Did Lady Diana have to die?

That's a question numerous conspiracists and tabloid journalists have asked for years, and frankly something I haven't paid much attention to until the Michael Hayden flap a few weeks ago.

In case you've been ignoring it, the British government has an ongoing serious investigation into exactly what happened to the Princess of Wales. Their lead investigator Sir John Stevens is the former head of the London Metro police, and he recently said "each and every conspiracy theory" is being investigated.

He added:

"We will go where the evidence takes us and I intend to finish the job. It is a complex business and it is taking time," he added.

How does Hayden fit into this picture? Recall he was the Director of the NSA in the late 90s when the crash occurred. After being promoted to the new CIA Director, General Hayden reportedly had planned a 'get-to-know-you' trip to Britain to check in with MI5 and MI6, which would be happening about right now IF we can believe World Net Daily (the London papers seem to be devoid of this story).

In the midst of that trip, and again if we can believe WND, Sir Stevens could conceivably drag Hayden in front of an inquiry where he would be compelled to answer questions about why the NSA was spying on the Princess. The WND story goes on to say:

Ari Ben-Menashe, a former adviser on national security to the Israeli government, has claimed the NSA transcripts "contain answers to show what happened in the days before Diana died. They will confirm what Prince Charles has been told – that he should expect shocking revelations about her death."

Even a Mossad component.

But seriously, it's not hard to understand why western intelligence services might have had an interest back then. After her split with the Royals she would have undoubtedly been an above average target for foreign agents, and, if you want to delve into the dark side, perhaps a candidate to 'turn' under the right circumstances in light of her most contentious divorce (and after seeing who Charles dumped her for, who would blame her?), although she hardly seemed the traitorous type.

So, it wouldn't be shocking that after she began dabbling with Dodi Fayed, the son of Mohammed al-Fayed, owner of Harrods of London and the Hotel Ritz in Paris, that eyebrows might become raised around the greater IC.

Dodi's father Mohammed al-Fayed's empire began after he married the sister of notorious arms dealer and international playboy Adnan Khashoggi. As Timothy Noah described in Slate several years ago, Khashoggi's name seems to only be a few degrees of separation from just about every major event since 1960:

A partial list would include Iran-Contra, Wedtech, BCCI, the Marcos Philippine kleptocracy, the Synfuels fiasco, and the discovery of buried mustard gas in the pricy Spring Valley
neighborhood of Washington, D.C. To these we must now add the tragic events of Sept. 11.

In this age of Islamic terrorism some might question whether Mohammed al-Fayed maintained any loyalties to the Palestinian cause or others involved in Jihad or was perhaps being blackmailed by some of those same groups. Noah tiptoes into this area as follows:

Khashoggi's second connection to 9/11 is more direct but also more difficult to verify: An Oct. 7 article by Frank Connolly in Ireland's Sunday Business Post quotes unnamed U.S. intelligence officials alleging that Khashoggi has made "protection payments" to Osama Bin Laden.

Interesting coincidences, if nothing else. The article further suggests Usama's pop Mohammed was more than a casual aqaintance of Adnan's father Mohammed Khashoggi back during their Saudi days, and according to author Peter Bergen the elder bin Laden was the one who jump started young Adnan's career. With all those tentacles it would be surprising if the NSA was not listening in on Princess Di.

Occam's Razor suggests this is probably nothing, however I can't help thinking of how friendly Prince Charles has reportedly become with the Muslim world these past few years, some even saying he converted to Islam. Ah, never mind, that's just waaaaay too far out there. Let's see what Sir Stevens turns up.