William F. Buckley

[John Simkin]

William Francis Buckley was born in Medford, Massachusetts, on 30th May, 1928. He joined the United States Army in 1947. He later attended Officers Candidate School and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. Buckley also attended Intelligence School at Oberammergau, Germany.

Buckley served as a company commander with the 1st Cavalry Division during the Korean War. In 1955 Buckley joined the Central Intelligence Agency. According to official records he left two years later and after graduating from Boston University he was employed as a librarian in Lexington.

In 1960 Buckley joined the 320th Special Forces Detachment. Promoted to the rank of colonel he served in Vietnam as a Senior Advisor to the ARVN.

Buckley rejoined the CIA and served in Mexico in 1963. According to one source, Buckley was recruited by Ted Shackley and joined his Secret Team that had been involved with Edwin Wilson, Thomas Clines, Carl E. Jenkins, Raphael Quintero, Felix Rodriguez and Luis Posada, in the CIA “assassination” program.

Buckley served with the CIA in Vietnam (1965-1970), Zaire (1970-1972), Cambodia (1972), Egypt (1972-1978), and Pakistan (1978-1979). It is believed he worked with William Casey in the secret negotiations that had taken place with the Iranians on behalf of Ronald Reagan during the 1980 presidential elections.

In 1983 Buckley became CIA station chief in Beirut. On 16th March, 1984, Buckley was kidnapped by the Hezbollah, a fundamentalist Shiite group with strong links to the Khomeini regime. Buckley was tortured and it was soon discovered that he was a senior CIA officer. Buckley eventually signed a 400 page statement detailing his activities in the CIA. He was also videotaped making this confession. William Casey asked Ted Shackley for help in obtaining Buckley’s freedom.

Three weeks after Buckley’s disappearance, President Ronald Reagan signed the National Security Decision Directive 138. This directive was drafted by Oliver North and outlined plans on how to get the American hostages released from Iran and to “neutralize” terrorist threats from countries such as Nicaragua. This new secret counterterrorist task force was to be headed by Shackley’s old friend, General Richard Secord. This was the beginning of the Iran-Contra deal.

Talks had already started about exchanging American hostages for arms. On 30th August, 1985, Israel shipped 100 TOW missiles to Iran. On 14th September they received another 408 missiles from Israel. The Israelis made a profit of $3 million on the deal.

In October, 1985, Congress agreed to vote 27 million dollars in non-lethal aid for the Contras in Nicaragua. However, members of the Ronald Reagan administration decided to use this money to provide weapons to the Contras and the Mujahideen in Afghanistan.

The following month, Ted Shackley traveled to Hamburg where he met General Manucher Hashemi, the former head of SAVAK’s counterintelligence division at the Atlantic Hotel. Also at the meeting on 22nd November was Manuchehr Ghorbanifar. According to the report of this meeting that Shackley sent to the CIA, Ghorbanifar had “fantastic” contacts with Iran.

At the meeting Shackley told Hashemi and Ghorbanifar that the United States was willing to discuss arms shipments in exchange for the four Americans kidnapped in Lebanon. The problem with the proposed deal was that Buckley was already dead (he had died of a heart-attack while being tortured).

His body was returned to the United States on December 28, 1991 and he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

[Len Colby]

John,

Was he related to the other William F. Buckley? Coincidentally the columnist was also born in the 20s in a "Blue state" became a 2nd Lieutenant in the 40's, and worked with the CIA in Mexico in the 60's..

[John Simkin]

John,

Was he related to the other William F. Buckley? Coincidentally the columnist was also born in the 20s in a "Blue state" became a 2nd Lieutenant in the 40's, and worked with the CIA in Mexico in the 60's..

The two men are often confused. William Frank Buckley was born in Texas on 24th November, 1925. He joined the CIA in 1951 and like his namesake did serve in Mexico. However, he officially left the CIA in 1952.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKbuckleyW.htm

[Mark Knight]

I find it awfully "convenient" [in the SNL "Church Lady" context of the word] that the CIA had multiple Bill Buckleys AND multiple George Bushs on the payroll at the same time...

[Len Colby]

John,

Was he related to the other William F. Buckley? Coincidentally the columnist was also born in the 20s in a "Blue state" became a 2nd Lieutenant in the 40's, and worked with the CIA in Mexico in the 60's..

The two men are often confused. William Frank Buckley was born in Texas on 24th November, 1925. He joined the CIA in 1951 and like his namesake did serve in Mexico. However, he officially left the CIA in 1952.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKbuckleyW.htm

Three sources I looked at listed Buckley's birthplace as New York. I thought I read somewhere that he rejoined the CIA in the 60s but don't remember where.

Edited December 28, 2005 by Len Colby

[Tim Carroll]

Buckley rejoined the CIA and served in Mexico in 1963. According to one source, Buckley was recruited by Ted Shackley and joined his Secret Team that had been involved with Edwin Wilson, Thomas Clines, Carl E. Jenkins, Raphael Quintero, Felix Rodriguez and Luis Posada, in the CIA “assassination” program.... Buckley served with the CIA in Vietnam (1965-1970), Zaire (1970-1972), Cambodia (1972), Egypt (1972-1978), and Pakistan (1978-1979). It is believed he worked with William Casey in the secret negotiations that had taken place with the Iranians on behalf of Ronald Reagan during the 1980 presidential elections. In 1983 Buckley became CIA station chief in Beirut. On 16th March, 1984, Buckley was kidnapped by the Hezbollah, a fundamentalist Shiite group with strong links to the Khomeini regime. Buckley was tortured and it was soon discovered that he was a senior CIA officer. Buckley eventually signed a 400 page statement detailing his activities in the CIA. He was also videotaped making this confession. William Casey asked Ted Shackley for help in obtaining Buckley’s freedom.

It does seem that the highest levels of the U.S. government went fairly berserk over the signed and videotaped confession of Buckley in Beirut. Iran has exerted a strong leverage over Western policy since that time, including the provision of TOW missiles in the 1980's and continuing to the present service in Iraq, including the removal of the secular leader and the promotion of democracy for a Shiite majority favorable to Iran, and far more disposed toward religious fundamentalism than political transparency.

Tim

[John Simkin]

Three sources I looked at listed Buckley's birthplace as New York. I thought I read somewhere that he rejoined the CIA in the 60s but don't remember where.

He might have been born in New York but he was raised in Texas where his father ran his oil business.

Officially, Buckley, the journalist, never rejoined the CIA. However, some people, including me, don't believe he actually ever left the CIA.

My copy of Joe Trento’s Prelude to Terror was delivered this morning. It is based largely on interviews with Edwin Wilson after he was released from prison last year. Wilson told Trento that Buckley was "one of Shackley's oldest and dearest friends."

According to Leslie Cockburn (Out of Control) Buckley "had to approve CIA assassinations undertaken by the Shackley organizations".