The Jordan bombings

Juan Cole today has a rather interesting piece on Moustapha Akkad, the Syrian-born Hollywood producer -- best known for the Halloween films -- who died in the Jordan bombings. Cole does not mention one aspect of Akkad's career that some might find relevant to his sad fate.

In 1976, Akkad released the religious biopic Mohammed: Messenger of God. Although the Prophet is not directly depicted in the film (which is reverent to the point of dullness), some Muslims took offense. In Washington D.C., the Hanafi sect took hostages in an attempt to prevent further screenings. (I seem to recall that the incident gave rise to a popular conspiracy theory, the details of which escape me at the moment.)

I doubt, though, that today's Islamic radicals still care very much about that film. Thus, I doubt that Akkad was targeted.

If you're in the market for a good conspiracy theory, check out these photos, which seem to indicate that (contrary to the official story) the bombs were planted in the ceiling. Of course, I'm no expert on explosives -- but I would very much like to hear what such an expert might say about the blast patterns.

The Jordanians have in custody a woman who claims that she and her husband came into the hotel wearing explosive-laden belts. She says that hers did not go off, although her husband's did. Yesterday, Democracy Now broadcast part of her statement in the original, overlaid with a translation. She sounded robotic, calm, unemotional -- which I found downright odd for someone in her position.

A few news stories on the incident note the close relationship between Jordan and the CIA. What these stories don't tell you is that, way back in the early 1970s, American spooks used a hidden camera to photograph a Jordanian royal in bed with Xaveria Hollander, who is Jewish. Jordanian/U.S. cooperation was thus born of blackmail. If Xaveria similarly entertained a Saudi prince (as I suspect she did), much history is explained.