Is Dubai’s police chief playing the media like a fiddle? I don’t rule it out after reading this NY Times snippet:
For the moment, Dubai’s aggressive response has interrupted the steady stream of negative news coverage about the city’s continuing struggles with debt, and — perhaps not coincidentally — shifted attention to its crime-fighting prowess. That may partly reflect the priorities of Mr. Tamim, who has strong ties to the city’s ruler and enjoys greater latitude than almost any other public official here.
Mr. Tamim has complained in the past about the foreign news media. He also has a reputation as an Arab nationalist, more ardently opposed to Israel than many in this relatively apolitical, businesslike city. (Mr. Tamim declined to be interviewed for this article.)
Releasing YouTube videos supposedly linked to the Mossad is the mother of all distractions. They nicely overshadow headlines like this:
