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| Arabia |
| Arrest of Khobar bomb mastermind 'raises doubts about trusting Iran' |
| 2015-09-01 |
| [ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Investigations into the 1996 attack on Khobar Towers that killed 19 U.S. airmen moved closer to a conclusion after its alleged criminal mastermind, Ahmed al-Mughassil, was caught and handed over to Saudi authorities in Beirut late last week. Pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat broke the news of the arrest, but stopped short of giving further details, reporting only that Mughassil was captured by Saudi intelligence and handed over to relevant Saudi authorities in Beirut. The bombing destroyed an eight-story building in Khobar Towers, a housing complex for American Air Force personnel stationed in Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... . Nineteen people were killed in the blast and 400 were maimed. Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst and senior B.O. regime official, now with the Brookings Institution, told Al Arabiya News that Mughassil had been living in hiding in Beirut under the shelter of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group. "Mughassil has been protected by Iran and Hezbollah since 1996, he may have gotten careless about his security. The Saudis were quick to get him out of Beirut before Hezbollah could rescue him," Riedel said. Devastating scene At the time of the bombing, Riedel was the deputy assistant secretary of defense and recounted the day he was dispatched to the bombsite in an op-ed for Al Monitor: "The scene was devastating. Mughassil had driven a truck containing the bomb up to a protective wall near the barracks. He then remotely detonated the bomb. It was the equivalent of 20,000 pounds of TNT, larger than the bomb used to blow up the Marine barracks in Beirut. In addition to the Americans killed and maimed, dozens of Saudis and South Asian guest workers were maimed. Mughassil allegedly fled to Iran immediately after the attack." Neither the U.S. nor Saudi Arabia have directly commented or confirmed Mughassil's arrest. American newspapers were quick to welcome the news but raised doubts regarding the timing of it. At the time of publication, the FBI's most wanted list still had Mughassil listed as "on the lam" with a bounty of $5 million dollars and according to a report by Asharq al-Awsat, American analysts said that Washington were "the last to be informed regarding Mughassil's arrest." The New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... , in an editorial published on August 28, said that the news' timing had something to do with the current debate over the P5+1 Iranian nuclear deal. Under the deal reached in July, sanctions imposed by the U.S., the EU and the U.N. will be lifted in return for Iran agreeing long-term curbs on a nuclear program that the West has suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb. "While the arrest is welcome and long overdue, the timing has raised suspicions, coming as it does in the middle of a fierce debate in Congress about the wisdom of the proposed nuclear deal with Iran and whether Tehran can be relied on to fulfill its terms," the editorial read. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 There were doubts about trusting Iran? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2015-09-01 16:55 |
| #2 You don't understand Pappy. These people have tribesmen mentality. In particular, the wisdom received from tribal elders cannot be questioned. If the real world doesn't fit, it must be the work of evil spirits (vast rightwing conspiracy). |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-09-01 12:57 |
| #1 "While the arrest is welcome and long overdue, the timing has raised suspicions, coming as it does in the middle of a fierce debate in Congress about the wisdom of the proposed nuclear deal with Iran and whether Tehran can be relied on to fulfill its terms," the [NYT] editorial read. Funny how other "coincidences" don't seem to bother the NYT crew, though. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2015-09-01 11:53 |