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witch_doctor1 ago

I think I found something interesting in the old T_D thread that does not make sense.... http://tribune.com.pk/story/683575/no-us-visa-for-pakistani-mangoes/

The HRC email in question from 2011 makes it sound like Mary Beth Goodman and her "partners in crime" had successfully created a pathway for mangoes into the US, but the linked 2014 article says otherwise.

This can only mean two things: 1) Mango is indeed code for something. 2) The article is incorrect.

EDIT: Here is another article from 2014 that talks about a company selling Pakistani mangoes for the first time in the US and that the certification process was completed in only 3 months... http://tribune.com.pk/story/723311/broadening-horizons-pakistani-mangoes-make-their-way-into-us-households/

EDIT #2: HuffPo article from 2011 talking about the first mango shipments to Chicago and that the cost was high. So this supports my theory that they set up a legit looking import scheme that could be used to transport something not legit. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/17/pakistani-mangoes_n_929548.html

sensitive ago

Can this part of the article explain this? What do you think?

"To address this problem, Islamabad and Washington agreed that irradiation was the best treatment, according to Armstrong. In 2010, both countries agreed that the best option was to utilise irradiation facilities in the US. To facilitate this, the USDA created a first of its kind system to allow safe import and irradiation of Pakistani mangoes in the US. Currently, one private facility in Iowa is available for irradiation of mangoes from Pakistan.

But this option is economically not viable for Pakistani exporters. "

witch_doctor1 ago

Yes, this is the "phyto sanitation" referred to in the email. Again, this looks legit on the surface, but it doesn't make sense and/or looks fishy because HRC is involved. First of all Pakistan of all places...and SOS being closely involved, seems like this would be beneath her unless she needed a legit appearing way to transport something illegal into the US. Hence the "coercion" by Amb. Holbrooke. If we can find any other nefarious behavior by Holbrooke, Goodman, Gilkey or Carroll, then this might have some legs. Also, who knows what the next Wikileaks dump holds? I can guarantee you that mango will be my first search term when it happens.