Monday, December 3, 2012

Time to ask hard questions about death of Zurab Zhvania, was it murder?

FBI agent’s involvement in the cover-up of Zurab Zhvania’s likely murder

Это не только твоя подруга, она подруга для всех ! !

FBI-მ დაფარა ჟვანიას მკვლელობა
როგორც უკვე ცნობილი გახდა მას მედიის საშუალებით ზურაბ ჟვანიას სიკვდილის საქმე თავიდან იქნება გამოძიებული. გთხოვ, თუკი გაქვს ისეთი მასალა ამ საქმესთან დაკავშირებით რომელიც გამოძიებას გამოადგება არ დაიზარო და გადაეცი მათ ეს მასალა. დაეხმარე გამოძიებას სიმართლის დადაგენაში. მე ვიცი შენ ჩვენი ქვეყნისთვიs მხოლოდ კარგი გინდა.ეს სიმართლე არ დაიმალება და ასე უკეთესი იქნება ორივე ქვეყნისთვის.
“As is known already from the TV the investigation into Zurab Zhvania’s death will be reopened. I kindly ask that if you have information which is of any assistance to the investigation please do not hesitate, do cooperate with the investigation. Please help them find the truth; I know that you wish only good for our country. This will be for the good for both countries; the truth cannot be covered up forever.”

“Let Georgia’s PM be sacrificed for more important issues.”
… now is the time to ask hard questions about PM Zurab Zhvania
Jeffrey Silverman – Tbilisi Georgia
It was an accident – or so it was called, the tragic event of February
3, 2005: the 'accidental' death by 'gas poisoning' of Zurab Zhvania,
aged 41, the Georgian Prime Minister. But I am not one to believe in
such a fate, especially in the light of all the media spin surrounding
the case, and how many Georgians politicians and potential leaders, such
as Merab Kostava, Giorgi Chanturia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Badri
Patarkatsishvili etc., have died before their time.
Many examples can be found in other countries of Prime Ministers dying
prematurely in office. Most of these deaths can hardly be considered
accidents. In the case of Zurab Zhvania, I suggest that there is more
to the matter than the official record shows – or will ever show!

Up next - the investigation into the possible murder and cover up of the
then serving Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania in 2005. These are kind of
things which make Misha's attempts to cling onto power before the
election, and his now (treasonable?) attempts to destabilize his own
country by continually trying to undermine the new government with
pieces like this completely understandable. He and his dwindling band of
thieves are desperately trying to escape justice for their crimes, is
murder another crime that some will seek to escape? When Boris Ivanishvili, broke onto the political scene he said that he
would establish a level of democracy in Georgia which would "astonish"
Europe. His problem is that he really wants to do that and the only
thing which is in his way are attitudes such as those of the EU/US/NATO
officials who can see that he means "real" democracy and that to do that
he MUST root out all of the bad guys, corruption & nepotism which are
the first barriers he and his team face.

Legal attaché of the U.S. Embassy

“OK, let's see” - I cannot provide the names of the contract killers identified to me by a representative of Ajarian Police Intelligence some years ago at this time, and I was not a witness to Zhvania's death, but the behavior of the US Embassy of this raises many questions, as it is very, very suspicious. I hope to conduct an interview with Giorgi, Zurab Zhvania’s brother, soon – share some information; I had been waiting for my translator to get back from Europe and connect, and it is again wait - this is Georgia. My immediate plan is to go and talk to the neighbors of FBI agent Bryan
Paarmann, former legal attaché to the U.S. Embassy at the time, who was
centre stage in several breaking news stories during his short but
eventful tenure in Tbilisi. I want to learn more about his colorful
time in Tbilisi. I already know how Brian spent his leisure time – he
was a regular at various strip clubs, chased young sex workers and hung
out in the Western bars, Hanger and Smugglers, notorious as sleazy
commercial sex outlets. Another one of his favorite places was the
Striptease Club across the street from Public TV, First Channel,
“Pirveli Arkhi” in the Saburtalo region. I used to work there, at the TV
station that is!!!

The Smugglers Bar, now out of business, is where this story originated
back in 2005. This was the popular “rent-a-chick bar” frequented by US
Embassy staff members and others working in the NGO community – and one
of Brian’s favorite watering hole. I also understand from former bar
staff there, and others in Tbilisi, that he finally caught one of the
fine ladies of Russian origin he had been chasing – or it might be
better said that she caught him; both are now living happily ever after
in the United States as man and wife.

I starting investigating Bryan Paarmann after one of his former
girlfriends, let’s call her Eka, a Georgian, and others who knew him
personally from 2005 on-wards starting spilling the beans. I learned
that this FBI agent had especially arranged for Eka to be fired from her
job so that he would force her to be financially dependent on him. She
was not, to say the least, a member of his fan club – perhaps she had
high hopes for romance, and America as the final reward for putting up
with his antics – but another woman came along and pushed her aside.

Eka told me, when all this was still fresh, that she was almost certain
that he was involved in covering up Zurab Zhvania's murder. "I don't
know if Bryan was directly involved in the murder but I know for certain
that she was involved in covering it up." I could not simply take her statements at face value, but Eka also told
me small details about his life, motivations, about him growing up in
Mississippi, being a graduate of West Point (the American Military
Academy) and how he was adopted and had eventually gone crazy over some
Russian woman, Victoria, the competitor who ultimately became his wife. Her story checked out.

A few weeks earlier I had made a joke to Bryan Paarmann in front of his
American Embassy friends about his new girlfriend’s profession. I had
tracked him down a few days after he had had me kidnapped off the street
and beaten by Georgian Security. To try to change the direction of our
conversation, being there in front of many Embassy staffers in
Smugglers, he introduced his soon-to-be-wife, as his girlfriend. I
sarcastically responded, after eyeing her over from head to toe [я
смерил её глазом с ног до головы ], “Это не только твоя подруга, она
подруга для всех - “not only your girlfriend but everybody’s
girlfriend!”

We had been in the middle of a heated discussion over things he had been
doing which were apparently related to Zhvania’s death, having me picked
up and beaten after I had crossed the border from Azerbaijan on my old
Georgian passport. I had learned this favor was done on his his personal
request, or perhaps it came from one of his higher ups, I had been under
close surveillance for some time; I had already been grabbed in the
middle of the street and pushed into a car in broad daylight on the way
to work one morning a few days before – in front of my Georgian wife’s
neighbors and others who knew me. The motivation was clear, as I was
writing some interesting articles in this period. As for the motivation for this, it is hard to say: I had been digging
into the activities of American funded NGOs in East Georgia, ostensibly
rural credit unions, ACDI/VOCA,, and how the US government was funding
Chechen fighters, “Boyeviks”, under the guise of a “Food for Peace
Program” being conducted under the auspices of the United States
Department of Agriculture in Georgia. The rural credit program was
being used as a slush fund to buy weapons and provide financial support
for Chechens operating out of the Pankisi Gorge in East Georgia. I had
also visited some Azeri villages in East Georgia and had perhaps been
asking too many questions about Raul Yusupov, the Deputy Governor of the
Kvemo-Kartli region. He too was found dead with Zurab Zurab on that same
dreadful day.

Through my contacts in the US Embassy and intelligence community,
especially friends in the French Embassy, I was able to track down Bryan
to have a face-to-face discussion about why he had had me grabbed off
the street and beaten at the office of Georgian counterintelligence
organization SOD, the “Modulis Shenoba” on Vajza Pshavela Avenue. Paarmann, being very arrogant, started out by admitting to having had me
“picked up” off the street – to see what I was doing, and suggesting
that I come to the Embassy and talk to him. He then continued by mocking
my articles, published in “Azerbaijan Today”, a regional magazine, about
US foreign policy. I was its Editor-in-Chief at the time.

Bryan Paarmann said, “I have read your fucking articles (sic) and I know
more about your life than you know yourself, and at least you are not a
pedophile (someone who likes young children).” He added, “If you were a
threat I would have you put on a flight back to the US in chains, but I
guess it is your Constitutional right to write such articles.” These
articles were not very complementary of the policies of the George Bush
Jr. Administration, or his intellectual abilities, and predicated his
eventual failure.

The argument ended when his FBI partner, who was drunk at the time,
attacked me over my remark about Bryan’s Russian beauty, as he
understood what I had said in Russian, - “not only your girlfriend but
everybody’s girlfriend!” He took a swing and hit a beer bottle I was
holding, chipping my teeth and splashing the beer in my face.

This man was at least half my age and about twice my size. In reaction,
and without thinking, I broke a beer bottle over his head, and soon only
the glass neck of the bottle remained in my hand, blood and beer mixed
together splattering the floor and wall of the bar. The agent ended up
on the floor in a pool of blood. Incidentally, Bryan had bought me the
beer.

Those in the Georgian National Security Agency and other investigative
bodies thought it funny that Americans were going after one another,
like in the movies, both of us being former US Army. However, they
refused to do anything about it, and Georgian witnesses would not say
anything, much to the disappointment of the US Embassy staff, who were
trying to push the issue – the Georgian side apparently knew this was
something that smelled very bad “dampali” – something they didn’t want
to stir too much (არ გაქექოს ნაგავი/მძღნერი). Their request for action
went as high as the Georgian National Security Council, and the incident
was the talk of the town for a while, but it was soon forgotten,
especially after Bryan left Georgia for Ukraine.

To cut a long story short: FBI Agent Bryan Paarmann’s three-year
contract to work in Georgia was soon terminated or cut short, as he was
sent, apparently shipped off, to Ukraine, perhaps as a means of damage
control, not related to our encounter but more likely related to the
press over the PM and the Iranian gas heater. Within the next year he
back to the US. Incidentally, coincidence or not, he was subsequently
promoted to a very high position at FBI Headquarters, the J. Edgar
Hoover Building, in Washington DC.

This career move may be related to Zurab Zhvania’s case, or him being
the key investigator of the so-called murder attempt on George W. Bush.
The so called murder attempt on GWB was yet another stage performance,
at least in my opinion as part of the circus that is Georgia; such
things are scripted, and by outsiders. I have my doubts about the
official version, and I am not the only one. The last I heard, Bryan
had married the Russian, Victoria, although some claim that she was
never officially divorced. They are now living happily ever after in the
United States; good riddance to them both!

I also suspect that his removal/promotion to the US was related to all
the things Paarmann had been involved with here in Tbilisi, the PR – as
a “media spin doctor” - claiming that an Iranian gas heater was at
fault in Zhvania's death, when talking to the media a few days later.

The deadly beast in question is sometimes referred to as a “badly
installed Iran-made heater” or an “Iranian heater that was recently
installed ignoring safety codes,” but, oddly, when a Georgian official
is speaking, they inevitably bring up the fact that the heater was from
Iran, as if that country itself is somehow to blame. Even back then it
appeared that all those talking were on the payroll of George W. Bush,
milking this divine opportunity to subliminally paint Iran in a bad
light.
PART 2

Do Americans often gas their politicians? ხშირად წამლავენ გაზით ამერიკელები თავიანთ პოლიტიკოსებს?

Bryan Paarmann, the legal attaché of the U.S. Embassy in Georgia, even
told one journalist who I know professionally, and who occasionally
works with me, that it was "certainly a gas heater" at fault and was not
foul play (murder), and how many people die this way in the United
States each year.
THIS WILL NEED TO BE TRANSLATION

თუმცა როდესაც ჟვანია გარდაიცვალა, მე ის ვნახე ქართულ
ტელევიზიებში , როგორ აძლევდა კომენტარს , როგორც საქართველოში
მოღვაწე ეფბიაის აგენტი და განმარტავდა, რომ გაზით მოწამვლის
შემთხვევები ასევე ხშირია ისეთ ქვეყანაშიც კი როგორიც
ამერიკაა.
მას შემდეგ რაც მე და ჩემმა მეგობრმა ვნახეთ და მოვისმინეთ მისი კომენტარი, ჩვენ მას დავუკავშირდით და ამის შემდეგ ერთხელ შევგვხდა , შეხვედრის დროს მე მას ვუთხარი რომ ჟვანიას გარდაცვალების დეტალები ძალიან ბუნდოვანი, საეჭვეო, იყო და რომ ამ ფაქტის ირგვლივ უამრავი პასუხგაუცემელი კითხვები იყო. დეტალურად არ მახსოვს ის არგუმენტები რომელიც მასთან მომყავდა . რაზეც მან მიპასუხა , რომ მე საკმაოდ ახალგაზრდა და ბავშვიც კი ვიყავი და რომ ასეთ რაღაცეებს ვერ მივხდებოდი ...., და მისი არგუმენტიც და პასუხიც თითქმის იგივე იყო რაც, სატელევიზიო კომენტარში.
თუმცა მას შემდეგ რაც მე მას პირდაპირ მივახალე ის რასაც ძალიან ბევრი ადამაინი ფიქრობდა იმ პერიოდში და იმ ეჭვებზეც ვესაუბრე რაც არსებობდა , ცოტა არ იყოს შემეშინდა მისი თანამდებობიდან გამომდინარე და გადავწვიტე ბოლოს მისთვის საამებელი სიტყვები მეთქვა და ასეთი რამ ვუთხარი , რომ მისი კომენტარი უფრო დამაჯერებელი იყო ვიდრე იმდროინდელი შინაგან საქმეთა მინისტრის ვანო მერაბიშვილის , რაც მას ძალიან ესიამოვნა. გარკვეული ხანი ჩვენ გვქონდა კონტაქტი, თუმცა მოგვიანებით როცა მან გაიგო, რომ მე ჟურნალისტად დავიწყე მუშოაბა მას , ის აღარ დამკონტაქტებია. Bryan Paarmann also announced to the media on Georgian TV that American
forensic experts had found no evidence that contradicted the initial
conclusions of their Georgian colleagues and there was "no reason
whatsoever to allege that a third party was involved in the incident.”
Cover up worse than the crime!

In the final analysis, the cover-up may prove even more revealing than
the crime itself. Why were they so quick to come to the conclusion about
the gas heater, and it being an accident – even without going into all
that cloak and dagger stuff?! Some years later I learned that the FBI
in the United States had been involved in my own case – either due to me whacking an FBI agent on the head with a beer bottle or because of
my revealing articles – or perhaps a combination of motives, but
certainly they had been checking up on me in the United States.
My 22-year old son’s mother wrote to me, “I had two FBI agents visit me
at my job in Kentucky. One was Detective Greg Wolf and the other was Mr.
Steve Auvenshine. They came to my work site and told me they were
investigating you but wouldn’t tell me why. They asked numerous
questions about you and what you did for a living. “They showed me a picture of you and asked if it was you. They asked me questions about how we met, where you have lived, where you were born, who your parents were and what did they do for a living, whether they were still alive or not, what countries you had visited, what languages you spoke, how long you had visited each country, what religion you practiced and if you had ever been in the military. I asked them why they were asking so many questions about you but they would not say. I think they already knew all the answers to all the questions they asked me; I think they just wanted to see if I would verify what they knew. They also wanted me to send all the e-mails that you had sent me to them. Bourbon County [the local authority] said that they were already sending all the e-mails they receive from you to the US State Department.”

Zurab Zhvania had one saving grace (მას ერთი უპირატესობა ჰქონდა): his
consistent belief in the value of stability and Georgian statehood at
all costs. Ironically enough, many in Georgia, including myself, think
it was this desire – to preserve stability-at all costs, and do what was
in the best interests of Georgia – which probably got him murdered. One
thing is certain, what little I know about Zurab Zhvania, or what I
know about Georgia and US foreign policy, has raised some flags (with
the US Embassy and with the intelligence community back in the United
States).

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