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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Karen Lawrence who wrote (59675)	12/3/2002 11:59:12 AM
From: Karen Lawrence	Respond to of 281500

Kenya refuses to share evidence with Israel, but can it conduct a thorough probe? According to the Monitor, the US will now have a harder time drawing distinctions between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its own war on terror. Although this appearance of a new parallel with the US terror war will be a plus for Israel, it may further damage US relations with Islamic countries. www.christiansciencemonitor.com As pinprick terror attacks multiply worldwide, the complex issues involved in international cooperation become increasingly crucial. When citizens and interests of one country are targeted in another sovereign nation, should both countries share information in a joint investigation? Or is it the sole responsibility of the nation in which the attacks took place? This question is central to the current situation in Kenya. Kenya said on Sunday that it will alone conduct the probe of last Thursday's attack on an Israeli-owned hotel and an Israeli jetliner. Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said that Al Qaeda was behind the attacks and Israel has demanded that Kenya turn over some of the evidence. Kenya has so far refused. According to Kenyan police officials, Israeli authorities want to take pieces from the Mitsubishi Pajero that exploded outside the hotel Sunday, killing 10 Kenyans, three Israelis, and the suicide bombers. Israel also wants missile casings and launchers from shoulder-launched rockets believed to have been fired at an Israeli jetliner. Kenyan bomb specialist Charles Jamu said: "None of this evidence is going back to Israel. This evidence is our responsibility." Both Israel and the US have expressed concerns about Kenya's ability to properly investigate these attacks. Raanan Gissin, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said that Kenya was "not geared to this kind of a threat or they don't have the necessary resources or technological capabilities that would enable them to deal with that." Not only does this dispute delay the investigation, but it leads to potentially far-reaching diplomatic fallout. The Christian Science Monitor reports that this bombing complicates the US role in the Middle East while pushing the US and Israel closer together in views of terror. According to the Monitor, the US will now have a harder time drawing distinctions between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its own war on terror. Although this appearance of a new parallel with the US terror war will be a plus for Israel, it may further damage US relations with Islamic countries. This comes while a war with Iraq looms and even lukewarm support from any Arab or Islamic country is critical to the US.