I don't want to look like some tin-foil-hat type, but IF this was an assassination attempt, would it be reported that way? Or would we only hear about a successful assassination?

My guess is that it was a foiled attempt on the life of either Olmert or Sarkozy by the same crowd that assassinated Rabin (and very probably crippled Ariel Sharon). The soldier who "shot himself" could have been felled by a sniper's bullet as he tried to fire his own gun or detonate some sort of explosive. Thoughts?

Quote, originally posted by bbc.co.uk »

Confusion has marred French President Nicolas Sarkozy's farewell to Israel, after a soldier shot himself dead during an airport departure ceremony. Mr Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni, were rushed into their plane after the shot. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was also hurried to safety. The incident at Ben-Gurion airport came at the end of Mr Sarkozy's three-day visit to Israel and the West Bank. A police spokesman said the security officer had committed suicide. Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the incident, which happened just as Mr Sarkozy and Ms Bruni were about to board their plane, had posed no threat to the visitors. He denied reports that it might have been an assassination attempt on the French president. Other reports suggested the soldier may have shot himself accidentally. Witnesses said the incident was over within minutes and that Mr Olmert had then boarded the Sarkozys' plane to say farewell and explain what had happened. Israel Radio reported that the soldier had been stationed on the perimeter of the airport, some 100m to 200m (330 - 660 feet) from the Sarkozys' plane, when he shot himself as a band played. Television footage showed the French president and his wife being hustled up the steps into the aircraft. Israeli President Shimon Peres, who was also present for the farewell ceremony, was also taken to his armoured car. Mr Sarkozy's visit was intended to improve relations between France and Israel. He also held talks in the West Bank on Tuesday with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Speaking after the meeting, Mr Sarkozy voiced his support for the creation of a Palestinian state. "The security of Israel is non-negotiable for France, but the creation of a viable, democratic, modern state for the Palestinians is a priority for France," he said. He also repeated his call for Israel to halt its building of settlements in the West Bank. It came a day after he told Israeli politicians in the Knesset that there would be no lasting Middle East peace without a freeze on Jewish settlement construction on Palestinian land. Mr Abbas said the Palestinians were "relying a great deal on the European role" in the peace process, particularly as France takes on the rotating European Union presidency next month.

I don't see this as feasible (assassination attempt).

Unlikely sure. Not feasible? Why?

An Israeli soldier shooting himself either on purpose or on accident a couple hundred meters away from the president of another country about to board a plane seems just as feasible as an assassination attempt in my book.

Soldiers just don't shoot themselves during state visits!

Does this not seem odd to the point of being fishy?

The Israeli soldier just offs himself right around Sarkozy and Olmert? At that time at that location? Come on now...

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Dude, read the third block of bolded text. I bolded it for a reason.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article4209639.eceThe article

Quote, originally posted by Ross »

Dude, read the third block of bolded text. I bolded it for a reason.

Yeah but he's the President of France, not a country that actually matters in international politics.

But really, a direct assassination attempt? An assassination attempt gone bad? Either they're really getting sloppy over there in Israel or there's something else behind this one. It def wasn't suicide IMO.

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I would like to know if he was an Arab-Israeli.

If he is then it could have been a martyrdom for Sarkozy's remarks in the Knesset speech.

if this was an assassination attempt it wasn't a very good one.

i'd like to know the weapons the soldier had on him at the time...cause he would need more than a handgun to even consider hitting a target from 330+ ft away.

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Quote, originally posted by Bishop Don Shizzle »

Yeah but he's the President of France, not a country that actually matters in international politics. But really, a direct assassination attempt? An assassination attempt gone bad? Either they're really getting sloppy over there in Israel or there's something else behind this one. It def wasn't suicide IMO.

Not to mention there's nobody in the region that leaves anything to chance.

A bullet in the wind at hundreds of feet away isn't how they conduct business.

Blowing up the entire block where you are driving is how they work.

Not to mention he read a quote from the bible about Israel being promised to his "chosen people," in a room with more than a few Arabs. lol

We're talking about people who have put a hit on a cartoonist for crying out loud. lol

Druze.

Not to mention that if it were an IDF trained officer, I'm sure he could've done better than he actually did. It's all jut a little weird.

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Am I to assume that means I was correct? He was an Arab-Israeilite?

I am making an asumption based on the religion which as I know it is classified loosely as Muslim with Pagan leanings.

I'm not really qualified to offer an unequivocal answer, but the guy's name would lead you in that direction.

nobody besides the soldier died...and no significant world leaders were directly in harms way.

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If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. The door is that way.

If this really was an attempt on someone's life, that is a big deal regardless of who it is. And, to your specific point, I would argue that Sarkozy and Olmert are both pretty significant. Are Israel and France not significant countries in your worldview, chet?