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January 19, 2010

Israel's 'super-hero'

Jane Jamison
Single-handedly, this intense miniature bull of a man, a son of Russian survivors of the holocaust, may be keeping the Middle East a safer place.  Dagan leads the most effective and mysterious intelligence agency in the world, Israel's Mossad, which has that reputation because of him.

This weekend, the official Egyptian newspaper, Al-Ahram, wrote an unusual story praising Dagan's accomplishments.  It is unusual because Israel has historically been "coy" about Dagan's exploits and because Egypt is not necessarily a friend to Israel.  Al-Ahram calls Dagan "the Mossad Superman."

Here is a portion of the Al-Ahram article filed by debkafile.com, which indicates how respectful Egypt is of its Israeli opponent, Dagan.

"He is credited with putting its Iran's nuclear program well behind schedule by several years.

The paper assigns him a possible role in stirring up opposition unrest in Tehran in the six months since Iran's dubious presidential election, as well in the Iranian nuclear scientist's assassination on Jan. 11. Dagan is also described as aiding the international campaign against Tehran by damaging leaks to world media for blackening the Islamic regime, its leaders and its methods.

In Syria, says al-Ahram, Dagan succeeded in scaling down Syria's military capabilities, notably by masterminding the destruction in Sept. 2007 of the North Korean plutonium plant under construction at Deir ez-Zor in northern Syria.

In other words, were it not for Dagan and his audacious exploits, the Middle East might be a different place today with Iran and Syria the unchallenged regional superpowers, says the Egyptian newspaper.

After various military/government assignments, Meir Dagan, was first appointed Mossad director in 2002 by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. His term of office has been extended twice, by Ehud Olmert and Benjamin Netanyahu, Sharon's two successors as prime minister. He is 65.

In 2008, one of Israel's leading television stations named Meir Dagan its "Man of the Year." The award strongly criticized by liberals within the Jewish state as glorifying violence.  In the past, Dagan's doings have been strictly censored by Israeli government officials. 

The "Man of the Year" award panel that year offered a fascinating glimpse  of  Meir Dagan and Mossad:

Major Gen.Yossi Ben Hanan spoke about how Dagan once killed a terrorist with his own hands, though of course he did not specify how, and reminisced about how they had once traveled together in the Far East. National Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer added: "I recommend that you don't get too close to him - I suggest your story had best be favorable."

Later the panel made intimations about his doings in the past year: The killing of senior Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus, a few more mysterious and unnecessary killings and, of course, the bombing of the alleged nuclear site in Syria, operations that they said should make Meirke deserving of "at least 10 Israel Prizes.  Indeed, our man of the year is a declared killer. Whether by box-cutter or car bomb, his craft is killing.

As Iran grows ever nearer full nuclear military capability, Egypt's "hat tip" to Meir Dagan may indicate how Middle Eastern alliances may be shifting.  What consequences Iran may suffer for its nuclear aggressions may ripple to its neighbors or allies. 

Middle East news website Al Majlis says the favorable article about Dagan could not have been written in a government newspaper without the permission of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak:


Mubarak clearly wanted to send a message to the countries and organizations that Dagan allegedly undermines.

It's a reflection of the deepening tension between the Egyptian government and other prominent actors in the Arab world, particularly Hamas, which has clearly frustrated Cairo with its refusal to sign a reconciliation deal with Fatah.

Having an enemy call you a fearsome "superhero" capable of extraordinary acts is most surely a sign of respect in the machismo of Middle East culture.  Chances are, Muslim leaders bent on terrorism do not consider a leader who has a low golf handicap or who bows at the waist to them to be a "superhero" capable of extraordinary acts. 

Because of this fact, it could very well be that America's safety also depends on the intrepid leader of Israel's Mossad.  May Meir Dagan stay strong and safe and live long.  L' Chaim. 

Jane Jamison is publisher of the conservative news/commentary blog, UNCOVERAGE.net

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