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By Way of Deception

By Way of Deception

By Way of Deception

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BY WAY OF DECEPTION 20tion, including the saboteurs, who had scaled a back fence, thenwalked around to the front. First checking the crowd to verify thatall the French guards were out <strong>of</strong> harm's way, one <strong>of</strong> them calmlyand surreptitiously detonated a sophisticated fuse with a handhelddevice, destroying 60 percent <strong>of</strong> the reactor components,causing $23 million in damages, setting back Iraq's plans forseveral months, but amazingly, doing no harm to other equipmentstored in the hangar.When the guards heard the dull thunk behind them, they rushedimmediately into the targeted hangar. As they did, the car in the"accident" drove away, while the saboteurs and the injuredpedestrian, well schooled in this sort <strong>of</strong> thing, quietly disappeareddown various side streets.The mission had been a complete success, seriously delayingIraq's plans, and embarrassing leader Saddam Hussein in theprocess.An environmental organization named Groupe des ëcologistesfrancais, unheard <strong>of</strong> before this incident, claimed credit for theblast, although French police dismissed the claim. But a policeblackout on news <strong>of</strong> the investigation into the sabotage led othernewspapers to print speculative stories on who was responsible.France Soir, for example, said the police suspected "extremeleftists" had done it, while Le Matin said it had been done byPalestinians working on behalf <strong>of</strong> Libya; the news weekly, Le Point,fingered the FBI.Others accused the Mossad, but an Israeli government <strong>of</strong>ficialdismissed the accusation as "anti-Semitism."* * *Halim and Samira arrived home well after midnight, following aleisurely dinner in a Left Bank bistro. He turned on the radio,hoping to hear some music and wind down a bit before going tobed. What he heard instead was news <strong>of</strong> the explosion. Halimpanicked.He began running around the apartment, tossing things atrandom, screaming a lot <strong>of</strong> nonsense."What's the matter with you?" Samira shouted over the din. "Haveyou gone mad?"

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