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From: Onyango Oloo
Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2002 5:53 AM
Subject: [Mwananchi] What Does The Kikambala Tragedy Have to do with
Dec.27th? A Digital Essay by Onyango Oloo 1.0. An Interesting Preview My initial shock about the Kikambala deadly blast and the near mishap at Port Reitz has given way to profound befuddlement. There are so many things that do not make sense: 1. A terrorist attack (presumably carried out by Islamic fundamentalists) taking place on the outskirts of a predominantly Muslim town during the holy month of Ramadhan. 2. A missile that just grazes an Israeli charter plane. 3. A light aircraft that disappears from the news headlines after the first day of reporting. 4. A three star hotel razed to the ground with lots of miraculous survivors. 5. A brazen, presumably bold attack on an Israeli owned hotel catering exclusively to Israelis months after Kenyan, Israeli, Australian, German, British and American intelligence agencies were given SPECIFIC ADVANCE WARNINGS about the possibility of this very attack in this very city by these very Al-Qaeda suspects. 6. More than 24 hours elapse before the Kenyan head of state visits the scene of the atrocity. 7. A joint military operation between the US and Kenya- Operation Edged Mallet goes on as if nothing had happened. 8. President Moi leaves for Europe and North America on schedule to discuss, on schedule the need to intensify the war on terrorism in East Africa. 9. Conveniently a joint US military exercise with Djibouti wraps up right around the time that Bush in Washington and Sharon in Tel Aviv are officially fingering Somali based Al-Qaeda operatives as the culprits behind the terrorist attacks. 10. As if on cue, Al-Qaeda comes forward to claim responsibility. And now everybody forgets the previously unheard of Lebanese based group- "Army of Palestine". I am still scratching my head�� Meanwhile, in a totally unrelated incident, the leading Presidential candidate just happens to escape a nasty road accident. As Arsenio Hall used to say, these are things that make you go�.. 2.0. Could They Have Looked The Other Way? A couple of weeks ago, I pondered the following possibility in an essay: "��Kenyans should watch out for this sinister THIRD FORCE, which I believe will STOP AT NOTHING to ensure that the KANU old guard RETAIN DIRECT POLITICAL POWER. If KANU can not rig itself back to power or outwit/infiltrate NARC to retain DIRECT political power, I see them resorting to desperate measures. Some of these desperate measures may include plunging the country into chaos and then using an excuse to declare a state of emergency and the imposition of some form of military rule.��" At that time, many people thought that it was bit of an alarmist leap in the dark, especially the bit where I speculated about an Uhuru Kenyatta assassination. Well, now I am thinking that my instincts were right, but thinking of the wrong actors. I had thought that these desperate measures would come from internal, trained militias with a bloody resume of unleashing vicious and sudden violence right around election time. I did not consider another chilling possibility: The likelihood of Moi being in cahoots with those bloodthirsty hawks in the Bush cabinet and the war criminals around Ariel Sharon. Like always, I am going to be bold, controversial and plain out there with this line of reasoning-its open to challenge of course:- How about: - If it was true that the Kenyan authorities and their Israeli and American counterparts knew ahead of time about the Kikambala terrorist plot? - If Moi, Sharon and Bush agreed that this terrorist attack should take place? - If the shock and anger of the bombing would reap short term and long term benefits for the above three? - If the Israelis and the Americans have infiltrated the Al-Qaeda cells in East Africa and want to use them to pursue US military policies? Think about it: if the above SPECULATION is true, then everything else MAKES SENSE you see. Why? The Kenyans and their Western counterparts allowed those attacks to happen because they would all benefit. It would give Moi a bargaining chip when he met Blair and Bush, posing as the elder statesman with the most experience in combating terrorism and promoting western interests in Kenya in contrast to the "novices" waiting in the wings. Remember that Uhuru Kenyatta has an insider's knowledge of the tourism sector, receives the regular security briefings etc. The Israelis have felt isolated in their attacks on the Palestinians and have been anxious to link their campaign to the American war on terrorism. Kikambala was definitely God sent, in their view. The Americans, fighting charges that they are not doing enough to crush Al-Qaeda can now go ahead with plans of invading Somalia (where there is talk of untapped oil reserves). But I hear you asking: Wait a minute Oloo. Al-Qaeda are the sworn enemies of the Americans. How could they plan anything together? To which I respond with my own question: Is that right? Is that true? It seems to me that Al Qaeda and the Americans really need each other in a macabre way. Al-Qaeda needs an image of the Great Satan to justify its inhuman atrocities. And for the Americans, Al-Qaeda has been the savior of the Bush presidency and one of the main factors behind the resurgence of the Republican Party. As a matter of historical fact, Al-Qaeda was created by the CIA, an agency that Bush Senior once headed. See for instance: http://anderson.ath.cx:8000/911/pk06.html http://csf.colorado.edu/forums/pfvs/2002III/msg00877.html http://www.nybooks.com/articles/15743 As late as 2001, one of Osama Bin Laden's brothers was President Bush's business partner. Nobody talks about that. Again, take a peek at this link: http://www.americanfreedomnews.com/afn_articles/bushsecrets.htm And these two as well: http://www.hereinreality.com/carlyle.html http://www.rense.com/general17/kdks.htm And how about the Israelis? Surely no one can accuse them of being cozy with suspected Islamic militants. Well, my friend, guess again. How many people know that it was the Israelis who created Hamas, the outfit that is giving them so much grief these days? Don't believe me? That's OK. Do your own research. Start for instance with this article: http://www.guerrillanews.com/war_on_terrorism/doc515.html And how does all this relate back to Kenya? In several ways. http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH021o0 Many of the top wigs in our country are deeply connected to the Israelis. Just a few examples: President Moi's personal physician is an Israeli citizen who lives in Israel. Moi has a lot of business deals with citizens of this Middle East nation. Biwott is up to his neck with business ties to the Israelis. The Kenyan security forces, notably the secret police and the GSU are trained, by among others, the Israelis. In 1976 Kenya provided a safe passage and refueling facilities to the Israelis during the Entebbe Raid. Last year's successful operation to kidnap Kurdish leader Abdallah Ocalan was carried out thanks to the cooperation of the Turks, the Israelis, the Americans and their Kenyan counterparts. Does anyone remember the 1980 bomb blast at the Norfolk hotel- owned by the Block family? Was anybody ever arrested? Who carried out that attack on the Jewish owned establishment? Let me emphasize one thing: I DO NOT, repeat I DO NOT believe in hoary conspiracy theories. I DO NOT subscribe to the infantile and outlandish ANTI-SEMITIC concept of a creepy Zionist plot to take over the world. What I am doing in this essay is present for discussion the very real possibility that the Kenyans, the Israelis and the Americans could have purposely chosen to look the other way when the bomb blast happened in order to solidify their respective positions. And I am saying that there is a distinct possibility that I could be wrong. The only way to establish the truth about the Kikambala tragedy is to carry out an independent investigation in which the major suspects in a possible cover up, namely the Kenyans, the Israelis and the Americans are NOT LEADING THE INVESTIGATION. Now we know that is not going to happen. And that is why, we must put these questions forward for people to think about, debate over, consider or reject after pondering all the possibilities. 3.0. How Could Moi, Uhuru and KANU Benefit from Kikambala? As I write these lines Bush is preparing to meet with Moi and Zenawi. In fact the actual news wires were telling me this just a few minutes ago (I am writing this a little before four thirty in the morning on December the 5th): http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20021205_168.html What are they going to be talking about? Obviously Bush wants to talk about the War on Terrorism and what Kenya can contribute to this global effort. Now, I am not sure if Moi is going to be seated or on his knees, but I am pretty sure, he is going to ask Bush a simple question: "What's in it for me, George? Why should I help you? Some of your State Department guys met with Raila just the other day. And let's face it Mr. Bush, I don't think you care for me very much. You know we are in a real danger of losing this election to these NARC guys you have been funding openly. Why don't you get your ambassador in London to go to Kibaki's hospital bed? Isn't he the guy you really want? Why ask me what I can do when you are doing your best to kick me out? I don't care. I can go to one of my chateaus in southern France, to a luxury spa in Haifa or an exotic hideout in Morocco with one of my ndogo ndogos� sorry you don't know what that is�." Dubya will probably look at Moi gravely and say something intelligent like: "Daniel, I believe we can work something out. Remember the jam General Musharaff of Uzbekistan, sorry Pakistan was in? We helped him out, you know. He won the election the other day. We can do something for you too�." `But George, how? Everybody is expecting me to rig the elections. I am sure somebody is already blaming me for Kibaki's accident, as if I am the one who gave that incompetent matatu driver the money to buy his driver's license�" "You'd be surprised about what America can do for her friends, Daniel. Wait, I'll give Donald and Colin a call�" Or words to that effect. Moi and KANU could still genuinely win this election let us not forget that. NARC contains the seeds of its own destruction. The simmering rift between Wamalwa and Raila may blow over into the open. The other day you saw all the candidates in Baringo Central, including the indomitable Nakuru lawyer Juma Kiplenge throw in the towel for Gideon Moi. How many KANU moles lurk in the NARC, Ford- People, and Safina and SDP opposition parties? Only time will tell. Was the road accident involving Kibaki an assassination attempt? Well, we Kenyans like jumping to conclusions and so far there is nothing to make us seriously believe that. But can we really rule out the possibility of an attempt to take out Kibaki before December 27th? I wouldn't. Like millions of my compatriots I believe that if the elections are free and fair, NARC will probably register a landslide victory. But will the elections be free and fair? Can KANU be trusted? Is Moi prepared to recede from centre-stage? The answers to these questions will determine who is sworn in as the country's third president in January 2003. Onyango Oloo Montreal 4:40 am, Eastern Standard Time Thursday, December 5, 2002 |
