Clouseau on the case of the 'all or nothing' Dubai killing

Twenty-nine days out from the death of Mr Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in circumstances the scriptwriters of “Spooks” would have rejected as ludicrous, and the Emiratis have a firestorm on their hands.
 
And that ain’t their strong suit.
 
They appear to have gone for the ‘all or nothing’ school of media management.
 
First, nothing for 27 days from the murder. Then that extraordinary press conference a few days back with the compelling sequences of CCTV footage, captions burned in to ram home the Dubai police version of the truth.
 
It was some show.
 
And then? Nothing. Rumour is today that the police chief was interviewed by local TV yesterday for transmission tonight. (Don’t ask). And that’s pretty well it.
 
No politicians have spoken – or what passes for politicos around here .I think I will put in a bid and chat with the Emir later today. Hell – you can only ask can’t you?
 
The English-language paper here has plastered the story all over its pages for some days, understandably. But look at today’s copy of the Khaleej Times and you will look in vain.
 
Nothing there at all. Like none of it happened.

It has reverted to its usual bland, censored guff telling readers how successful yesterday’s “no car day” was and how fantastic the local schools/shops/police/government/municipal sewerage system is – delete as appropriate.
 
No joy yet with the British embassy where the press attaché seems, as yet, reluctant to press himself upon me. Which is a shame really. Not least because “Inspector Knacker” of The Yard is expected in Dubai or may even have arrived.
 
Clearly that, plus the use of British passports – or misuse once again – by the Israelis, is a matter now of prime ministerial concern.
 
Though all of this won’t exactly have Tel Aviv quaking – don’t forget they had another limp-wristed “protest” from HMG way back in 1987 when Mossad were even then messing around with British passports.
 
Israel promised not to play naughty passports ever again.
 
Yeah, right.
 
Question for them is, how long can they go on just saying there’s no evidence of Mossad involvement. No? Just piles of disgruntled Brits, living in Israel, now framed for international espionage and murder when they were digging the kibbutz allotment all along and had never been to Dubai.
 
In fact they couldn’t get to Dubai anyhow, from Israel.
 
Tel Aviv might as well say there’s no evidence to connect it with the Mediterranean Sea, or there’s no evidence that there are synagogues in Israel.
 
But that won’t stop ’em trying.
 
And back in dear old London, Gordon Brown and David Miliband, Clouseau-like, are saying with a straight face that without evidence of the Mossad connection they cannot or will not carpet Israel’s ambo.
 
The evidence is so thick on the ground, perhaps they can’t see the carpet any more.