This is more of a news item than an opinion article, so it'll be a short one.
The Ethiopian Airline that departed Beirut and crashed into the Mediterranean on January 25th killing 92 people, received very little press. It was originally speculated to be a "pilot error."
Turns out, this was another colossal act of terrorism, courtesy of Islamic Jihad. Check out the article filed in DEBKA on February 10th:
"Evidence has reached debkafile's counter-terror sources that the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 which crashed after takeoff from Beirut on January 25, killing all 92 aboard, was blown up in mid-air.
This was an al-Qaeda operation timed for one month to the day after its failed attempt to destroy an American Northwest airliner bound for Detroit.
It is becoming clear that either a bomb was planted on the Ethiopian flight with a timer or a passenger acted as suicide bomber.
Western security agencies in the Middle East involved in combating al Qaeda believe that its planners picked on the Ethiopian flight for more than one reason apart from the date: They had been tipped off that a group of French undercover agents, including Maria Sanchez Pietton, wife of the French ambassador to Beirut, and top Hizballah operatives, including secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, would be aboard.
Mme Pietton lost her life in the crash, while the Hizballah travelers were saved by switching to another flight at the last minute.
The first bodies recovered from the Mediterranean off the Lebanese town of Naama showed all the hallmarks of explosion victims: They were found strapped to their seats with their heads, hands and feet blown off and scattered, typical effects of an explosive blast.
Eye-witnesses at the time heard a loud explosion and saw the plane enveloped in a ball of fire as it gained altitude after takeoff from Beirut international airport.
Both France and Hizballah have denied they were targets.
Lebanese officials, led by prime minister Saad Hariri, have spent two weeks trying to hide the fact that the Ethiopian airline disaster was caused by terror. But Lebanese health minister Jawad Khalifeh gave the game away by a slip of the tongue Tuesday, Feb. 9:
"The plane exploded during flight and the cabin, as well as the bodies of those on board, were dispersed into the sea, in different locations," he said, trying to explain why some of the corpses were found dismembered.
He then tried to correct himself by saying he "didn't mean a military explosion."
To Read Entire Report Click here: DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism, Security
It begs many questions:
What's with the cover-up? Why the hush? Are government officials afraid of telling the truth for fear that passengers will be more hesitant to fly? Will it be costing the world of air travel more money to invest in better security measures? Would we be offending Islamists if the culprits were identified (as they usually are) as Islamists?
Further chilling, is the question: Why the Ethiopian plane? Was this a test run for a new method for smuggling explosive materials onto a plane? Is it a harbinger for future attacks?
The government, and the media, are not very forthcoming about this situation.
I'm sure there's more to come.
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Thirty years of law enforcement in Miami, Florida, including sixteen years working homicide, gives Marshall Frank a huge reservoir from which to draw insights into the problems facing America today. After retiring from the Miami-Dade P.D. in 1990, Frank went on to become a writer, now with eight published books, five fiction and three non-fiction. His book "Militant Islam In America" was published after an exhaustive research study about the inroads that radicals are making within the borders of the U.S. He is currently working on a non-fiction book about the abominable criminal justice system. Book listings, prices and availability can be accessed at his web site: marshallfrank.com.
