Special: Spotlight on Mossad part 1

The assassination of the Hamas military head Mahmoud Mabhouh in Dubai at the hands of the "Israeli" Mossad and the use of European passports by this group in the implementation process continue to give rise to considerable controversy in Europe, especially after the Foreign Affairs of both Britain and Ireland called in the "Israeli" Ambassadors to their respective countries and the crisis reaching Austria, which announced it will begin investigations of the assassination group for using the Austrian communication network between its members, in a description Austria called 'Operation Room'.

However, after Dubai Police displayed images of the killers one by one on television screens all over the world, talk is now back on about a degradation in the "Israeli" Mossad on par with that of the "Israeli" army. Such analysis and speculations started when the Mossad networks began to collapse in Lebanon by the dozens and in one go during the winter and spring of 2009.

On this subject, an informed French source, with previous experience in the security field, said the "Israeli" Mossad is going through a huge period of deterioration after decades of power and influence.

The superiority this group once prided itself on having over all Arab and international security agencies began to decline in recent years, says the French source, due to having lost many factors earlier contributing to this superiority; in their absence the performance of this agency and its successes are now in retreat.

The French source listed the following six causes as being responsible for the Mossad's deterioration:

1 - The absence of the Arab Jews generation through death, old age and the incapacity to serve in intelligence work. This group of people formed a superiority factor to the Mossad's advantage against all world intelligence systems. The source says adding those were able to mix with the Arabs, speak their local dialects and were fully familiar with Arab customs and traditions. Some of them even claimed adoption of Islam as a faith during the course of their service with the Mossad, mixed with Arab communities and married into them.

2 - The Mossad having to recruit non-Jewish Arabs, a step fraught with sincerity and loyalty risks, where differences in religious and nationality play a role in the lack of loyalty by the recruits who deal with the "Israeli" security agency on the basis of material benefit, while some of them worked as double agents for the Mossad and its enemies. This reduced the agency's ability to move about and implement quality operations with little security and diplomatic risks as before.

3 - The change in the nature of "Israel's" enemies during the past three decades, from well known and clearly marked States and their security agencies to resistance movements in the Arab world that have adopted stealth as both policy and culture. This makes Mossad's work more complex because of the concealed nature of its opponents and the considerable experience gained by the resistance movements that have adopted this policy, in the areas of covert action against the Mossad's secret work.

4 - The global and especially European change of mood, once offering unlimited backing of "Israel", now, after the first and second Intifadas, have become critical of the Mossad's use of their territories or citizens in its operations. Early signs of this sensitivity started when the French warned "Israel" to stop assassinations in France, where for example, the last "Israeli" assassination in France goes back two decades.

5 - The expanded experience of Arab security services and the proliferation of modern technologies to all security agencies, as well as the similarity of training and techniques of these systems on a global level.

6 - The retreat in "Israeli" standing in the eyes of its enemies after "Israel's" withdrawal from Lebanon in year 2000, and the "Israeli" army's exhibition of powerlessness in its wars on Lebanon in July 2006 and on Gaza last year. This made the Mossad's task to freely operate as it previously did out of reach. It also remains to be mentioned that the Mossad's increased dependency on existing support by American and Western intelligence capabilities in many areas of its work, is further evidence of the dwindling influence and power of this agency - at some stage branded a legend of the "State of Israel."