Honeytrap

Few have commented on one fascinating factoid to emerge in the wake of Mordechai Vanunu's release from an Israeli prison. Vanunu, you will recall, was the fellow kidnapped in Rome, taken to Israel, and charged with spying after he revealed details of that nation's nuclear program to a British newspaper in 1986. He has served 18 years in prison.

To facilitate the kidnapping, Mossad agents baited Vanunu into a vulnerable position using a classic "honeytrap" -- i.e., an attractive female. In previous published accounts, this lady was a Mossad agent named Cheryl Hanin, code-named "Cindy." In the years since, Mossad has released much information about this lady -- see, for example, this story.

But what if the story we've been told doesn't reflect what really went down?

Maariv offers this intriguing quote from the newly-freed Vanunu:


Vanunu revealed for the first time the incidents related to his capture and arrest and denied that the published identity of the Mossad agent "Cindy" is real. "She was either an FBI or a CIA agent. I spent a week with her. I saw her picture. Cindy was a young woman from Philadelphia," he said.


FBI? CIA? Why would they be involved? And why would Mossad go to great lengths to create a false story around this event?

Israel's nuclear weapons programs owes it's existence to diverted uranium from an American corporation. President Johnson, perhaps in deference to a very pro-Israel backer, looked the other way. Perhaps the affair goes deeper than we imagined: Perhaps America wanted Israel to go nuclear.