he enthusiastic response. "We'll take the risk of catching him, we'll gun him down. I take full responsibility. My duty isn't to ask the President; he cannot order this assassination." While Deferre was excited at the opportunity of eliminating Carlos, he was frustrated in the knowledge that the DST were unable to act independently as they were responsible only for France's internal security and forbidden to carry out International operations. Because of the bitter rivalry that existed between the DST, Action Service and the newly named DGSE, Deferre reluctantly passed on the information to Colonel Proteau's fledgling intelligence unit. Anxious to prove himself and his group, Proteau personally led a team to Gstaad at the allotted time where they disguised themselves as tourists and waited for their quarry. The wait was in vain as no sign could be found of Carlos ever having been in the area. An embarrassed Bonnet later challenged Siddel on the accuracy of his information only to be told that the CIA had confirmed the story by submitting their informant to a "lie detector" test, a method that had come under increasing criticism for it's vast inaccuracies. In the following months, despite exhaustive investigations, neither the DGSE, the DST or Proteau's unit, could uncover any useable information regarding Carlos. In frustration, the DGSE approached Carlos's sponsor, the Syrian government, and used diplomatic means to plead their case for the cessation of all Syrian sponsored acts of terrorism in French territories. After long periods of negotiations which involved threats of retaliation and the promise of closer relations with France, the Syrians agreed to a mutual non-aggression pact, even though they had vehemently denied any involvement in acts of terrorism. When pressed about Carlos, the Syrians described him as a non-entity who had destroyed himself with alcohol and drugs. Whether the description of Carlos was accurate o...
