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Posted on 01/16/2003 5:13:54 AM PST by SJackson
The Jewish state will shortly begin aggressively using its vast intelligence network in an effort to end "global jihad" and eradicate terror and terrorists from the democratic, Western world. Until now, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has forbidden the practice.
</img src=http://www.jewishworldreview.com/images/mercenary.jpg>
(UPI) Israel is embarking upon a more aggressive approach to the war on terror that will include staging targeted killings in the United States and other friendly countries, former Israeli intelligence officials told United Press International.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has forbidden the practice until now, these sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Israeli statements were confirmed by more than a half dozen U.S. foreign policy and intelligence officials in interviews with UPI.
With the appointment of Meir Dagan, the new director Israel's Mossad secret intelligence service, Sharon is also preparing "a huge budget" increase for the spy agency as part of "a tougher stance in fighting global jihad (or holy war)," one Israeli official said.
Since Sharon became Israeli prime minister, Tel Aviv has mainly limited its practice of targeted killings to the West Bank and Gaza because "no one wanted such operations on their territory," a former Israeli intelligence official said.
Another former Israeli government official said that under Sharon, "diplomatic constraints have prevented the Mossad from carrying out 'preventive operations' (targeted killings) on the soil of friendly countries until now."
He said Sharon is "reversing that policy, even if it risks complications to Israel's bilateral relations."
A former Israeli military intelligence source agreed: "What Sharon wants is a much more extensive and tough approach to global terrorism, and this includes greater operational maneuverability."
Does this mean assassinations on the soil of allies?
"It does," he said.
"Mossad is definitely being beefed up," a U.S. government official said of the Israeli agency's budget increase. He declined to comment on the Tel Aviv's geographic expansion of targeted killings.
An FBI spokesman also declined to comment, saying: "This is a policy matter. We only enforce federal laws."
A congressional staff member with deep knowledge of intelligence matters said, "I don't know on what basis we would be able to protest Israel's actions." He referred to the recent killing of Qaed Salim Sinan al Harethi, a top al Qaida leader, in Yemen by a remotely controlled CIA drone.
"That was done on the soil of a friendly ally," the staffer said.
Gerald Bull, an Ontario-born U.S. citizen and designer of the Iraqi supergun -- a massive artillery system capable of launching satellites into orbit, and of delivering nuclear chemical or biological payloads from Baghdad to Israel -- was killed in Belgium in March 1990. The killing is still unsolved, but former CIA officials said a Mossad hit team is the most likely suspect.
Bull worked on the supergun design -- codenamed Project Babylon -- for 10 years, and helped the Iraqis develop many smaller artillery systems. He was found with five bullets in his head outside his Brussels apartment.
Israeli hit teams, which consist of units or squadrons of the Kidon, a sub-unit for Mossad's highly secret Metsada department, would stage the operations, former Israeli intelligence sources said. Kidon is a Hebrew word meaning "bayonet," one former Israeli intelligence source said.
This Israeli government source explained that in the past Israel has not staged targeted killings in friendly countries because "no one wanted such operations on their territory."
This has become irrelevant, he said.
Dagan, the new hard-driving director of Mossad, will implement the new changes, former Israeli government officials said.
Dagan, nicknamed "the gun," was Sharon's adviser on counter-terrorism during the government of Netanyahu in 1996, former Israeli government officials say. A former military man, Dagan has also undertaken extremely sensitive diplomatic missions for several of Israel's prime ministers, former Israeli government sources said.
Former Israel Defense Forces Lt. Col. Gal Luft, who served under Dagan, described him as an "extremely creative individual -- creative to the point of recklessness."
A former CIA official who knows Dagan said the new Mossad director knows "his foreign affairs inside and out," and has a "real killer instinct."
Dagan is also "an intelligence natural" who has "a superb analyst not afraid to act on gut instinct," the former CIA official said.
Dagan has already removed Mossad officials whom he regards as "being too conservative or too cautious" and is building up "a constituency of senior people of the same mentality," one former long-time Israeli operative said.
Dagan is also urging that Mossad operatives rely less on secret sources and rely more on open information that is so plentifully provided on the Internet and newspapers.
"It's a cultural thing," one former Israeli intelligence operative explained. "Mossad in the past has put its emphasis on Humint (human intelligence) and secret operations and has neglected the whole field of open media, which has become extremely important."
Regarding Mossad's new policy and budget increase, Kim Farber an Israeli Embassy official said, "There is so little information available on this, there is nothing I can add."
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Pic I left off.
You have no idea whether or not our folks are engaged in this kind of activity. The fact that our government was willing to publicize the CIA Predator hit leads me to believe we probably are involved in activities similar to these hit squads.
I am a great supporter of Israel but if anyone thinks we should allow a foreign government powers we restrict from our own government its quite insane. If Israel has information about someone in the US, they had better turn that information over to us and let us handle it. If not and they go a head a take them out on their own on US soil, I would arrest their diplomats and prosecute them despite their immunity.
I also will not allow our own government to use foreign government agents as a proxy to violate constitution safe guards within the US. Imagine Clinton with power like that.
I think Bush has struck a fair balance by declaring these enemies as enemy combatants and sending them to Gizmo. If the Massad wants to trick someone into leaving the country its not my concern, but while they're on US soil the constitution is the supreme authority.
I couldn't agree more. The majority of the American people would go absolutely ballistic at the idea of Israeli hit squads operating in the U.S., not to mention the blatent unconstitutionality of even allowing it. Makes me wonder who is floating this story and why.
There is a reason why this practice is not done often, and never on the territory of a powerful ally
If the government of country A sends armed men into country B, for the purpose of killing citizens of country B, then country A has committed an ACT OF WAR against country B. If the act is done with the approval of the head of state of country B, then that head of state is effectively sanctioning hit teams.
The problem I have with it, is once the precedent is set, and people get used to it, then what happens if we get another Clinton-type administration? What if the Mossad gets told by the President "y'know, I have some people who keep causing distractions for me. People like Rush and Jim Robinson. The distractions they cause me prevent me from giving more attention to your problems. Perhaps you could think of some way to handle my problems, so that I could handle yours...".
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