The
documents also show the UAE sought US help in tracking down details of credit
cards Dubai police believe were used by a foreign hit squad involved in the
killing.
The spy
novel-like slaying, complete with faked passports and assassins in disguise, is
widely believed to be the work of Israeli secret agents.
Dubai
officials didn't discuss Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh's death publicly until Jan. 29 —
nine days after his body was discovered in a locked airport hotel room and only
after Hamas itself announced the killing.
The
delayed acknowledgment followed talks at the highest levels of the UAE
government, where officials discussed whether “to say nothing at all, or to
reveal more or less the full extent of the UAE's investigations,” according to
one of the cables.
Police
initially referred to the killers as an “experienced criminal gang” traveling
on European passports, and only later blamed Israel's Mossad spy agency
directly. Hamas also accuses Israel of the slaying.
Israel
has never acknowledged that it carried out the hit.
The
cables, which were released Saturday, don't shed new light on the killers'
identities. But in one, the American ambassador to the Emirati capital Abu
Dhabi points to a possible motive behind the UAE's decision to eventually
reveal details of the murder.
“Saying
nothing would have been perceived as protecting the Israelis and in the end,
the UAE chose to tell all,” Ambassador Richard Olson wrote. “The statement was
carefully drafted not to point any fingers, but the reference... to a gang with
Western passports will be read locally as referring to the Mossad.” Another
cable outlines a request the Emirates made on Feb. 24 for US help in tracking
down cardholder details and other information relating to credit cards linked
to the suspected killers.
Dubai
police say many of the alleged members of the hit squad used prepaid credit
cards issued by a bank in Iowa that were distributed through another US company
known as Payoneer.
US Embassy
officials passed on details of the request to the FBI and urged Washington to
handle it urgently, according to the cable.
Dubai's
government media office said it was looking into the disclosures and had no
immediate comment on Tuesday.
