Pr Diana - US intelligence files - French gangsters in tunnel

,snipped for clarity> were 'classified because their disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security'.

I don't know about all the rest of the post, but I have to wonder: why would the NSA possibly see fit to have 'a large file' on the Princess of Wales, let alone with 39 pages that needed to be 'classified'?

She hob-nobbed with a lot of our famous political figures, and attended White House parties and dinners and such, so I'm sure that even though the Brits are one of our allies, of course we had to 'make sure it was safe to let her loose amongst our politicians' (or whatever they refer to that process regarding dignitaries as). She *did* spend times in the WH with the Clintons, certainly I remember reading that. Which would mean the usual security clearences needed to be in order. But really

<snip>

Once again, I can't fault your assiduousness in tracking down articles from as far away as Pakistan. But I can't for the life of me see why the French underworld might want to see Diana dead. Land mines? I thought gangsters dealt in much more accessible, and tradeable weapons.

Oliver

perhaps it may be necessary to generate some 'lightening conductors' over the next few months and mysterious underworld figures could fit the bill. No doubt we'll be treated to 'arms dealing/ al fayed/ gangster connections' type revelations in the near future!

A French gangster connection has been mentioned before. The 'National Enquirer' (3 July 2001) reported that some photographs show 'a shadowy figure from the French underworld' peering over the wreckage, having been one of the first people on the scene of the crash. They say that 'some sources' say that in the 1980s he helped 'British security' watch 'Irish terrorists' in France and Holland. The new info is that such photographic evidence is in the NSA file.

BTW re. the 'Three Unidentified Businessmen' with whom they were reportedly planning to dine, two are said to have been French and one

[snip]

It is very likely that 'wreckage observer' was seen by a source who happened to be in the pub when the car crashed and who passed this information straight on to the National Enquirer correspondent who was sitting next to him. A nice scoop and it took only a few beers to get it!

(rest of post and Guardian articles snipped)

No. The articles you posted were the kinds of things that could be clipped from the investigative reporting of most journalists in the western press. I realize that the material was prepared by the people you state, but, in my experience, this 'intelligence' is the kind of background material culled from press clippings and press releases that is merely classified as 'background'. It would have been of minor interest to the folks in the US resopnsible for that country's opposition to the land mine treaty, but not much else.

Diana was pursuing a legal activity for fund raising purposes, and despite the US intelligence community's obsession on info gathering, this description of tea parties and coffee klatches is not exactly the kind of stuff that would get the CIA and MI6 excited. No, their attention was on more meatier stuff.

<snip>

Just on this point...some very important intelligence can be gathered from who speaks to whom and what they say, at such parties. Intelligence is, after all, all about top people and their greed for profits.