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9 comments

1 Destro  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 12:24:11pm

Googled Mehdi Ghezali and he has long hair very much like the alleged bomber in the picture taken by security cameras but that's all I can tell.

Image: mehdighezali.jpg

Image: bulgaria-suicide-bomber.jpg

2 sliv_the_eli  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 12:58:24pm

re: #1 Destro

If, indeed, it was Ghezali, I suspect we will learn that soon enough, as I have no doubt his whereabouts have been a subject of interest to various intelligence agencies since his release from Gitmo. Indeed, I have been thinking that the story about it being Ghezali may have originated from one or another of those agencies and that it is not mere speculation. On the other hand, it could be that they have lost track of Ghezali and are planting false information to get him to expose himself (not in the Sandusky sense, of course).

That is why, as I mentioned in an earlier thread, I am applying the 24-hour rule to this one. Doesn't make the response by Sweden's domestic security service any less disingenuous, though.

3 ErikJ76  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 1:42:26pm
n.b., The addition of the word “not” in the last sentence is not my fabrication, but to correct Ynet’s translation error. As can be seen in the link below — for those who read Hebrew — the statement by a SAPO official was that they are certain Mr. Ghezali is “not” a terrorist.

I don't read Hebrew.
Was the Swedish SÄPO official interviewed by an Israeli journalist, most likely in English? That interview is then translated into Hebrew, and then back into English?
Or is the Israeli news-site getting the story somewhere else?

I'm reading Swedish news.
SÄPO states that it isn't him, and then they say that they won't discuss anything more.

4 ErikJ76  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 1:50:42pm

Translated the Hebrew story, and while it came out rather garbled, it doesn't have a source and it doesn't read like an original story.
Seems most likely that they got it somewhere else, and that the part in it about SÄPO not knowing where he is is due to translation error from wherever language the original story was in.

5 sliv_the_eli  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 2:23:16pm

re: #4 ErikJ76

re: #3 ErikJ76

In its Hebrew edition, Yediot Aharonot, the Israeli newspaper that owns and publishes Ynet, ascribed to SAPO the statement that Ghezali "is not a terrorist." Yediot's English Web site, which contains translations of their original (Hebrew)-source articles, quoted SAPO as saying that Ghezali "is a terrorist", which makes no sense in the context of what SAPO said about whether he was involved.

Most of the sources I have come across today which are reporting on the statement by the SAPO spokesman agree that SAPO is saying Ghezali is not the perpetrator. Here is how the Telegraph in the U.K. is reporting the statement:

Mark Vadasz, head of communications at Swedish intelligence agency SAPO, later said the reports were mistaken.

"I can confirm that it's not Mehdi Ghezali. I can't go into any more details of the subject. I can't comment on that person, but we're focusing on this case, and we can confirm that it's not him." British and US intelligence sources said they were still investigating the reports

[Link: www.telegraph.co.uk...]

I note, however, that at least one source I came across (sorry, I forget where or which it was) seems to suggest that what SAPO was really saying is that the "Mehdi Ghezali" who the media reported on in connection with yesterday's atrocity is not the same "Mehdi Ghezali" who once resided at Gitmo.

All I know is that whoever pulled this off was apparantly able to wander around an airport for hours without apparently attracting attention or raising suspicion. Either local security is incredibly incompetent or the perp was one cool customer (more likely, both are true to greater or lesser extents). If the latter, this would suggest the perp had the kind of training or experience that more than a few of our Gitmo guests had received at some point prior to their stay in Cuba.

6 ErikJ76  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 2:41:07pm

re: #5 sliv_the_eli

re: #3 ErikJ76I note, however, that at least one source I came across (sorry, I forget where or which it was) seems to suggest that what SAPO was really saying is that the "Mehdi Ghezali" who the media reported on in connection with yesterday's atrocity is not the same "Mehdi Ghezali" who once resided at Gitmo.

From the reporting, especially the reporting in Sweden, it seems that that source (whatever it is) got it seriously wrong. But then the who idea that Ghezali is the bomber seem to originate from a Bulgarian forum and based on the fact that they both have long hair...

All I know is that whoever pulled this off was apparantly able to wander around an airport for hours without apparently attracting attention or raising suspicion. Either local security is incredibly incompetent or the perp was one cool customer (more likely, both are true to greater or lesser extents). If the latter, this would suggest the perp had the kind of training or experience that more than a few of our Gitmo guests had received at some point prior to their stay in Cuba.

A lot of people wander at airports waiting for connecting or delayed flights, should all of them be questioned?

7 sliv_the_eli  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 3:09:18pm

re: #6 ErikJ76

A lot of people wander at airports waiting for connecting or delayed flights, should all of them be questioned?

Nope. Only the ones acting suspiciously. And there are many Israelis still alive today because the people responsible for their safety in various public places spotted nervous and other suspicious behavior by people wearing bomb vests.

Have you ever been asked at an airport if you packed your own luggage? Ever wonder why? Hint: It's not that they necessarily care if you actually can pack your own luggage; they are gauging your behavior in response and while responding to the question.

So, yes, I stand by my earlier statement. Either airport security failed to notice suspicious behavior by the terrrorist while he was wandering around their airport over several hours, or he did not exhbit any behavoir that might arouse suspicion. And if the latter, he was one cool -- and probably well trained -- customer.

As for the rest of your post #6, I'm not sure what you are saying. Is it that the reporting in Sweden has provided the entirety of the SAPO spokesman's comments and he said nothing more than that it is not Ghezali (that is, he absolutely did not say that they do not know Ghezali's whereabouts), or is it merely that Swedish press, like the Telegraph, have quoted (or paraphrased) the SAPO spokesperson unequivocally stating that it was not Ghezali, but that they have not reported at all with respect to the balance of what Ynet's report says SAPO said.

As for whether the original source for the Ghezali story got it right or, as you assert , "got it seriously wrong", I have no knowledge one way or another at this point. I do not assume, however, that the SAPO spokesperson's denial is conclusive, or that it is necessarily untrue. Hence, as I have written elsewhere on this site today, I am applying the 24-hour rule to the claim that Gitmo Ghezali was the bomber.

8 ErikJ76  Thu, Jul 19, 2012 4:04:56pm

re: #7 sliv_the_eli

Nope. Only the ones acting suspiciously. And there are many Israelis still alive today because the people responsible for their safety in various public places spotted nervous and other suspicious behavior by people wearing bomb vests.

Have you ever been asked at an airport if you packed your own luggage? Ever wonder why? Hint: It's not that they necessarily care if you actually can pack your own luggage; they are gauging your behavior in response and while responding to the question.

So, yes, I stand by my earlier statement. Either airport security failed to notice suspicious behavior by the terrrorist while he was wandering around their airport over several hours, or he did not exhbit any behavoir that might arouse suspicion. And if the latter, he was one cool -- and probably well trained -- customer.

As for the rest of your post #6, I'm not sure what you are saying. Is it that the reporting in Sweden has provided the entirety of the SAPO spokesman's comments and he said nothing more than that it is not Ghezali (that is, he absolutely did not say that they do not know Ghezali's whereabouts), or is it merely that Swedish press, like the Telegraph, have quoted (or paraphrased) the SAPO spokesperson unequivocally stating that it was not Ghezali, but that they have not reported at all with respect to the balance of what Ynet's report says SAPO said.

As for whether the original source for the Ghezali story got it right or, as you assert , "got it seriously wrong", I have no knowledge one way or another at this point. I do not assume, however, that the SAPO spokesperson's denial is conclusive, or that it is necessarily untrue. Hence, as I have written elsewhere on this site today, I am applying the 24-hour rule to the claim that Gitmo Ghezali was the bomber.

SÄPO is, in every Swedish news story, I've read say that they can confirm that's he's not the bomber. They are also saying that they don't want to give information about the whereabouts of Ghezali. I guess that could be mistranslated as them not knowing his whereabouts. I doubt SÄPO would tell non Swedish media things that they wouldn't tell Swedish media, or that Swedish media would decide to not include that kind of information if given to them.

For other part. Bulgaria isn't Israel, it's bigger, poorer, and it doesn't face the kind of threats that Israel faces. Bulgaria will never have the kind of security that Israel has, and, honestly, I don't see a reason why they should.
Now, you may see that as incompetence or a failure.
But then there aren't a lot of terrorist attacks in Bulgaria, successful, failed, or averted.

9 sliv_the_eli  Fri, Jul 20, 2012 7:07:14am

re: #8 ErikJ76

Erik: Sorry to take so long in responding. Thank you for the information regarding what is being reported in the Swedish press, which suggests that the particular information about Ghezali might have been garbled in the translation among multiple languages. I suppose we shall have to wait and see what we learn about the identity of the bomber.

With respect to the airports in Bulgaria, I stand by my earlier observations. Terrorism, and particularly terrorism directed in and around airports is not a phenomenon that is limited to Israel. Hijackings, armed attacks on airport travelers and attempts to blow up passenger aircraft (some successful, some not) have happened in numerous countries around the world in the past half century. Airport security against terrorist attacks is therefore something that is not, and should not be, limited to Israel. In any event, though, the news reports from Burgas all indicate that the area has become a popular resort for Israeli travelers, so, even if the presence of large numbers of Israeli travelers is the only gauge of whether airport security needs to be vigilant in this day and age, that should have been the case at Sarafovo.


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