The Nairobi Mall Attack and Israel

Obviously, it sounds horrible, and I worry about what this portends for more terrorism.

I heard the end of a discussion about this incident on the Diane Rehm radio show, and the guest was saying the mall was actually quite well guarded and that it wasn't trivial for attackers to get in. He didn't say it, but implied they had help. Then he made some comment about how it wouldn't have happened without Israeli help, which no one followed up on. He may have been referring to Israel commandos who supposedly have come into to help take back the Mall, but it didn't really sound like that was what he was talking about.

I was trying to search this online and found this:

American officials have long warned that Nairobi’s malls were ripe targets for terrorists, especially Westgate, because a cafe on the ground floor, right off the street, is owned by Israelis.

and

Ilana Stein, a spokeswoman for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the attack took place near the ArtCaffe, an Israeli-owned coffee shop and bakery popular with foreigners that is one of 80 businesses in the mall. Ms. Stein said that one Israeli had been lightly injured, that three others had escaped unharmed and that Israelis had not been specifically targeted. “This time, the story is not about Israel,” Ms. Stein said. 

That first sentence can certainly be read to imply that the mall is a ripe target because of Israeli influence.

Interesting, wasn't Westgate Properties the name of Larry Silverstein's company that owned the WTC?

No, that was Westfield Properties, apparently. But there is a common Israeli owner for both-- Frank Lowy.

The last link gets in to the idea that it was a false-flag attack.

UPDATE: A curious, related 33 of the day--

The focus on al-Shabab comes amid news the United States has quietly begun deporting people to Somalia for the first time in years despite ongoing violence there. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports 33 Somalis have been deported since last year