West Asia News and Discussions

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 14 Feb 2010 03:33

Gulf News weekend special. Very interesting article.
The man behind the scenes

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 15 Feb 2010 23:11

Guys, can some knowledgeable member please explain what TSP received from the US during the BCCI period?

Secondly, US has opened a front against AQAP in Yemen. US told Yemeni foreign min to stop war against the houthi's and focus on AQAP. Problem is the army is headed by PM's distant cousin, and he is gaining stature and army is loyal to him, but US doesn't like him because he has close ties with the extremists.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 16 Feb 2010 11:36

deleted - copyright

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 16 Feb 2010 12:26

From Aljazeera: Iran sanctions raise Saudi doubts

Speaking at a news conference on Monday in Riyadh with Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, Prince Saud al-Faisal said the threat posed by Iran's nuclear ambitions demanded a more immediate solution than sanctions.

Al-Faisal described sanctions as a long-term solution, and said the threat is more pressing.

What does he means, bombing and war by kaffir Israel and US on less pious Iran. IMO, there is no concept of ummah, only political gains in the name of religion.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 16 Feb 2010 12:48

Another report says Mossad agents used false Brit. passports.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/

Yet another mysterious death of an alleged Mossad spy who was writing his memoirs,an expose of Arab-Israeli espionage.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 16 Feb 2010 16:48

Bahrain supports India-Pakistan talks

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 16 Feb 2010 18:26

The blonde 'assassin': Hunt for 'hit squad' with British passports accused of executing senior Hamas leader in 5-star hotel

Ireland: Dubai's 3 'Irish' assassins are fictional

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 16 Feb 2010 19:02

^^ My post on 10th Feb

The Dubai police, directed by General Dhahi Khalfan al-Tamimi, have established that the assassination was the work of a

Dubai police are refusing to let Hamas get involved in the investigation, but they have asked Jordanian and Egyptian intelligence services as well as Interpol to help. Although it has been shut out of the investigation, Hamas is carrying out its own probe into al-Mabhouh's death, led by Moussa Abu Marzuk. The police have reconstructed al-Mabhouh's movements from the time he arrived in Dubai January 19 on Emirates' flight EK912 from Damascus till he was found dead at room 130 of Hotel Rotana. (My comment: Whole of Dubai is filled with CCTV camera's). The Hamas official, in charge of buying and transporting arms, arrived at the hotel at 4.30pm. At 5pm he went to the Iranian Consulate. Helping him are Syrian and Iranian officials who were in contact with al-Mabhouh until the day he died. Hamas was quick to point the finger at Israel's Mossad. Al Mabhouh's demise is a big loss for Hamas operationally: he had perfected the the transportation of arms to the Gaza strip via Sudan and Sinai desert routes protected by Egyptian Bedouins. The arms would find their way into Gaza via underground contraband tunnels crossing

So far Dubai Police say it was a 10 person commando team that included three blonde women who came into who came into the country on European passports(My comment: smells like an israeli op to me). The State Security of AbudHabi Sheikh Hazaa bin Zayed alNahyan is in charge of the investigation.

(My Comment: I think this op was planned because Abu Dhabi/US were forcing Dubai to cut ties with Israel, therefore, Israel thought, what the hell, we got nothing to lose. Dubai thrives on the fact that it is a safe place to visit for tourism and business. I recall, in the last underworld shooting, Sheikh Mohd was seriously pissed off and sent a serious warning not to mess about to Dawood)

Just adding onto the above: At 5pm he went to the Iranian Consulate and he returned to his room at 9 p.m. Aftwer which one of the women in the team, dressed as a hotel receptionist, knocked on his door. Mabhou opened the door and was electrocuted and then strangled before being injected with a substance that induced cardiac arrest.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 16 Feb 2010 21:37

Qatar, Iran to sign key agreements

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenejad and other officials.

Sahrabi said Qatar, Iran and Bahrain had reached an initial agreement on the maritime boundary issue. However, they will later set a date on when to sign the agreement.
"The agreement will include a map of the borders of Qatar, Bahrain and Iran," he said.
Sahrabi also added that the two countries are likely to sign a security agreement during a planned visit of the Iranian Interior Minister Mustafa Mohammad Al Najjar to Doha.

Qatar going the Oman way. Looks like GCC making peace with Iran.

-----------
UK FCO, French and German foreign ministries say passports are fake. The Israeli's are very good at what they do. Passports must be faked very well and it just shows that the biometric chips can easily be faked. The chaps look like Israeli soldiers, with their case officers.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 17 Feb 2010 03:00

Shyamd,
From the intel thread....

jerry wrote:"a bunch of madmen are best convinced if randomly one or two are electrocuted and beaten to death by unknown people in the night. this is what the zionists did to the hamas arms agent in
dubai recently.

'talk if you want to but make sure to inflict pain too." Quote Singha

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime ... g-1.583814
Very interesting video of reconstruction of a assination in dubai of a hamas leader by suspected isreali agents.
Some interesting details.

1. Within 24hrs a team of more than 11 individuals entered the country,executed the hamas leader in 20 minutes and later
left the country.
2. The team arrived at the airport at various intervals stayed in different hotels paid all expenses in cash.
3. Their communication tools were highly sophisticated and coded and encrypted not seen or available by the police.
4. The video shows, its a classic thorough operation which mossad is so famous for.
5. It also shows how professional and thorough the uae authorities are in their investigation.
6. The police chief says "we know where they are right now even their residences and will ask the European countries to cooperate, but if they refuse we will also reduce our cooperation with these countries.

(shows even small countries don't let go easily)

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 17 Feb 2010 04:20

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/fe ... k-citizens

Not too sure the dubai police really know what happened

The Irish and Germans claim the passports are non existent

The Brits have not said anything whihc probably means they are valid EXCEPT 3 Brit Israelis have claimed those -

-

Nothing from French

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 17 Feb 2010 07:32

This has been doing the rounds with strategic circles in the GCC.
Babylon & Beyond
Observations from Iraq, Iran,Israel, the Arab world and beyond

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 17 Feb 2010 08:50

New Hints of Skulduggery in Hamas Killing

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/world ... dubai.html

Chinmayanand · Post by **Chinmayanand** » 17 Feb 2010 16:38

Saudi prince held over murder in five star London hotel room

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 17 Feb 2010 18:49

Britons had passport details stolen by ‘Mossad death squad’
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 029553.ece

"The Times reported on Saturday that Mossad was stepping up covert operations across the Middle East. Gad Shimron, a former Mossad field agent, told The Times that elements of the Dubai killing bore a striking resemblance to past operations. Computerisation has made producing convincing fake papers more difficult, possibly accounting for the use of stolen rather than fabricated identities, he said. "

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ports.html

Dubai Hamas assassination: a smiling killer and mystery of forged UK passports
Britain and Israel are heading towards a highly sensitive diplomatic row after alleged assassins used forged British passports on a mission to kill a Hamas military commander

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 17 Feb 2010 18:55

Basically, the Israeli's wanted everyone to know that they did it, as a warning to others. It cant get more obvious when you read the statements from the PA and Dahlan.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 18 Feb 2010 01:15

Serious crime squad heads UK inquiry into Dubai killing

Well done to Sh. Mo who I am sure was instrumental in pulling this googly on the Israeli's. I am not sure if Israel thought that the Dubai/Abu Dhabi thinkers would make a big deal out of this. Now, I wonder what Israeli's got under their sleeves? Israeli ambassador has just been called to London for a cussing from the FCO I am sure. But alas there will be some sort of face saving measure. Thing is, these operations by Mossad are signed off by the Israeli PM. So, responsibility will rest with him too and I am sure the PM's will be giving Netanyahoooo an ear full.

Abu Dhabi threatened to cease Counter terror co-op with European chaps, and I suppose that got the europeans thinking...

Well done Sheikh Mo or the guy who thought about publicising it. Turned something negative for UAE into something positive.

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 18 Feb 2010 01:22

^ I mean what sort of passport allows a person to have tilted face and smirking like an idiot.

Clearly they just let in anybody holding gora passport, without checking authenticity.

mmasand · Post by **mmasand** » 18 Feb 2010 02:43

shyamd wrote:Serious crime squad heads UK inquiry into Dubai killing

Well done to Sh. Mo who I am sure was instrumental in pulling this googly on the Israeli's. I am not sure if Israel thought that the Dubai/Abu Dhabi thinkers would make a big deal out of this. Now, I wonder what Israeli's got under their sleeves? Israeli ambassador has just been called to London for a cussing from the FCO I am sure. But alas there will be some sort of face saving measure. Thing is, these operations by Mossad are signed off by the Israeli PM. So, responsibility will rest with him too and I am sure the PM's will be giving Netanyahoooo an ear full.

Abu Dhabi threatened to cease Counter terror co-op with European chaps, and I suppose that got the europeans thinking...

Well done Sheikh Mo or the guy who thought about publicising it. Turned something negative for UAE into something positive.

I bet IB & RAW are having a good laugh observing all this.Several front runners or deal makers for these militant outfits are running fronts from Dxb,such as the Shetty brothers for D Company.After all it was at the invitation of Shk Mo after the Babri fiasco that Dawood set base and financial HQ over there and his chief sponsor continues to date be Dhahi Khalfan himself.

The Nahyan brothers must be giving a good piece of their mind to their folks in Dubai for allowing weapon deals to be made on their soil.LeT uses it as a conference ground every summer to seek funding.If anything then the Brits are assisting to rid their involvement so they dont compromise their stand in the PA talks.

The big question which is being avoided is how come the Hamas commander managed to sneak in with a fake passport himself and why wasn't he put on surveillance.I can so see it all coming back to haunt them for all their misdeeds towars the Indians,the numerous occasions Anees Ibrahim was let off after being held for a few minutes.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 18 Feb 2010 02:47

why is there so much rhona-dhona here for knocking off a hamas weapons-dealer?

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 18 Feb 2010 05:13

frankly half the paqui ouseaules are in dubai half the time, cooling off in the 5 star bars with the russian cultural centres. can't be too difficult to pest-e-shaheedize the majority of them into the holy sands of the arabian desert

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 18 Feb 2010 05:35

Firstly, DXB is just showing that any sort of messing around on their territory willnot be tolerated. Now its kicked off a diplomatic spat with the West who are now being threatened with withdrawal of counter terror co-operation. Who is going to suffer? Its Israel. Dubai just turned adversity into opportunity. Now anyone thinking of doing similar stuff in Dubai, will have to think again. India can afford to do things there because Dubai doesnt co-operate with us anyway. Now Abu Dhabi is a different matter. They couldnt do much to Russia either, when they killed the chechen leader.

We need to put some pressure on Abu Dhabi who are more friendly towards India, to put some pressure on Dubai. Dubai wants to be an independent area, where anyone can come and go. Be it the russian mafia or your LeT foot soldier. Dubai is also an important hub for RAW.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 18 Feb 2010 07:47

Err how does Israel lose?? assuming Israel did

Right now only some jawing has happened - lets see where this leads to

Have no sympathy for Dubai\UAE. They deserve it for protecting Dawood all these years.

And obviously they barely check Europeans - and someone exploited this

ldev · Post by **ldev** » 18 Feb 2010 08:17

Facial recognition software is probably linked to the entire CCTV network in Dubai. So the police would have worked backwards from the picture of the women agent knocking on the door in the hotel and then linked that picture to others that the CCTV network picked up of who she came into contact with working back over the preceding 24 hours all the way to the entry of the entire team into DXB.

If this Hamas guy had not been bumped off this kind of clanedestine entry in DXB using false papers (by both sides in this case) which is probably more widespread then believed would not have been highlighted. Its probably a "dont ask dont tell" policy practiced by the DXB authorities.

mmasand · Post by **mmasand** » 18 Feb 2010 11:19

ldev wrote:Facial recognition software is probably linked to the entire CCTV network in Dubai. So the police would have worked backwards from the picture of the women agent knocking on the door in the hotel and then linked that picture to others that the CCTV network picked up of who she came into contact with working back over the preceding 24 hours all the way to the entry of the entire team into DXB.

If this Hamas guy had not been bumped off this kind of clanedestine entry in DXB using false papers (by both sides in this case) which is probably more widespread then believed would not have been highlighted. Its probably a "dont ask dont tell" policy practiced by the DXB authorities.

Facial recognition only used @ the airport,you cannot integrate two platforms especially in this case where various CCTV systems used by the malls,hotels,etc.It is most likely that the taxis's from the airport which gave it away.All airport cabs have GPS and would have recorded the route.Of course the city roads are covered by various cameras for traffic surveillance which would have made it easier to pick up the license plates( all of which is edited in the footage).Also the hotel desks would have kept a record of the passport details so it would have been easier to trace where they stayed while switching hotels.

I think the govt plan has backfired,they thought they could shame Israel, but Hamas screwed it all up by admitting that Mahmoud was there to complete an arms deal.Needless to say that LeT and taliban still do their deals in Dxb.They only rake it up when it suits them.When Dawood's henchmen Sharad Shetty(Anna) was gunned down by Chhota Rajan's hit-men, they tried to keep it under wraps since Shetty had an international warrant issued against his name.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 18 Feb 2010 13:40

The acute embarrassment to the UAE was that the "hit" was carried out on its territory.Traditionally,such hits were carried out in Europe,where EU govts. turned a blind eye to Israeli hit squads because the victims deserved it.In the case of Dubai,which has been in the news for months for all the worng reasons,a city-state which plans to become one of the the world's most important financial centres,this gives investors and MNCs little comfort if foreign agents can simply walk into Dubai and bump off their adversaries.Dubai's promiscuity in dealing with unsavoury elements like harbouring Dawood for decades,has brought it upon itself.
For Israel though,if it can be proven that their nationals were involved,it will be acutely embarrassing, as Britain has promised severing of joint intel with Israel's security establishment.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 031541.ece

Identity thefts threaten links with Israel
Catherine Philp, Michael Evans, Hugh Tomlinson, Dubai

Britain summoned the Israeli Ambassador to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office yesterday, and Gordon Brown promised a full inquiry into the use of fake British passports by a suspected Mossad hit squad.

The Israeli spy agency has emerged as the main suspect in the death of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, the Hamas leader assassinated in his Dubai hotel room last month. The apparent theft of the identities of six British citizens threatens to sour Anglo-Israeli relations, with the Government under pressure to make a strong protest.

Warrants have been issued in Dubai for the arrest of eleven suspects, at least seven of whom carried passports using the stolen identities of Israelis with dual nationalities. Six of them were British citizens living in Israel. They have expressed shock and urged that their names be cleared.

Police in Dubai said yesterday that they were seeking a further six suspects in addition to the original eleven, all of whom fled the emirate.

Related Links
We’re all thrilled by Mossad the movie
Mossad chief is a ‘streetfighter’

IN PICTURES: Hamas chief killed
“We have got to carry out a full investigation,” the Prime Minister told LBC radio. “The evidence has got to be assembled about what has actually happened and how and why, and it is necessary for us to accumulate that evidence before we can make any statements.”

By last night the Government’s line had hardened. “Given the links to Israel of a number of the British nationals affected, there will be a meeting between the permanent under-secretary and the ambassador tomorrow,” the Foreign Office said. “The defrauding of British passports is a very serious issue.” The British Embassy in Tel Aviv was contacting the British passport holders to offer support.

The Serious Organised Crime Agency has been asked to lead the investigation into how the identities were apparently stolen.

The use of the stolen identities has sparked a storm of criticism in Israel. Few Israeli commentators seem in any doubt about Mossad’s involvement.

In the first official comments from Israel on the case, Avigdor Lieberman, the Foreign Minister, told Israeli army radio that Mossad involvement should not be assumed. It was Israel’s policy never to comment on such matters, he said.

Mr Lieberman also played down fears of a diplomatic rift with Britain, adding: “I think Britain recognises that Israel is a responsible country and that our security activity is conducted according to very clear, cautious and responsible rules of the game. Therefore we have no cause for concern.”

British authorities believe that the details used to make the fake passports may have been copied from the bearers’ documents while they were travelling, either by hotel staff or at an immigration desk. Israeli civil rights experts said that if that was the case, Israeli law would have been broken.

Officials in Dubai said that the fake passports had been used for travel in Europe and Asia in the months preceding the killing on January 19.

The new suspects include a woman who was part of the surveillance team in the lobby of the hotel while the murder took place. She had arrived two hours earlier, wearing a tourist sunhat and accompanied by a bearded man in a Panama hat. Another man, part of the core team of seven that carried out the killing, was seen leaving the hotel minutes later with a woman named as Gail Folliard, who was on an Irish passport.

UK calls in Israeli ambassador as Dubai killing row escalatesRelations in Tel Aviv now in 'deep freeze', say British officials

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/fe ... ai-killing

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 19 Feb 2010 01:17

Has UAE answered how Hamas gangster is in Dubai?

I think the UK is pretending to be outraged to ensure petro-Pounds still flow into Londonistan.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 19 Feb 2010 01:36

Right

the poodle has only pretensions left.

At least NZ was fiesty and extracted a public apology.

Now of course from an internal Israeli point of view there are some interesting questions for Israelis to decide. I would think there might more problems internally than externally.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 19 Feb 2010 05:47

Surya wrote:Err how does Israel lose?? assuming Israel did

Israel obviously gains, that its one less terrorist who was a specialist in arms smuggling. Is it really going to stop arms smuggling? I think not. But it will just cause the next guy to be even more wary and paranoid. A lot more than jawing has happened, the UAE has threatened to cut off counter terror co-op, and the intel guys know that UAE is a good partner and has good intel on AQ considering they are still being paid off by the elite.

And obviously they barely check Europeans - and someone exploited this

Airport immigration - its linked to western intel post 9/11. So terrorists started using Doha, which last year began clamping down.

lDevji, use of false papers are quite prevalent, the gora passports are harder to forge. Mabhouh probably entered on a Syrian passport provided by syrian intel or a GCC passport which has carefully kept hidden.

Ramana, Its because of the threat to cut counter terror co-op. Abu Dhabi guy is running the operation, so maybe didnt want to piss the AD guys.

Re the questions relating what Hamas guy was doing there - Oh please, Dubai is a free hub where anyone and everyone can come and use for their financial purposes. Rules and regulation is simple, just dont cause bloodshed/bad press on their turf and you can do what you want. This goes even for AQ types. Every single mafia type, like Russians are operating there under the nose of the govt.
--------------------------
AQ operative arrested in Oman

Washington (CNN) -- Some jihadist Web sites monitored by CNN are warning al Qaeda leaders that a recently captured field commander had more than 300 names and numbers plus important documents on him at the time of his arrest.

A U.S. counterterrorism official confirmed that Abdullah Saleh al-Eidan was captured in Oman in late January and is being held now in Saudi Arabia. The official, who is not authorized to speak on the record because of the sensitive nature of the information, would not comment on what intelligence has been gathered from al-Eidan.
But the official did say al-Eidan was caught as he was carrying information from al Qaeda "central" in the Pakistan/Afghanistan region to its affiliate in Yemen known as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

One of the jihadist Web sites posted a note on January 28 from an unidentified sender to al Qaeda leaders in Yemen and Afghanistan. It said that al-Eidan had been arrested in Oman and that "he had on his person more than 300 numbers and pictures and important names."

The message encouraged the leaders "to change their locations and mobile numbers as soon as possible."

US-Oman-TSP intel cooperation baring fruit. Omani's trying to stop the flow from Karachi into Abyan province in Yemen.

------------------------
IOL says that there will be a interpol warrant on PM Netanyahu who ultimately signed off for the assassination.

Dubai wants head of Mossad arrested over Hamas assassination

Lieutenant-General Dahi Khalfan Tamim called on Interpol, in a statement last night, to issue a red arrest notice seeking Mr Dagan’s extradition “as a killer in case Mossad is proved to be behind the crime, which is most likely now”.

An insider close to the case confirmed that Mr Dagan and Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, are top of the Gulf state’s wanted list.

“Our investigations reveal that Mossad is involved in the murder of al-Mabhouh,” General Tamim said. “It is 99 per cent, if not 100 per cent, that Mossad is standing behind the murder.”

Confirmation that Jordanian intel also part of investigation according to times article.

Israel has long had a far-reaching network of Palestinian collaborators. In the past, defence officials have acknowledged that Israel’s security establishment depends highly on “turning” Palestinians into collaborators using various methods that include blackmail, money or threats.

-------------------------
Israelis warned of terror attacks abroad

Officials in the Counter-terrorism Bureau stressed that the warning was not connected to the attack in the Indian city of Pune over the weekend and that there was no change as yet to the list of countries that Israelis are advised not to visit.

This list includes Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Ivory Coast, Indonesia, Malaysia, Togo, Mali and Burkina Faso.

While some Indian intelligence sources have maintained that the Chabad House in Pune was a probable target of the bomb that went off nearby and killed nine people, the official Israeli position is that there is no evidence of this being the case.

Link

The source, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, said that she had attended the wedding ceremony of Hamas leader Khalid Mishal's son Waleed on Tuesday, which was also attended by Palestinian leadership figures and officials, including leaders of the Fatah movement, in addition to Assistant Secretary General of Syrian Baathist party, Abdullah al-Ahmar. The source said that nobody mentioned the al-Mabhouh case.

The source also said that the mole who revealed information about al-Mabhouh's movements [to his killers] could not have come from Damascus, as al-Mabhouh lived with his family in the Yarmouk refugee camp and operated independently of the Hamas political bureau and leadership. The source said it was most likely that the parties that al-Mabhouh met in Dubai were the ones who reported his movement and information about his travel arrangement and lodgings.

Confirmation of IOL that Musa Abu Marzuk is heading the Hamas investigation in the article. and whats interesting from this source is that they are hinting at Syrian or Iranian mole. IOL said that Mabhouh visited the Iranian consulate and met with Syrians too before returning to the hotel. It was his wife that reported that Mabhouh wasnt answering his phone btw and alerted people to check on him..

More assorted info coming out: Austria's interior ministry said it had launched an investigation into the suspected use of at least seven mobile phones with pre-paid Austrian chips by the suspects.

Dubai Police insist that the passports were genuine and are not fakes.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 19 Feb 2010 08:12

When these guys start halting Dawood types I will have some sympathy for their bleatings.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 19 Feb 2010 16:00

The "moles",turncoats are now reportedly two ex-Fatah members of Abass' org. in this report.Critics of the assassins methods are multiplying,saying that if you chgange the name of the country responsible from Israel to Iran,there would be global outrage and condemnation.Isarael is keeping "mum" about the whole affair,which still has the potential to be a diplomatic "Clouseau".

Mrs.Thatcher years ago suspended intel cooperation with Israel for similar reasons and the Israelis reportedly gave Britain an assurance that British passports would not be used in the future for such illegal activities.Within the Labour party,there are strong critics of Israel's attitude towards the Palestinians over human rights,Jerusalem land grabbing,etc.,as the Palestinians have many friends in the UK's political establishment.In addition,oil speaks in another diplomatic tongue.Interpol has given a global red notice for the alleged assassins,and if it is proved within reason that the Israeli's were involved,then there will definitely be diplomatic repercussions between Britian and Israel.In the election year,Labour cannot afford to get egg on its face over such an incident.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... Dubai.html

Fatah members linked with assassination of Hamas commander in Dubai
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, is facing accusations of collusion with Israel after two former members of his Fatah faction were linked to the assassination of a Hamas commander in Dubai last month.

Making a potentially explosive accusation, Hamas alleged that Ahmad Hasnin and Anwar Shekhaiber are employed by a company whose owner is a top confidante of Mr Abbas, the western-backed leader of the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank.

By Adrian Blomfield in Tel Aviv
19 Feb 2010

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 19 Feb 2010 18:47

As Fisk pointed out in an earlier report,here is a damaging report that Mossad warned/informed the British "before" the hit and that the British "approved" of the hit too by providing genuine passports! If this is true then it would spell severe trouble for Gordon Brown's beleagured govt. in the run-up to the elctions this summer.

http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun ... dubai-hit/

Excerpt,read full report.

Israel Notified British Intelligence Before Hit, Dubai Threatens Arrest Warrant for Mossad Chief

Robert Fisk’s recent provocative column claiming that Britain may have colluded with the Mossad in the Dubai assassination by providing genuine British passports (rather than the “clones” that are claimed) has been borne out in one small particular.

The Daily Mail reports that the Mossad notified British intelligence before it carried out the al-Mabouh assassination that the killers would be using British passports. But what astonishes is the following absolute temerity of the Israeli attitude:

According to the paper’s source, the [Mossad] tip-off was not a request for permission to use British passports but more a “courtesy call” to let the security services know “a situation” might result from the operation. The Mossad man said Israeli intelligence chiefs understood British authorities would have to “slap them on the wrist” and added:

“The British government has to be seen to be going through the motions.”

If this is true, either the Mossad is the most chutzpadik intelligence agency in the world or it was doing what Britain wanted it to do in killing al-Mabouh. If the latter, this might explain why Dubai informed the British of the passport use and waited in vain for six days for a reply, after which Dubai conducted a press conference and released the information to the public. That silence and delay sure begin to smell fishy.

...an interesting critique of the Dubai operation from the perspective of a former Mossad agent. What’s fascinating about this report is it is the only one I’ve read approaching the killing from within the Mossad and with a intelligence agent’s perspective. Among other things Victor Ostrovsky says is:

“It shocks that they would do [the assassination] now,” Ostrovsky said. “But that’s Netanyahu in my opinion.”

In other words, Bibi doesn’t give a crap about Shalit and is far more motivated by steely hatred of Hamas and any other Arab entity that stands in his way. And in an L.A. Times interview, Ostrovsky amplifies his view that the operation was sloppily executed and explains why this might have happened:

“It’s a rush to action which is meant to show off the long arm of Israeli justice,” he said.

sarvadharam · Post by **sarvadharam** » 19 Feb 2010 20:20

Video: The Assassination of Mahmoud Al Mabhouh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JghQ0ZcR ... r_embedded

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 20 Feb 2010 05:45

UAE can hem and haw - who cares. Anti terror cooperation!!!!

yeah right.

Lets see what happens - right now threats to cut off coop etc are nothing great. Need to see a lot more from the Brits-- I would doubt it. Egypt does not care
Jordan does not care
The Saudis do not care. Us does not care.

Probably the rest are happy that Hamas buggers will now feel nervous everywhere

And leftists like Fisk can do an Arundhati and keep whining

The bigger issue would be why this relatively sloppy job??

The internal questions in Israel will be a bigger problem

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 20 Feb 2010 07:20

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2 ... olutionary

ElBaradei's return represents a headache for Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's 81-year-old president. Mubarak is widely believed to be shepherding his son, Gamal, into the presidency, possibly as early as the upcoming 2011 presidential election. But this past December, ElBaradei dropped a bombshell that complicated Mubarak's plans: He would consider a run for Egypt's presidency -- provided that the government ensured a fair campaign and revised the restrictive amendments to the Egyptian Constitution that outline who can contend for the presidency.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 20 Feb 2010 15:35

"Curioser and Curiouser".
Britain denies "advance warning of the Hamas leader "hit".

Britain denies any advance warning of plan to murder Hamas leaderWhitehall angry at 'Israeli effort to deflect blame' via report saying UK knew of impending plot

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/fe ... mas-leader

EXcerpt:

British government sources dismissed as "nonsense" a report claiming the Israeli secret service had given the UK advanced warning of possible complications arising from the illicit use of British passports in an unspecified "overseas operation" – the murder of the Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

Officials complained of misleading briefing, apparently by pro-Israeli sources, reflected in a report in Friday's Daily Mail, which claimed that the Foreign Office was told, albeit only in general terms, of an impending assassination. The Mail story was widely reported today, both in Israel and across the Arab world.

"Any suggestion that the government knew anything about the murder before it happened is completely untrue, including the use of UK passports," insisted a FCO spokesman.

On Thursday David Miliband, the foreign secretary, described the seeming fraudulent use of cloned British passports as "outrageous." Miliband is to meet his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman, in Brussels on Monday. No UK action is likely until the completion of an investigation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -knew.html

Dubai Hamas murder: fresh questions over what Foreign Office knew
Fresh questions have been raised about the date when ministers first knew British passports had been used by a hit squad that killed a Hamas leader in Dubai.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 22 Feb 2010 00:39

On the subject of Hamas, was just chatting with my Hamas source. He was saying that this new barrier thats being buried underground in egypt to stop tunnels was literally thrust down the throat of egypt. Tzipi Livni went to pay Bush a visit just 2 weeks before Bush's end of term to sign the deal. He was suggesting Hamas doesnt expect anything to happen between relations between West and Israel. No one is still sure what happened in that room.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 22 Feb 2010 03:30

do you think Egypt needs major push to do this

They hate Hamas so it does not require much prodding

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 22 Feb 2010 12:47

The pragmatic Arab govts. like Egypt,have to pay lip service to the Palestinian movement.Hence their blind eye to some Palestinian mischief.They know that the Israeli state is "here to stay",founded upon the blessings of the UN and has exceptionally strong historical foundations for the re-establishment of a Jewish state.That the Palestinins also have to have their "space" in a state of their own has also been accepted by the Israelis.The countours and security issues of establishing the P-state is were deadlock has been reached.Within Israel,there are two streams of political thought,a hard line attitude and a "harder" line attitude towards negotiations with the P's because of the fact of Hamas and the Hiz in pole position in the region,wanting to still defeat Israel militarily and "throw the Israelis into the sea".Thus the deadly serious game of "hit and hit" goes on.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ports.html

Dubai assassination squad carried diplomatic passports
Police in Dubai said that some of the assassins involved in last month’s killing of a Hamas commander had entered the emirate carrying diplomatic passports.

By Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem and Richard Spencer in Dubai
21 Feb 2010

Suspects wanted in connection with the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, clockwise from top left: Michael Lawrence Barney, James Leonard Clarke, Stephen Daniel Hodes, Paul John Keeley, Melvyn Adam Mildiner Photo: AP

The claim will intensify the pressure on Israel, whose foreign minister is due to meet David Miliband and other European envoys in Brussels today. Avigdor Lieberman will face questions about allegations that Mossad agents posing as Europeans and travelling on false passports were behind the killing.

Providing fresh details yesterday about the identity of a second group involved in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mahbhouh, Dubai’s police chief disclosed that up to three of the killers carried documents identifying themselves as foreign diplomats.

Israel copied UK passports for Dubai 'hit' “There is information that the Dubai police will not make public for the moment, especially regarding diplomatic passports,” Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan told a local newspaper.

Although he did not elaborate, the disclosure is certain to increase diplomatic tensions between Israel and European countries, including Britain. Any fraudulent use of diplomatic passports would be considered a grave security breach by the country, or countries, that issued them.

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, will once again raise Britain’s concerns when he meets Mr Lieberman on the sidelines of a European Union foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels. Israel has so far shown little willingness to co-operate with Britain as it investigates how the doctored passports of six of its nationals, all residents in the Jewish state, came to be used by some of the assassins. Last week, Dubai disclosed that 11 members of the 18-strong assassination squad carried European passports – six British, three Irish, one German and one French.

Two Palestinians alleged to have provided logistical support to the operation are in custody in Dubai, but police in the Gulf state have largely remained silent about the identities of the remaining five individuals.

Officials in Dubai yesterday confirmed speculation that two of the five held Irish passports, suggesting that at least one of the other three carried diplomatic documentation.

European states seeking answers from Israel seem unlikely to get them. Last week, Ron Prossor, the Israeli ambassador to London, said he was “unable to assist” and similar messages have been relayed by envoys to Ireland and Germany.

Israel is convinced it has averted a diplomatic crisis. At the weekend, the country’s deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, said he foresaw no diplomatic fallout because there was no irrefutable evidence linking Israel to the killing.

It emerged yesterday that one of the assassins allegedly applied in person for a German passport by passing himself of as the descendant of Holocaust survivors. According to Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine, the man was given a passport in the name of Michael Bodenheimer by authorities in Cologne after providing documents showing that he was of German lineage and that his grandparents had been persecuted by the Nazis.

Police also disclosed that several of the assassins visited Dubai on reconnaissance missions in the year leading up the killing of Mr Mabhouh, suggesting that the plot was planned further in advance than was initially believed.

PS: From another report in the same issue,there is an intriguing fact that the dear departed was on his wy to China!
Is there a sinsiter angle to events in the region thanks to secret actions of the dragon? The fact is that the PRC has for decades sceretly supported all manner of terrorist and separatist organisations who are waging war against China's enemies.

Excerpts:

Last year Mabhouh, who had a key role in Hamas’s arms supply chain, is thought to have masterminded an attempt to smuggle weapons into Gaza from Sudan. Fascinatingly, Mabhouh had just come from Sudan when he arrived in Dubai – and, even more fascinatingly, he was en route to China.

For all Dubai’s permissiveness (by Arab standards), its reputation as a look-the-other-way staging-post for arms and illegal money, it appears to have grown tired of being a venue for other people’s vendettas. Last year, the authorities were distinctly annoyed when Sulim Yamadayev, the former Chechen leader, was shot dead in one of their underground car parks.

So they investigated, hard, and the result, shown to the world on Monday, was the bumbling spectacle of Team Mossad going into toilets and emerging with fake beards, but still perfectly recognisable. Far from being secret agents, they are now the Keystone Spooks, the most famous 11 spies on the planet, their faces in every newspaper and media website, and completely unemployable in any field capacity ever again.

Then there is the even trickier matter of those passports. One can, of course, sympathise with Mossad’s difficulties. Although Israeli passport-holders are not absolutely banned from Dubai, they are rather noticeable. Totally fabricated travel documents won’t work any more, either. These days, border police have near-instant access to international passport databases, so the fake passports used by spies have to match the real ones in the databases.

According to British sources, the Israelis got hold of the real passport details of six UK citizens living in Israel by taking their passports for “examination” as they passed through Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, copying the details and returning the original passports after a few minutes. The six fakes, along with German, French and Irish passports, were used to leave Dubai.

And thus it was that, on Tuesday morning, half a dozen angry Brits woke up to find their names on an Interpol “red list” – and the Israelis had more than some embarrassing television pictures on their hands: they had a major diplomatic crisis.

Chinmayanand · Post by **Chinmayanand** » 22 Feb 2010 14:49

Why is nobody asking Dubai not to give shelter to terrorists ?