Chalabigate
"Weapons of Mass Deception"
2004-11-16
Mossad rocked by internal crisis: report
From correspondents in Jerusalem16nov04
ISRAEL'S spy agency Mossad has been rocked to the core by an internal crisis which has seen scores of resignations over the policies of its controversial boss Meir Dagan, according to a television report.Dagan, a close associate of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, has come under fire for launching risky operations abroad, a documentary broadcast on the private Channel 2 television said.
The documentary, which was based on interviews with former officials in the agency, also claimed that relations with the US Central Intelligence Agency have sharply deteriorated under Dagan.
It said more than 200 agents including seven department heads had resigned in recent months.
When Dagan, a reserve general, took over the agency in October 2002, Mossad turned its sights on international terrorism with a renewed focus on overseas commando operations
But the Israeli press has accused him of pushing the fight against "Islamic terrorism" to the top of its priority list at the expense of its information collection and analysis.
Referring to operations abroad, the television documentary highlighted a car bomb attack in Damascus in September which killed a leading member of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Both Hamas and Syria blamed Israel for the bombing.
Dagan was Sharon's political advisor during his election campaign and previously served as an anti-terror advisor to Sharon's main political rival and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In 1970, Dagan ran a secret commando unit called Rimon, which, according to press reports, summarily executed Palestinians accused of carrying out attacks in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip.
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ISRAEL'S spy agency Mossad has been rocked to the core by an internal crisis which has seen scores of resignations over the policies of its controversial boss Meir Dagan, according to a television report.Dagan, a close associate of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, has come under fire for launching risky operations abroad, a documentary broadcast on the private Channel 2 television said.
The documentary, which was based on interviews with former officials in the agency, also claimed that relations with the US Central Intelligence Agency have sharply deteriorated under Dagan.
It said more than 200 agents including seven department heads had resigned in recent months.
When Dagan, a reserve general, took over the agency in October 2002, Mossad turned its sights on international terrorism with a renewed focus on overseas commando operations
But the Israeli press has accused him of pushing the fight against "Islamic terrorism" to the top of its priority list at the expense of its information collection and analysis.
Referring to operations abroad, the television documentary highlighted a car bomb attack in Damascus in September which killed a leading member of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Both Hamas and Syria blamed Israel for the bombing.
Dagan was Sharon's political advisor during his election campaign and previously served as an anti-terror advisor to Sharon's main political rival and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In 1970, Dagan ran a secret commando unit called Rimon, which, according to press reports, summarily executed Palestinians accused of carrying out attacks in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip.
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Milton Frihetsson, 01:35
