One more thing...
I was dead wrong about the toll breakdown: Kenya incurred the heaviest toll of fatalities (over 260) but anyway, it doesn't change the relevance of my argument. We still can assume that both bombings were designed to blast as much as possible. A bombing pattern that doesn't fit quite well the usual Islamic modus operandi.
Regarding Israel's tacit consent, I think the key here is terrorist Carlos. France alone would never have been able to trap Carlos in Sudan; on the other hand, as an Islamic country, Sudan would never hand over a brother Muslim terrorist to Israel! Hence the temporary joint venture between Israel and France --the latter providing Sudan with a diplomatically correct semblance.
Carlos is indeed a precious intelligence/counter-terrorism asset, especially for Israel since his track record includes so many Palestinian operations. Further, Carlos was allegedly involved in the Entebe (Uganda) hijacking during wich Israeli PM B. Netanyahu lost his elder brother Nathan Netanyahu.... It would be interesting to ask Carlos if he's been paid a few courtesy visits by Mossad people during his term. Well, Israeli spies working in the French judicial administration could also fit the bill. Besides, Carlos's been turned over to the French when France had a pro-Israeli executive: Premier Edouard Balladur, Budget Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, Finance Minister Edmond Alphandéry,... The bottom line is that such a fruitful cooperation to apprehend Carlos in 1994 henceforth opened a clear-blue-sky window for the French intelligence services to maneuver in East Africa. Which explains the mixed signals the Mossad sent to the CIA: first, the Israeli secret service relayed the rumors about imminent terrorist attacks against US interests in the region but then, on second thoughts, the Mossad dismissed the rumors as ''false alarm''. Got it? Such a twist toward the CIA was, afterthoughtwise, a very smart hint dropped on the US administration: the Israeli message was to make the US realize that, without the Mossad, US interests could be at risk in East Africa....
Remember that the bombings occured when Clinton was in the midst of the Monicagate.
Regards,
Gustave. |
