(Reuters) Brian Winter and Nicolas Misculin - President Cristina Fernandez has portrayed Argentina's spy agency, the Intelligence Secretariat (SI), as sinister and possibly responsible for the mysterious death of Alberto Nisman, the chief prosecutor investigating the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association. But sources close to both the agency and Fernandez's government tell Reuters that Fernandez has been in open conflict with her own spy agency for two years, following a deal in which she enlisted Iran's help to investigate the bombing that killed 85 people. Some of the spy agency's leaders felt betrayed by the deal. They had spent many years helping prosecutors build the case against Iran, and saw Fernandez's agreement as an attempt to whitewash their investigation. "It was like she switched sides...and was suddenly friends with Iran," the source said. "That's what this is all about." Many Jewish groups and others believed the deal with Iran signaled the end of Argentina's willingness to pursue the AMIA case. The American Jewish Committee compared it to "asking Nazi Germany to help establish the facts of Kristallnacht." A government official told Reuters the SI's leaders were lashing out at Fernandez because they were loyal to U.S. and Israeli intelligence.
2015-01-30 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive