The attack on the US Embassy's WC - an update

/ dude, this wasn't really major /

[cellphone camera image of damage inside the US embassy, from Greek e-journal e-Liberta]

OK, since a few people in the US (the comments, see the comments) were over-reacting and being in a rather implausibly conspiratorial mood about the attack on the US embassy in Athens, I'd like to point out a few things:

A false-flag operation - Mossad or CIA - an Iranian retaliation, an Al Qaida attack should all have in common some level of competence. And some level of bloodthirstiness too, I guess. The guys (and gal possibly) who launched the rocket against the US embassy's loo, were neither competent or murderous: They aimed (and missed) at the shield with the eagle in front of the embassy, and fired at a time when it was least likely that any people would be inside the offices.

Not only that, but the missile they used was so old and badly preserved that, the reports state, it didn't do much damage (except for the bathroom). The missile was a 1974 Chinese replica of a Russian RPG-7 (but the Chinese know nothing about it), which likely found its way to the embassy via an Albanian army arsenal, raided during the 1997 pyramid scheme riots, possibly passing through Kosovo and/or Tetovo and ending up, through a rather efficient arms smuggling ring that involves (my home island of) Crete (possibly the EU region with the highest number of illegal guns and firepower per capita - hey its "tradition", what can I say..) which is a major consumer and traffic center for illegal arms in the broader Eastern Mediterranean, Near East and SE Europe, into the hands of some person related to the strike - who quite likely was ripped off in the process since the damn thing couldn't explode because its explosives were eroded/degraded, according to the Greek press and TV.

Greek TV BTW, has gone beyond the realms of the surreal, finding first a photo of the arms stash of the "Revolutionary Struggle", right out of Wikipedia - from Fallujah it turns out, and then, despite lamenting the lack of real leads, going on to such a detailed description of the terrorists, their origins, age groups and political affiliations (leaked supposedly from the antiterrorist squad or the police) that these journalists either have very vivid imaginations, or they're psychic... Another possibility is that they're printing whatever the intelligence services are leaking - for they're own purpose.

If one wants to be somewhat realistically more conspiratorial, I would point out that the first reactions coming out of the Greek government were to call for a toughening of antiterror laws, including easier and more extensive wiretapping provisions, extensive use of surveillance cameras for non-traffic purposes etc. This is the same "terror group" BTW who exploded a "bomb" against the former Minister of Public Order (some sort of explosive tied to a bicycle) at a time when he and the whole government was in political deep shit, allegedly for helping and allowing foreign intelligence services to roam freely in the country and for covering up the huge wiretapping scandal. The attack happened outside his house, a few meters away from the bomb-squad which was equipped with explosives'-sniffing dogs, and "three minutes" before he was scheduled to leave his house. The attack created some sympathy for Voulgarakis and a much needed diversion for the Greek government - which was sliding in opinion polls amidst the various scandals... The Greek Intelligence Service would also be very likely to be Clouseau-like in their attempts, given their history of gaffes and would have had to operate with full knowledge of the US government (which could have used a more "successful" attack for obvious reasons of their own)... But I dislike conspiracy theories, even the marginally more plausible ones, so I suppose that it is indeed a minor local armed group, which tried to pull off a highly symbolic yet bloodless attack. As long as nobody got hurt, it would have been rather popular (occurring almost on the anniversary of the opening of the Guantanamo detention camp) here, so that alone would have been reason enough for them to strike... By the way, if they're real, I expect they will probably get better at it...

As I noted, these inept "terrorists" supposedly called the private security company's offices to claim responsibility - a world first. One of my favourite Greek bloggers, Old Boy, announced yesterday that he received a written statement from Revolutionary Struggle, which I think is brilliant enough to be worth translating:

We assume responsibility for yesterday's rocket attack against the American Embassy. We choose to publish our proclamation in a blog because we believe that the revolution will start and spread through the internet. In fact the revolution has already started...
... Unfortunately in terrorism, just like in football, everything is judged by the result: a few centimeters off and the ball hits the post, the game is lost and all the players are bums - a few centimeters off and the rocket, instead of hitting the shield, lands in the crapper. Shit.
We live in the age of the image and the image of the destroyed US emblem would immediately reach the four corners of the planet. What's more effective than that? We would be adored across the world. Our image would become a global inspiration, a symbol, a standard. We would have become legends. But because of a few fucking centimeters, our dream was shattered like the glass and ended up in the loo. Our strike, beyond its global dimensions, would have made us especially loved and accepted by the Greeks. Just like November 17 was in the beginning, when it attacked CIA station chiefs and Greek torturers. But today, thirty years later, we, the younger generation, have realized that by killing a minor officer you simple take a life, while by blowing up a symbol you speak to the hearts of everyone and achieve a far greater effect. Honestly, which Greek hasn't looked up at that particular shield and emblem, at some point in his or her life, with hatred? We took the protester's rock and we turned it into a rocket. But we missed. And that hurts. But whether we like it or not, that's how terrorism goes, the rocket is cylindrical and a whore (to paraphrase Ivica Osim [Who had stated that in football, the ball was round and a whore]) and we have no other option but to pick ourselves up, see where we made mistakes, and work hard in correcting them, and focus on our next strike, taking each strike one at a time [standard football-coach talk after a defeat].

R.O. Revolutionary Struggle

Warning: For the really clever officers of the anti-terrorist and cybercrime squads: do not arrest this person! It's satire/commentary. He didn't really receive a proclamation. Seriously.

Rocket fired against the US embassy in Athens

/ Bomb and tell / the wrong people /


So this morning around 6 am local time (GMT +2), a rocket was launched against the US embassy in Athens, which inflicted rather minor damage: a 30 cm hole in the window and, possibly, the destruction of a lavatory. No one was hurt. No one is sure about the identity of the perpetrators of the bombing but there are claims that a militant group calling itself "Revolutionary Struggle" called the Private Security company that was guarding the embassy, to claim responsibility for the attack in what must be a world first: not the police, the authorities or the media, but a private security company. As you might imagine I'm not inclined to take the alleged phone-calls seriously.

Interestingly, Greek TV channels report that the missile fired was of Eastern European origin- possibly East German, this being the first time that I remember that a local armed group would be using Eastern European weapons - if indeed it is a local group - which I doubt, but can't totally dismiss as a possibility. Anyway that's what the TV reports but I'm not ready to trust them on anything...

Despite the unspectacular character of the strike, one should remember that the US embassy in Athens is possibly among the most heavily guarded buildings in the world, and the total failure of both private security and the Greek police to prevent or capture the perpetrators is astonishing - as is the fact that the surveillance cameras in the US embassy failed to spot the attackers.

I'm not sure about the meaning of this attack, I'm not sure who the perpetrators were, but I can report that we're being bombarded (again) here by all sorts of TV "terrorism experts", a serious threat to our nerves and general peace of mind.

Image from in.gr which has a photo-gallery of the bombed embassy.

... And this analysis is almost (but not quite) correct.

Peace, Love and Understanding in Occupied Iraq

/ the Iraqi civil war /

Iason Athanasiadis, sent the following transcript of a talk show from Al Jazeera TV featuring Sunni MP, Mish'an Al-Jabouri (owner of Al-Zawraa TV) and Shiite Iraqi Journalist Sadeq Al-Musawi (political advisor to the President of Iraq Jalal Talabani). The debate aired on Al-Jazeera TV on January 2, 2007:

Host: "Do you support the execution of Saddam Hussein?" 4,787 people, who constitute 88.6% of the public, say: "No." 11.4% say: "Yes." What do you want to say to them?

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: With your permission, before he responds... I would like to begin this show by calling upon the viewers to recite the Al-Fatiha verse for the soul of the martyred president Saddam Hussein...

Sadeq Al-Musawi: We are not going to recite the Al-Fatiha for anybody. We are here to condemn a man who killed thousands and millions of Iraqis. We are not here to recite the Al-Fatiha for anybody. He was an oppressive tyrant who spilled the blood of the Iraqis. [...] Saddam Hussein was not an Arab leader. Saddam Hussein came to power by stealth, in the dark of night. He killed his friends and his comrades in order to attain power. Saddam Hussein has gone to the garbage bin of history. [...]

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: You should have some self-respect, and choose your words carefully, or else, I will do to you things you cannot even imagine, you Persian liar... Behave yourself, you liar...

Sadeq Al-Musawi: You are a thief... You are a thief. You've been convicted for theft..

Mish'an Al-Jabouri : Get out. Saddam Hussein is your master and the master of your parents...

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: These are your documents. You are an Iranian citizen. You are Persian... You are an Iranian citizen... Saddam Hussein is your master and the master of people like you... (throwing the pages at Al-Musawi) These are your documents...

Sadeq Al-Musawi: Your father killed Kurds...

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: These are your Iranian documents... You are Iranian. These documents show that he applied for Iraqi citizenship in May 2004.

Sadeq Al-Musawi: We will settle accounts with all of you...

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: To hell with you and your accounts...

Host: Sir, I beg you to sit down...

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: You Persian shoe...

Host: You cannot talk this way.

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: He shouldn't offend the master of his own parents... Saddam Hussein is his master and the master of his parents... That man is an Iranian...

Host: OK. Let's sit down. Let's talk calmly, without getting upset, please. This isn't the way to hold a discussion. [...]

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: As you know, Saddam executed my own brother and many of my relatives. He executed the uncle of my children, but the way he was executed proved Saddam was a brave man. He has truly become our martyr, and we will visit his grave like the graves of the righteous. [...] They sentenced him to death and executed him on the holiday. The people who executed him are the same people who killed Omar [ibn Al-Khattab]. These are the same peple who killed Abu Bakr... Sorry, the same people who hate Abu Bakr and all the Prophet's companions... [...]

Host: To the viewers who have just joined us, we had Mr. Sadeq Al-Musawi with us, and he left after one minute...

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: He is not Sadeq Al-Musawi. You know that's not his name. Don't make me an accomplice to this forgery...

Host: It looks like he is coming back. I hope Mr. Sadeq will return. Please, let's not make it personal.

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: If he's rude or if he says things that are wrong about Saddam Hussein, I will do things...

Host: Mr. Mish'an, you can say whatever you want about politics...

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: Speak politely and do not offend the memory of the martyred president. Do not offend the memory of... The martyred president Saddam Hussein has become an imam for the heroic resistance fighters around the world.

Sadeq Al-Musawi: That's your opinion.

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: Yes it is, and you should respect my feelings and those of the public. [...] I will not allow him to curse the president....

Sadeq Al-Musawi: I will curse him until this show is over...

Mish'an Al-Jabouri: By Allah, I advise you not to do that....

Sadeq Al-Musawi: Don't advise me, kill me in Iraq... Send your militia to kill me...

[another version here].

I note that the AJ host claims that there is some sort of poll that shows that close to 90% of respondents were against Saddam's execution. The transcript does not make clear who was asked - whether it was Arabs in general or Iraqis. If the latter, the numbers are difficult to believe, and I haven't seen anything on the english (or french, or greek) speaking websites that even mentions such a poll. We do know that when the trial started, a poll claimed that over 50% of the Iraqi population supported his hanging. On the other hand, whereas in a poll published on April 2005, only 39% of Iraqis believed that Iraq was then somewhat worse off or much worse off than before the U.S. invasion, a recent poll shows that:

...Only five percent of those questioned said Iraq is better today than in 2003. While 89 percent of the people said the political situation had deteriorated, 79 percent saw a decline in the economic situation; 12 percent felt things had improved and 9 percent said there was no change. Predictably, 95 percent felt the security situation was worse than before...

However if anyone knows more about the poll quoted by the Al Jazeera anchor, feel free to comment and/or post a url.