The assassination of a top Hamas official sparked an international outcry accusing Israel of committing the daring paramilitary activity. While there is still no official confirmation or substantial evidence that the Mossad committed the act, most observers either blame Israel or think there is no doubt to suspect any other country (Hamas has enough enemies in the world that could have the desire, albeit not necessarily the means, to conduct the attack. For example, The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is on the rise and challenging the government. Hamas is the Palestinian branch of that group. That said, it’s pretty unlikely for many reasons that Egypt is involved).
The assassins reportedly used European and Australian passports and let themselves be photographed by surveillance cameras. The countries whose passports were used are in a furor and summoning Israeli officials to explain the abuse of identification documentation. Moreover, the assassins used Israeli names on their passports, drawing eyes and suspicion toward the Mossad.
Too many signs point to Israeli involvement and too many ‘mistakes‘ were made in executing the operation. Either the Israeli intelligence services have become incompetent in recent years following decades of leading the world in espionage. Or, more likely, the Mossad wanted its enemies to know that any threat to Israel would be met with unrelenting force anywhere in the world, even in the heart of the Gulf. The assassination of Mabhouh was a message and warning that continued attacks on Israel would result in bloodshed.
Israel took a similar mentality in Operation Cast Lead. Hamas was incessantly launching rockets on southern Israel, leading the IDF to use decidedly disproportionate force, causing international condemnation that Israel should use pinpoint attacks to prevent civilian casualties. Well, as Alan Dershowitz points out, this killing of a sole terrorist with no unintended deaths is exactly what the anti-Israel Goldstone Report urged Israel to do instead of bombing residential areas.
Even though this assassination has drawn international ire toward Israel, it fulfilled the requests of the international community and sent a startling note to Israel’s enemies around the world- beware and be very, very afraid.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
