As most of you are no doubt aware, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, the Hamas leader was assassinated yesterday in Dubai in what appears to be a rather flagrant operation by Mossad, the Israeli Intelligence organisation.
I say it "appears" to have been a Mossad operation, only because Israel is remaining silent about it. However, despite the fact that The Guardian has studiously avoided any mention of the Israeli spy agency, it doesn't take much to see the Mossad stamp all over it. They are well known for these types of "revenge" killings and rogue operations whereby they bypass the judicial system and dish out their own Old Testament type of justice. In most societies we consider this barbaric, to say the least! Yet because Israel is involved, we give them cart blanch to act in any way they please and flaunt International and social laws and justice.
Historically, to sell this campaign of assassination to their public, Israel makes much of the precise identification of their targets, and the 'judicial' deliberations which accompanied the final decision to kill them. But it still begs the question that if they are so clever, and their organisation so effective in tracking down these "targets", why not simply arrest them for their supposed crimes and have them face a court of International law? Is this not what we did with those "heinous monsters" from the ex-Yugoslavia? Oh... but Israel is a law unto itself, and for far too long we have let them get away with, literally, murder!!
Whether these Mossad "targets" deserve to die or not isn't the question here... it's the manner in which the due process of law is flagrantly abused which causes the greatest concern. The head of Mossad acts as prosecuting attorney; the Prime Minister and other cabinet members act as judges and the agents themselves become the executioners. How very "civilized"... n'est pas?
There is no defense for the victim. No chance for the victim to have his/her day in court... a courtesy we extend even our most hardened criminals. Israel, however, doesn't recognise or respect the common rights which we all take for grated as members of a democratic and "just" society. Ironically, however, words like murder or revenge are banned from the lexicon of a state which likes to be seen to act in a moral way.
This bothers me greatly. It raises the obvious question of whether any government which claims to stand for democracy and morality can not only condone the employment of such death squads, but actually sanction such subversive action as a "moral" and "just" operation.
What has also struck me about the huge media coverage over this assassination is that the shock and outrage seems to concern the stolen passports and identities of these killers, rather than the unlawful killing itself.
So... what are we to conclude? The underlying assumption here is quite clear... the assumption that if suspected Israeli assassins avoid using passports issued by western nations as part of their illegal and murderous activities abroad, that's just fine and dandy. We can carry on with our lives. Turn a blind eye. Just like we do with every other goddamn illegal operation that Zionist state engages in.
... and a final question for you to ponder, dear reader: What would have been the MSM's reaction if members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard were suspected of assassinating an Iranian dissident living abroad in Dubai, or an Israeli politician or general visiting a foreign country? I don't know about you, but I sincerely suspect that using forged passports of innocent foreign nationals would have been the last thing mentioned.
I agree, Israel should not be allowed to carry on like this. Unfortunately though, it happens all over the world. Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in the UK, supposedly ordered by Vladimir Putin himself. And nothing happened. In March last year a prominent opponent of the pro-Russian government in Chechnya was assassinated in Dubai. The man who organised it is in parliament in Moscow. When governments commit murder it seems they can get away with it...
ReplyDeleteThis needs to change, but when countries are of strategic interest to the superpowers, (like the Shah of Persia, and Saddam Hussein) everyone turns a blind eye. Maybe the responsibility lies with the US or Britain to sort it out.... but then, can you trust a superpower that tortures its prisoners?
"why not simply arrest them for their supposed crimes and have them face a court of International law?
ReplyDeleteI understand that Interpol is doing just that. The case has been put together from a variety of precise, international inputs (which includes a number of surveillance videotapes of the perpetrators). An interview with one of the people whose identity had been stolen to allow the assassins passport forgeries said that he was greatly disturbed by the idea that his identity was involved at all. This on-camera interview was obtained from his kibbutz in Israel pertaining to his British passport, I believe.
Yes, it is greatly disturbing. An insight into this kind of vigilante retribution by Israel was portrayed in the dramatic interpretation "Munich" which was a Spielberg production.
Early reports indicated that the victim in this case may have been electrocuted with materials commonly found in a Dubai hotel room. Makes one wonder if he was asked, "Do you know why we're here?" just prior to being plugged-in.
In theory, democracies supposedly allow the people to oversee government abuses of power. Unfortunately, our governments have come pretty far in restricting exactly what we're allowed to vote on. Plus, our media have created a fog of ignorance for us as we post mundanities (I think I just made up a new word!) on our facebook and twitter updates.
ReplyDelete@ ...m... : it will be interesting to see if the end result will be the prosecution of only those who actually committed the murder or if it will include those higher up from where the actual order came from. I would bet the former.
When under pressure to defend themselves against the Goldstone report, the Israelis go ahead and carry out this barbarity. They really are going out of their way to turn themselves into international pariahs.
ReplyDeleteDeutchwelle footage of Ehud Barak and Shimon Peres caught them outright. They were discussing "the assassination," at some recent, formal event.
ReplyDeleteWhen Barak noticed a microphone over their heads, he apparently signaled the camera crew or aids to stop the recording, but the damning evidence was already captured.
This was broadcast on Martin Savige's newscast tonight. The world community is not allowing Israel to pretend that they did nothing.
More exposure is forthcoming.
This looks familiar.
ReplyDelete@ Phil
ReplyDeleteI know that governments, through their secret service agencies, work in underhanded and devious ways. The machinations, however, are often within the unspoken code of "ethics" and few of them overstep the boundaries of those ethics.
Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in the UK, however an investigation was carried out and extradition of the alleged mastermind requested. However, for whatever reasons (and I could speculate on a number of them), the UK withheld evidence and the Russians, rightly, refused to hand him over.
Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was a completely different situation. He was the leader of a democratically elected party. One which has consistently stood its ground against Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian land.
Assassinations may be common place among secret service agencies... but rarely do they involved the murder of a prominent leader of a country. When they do, I think it is our right... nay, our duty to question its motives and legitimacy.
As I mentioned in closing... imagine the almighty hell which would break out had an Israeli leader fallen like this at the hands of some foreign "agency".
@ ...m...
ReplyDeleteExactly. It's this "vigilante retribution"... or their Operation Wrath of God campaigns I find most abhorrent.
We have International Tribunals to deal with political criminals yet Israel, true to form, believes it has a mandate from "God" and is therefore beyond secular laws.
It's this attitude and barbaric inhumanity toward the people whose land it illegally occupies which do it no favours with many members of the international community.
@ AB
ReplyDeleteThey have long been international pariahs. Unfortunately, they have the protection and backing of one of the most powerful military countries on earth.
Israel would never have pushed the envelope this far were it not for the fact that it has the US Senate by the balls... and it knows it.
@ ...m...
ReplyDelete"The world community is not allowing Israel to pretend that they did nothing.
I would hope that this is the case. Unfortunately I think the reality of it is that the whole sordid mess will be swept under the carpet and forgotten about once the furor of the stolen passports blows over.
As I mentioned... Germany, GB, France and Australia are more concerned with the fact that our countries, passports, and law abiding citizens, were compromised by this caper than the fact that al-Mabhouh was assassinated.
"There is something about the way the CIA has been functioning that is casting a shadow over our historic position and I feel that we need to correct it."
ReplyDeleteThis, from Harry Truman in the late 1940's.
We should remember that it was Truman who founded the CIA to act, as he said himself, "as an arm of the President."
Even so, Truman, abiding by the Constitution, set checks and balances in place - to this day, the CIA does not engage in overt assassination - it's true that they get the military to do their dirty-work, but that, I suppose, is another matter.
My point is this: Even as bloody as the U.S's hands are of late, we've abided by our own (and international) law when it comes to things like this.
Israel, of course, is Another Fish, Entirely....
"why not simply arrest them for their supposed crimes and have them face a court of International law?"
ReplyDeleteI have to ask myself that question about the United States. We're now detaining people indefinitely without trial. The U.S. can't point fingers when it comes to this.
Hmmm, where are you - I miss your blog
ReplyDeleteTakashi
To a country which lashes out against all percieved or even imagined attacks against its national character; Silence againt such a serious allegation should be considered concrete proof of its participation in the crime.
ReplyDelete