Investigations in France, that suggest this may not quite be the case, lead us along a fascinating, if frighteningly dark, road. Relatives of the victims have demanded French President Nicholas Sarkozy, thought to be a party in the kickback deal, and other former French leaders to testify in the matter. The conjecture goes that, in a mafia-style murder, the Frenchmen died as punishment for failure to pay the kickbacks following a crackdown on corruption by a new government in Paris.
On the home front, some things are obvious. An attack of this nature could take place only with the involvement of the military and the agencies. No one else is capable of enacting it. This is all the more true as it took place during the height of power of a military regime. As we have become accustomed to hearing at every turn, the name of the president has been mentioned. But it is questionable quite what part he could have played in a sophisticatedly designed terrorist operation while in exile and with no known power within the country. The military has for too long been exempt from inquiry in wrongdoing of every kind. It is time our obsession with civilian politicians and with one man in particular, ended and was expanded to those institutions that have so far known immunity during every era. In the case of the Agosta deal in particular, the results could be quite fascinating, We owe it to our country, our citizens and to the Frenchmen who died here to get to the bottom of the matter.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th, 2010.
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