The narrator was pleased — this outburst would surely increase the rating of the show. He expected it to be shown on all major networks and was sure it would go viral in the social media globally. He said, "Gentlemen, please calm down. I now call on the spokeswoman of the AISI — the Italian internal information and security agency — to give us an update. Signorina Ferragamo, can you tell us about the findings of the investigation?"
Unlike her male companions in the TV studio, Sophia Ferragamo was cool, almost detached. In an official tone she said, "The security service has gathered the data from the security cameras near due tori, San Petronio basilica and the anatomical theater, as well as interviewed several witnesses. We have not yet detained any suspects, but we believe that these heinous acts were carried out by a woman or two women."
The narrator intervened, "Do you mean one single woman did all this?"
"I am saying that the information we have points to a woman who was seen entering the Palazzo dell Archiginnasio with a backpack and then was seen again without it. She joined one of the tours organized by the tourist information office, but we have no clear photo of her, and none of the staff seem to remember her. One of the men who was on the tour said that he noticed the woman because she didn't seem very interested in the guide's explanations. He added that she was overweight and blonde but wasn't sure if the blonde hair was natural. We are now trying to find the tour guide and other tourists who were in that group."
"Does the AISI see a connection between these incidents and the desecration of the murals at the basilica?"
The AISI spokeswoman hesitated, "We have no evidence that there is a connection, but we don't believe in coincidences of this sort. So, there may have been another woman who was an accomplice. We'll let the media know if we have any conclusive evidence. Excuse me, I have to go back to the office."
With this interview, the TV show ended. As soon as the cameras were turned off, the narrator breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the director of the program. The director smiled, "We should invite those two clowns, Calvino and Pasolini, more often. Our rating has rocketed sky-high and we'll be shown everywhere. This even surpasses the fist-fights in our parliament."
Chapter 2
The Chief of Mossad, Haim Shimony, summoned his Deputy, David Avivi to his office to discuss the recent terrorist attacks in Europe. However, the discussion soon turned into a philosophical discussion on the effects of surprise attacks throughout history. Haim claimed that the most successful surprises were not really surprises but were a result of failure of the opponent to foresee, or imagine, the likelihood of the attack. David countered by saying that this was only true in hindsight.
Haim said, "Let's take an example every child in the Western world is familiar with — the battle between Goliath and your namesake, David. Goliath was a giant, the most powerful and most feared warrior of the Philistines. He marched out to the empty space between the Philistine and Israelite camps and challenged the Israelites to a one-on-one battle with him, promising that whoever lost the battle would retreat and withdraw. No one dared challenge this heavily armed man, who wore armor that protected his body and head, and wielded state-of-the-art iron weapons. When David, a teenage boy, stepped out of the Israelite camp and accepted the challenge, the giant mocked him, and burst out laughing when he saw David's slingshot. David responded that God was on his side and launched a stone that hit Goliath's only vulnerable spot — his forehead. This felled the giant, and before he could recover, David pounced on him, and chopped off Goliath's head with the giant's own sword. This was nothing but failure of imagination by Goliath to appreciate the danger of the slingshot."
David said, "This event is memorable because nine out of ten times it is the Goliath who wins."
Haim interrupted, "You may be statistically correct. But this singular event has inspired many weak nations to fight for their independence despite the odds, as well as many young men to challenge the stronger boys who bullied them."
David didn't accept this, "You know that there is no evidence beyond the Biblical story that this duel actually occurred. True, there is archeological evidence that the Philistines never ventured further east than Emek Ha-ella where this battle supposedly took place. However, they did go as far north as the Gilboa hill range to defeat the Israelites and kill their king, Saul and his sons in that battle."
"OK, David, this may not be the best example, so here's another one from recent history of our region. When Israeli planes destroyed Saddam Hussein's nuclear reactor and his dreams of obtaining plutonium for an atom bomb, in 1981, he embarked on a new pathway to secure nuclear weapons for his country. His scientists and engineers, with the help of greedy European companies and businessmen, worked intensively on techniques to enrich uranium. They had made significant headway, particularly employing a technique that was considered as obsolete — electromagnetic isotope separation, known as EMIS. Huge pieces of equipment were purchased or manufactured locally, and an industrial-size plant was being clandestinely built, not far from Baghdad. The only reason that Iraq didn't get the bomb was due to Saddam's misjudgment of the United States administration. He invaded Kuwait in August 1990, just months away from having his first A-bomb, hoping the US and the West wouldn't intervene. You know how it ended — Iraq was overrun by the Coalition forces and was forced to allow inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency to freely roam the country. They were surprised to see the advanced state of the EMIS facility. The intelligence agencies in the West, including our Mossad, suffered a severe failure of imagination. They couldn't believe that someone would use this old, expensive and energetically inefficient, technique to make fissile materials to produce an atom bomb. The pieces of the puzzle were all on the table — there was detailed data on Iraq's purchases of relevant materials for an EMIS facility — but no one put the pieces together to see the full picture."
David knew all this, "You are talking with the advantage of a lot of hindsight. The intelligence agencies failed to consult with the scientists, or if they did, they didn't provide them with all the relevant information. I want to give you another example. You remember that I told you that there is a big sign at the Flight School of Israel's Air Force, 'The one you don't see will shoot you down'. It should be amended, 'The one you fail to see will shoot you down'."
"What do you mean?"
"Nowadays there are surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles, soon there may be laser weapons that can destroy a plane or a missile, and the pilot has to be aware of all these threats. If he relies solely on his electronic defensive systems, or on the threat-information fed to him by ground control, he may be at risk. He must constantly scan the horizon and the airspace all around him, to ascertain that there are no immediate threats."