The Jelly Doughnut Gang
Apparently the Mossad has had a reorganization under the Likudniks and has stopped doing operations similar to John le Carré novels in favor of scripts for Peter Sellers movies. Along the way they have screwed up the lives of about three dozen people by stealing their identities and forging the passports of the few nations in the world who might be considered their friends. This is not a good time to be an Israeli ambassador in an English speaking nation.
On a lighter note, I did enjoy this exchange in the Australian Parliament during Question Time on the matter:
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says he wants to know why the Government has not ensured that Australia’s passport system is more secure.
But Mr [Foreign Minister Stephen] Smith says Mr Abbott should not seek to score political points over the matter because the passports in question were issued in 2003.
“Last time I looked, in 2003 you were a minister in a previous government,” Mr Smith told Mr Abbott.
“You were … a member of the executive which oversaw the issuing of that passport.
“You should think very carefully before you speak on these matters.”
If the Democratic leaders in Congress would do this sort of thing more often, and not have to wait for junior Congresscritters like Alan Grayson, we might get something done, but the leadership may look upon this as a feature and not a bug in our system. 😈
10 comments
Hey! You just posted this because of my comments in the Mes Rea thread I posted last night! 😛 😆
But yeah… I was thinking Keystone Cops! I can tell you that Rudd is not happy about it at all! The Rudd Gov has issues a warning to the opposition that the investigation into the matter will be thorough and all those responsible will be held to account (which will be a first in my lifetime!) I’ll believe it when I see it. 😉
Even the Jerusalem Post has been all over this fiasco. I don’t think anyone is actually impressed, no matter what the spin doctors want people to think. 😉
There was a ?Disney? movie called “The Apple Dumpling Gang”. The closest Jewish equivalent are the fabulous jelly doughnuts of the Hanukkah season.
As I said on the other thread, I was going to write about it last night using the BBC story, the ABC story had that great bit in question time. The Dems should be putting the boot in like that.
You really have to wonder what the cover story for this busload of spook-wannabes.
In the old days a needle coated with ricin was enough, and one hit man with a couple of local odd-jobbers would have handled it.
Now dozens of people aren’t ever going to be allowed to fly, and they should definitely sue the Israelis for compensation.
The BBC asked some former spooks about the Dubai mess, and an ex-CIA guy wonders if they haven’t uncovered the entire Dubai station of Mossad, not just the team sent in for this hit. That is certainly possible from the numbers involved.
This is the money quote for me:
A…mazing! *shakin’ head* 😆
Yeah, well, Israel didn’t use to get its butt kicked by “terrorists”, but there’s no doubt who won in Lebanon, and that was definitely an intelligence failure.
I’ll continue here, rather than the older Mens Rea thread.
I have a lot of respect for the intel and security services in the UAE, but they are not this good! In a week, they have more info on at least 22 of the idiots than any of their Mothers have! For example:
(Best to go to the BBC News link above as they have posted the item as an interactive set of images to make it clearer).
“A tactical success but a strategic failure” – that is how one Israeli newspaper described the operation to kill Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
It seems that the UK Gov is as worried about annoying Israel as the USA is. SO far, Brown and co have done nothing but mouth standard Polispeak, But the citizens and other politicians aren’t having any of it. Brown will end up with Blair if he doesn’t act very soon. Which would be a good thing IMHO. 🙂
Is Dubai murder an own goal for Israel?
The Brits really have nowhere to go on this! They have ALWAYS held that British Passports are sacrosanct and that legal holders of them are fully protected under the law. The Israeli’s didn’t just cross a line when they stole the identities of living UK & Aus passport holders, they went right over the cliff. Rudd is going full steam ahead, and if Brown doesn’t do something very soon, he will look even worse than he does anyway. Also, the French, German and Irish Gov’s are also all over the use of their Nations passports.
The next week will be very interesting. 🙂
BTW… Dubai may be a really nice clean modern State… But you REALLY do not want to spend time in their prisons! 😉
*sigh* That SPAM thingy still hates me! 😉 😆
Anyway… It will be interesting to hear what the UK SOCA team in Israel find out after interviewing the people who’s British ID’s were stolen (The UK had 12 identities stolen, which is a really big deal legally). We have sent a Commonwealth Police investigative team, and I believe the Irish also have. It’s been some time since Israel has had so many foreign criminal investigators on their soil, but so far, they seem to be cooperating (not that they have a lot of choice). 🙂
The interesting one will be the French, as the person who allegedly carried out the assassination is believed to be the one with the stolen French ID. 🙂 Apparently, French magistrates are deciding how to deal with this.
It still amazes me. 🙄
I have to assume that every nation involved is busting their tails to prove their nationals weren’t involved, which means tracing the people identified as suspects by the UAE.
While they know that their passport holders were directly involved based on the fingerprint and pictures, I am guessing that the countries concerned want to be sure that their nationals weren’t involved in any other way before raising fourteen kinds of hell with Israel.
The Brits may be having a problem clearing all of their people because there were a dozen. Brown will be calling an election soon, and he doesn’t want any kind of failure between now and then.
The people whose IDs were stolen may have some unpalatable choices ahead, as in going back to their home countries and not leaving. Never flying again. Legally changing their names. Their names are going to be on everyone’s terrorist list. In the US it would be time for a law suit for damages.
An own goal is about right, and I don’t see it as much of a victory, even tactical. This was one member of a very large organization, so this was a lot of effort for a minimal return, even if they hadn’t screwed it up. Israel is too into the revenge thing. It is a great weakness.
I still have a problem with how easily they were identified. And not because the Dubai police are *that good*. Infiltrators and hit squads have been bypassing heavy security for decades, CCTV and bio scanners etc. are NOT that new!
Anyway, seems the Dubai Police are pretty Certain now it was sanctioned by the Mossad, and have asked Interpol to issue a red notice and arrest warrant for the Chief of the Mossad, as well as the hit team and local operatives that escaped.
Dubai police chief in Mossad arrest call
In a curious twist, two Palestinian’s who fled after the assassination have been extradited to Dubai and are being questioned. That should be interesting. 😉
And yeah, ID theft is a big problem in many ways for the people whose ID’s were stolen. It’s going to be tough on them.
Well, since it would appear that everyone on Dubai’s list is apparently now in Israel, I don’t think it is unreasonable for the UAE to assume it was an official mission.
I have heard the standard excuse that “everyone does it”, which is, of course, very true, but most manage not to make such a mess of it, and allow the “host” countries some leeway in not getting upset about it. This was so so blatant that Dubai really wasn’t left with many options. It’s not like Dubai hasn’t ignored other things that Israel and others have done in the past.
This is as big a mess as that CIA snatch operation in Italy that ended up with just about every CIA operative in Italy being revealed and convicted in absentia.
There has certainly been a lowering of standards since the end of the Cold War. I guess all of the competent people have left to write books or something, and there is no one left to teach the new lot their job.