Hamas Official Assassinated in Dubai

[YankeeFan]

Anyone else following this story?

It's pretty wild: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/wigs_disguises_as_assassins_stalk_D0uqAMfR2xtJA4HGJaUb8J

 

[Pancamo]

Saw that this morning. Fascinating.

 

[cranberry]

Good stuff. This is more the way I envisioned the WAR ON TERROR! to play out. I'm OK with the CIA drones in Pakistan, too.

 

[Crash]

Good stuff. This is more the way I envisioned the WAR ON TERROR! to play out. I'm OK with the CIA drones in Pakistan, too.

That's kind of what I was thinking. Would we have been more effective taking out specific targets with specialists vs. taking out broad targets and searching for the specifics with an all-out occupation?

 

[YankeeFan]

The Israelis re experts at this. And they won't quit until they get their man, even if it takes years.

I'd like to see a Michael Corleone approach. Assassinate all of your enemies on one day.

 

[cranberry]

Good stuff. This is more the way I envisioned the WAR ON TERROR! to play out. I'm OK with the CIA drones in Pakistan, too.

That's kind of what I was thinking. Would we have been more effective taking out specific targets with specialists vs. taking out broad targets and searching for the specifics with an all-out occupation?

Absolutely. I always figured this would be a CIA "war" -- tracking down the bad guys across international borders with small undercover teams. Of course, maybe i watch too many movies.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Good stuff. This is more the way I envisioned the WAR ON TERROR! to play out. I'm OK with the CIA drones in Pakistan, too.

It would actually work just wonderfully. ... if Osama Bin Laden was in plain sight all the time and checking into luxury hotels in Dubai.

 

[Pastor]

Good stuff. This is more the way I envisioned the WAR ON TERROR! to play out. I'm OK with the CIA drones in Pakistan, too.

It would actually work just wonderfully. ... if Osama Bin Laden was in plain sight all the time and checking into luxury hotels in Dubai.

He doesn't?

 

[The Big Ragu]

Actually, what struck me about this -- and I have followed it from the beginning when it happened last week -- is that unlike past assassinations (presumably) by the Israelis, this one seems to have left too many tracks behind. Usually everyone knows it was the Israelis, but there is no proof, they don't confirm or deny and there is no trail of anything pointing toward anyone.

Immediately on this one, they had passport numbers, names (fake names, but ones that belong to real people) and video footage and photos of the killers. This was a professional hit squad, but they seemed kind of amateurish as far as those things go because the Dubai officials have plastered their photos all over the Internet. Also, many of the names they chose for the passports belong to dual-nationals with ties to Israel. One was a guy who lives on a Kibbutz, is in his 50s and has had bipass surgery. The mere fact that those people's lives have been screwed up over this -- they now have warrants out for their arrests -- makes this anything but clean.

It is leading some to speculate (and who knows) that the Israelis weren't involved in this and some other government or organization purposely chose names with Israeli ties to try to set them up.

EDIT: The other explanation I have read is that the Israelis purposely chose the people they did for the forged passports as a way of telling everyone they did it as a warning, while still being able to follow their policy of non-comment/ambiguity.
Who knows what the real truth is. Whatever it is, it is interesting and kind of bizarre.

 

[YankeeFan]

EDIT: The other explanation I have read is that the Israelis purposely chose the people they did for the forged passports as a way of telling everyone they did it as a warning, while still being able to follow their policy of non-comment/ambiguity.
Who knows what the real truth is. Whatever it is, it is interesting and kind of bizarre.

I think that is what's so interesting too. If we didn't have any details, there wouldn't be much to talk about or speculate about.

I've got to think Israel didn't much mind that everyone knows they were behind it. The risks were probably worth it to them, and in some way works in their favor.

Everyone knows they did, but they'll deny it. In the mean time, the bad guys have to be worried. If they're willing to be that brazen, any one of them could be next.

I was also particularly intrigued by the method of killing -- strangulation. No need to smuggle in weapons. It's also got to take a much more dedicated assassin/group of assassins I would think. There's something less personal about shooting or poisoning someone. (I'm guessing.) This is hands on -- literally.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Hamas is a bunch of ****s.

But when it comes to Israel and Hamas, I never quite see it as simply as "good guys" and "bad guys."

 

[cranberry]

Hamas is a bunch of ****s.

But when it comes to Israel and Hamas, I never quite see it as simply as "good guys" and "bad guys."

Nor do I. Way too simplistic given the history. My "bad guys" reference was an observation about how the broader "War on Terror" should be unfolding rather than the **** Cheney/Don Rumsfeld model of sending in hundreds of thousands troops in to occupy countries.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Cran, I wasn't referring to anything you said. The post above mine said "Everyone knows they did, but they'll deny it. In the mean time, the bad guys have to be worried."

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Men with names of the assassins all live in Israel.

Israel, by the way, has issued a non-denial denial in which it essentially says, "There's no proof so you can't prove nothin'!"

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLDE61G0FB

(I love that one of the file directories on Reuters' web site is "latestCrisis" -- I suppose that makes it easier to find for them.)

 

[YankeeFan]

Hamas is a bunch of ****s.

But when it comes to Israel and Hamas, I never quite see it as simply as "good guys" and "bad guys."

Well, I guess I do see it differently, but for discussion purposes, the guys who Israel considers "bad guys" know who they are and have to be worried, or at least reconsidering their travel plans.

But regardless of what you think of the players involved -- much like the ex-KGB agent killed in the U.K. -- it's still a fascinating story.

 

[deskslave]

The thing is, as bad as Hamas is, they are democratically elected in the area they govern. This would be the hazard of installing democracies. Sometimes people vote for the 'wrong' people.

 

[YankeeFan]

The thing is, as bad as Hamas is, they are democratically elected in the area they govern. This would be the hazard of installing democracies. Sometimes people vote for the 'wrong' people.

I have a feeling that this thread will go a lot better if we stick to discussing this particular incident and not the broader topic of Middle East politics.

I just think it's to interesting a story to not discuss & we'll end up with a lock if it all goes off the rails.

 

[deskslave]

The thing is, as bad as Hamas is, they are democratically elected in the area they govern. This would be the hazard of installing democracies. Sometimes people vote for the 'wrong' people.

I have a feeling that this thread will go a lot better if we stick to discussing this particular incident and not the broader topic of Middle East politics.

I just think it's to interesting a story to not discuss & we'll end up with a lock if it all goes off the rails.

Fair enough, but what's to discuss besides 'Cool, Cold War-style spy thrills!'

 

[YankeeFan]

Fair enough, but what's to discuss besides 'Cool, Cold War-style spy thrills!'

I don't know, I think that's pretty interesting.

Who ordered it? Who are these people?

The logistics of it are interesting to me. How'd they know he was going to be there? How'd they track him? How'd they get in and out of the country?

We just don't hear about too many of these stories.

 

[Pancamo]

Why didn't the Hamas guy have any security?