of violence.

I'm thinking more and more it was some kind of extortion deal, possibly for state's secrets, maybe for some other reason. I think the smoke bomb on the neighbor's property is a diversion set by his murderers. But the fact that the murder itself was very slickly done - like a mob hit right down to knowing which dumpster didn't have a security camera pointed at it - suggests it was a professional hit.

[deminks]

14. What do you make of the story about him planting incindiary devices

in the house across the street. He was evidently suing the owners over the size of the house.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/police-recover-jack-wheelers-cell-phone-neighbors-house/story?id=12565551

or the cab driver who Wheeler had the number for on his phone.

Diversions?

strange story, all the way around.

[pacalo]

17. I'm wondering if the murderers did that as a way to manipulate the story.

They probably learned everything they could about Wheeler, keyed onto the lawsuit & planted the smoke bomb so that Wheeler would be suspected, making it appear that Wheeler had lost his mind.

Wheeler's neighbors, shown in proud patriot's aol link above, made it clear that Wheeler's behavior wasn't the norm; something was wrong.

[intheflow]

18. I think it's a diversion.

As is your link's interview with the FBI Special Agent. Is it ethical or standard procedure for an active FBI agent to speculate about a active murder investigation of a high ranking citizen? I doubt it - but this guy is spinning hard the story that Wheeler's death was random violence and incidental to his earlier disorientation.

[pacalo]

16. His neighbors made it clear, in so many words, that they suspect something devious.

"Something more than meets the eye" & "It's like something out of a movie."

I relate it to a John Grisham novel.

From the video inside the courthouse parking garage, I get the impression he was looking out the window for someone; he was shown walking down a corridor to the opened door & closed it.

The confusion he showed wasn't the behavior to which his neighbors recognized usual for him. Looks like he had been drugged, or possibly just scared out of his wits.

You've got some interesting links. Recommend!

[pinboy3niner]

19. A few points...

Jack Wheeler was one of the three men who were central to the creation of the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial. Jan Scruggs, who continues to serve as Chairman of the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Fund, was the former Infantry rifleman who came up with the idea of a memorial while sipping whiskey at his kitchen table one night. Wheeler and another lawyer, Bob Doubek, brought considerable legal expertise, connections, political smarts, and other crucial skills to the project. Also key was a woman, Maya Lin, whose brilliant design for the Wall was selected in a design competition.

It looks like Wheeler's work at Mitre--which was part-time--was related to U.S. cyber warfare defense. Mitre put out a statement which said little about his work except to portray Wheeler as a facilitator in bringing others together, presumably to address that subject.

The conspiracy theory that originated from a dubious European source--portraying Wheeler's murder as a 'hit' by our own government to prevent his whistle-blowing about government responsibility for recent wildlife kills--is ludicrous. Wheeler's expertise in chemical and bioweapons was dated, and it was as a lawyer and policy expert, not a scientist. The secret 'GRU report' to Putin sounds to me like the work of a very good creative writer.

Wheeler's carrying his shoe might be explained by some witness reports that described the shoe as being "torn"--which may be the reason he was unable to wear it.

A random act of violence cannot be ruled out in Wheeler's death. His disorientation--possibly the result of a stroke or concussion--would have made him especially vulnerable.

[Peace Patriot]

21. Thanks for the bit about his chem/bioweapons expertise. I didn't know that was his field..

I think the story about this being a random act of violence is ridiculous.

[pinboy3niner]

23. More on Wheeler's role in creating the Wall...

This is from Bernard Edelman's piece in the Veteran, the national publication of Vietnam Veterans of America, in 2002:

When Jack Wheeler first heard of the dream, he instinctively knew that it was a really strong idea. "It can be done" he told Scruggs. "Let me call some people." What was needed, he knew, was the commitment of "guys who had served in Vietnam who were in positions of influence."

He was a graduate of West Point, Yale Law School, and Harvard Business School. Although he had established a memorial at West Point to those who had served in Southeast Asia-"It was a good practice drill for the national memorial," he says-Wheeler was disturbed by the national amnesia over the Vietnam War. "We wanted to show the integrity of our experience,' he says. "And we, a group of rookies, got together, raised the money, ran the design competition, built the memorial, and gave it to the country."

Wheeler, who served as chairman of the VVMF's board of directors, is widely credited for his political savvy and managerial know how. "He was the lead tank," says Tom Shull, a White House aide who worked closely with him. "He made extraordinary personal sacrifices" to realize the dream.

Wheeler went on to design the model for the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program and became the first director of the VVLP in the Reagan administration. He wrote the book, Touched with Fire: The Future of the Vietnam Generation. He currently serves as president of the Vietnam Children's Fund and uses his expertise to turn around troubled charities.

To Realize A Dream, Many Lent Their Skills, Time, And Commitment
http://www.vva.org/archive/TheVeteran/2002_special/dream.htm

[glinda]

42. Shoe torn or shoe as weapon to protect his self.

[pinboy3niner]

20. One update in the story...

There is still litle new information coming from local police, except this nugget that was justed posted at USA Today:

Newark Police, the lead investigative agency, continued to release details Friday about Wheeler's movements on the day before he died. A newly discovered surveillance video shows the 66-year-old New Castle resident in the area of Wilmington's Rodney Square on Dec. 30 walking toward a high-crime section of the city.

Video shows Wheeler in high-crime area day before death
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-01-08-wheeler-investigation_N.htm

[Peace Patriot]

22. Yeah, right. nt

[datasuspect]

25. any "new" information will be damage control meant to cast doubt on the subject or

make it seem he had a double life.

in some cases "high-crime area" is synonymous with "drugs."

we'll be finding out MAYBE that he was a drug addict or something. whatever information is supplied to the media, it will make wheeler look nefarious.

they want to keep the focus away from the situation: a VIP government operative slid out of a garbage truck into a landfill. this is classic east coast LCN.

[pinboy3niner]

26. Wheeler was hardly a "government operative"

He spent more time outside of government than in it, and his last job, with Mitre, was part-time.

Throughout his life, Jack Wheeler placed a premium on honor, and on ethics.

No one has suggested any connection with drugs. If he was disoriented and irrational, the video evidence of his heading toward a "high crime" area is relevant to the investigation. His incapacity likely made him especially vulnerable.

For all the conspiracy theories, I've yet to see any actual facts to support them.

[datasuspect]

28. wheeler didn't work for multiple presidential administrations in high-level positions?

if you don't like operative, replace it with functionary or official.

[pinboy3niner]

24. Kick...

...because, conspiracy theories entirely aside, we have a mystery in the death of a good man, and precious little information coming from authorities in the case.

Jack Wheeler deserves better.

R.I.P. :patriot:

[janet118]

27. We may never find out . . .

Mr. Wheeler will be remembered for disorientation caught on a security camera and being found in a dumpster after a possible mugging.

Too many mysteries, like this one from '96.

[datasuspect]

32. something else to consider: your average street criminal does not worry about the logistics of

corpse removal in an armed robbery or violent assault.

especially in cases of random acts of violence or murder. the body is often left where it drops.

unless wheeler got himself into the "garbage stream" and then died.

which means he would have had to place himself in a dumpster or trash receptacle. and then die.

[Octafish]

34. MITRE and P-TECH

MITRE was one of the business partners of computer company Ptech, when it came out in December 2002, that Ptech (Quincy, Massachuseets) was secretly owned by terror finance suspect Yassin al-Kadi , one of 12 Saudi businessmen accused of funneling millions of dollars to terror organisations run by Bin Laden.

SOURCE: http://redactednews.blogspot.com/2011/01/john-p-wheeler-iii-former-special-asst.html

[Peace Patriot]

37. Thanks for the P-TECH info! I guess it should be no surprise that Mitre is closely tied to Bin Laden

--Mitre, the very corporation responsible for U.S. airspace safety; Bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the only violation of U.S. airspace that the USAF was somehow unable to respond to.

God knows if this has anything to do with Wheeler's murder. But it does heighten my suspicion that his murder is connected to Mitre and its central position in U.S. government security systems.

I think we need to understand that U.S. government security systems are U.S. government WAR systems. The U.S. government, and a range of multinational corporations that milk the U.S. government of TRILLIONS of dollars and direct its policy, are killing people all over the world--in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, in Yemen, in Colombia, in Honduras, in Mexico. We are the peon taxpayers and cannon fodder for a vast war machine that has succeeded in putting a veil of private corporate secrecy over much of what it does. And Mitre is a major "player" in this lavishly funded, high tech-run, secretive, monstrous war machine.

There are many, MANY things that Wheeler could have known--could have been involved in, in some way, or could have stumbled upon--that could have gotten him targeted for assassination. I think that a cover story being put out there--that this was a random act of violence--this early in the investigation is a very telling sign, indeed. No cause of death has even been reported yet--and we're supposed to believe that someone as important as Wheeler in the "military-industrial complex" ran into a random mugger who, a) knocked him on the head or frightened him into a mini-stroke, causing his disorientation, and injured his ankle or foot, b) stole his briefcase, c) then stalked him, after he got back on his feet, to the drug store, the parking garage and elsewhere; d) killed him, and e) picked up his body and stuffed it into a dumpster or a dump truck?

This is non-sensical. Mugging crimes and the sort of crimes that occur in "high crime areas" just don't go this way. It would be extremely unusual for a street criminal who just wanted some cash or whatever he could profit from in Wheeler's briefcase would go to all this trouble to re-find Wheeler, kill him and dispose of his body.

True, with a professional hit, we also wouldn't expect Wheeler to get back on his feet, after whatever kind of attack may have occurred, and wander around for hours in a state of disorientation, THEN get killed and his body disposed of. But I think it's much more reasonable to guess that it was a professional hit that went wrong and that the assassins then had to clean up the mess--re-find Wheeler, kill him and get rid of the evidence (his body), than to assume that a street criminal behaved in this way.

When we see Wheeler in the parking lot vid, he is A MARKED MAN. He is going to be dead soon afterward--murdered, according to the police, and his body picked up (not easy to do) and placed in a dumpster or dump truck. A mugger or other ordinary street criminal would be long gone. He was attacked, causing the disorientation; he talked to numerous people; THEN he got killed and dumped. He wasn't killed BEFORE he was in the parking garage; he was killed AFTER. That seems like a simplistic, obvious thing to say. But those who maintain that it was "a random act of violence" don't seem to grasp that his dishevelment, injured foot or ankle, disorientation and lack of briefcase mean that he was very likely attacked BEFORE he got to the parking garage--and THEN his attackers completed the job. Street criminals don't do this. They flee with the goods.

Yes, it is POSSIBLE that he ran into a stalking murderer on the street or several of them--murderers who knocked him down, disoriented him, stole his briefcase, ran off, didn't find money or credit cards in the briefcase, then sought him and found him again, killed him and got rid of his body--for some mysterious reason and at risk of getting caught. Anything is POSSIBLE. But what is MORE LIKELY?

The most likely scenario, at this point, is a professional hit gone wrong, related to his work for what is certainly one of the biggest, most well-connected, most central war corporation in the "military-industrial complex." And ITS connection to "Saudi businessmen" who were funneling money to Bin Laden most certainly raises flags about the sort of thing that Wheeler could have known.

[Peace Patriot]

39. Here is an information gold-mine on Wheeler...

http://cryptogon.com/?p=19640

It contains extraordinary detail on Wheeler's past and recent work. I'm in the midst of reviewing it and will report anything interesting here. Just for starters, here's what it says about Wheeler's recent work...

--

A four page bio on John P Wheeler III is currently available at Second Line of Defense:
October 2009
BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN WHEELER

John Wheeler is a defense consultant. He served as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C. from 2005-2008, when he became the Special Assistant to the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Logistics and Environment. His mission was to carry out tasks and monitor programs in support of goals as directed, and support the Air Force Secretariat with data gathering, team organization, liaison, analysis and/or options for action. Principal tasks included standing up Cyberspace Forces and placing Precision Strike technology and Real Time Streaming Video targeting links into the hands of groundfighters in combat.

(MORE)(--much more)

http://cryptogon.com/?p=19640

[Peace Patriot]

40. More from Wheeler's bio--

Mr. Wheeler graduated from West Point in 1966, serving as a staff officer in Vietnam, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Staff before leaving active service in 1971. While on active duty, he authored the first Biological and Chemical Joint Munitions Effectiveness Manual and the analysis supporting the President’s decision that the U.S. will not use biologicals. He was also on the Red Integrated Strategic Operational Plan Team to test the Single Integrated Operational Plan. His career combines federal service and starting up, growing and turning around companies and charities. He was Secretary, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on the team that worked major insider trader investigations, and consultant to the acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics regarding tankers and other issues.

http://cryptogon.com/?p=19640

---------------------

A couple of stray thoughts: Wheeler was behind some good causes--for instance, banning U.S. use of bioweapons and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial--and including a number of genuine-sounding charities.

He doesn't sound like the sort of post-service greedy military officer who would be involved in dirty contracts or the types of dealings that might prompt a mob hit. Of course we can't be sure. He was very high up there as an AF consultant, recently, during the Bush Junta. But I'm sensing a straight-up guy who wouldn't be messed up with dirty contracts, bribes, drugs/weapons trafficking, etc. This is just a superficial reading of his bio. But that's the feeling I'm getting--a patriotic guy with a high standard of ethics who would be more likely to be a whistleblower than a dirty player.

----------------------

And here is a VERY tantalizing bit from the current murder investigation...

"Wheeler’s house in New Castle was dark Monday night and no one answered the door. Yellow police evidence tape was stretched across two wooden chairs in the kitchen, where several wooden floorboards were missing."--Wall Street Journal (link in comments at the cryptogon page--my emphasis)

Was he hiding something below the floorboards in his kitchen?! What?

----------------------

One of the commenters at the site (bottom of page) lays out a plausible-sounding private murder scenario involving the people whom Wheeler had recently sued, in a housing dispute, for blocking his view. It is fanciful but worth reading--just to keep reminding ourselves that it COULD BE a private dispute or something other than a "states secrets" hit. (The notion that someone would do all this to a man over a building permit dispute just doesn't wash--I don't care who his neighbors were. If nothing else, his status within high Defense Dept. circles would deter them).

I think "random act of violence" is ludicrous on its face. SOMETHING was going on with this man--and it was occurring over several days' time, where his movements were erratic, with some evidence now that he was creating cover stories (about where he was going and what he was doing). He ends up disheveled and disoriented and then as landfill. And now we have the police (or someone) tearing up the floorboards in his kitchen.

It still COULD BE some private dispute--but this seems less and less likely, the more I learn about him.

[Kaleko]

41. Great stuff, PP. I'll keep following this thread. n/t

[Initech]

43. Bookmarked for later.

[Peace Patriot]

44. The Arizona shooting is, of course, all over the news now.

The police have one man, Jared Loughner, in custody, may have arrested another and are looking for a third. A federal judge was shot and killed in this incident. Rep. Giffords is still alive, in surgery, in critical condition. A nine year old child was shot dead. One of Giffords' aides is dead. More than a dozen people were injured and I've seen reports of five dead, five critically wounded, still in surgery.

What strikes me about this incident is the obvious intention to make a BIG SPLASH--general shooting spree, possibly involving more than one shooter, killing a child, for godssakes, and many others besides Giffords--if she was the target--or if there was ANY main target.

The judge had ruled in favor of some immigrants, was attacked by rightwing hate radio, got hundreds of death threats and was under U.S. Marshall's protection for a time. He died at the scene, possibly indicating that he was the target and all the rest was "show." I think it's possible that he was the main target, not Giffords. Giffords' house had been trashed (doors, windows broken) shortly after her vote in favor of the health bill. But it's hard to see what kind of threat she presented to anyone, as one of the few "liberal" votes in Congress after a Diebold/Puke sweep. Why target her, and why target her NOW? Also, targeting ANYONE--with a shooting spree like this--over people getting medical care help strikes me as ludicrous. It doesn't add up. Racism seems a much more likely motive for this kind of bloodshed and mayhem (--i.e., hating the judge for favoring immigrants).

However, there is another possibility--that this heinous, bloody, splashy shooting spree was intended to drive Wheeler's death out of the headlines--that is, that there are some evil perps out there who can trigger incidents like this, when needed. If Wheeler's murder was a high-level, insider assassination, and the assassination went wrong--leaving Wheeler dazed and wandering around, so that finally getting rid of him and cleaning up was messy and difficult--then the perps would have good reason to not want scrutiny on the investigation--to make it "go away." Local reporters and snoops, local cops, honest FBI agents, curious neighbors--people like the reporter who got the scoop about the kitchen floorboards being torn up (if true--we can't sure)--might interfere with detail clean-up and cover-up, especially if Wheeler's murder continued to be highlighted in the news.

This would be a brilliant, if diabolical, plan--to instigate some bigger, splashier incident--one that took out some good people as a bonus--but is primarily intended as a distraction. The sort of perps who might do this could have octopus fingers in all sorts of networks, including the rightwing nut network, and be able to play upon particular shooters' racist and other hatreds, to trigger or order such a shooting spree, at will.

Tinfoil hat? Yup. But I have a lot of respect for tinfoilers, actually. Sometimes they're crazy. Sometimes they're not. I think the main lines of 9/11 tinfoil are NOT crazy. They just can't get a hearing for their quite reasonable, fact-based suspicions about 9/11, which has never had an honest official investigation. There is good reason to be suspicious.

I feel the same about Wheeler's murder. There are good reasons to be suspicious; good reasons to distrust official investigations of it; good reason to pay attention to the first news reports (which often contain details that are later airbrushed out), and even good reason to suspect that the horror in Arizona is connected, and was intended as a distraction.

It does no harm to expand your mind like this, and look at all the possibilities, as long as you remain respectful of hard facts and can rein in your imagination and re-focus on what is known and provable, or most probable. This is a useful investigative technique. I'm throwing this idea out there--Arizona as a distraction--in this spirit--to widen our focus on Wheeler--and also because I think Wheeler's murder may be quite important as to something evil that our corpo-fascist rulers are doing (or did). It doesn't help us bring our government back under the control of the People but it may help us understand what we are up against a little better.

[Peace Patriot]

45. Found this about Ptech/Mitre and 9/11...

First comment to article/obit on John Wheeler:

"Ptech was with Mitre Corporation in the basement of the FAA for two years prior to 9/11. Their specific job is to look at interoperability issues the FAA had with NORAD and the Air Force in the case of an emergency. If anyone was in a position to know that the FAA, that there was a window of opportunity or to insert software or to change anything it would have been Ptech along with Mitre."
- Indira Singh

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/blue-skies-from-pain/

---

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2011/01/04/john-p-wheeler-iii-1944-2010/
Read more: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2011/01/04/john-p-wheeler-iii-1944-2010/#ixzz1AV712fDR

-------------------------

Whoa! There is a whole lot of stuff on Ptech/Mitre and 9/11 on the Internet! Also Dyncorp...and PROMIS software and widespread "surveillance and intervention"

http://www.myspace.com/video/decompartmentalized/indira-singh-on-mitre-and-ptech-pt-2/19484919

Doouble wow! Read this!

http://www.jayseverin.org/page19.html

I gotta quote some of it...

--

In early 2002, Manhattan risk architect Indira Singh was innocently helping JP Morgan Chase find a reputable software company that could help them update their security needs for a post-911 world, when she accidentally discovered that an alleged Saudi terrorist named Yassin Al-Kadi was running a tiny software company out of Quincy, MA, called PTech.

The most shocking part of Singh's discovery was PTech's unbelievable client roster, which included:
The FAA, the USAF, the CIA, FBI, DoJ, Dept of Energy, Customs, Enron, NATO, the Secret Service, and even the White House.

Singh immediately phoned the Boston office of the FBI to notify them that an accused terrorist had gained backdoor access to the highest levels of the U.S. government, but month after month passed by with no apparent action being taken against PTech, until Singh was finally forced to question whether PTech was being protected.

Growing increasingly nervous, Singh began notifying every local, state and federal authority she could think of. But not only did her screaming from the rooftops accomplish almost nothing, she even lost her job at JP Morgan after her bosses there (who evidently enjoyed a considerable Saudi client base) told her to drop the issue, or else.

It quickly became apparent to Singh that she'd stumbled upon a key element of the 9-11 story that was aggressively being covered up by the government, for if the story of PTech's software were to get out, then many, many dots would start being connected regarding how 19 cave dwellers armed only with box cutters had somehow outfoxed the most sophisticated and impenetrable defense systems in the world.

(MORE)

http://www.jayseverin.org/page19.html

-------------------

Ptech was a partner of Mitre. Wheeler worked for Mitre--and ends up as landfill in New Jersey.

Too many "dots"? Dunno. But I'm intrigued--and I sure would like to know what the police were looking under Wheeler's kitchen floorboards (if that report is true).

[Peace Patriot]

46. Okay, so we have what appears to be a standup guy, someone who REALLY cared about soldiers,

who went to a great deal of trouble to honor them, who was known for his passions such as the Vietnam Vets Memorial and various other causes, a top consultant to the AF and the Defense Department, highly connected, nearing retirement, and he takes a consultant job at Mitre Corporation, one time partner of Ptech--replete with connections to Saudi businessmen and known terrorists--running the software on 9/11...

And we have Indira Singh, who stumbles upon the known terrorist name at Ptech, and tries with all-out effort to get the story covered by a reputable newsman, convinces someone to cover it, and he gets told by his bosses that the government wants him to hold off until the FBI finishes investigating Ptech. Years pass and all the FBI comes up with is a dirty loan charge against Ptech.

And Wheeler turns up murdered, after a series of mysterious events and actions over several days time, that defy explanation. Missing for several days, not where he said he was going to be, caught on vid looking disheveled and disoriented, has talked to people (and refused help) at five different locations, then vanishes and his body is found at a landfill.

WHAT THE HECK WAS GOING ON WITH THIS MAN?

Information is drying up fast--not even a cause of death yet--as the more dramatic story of the shootings in Arizona hits the airwaves.

Is our attention being manipulated? Is that a 'dot' I should forget about? I dunno.

Was Wheeler onto something--9/11 or something else? That's what it feels like. But again, I don't know, you don't know, none of us knows--and how can we trust anything from a government that clearly made a deal to "forget" Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld war crimes?