http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2...4/131401.shtml

With Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff
For the story behind the story...


Monday, May 24, 2004 12:28 p.m. EDT

Israeli Agents Believed Involved in Abu Ghraib

Diplomatic sources in Washington tell NewsMax's U.N. correspondent Stew Stogel
that Israeli nationals are believed to be involved in the Iraq prison
controversy.

"Israelis have been to Abu Ghraib and other prisons [in Iraq]," says one source
familiar with the U.S. operations.

It was explained that the Israelis involved have been assigned as "civilian
contractors" to work with Coalition forces in interrogating Iraqi POWs.

The "contractors" are said to be veterans of Israel's domestic intelligence
unit, Shin Bet, as well as the more famous international intelligence agency,
the Mossad.

"Who has better experience in dealing with the Arabs than Israel?" one source
asked.

It was explained that several of the "interrogation" techniques used by U.S.
forces in Iraq have in fact been used by Israel "for years."

The technique of stripping Arab prisoners naked, to embarrass and humiliate
them, has been used by Israelis, according to Arab diplomats at the U.N.

It should be noted, however, that torture and mutilation are common techniques
used by Arab countries on their prisoners.

Word in NYC diplomatic circles is that some of the "civilians" seen in recent
Iraq prison photos are in fact Israeli nationals "advising" U.S. forces.

Neither U.S. nor Iraqi diplomatic officials in NYC or Washington were available
for comment.

The charges come after an incident in April in which an Israeli Arab working in
Iraq was kidnapped and charged with spying.

Nabil George Yaakob Razouk, an Israeli Arab employed by Research Triangle
International, a North Carolina-based firm under contract to the State
Department, was abducted by Iraqi insurgents and said to be a spy.

Razouk, working on "local governance" advising, was seized in Najaf and held
for more than two weeks.

Only the personal intervention of Yassir Arafat, who acted after pleas from the
Razouk family, is believed to have saved him from execution.

The latest disclosures come as an Iraqi diplomatic team has temporarily
canceled a visit to U.N. headquarters to consult with the Security Council
about the modalities for the transfer of power expected on July 1.

Among the Council ambassadors with whom the Iraqis are expected to meet is U.S.
Ambassador John Negroponte.

Negroponte will leave his U.N. post next month to become the new U.S.
ambassador to Iraq, once the Coalition authority is dissolved.
Israeli Agents Believed Involved in Abu Ghraib