Bulgaria terror: usual suspects blame usual suspects

No surprises here. A bomb goes off in a tour bus in the Black Sea resort city of Burgas, Bulgaria, killing five Israelis and wounding some 30. Netanyahu wastes not a minute: "All signs point to Iran. In just the past few months we've seen Iran try to target Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Cyprus and more. The murderous Iranian terror continues to target innocent people. This is a global Iranian terror onslaught and Israel will react forcefully to it." Probably not coincidence that the attack comes on the 18th anniversary of the AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, the world's most deadly attack on Jews since World War II, which has been linked to Hezbollah. More Netanyahu (apparently trying to set a record for number of uses of the word "terror" in a single press release): "Eighteen years exactly after the blast at the Jewish community center in Argentina, murderous Iranian terror continues to hit innocent people. This is an Iranian terror attack that is spreading throughout the entire world. Israel will react powerfully against Iranian terror."

It was widely reported that Israel had warned Bulgaria of possible attacks on the fourth anniversary of the death of Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh earlier this year—and that a similar attack had been thwarted at that time, with a bomb discovered on a tour bus full of Israelis headed for a Bulgarian ski resort. Hezbollah denied any link to the attack, saying in a press statement, "We will not seek revenge over the death of Imad Mughniyah by harming tourists." Bulgaria's President Rosen Plevneliev said his authorities had met with Mossad agents two months ago, but received no warning of an impending attack. Displaying a touching sensitivity to human life, he emphasized: "That attack does not mean that Bulgaria is a risky destination for tourism." (The Forward, JTA, Sofia News Agency, July 18)

Conspiranoid websites (Facts Not Fairies, Puppet Masters, Revisionist Review, Godlike Productions, none of which seem to be named with a sense of irony) similarly waste no time in declaring the blast an Israeli "false flag" attack. Such idle theorizing is inevitable given the incessant spy-vesus-spy intrigues between Israel and Iran, but still we wonder—do either Netanyahu or the conspiranoids understand how much they mirror each other in their unseemly rush to judgement?