Spy Games Have Returned

The Core Belief

A traveling businessman is found dead in a luxury hotel in Dubai.  At first, his death looks like a suicide or perhaps natural causes.  However, after the autopsy showed some irregularities as to the cause of death, an official investigation is launched.  The body showed signs or electric shock, strangulation and the pillow was stained with blood.

Hotel CCTV shows the dead man had been followed by a group of 11 people; all of who used fake passports, visas and identities to gain entrance to Dubai.  One man in the group of 11 had requested room 230, right across from the ‘crime’ scene: room 237.  Shortly after the deed was done, the 11 people packed up, checked out of the hotel and left Dubai.  Their whereabouts are unknown.  Interpol has issued international arrest warrants for this ‘hit’ squad.

The dead man was named Mahmoud al-Mabhoud.  He was a founder of the Hamas Terrorist group.  Al-Mabhoud was also suspected as the go between for Hamas and their sponsors: the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Dubai blames Israel’s super secret intelligence agency Mossad for the killing, as does the rest of the Arab world.  Israel is saying nothing, their stated policy.  The Brits, Irish and French, where the passports used by the alleged killers originated, are saying the usual non-committal phrases used by governments when they outwardly frown upon the act but secretly rejoice over the outcome.

CNN, MSNBC et al are shocked, shocked I say, at the possibility that this Mahmoud al-Mabhoud was murdered by Israel.  Others openly wonder if the CIA actually did the deed and others still postulate this may have been an internal Hamas dispute.  The intelligence community must be mortified at the CCTV catching the operatives.

Having mourned the passing of Robert B. Parker and Dick Francis within the last 4 weeks, I’m just happy ‘Cold War’ style spy games are back.  So what if Spenser and Hawk are gone?  So what if there will never again be high suspense at the elegant horse tracks of the vanishing British Empire?  MI5, Mossad and the CIA are playing on the international stage once again.  Can the reconstituted KGB be far behind?