It sure is Ahron - There are a few things that stand out to me about the Ashraf Marwan story. I believe his true allegiance was with Egypt and he had a plan with Sadat to fool the Israeli's.
One clear reason why I believe he was a double agent is because of the Libyan plot he helped foil in Italy - I believe the newspapers at the time reported (which you can view today) that Israeli intelligence tipped off the Italian's. If Sadat ordered Marwan to tip off the Italians and then the news states that the Israeli's did then this would alarm Sadat that Marwan was in communication with the Israeli's.
Yes, the story of how Marwan tipped off the Italians is in the actual book, but I'll not publish as part of the extracts which I'm doing here, as it is too long. As for the question whether or not he was a double - yes, I agree that he was. I'll tell this in the next extracts. Keep an eye for next ones. It is on the way soo; and thanks. Ahron
Thanks for the response, Ahron! I've been following this story for so many years and read all about it. I look forward to the next extracts. I was wondering if US officials (CIA, Kissinger) at the time knew about Ashraf spying for the isreali's? I've read somewhere that the KGB might've been aware of it. I believe I also read somewhere that Marwan was working with the team of at least 40 Egyptian's to continue to fool the Israeli's, is this true?
1. I think that Kissinger did know about him being a spy. The two negotiated a lot, particularly in 1975 about the opening of the Suez Canal.
2. The only time Ashraf confessed to me that he was in fact a spy was when he said that he was part of a group of 40 Egyptians whose job it was to deceive the Israelis before the October 1973 War.
They did explain to me something about how spies hail a taxi. I think they hail a taxi, then send it away without boarding it, then hail another one, or something like that :-))
![Ahro[n]pinion: Israel & Middle Eastern Affairs](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_36,h_36,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa3267808-8a75-4b8a-acfb-53838512afbe_1059x1059.png)
Real life is often stranger than fiction!
It sure is Ahron - There are a few things that stand out to me about the Ashraf Marwan story. I believe his true allegiance was with Egypt and he had a plan with Sadat to fool the Israeli's.
One clear reason why I believe he was a double agent is because of the Libyan plot he helped foil in Italy - I believe the newspapers at the time reported (which you can view today) that Israeli intelligence tipped off the Italian's. If Sadat ordered Marwan to tip off the Italians and then the news states that the Israeli's did then this would alarm Sadat that Marwan was in communication with the Israeli's.
Great story and I hope to read more about it!
Yes, the story of how Marwan tipped off the Italians is in the actual book, but I'll not publish as part of the extracts which I'm doing here, as it is too long. As for the question whether or not he was a double - yes, I agree that he was. I'll tell this in the next extracts. Keep an eye for next ones. It is on the way soo; and thanks. Ahron
Thanks for the response, Ahron! I've been following this story for so many years and read all about it. I look forward to the next extracts. I was wondering if US officials (CIA, Kissinger) at the time knew about Ashraf spying for the isreali's? I've read somewhere that the KGB might've been aware of it. I believe I also read somewhere that Marwan was working with the team of at least 40 Egyptian's to continue to fool the Israeli's, is this true?
1. I think that Kissinger did know about him being a spy. The two negotiated a lot, particularly in 1975 about the opening of the Suez Canal.
2. The only time Ashraf confessed to me that he was in fact a spy was when he said that he was part of a group of 40 Egyptians whose job it was to deceive the Israelis before the October 1973 War.
Thanks so much for the insights, I had my suspicions, and this clarifies both. I look forward to your new extracts!
Ah okay I withdraw my last statement and sit back down. Make great Netflix drama though. Any bites from Hollywood?
Cab back to the embassy after a meet. Poor trade craft.
They did explain to me something about how spies hail a taxi. I think they hail a taxi, then send it away without boarding it, then hail another one, or something like that :-))