Bin Laden’s first contact with the CIA and probable recruitment occurred in the early 1980s in Afghanistan, where the CIA was financing and supplying the war against the Soviet Union. Fast forward to the U.S. foreign policy goals in the Middle East and the Islam world.
-Isolate Iran. Before 9/11 the Taliban controlled Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein ruled over Iraq. Now there are U.S. armed forces controlling both countries.
-Eliminate Saddam Hussein. By invading Iraq, the U.S. has access to enormous oil reserves; 2) has soldiers on two borders with Iran; and 3) removes some pressure from Israel.
-Maintain the current pro-western Arab governments. By declaring Jihad against the U.S., bin Laden is commanding Muslims to travel to Afghanistan and Iraq to kill Americans. So these dedicated and fearless Muslims are abandoning their attempts to gain control of their own countries to become martyrs at the hands of the most powerful military in the world. A martyr does not return home to challenge his government. Every Saudi martyr that Americans kill in Iraq is one less threat to the Saudi royal family.
In addition to justifying the Bush administration’s aggression in the Middle East, Bin Laden has provided important support for increasing the Pentagon budget, which is larger than the arms budgets of the next 20 countries combined, and suppressing civil liberties, such as the unrestricted use of wire taps. It has become a joke that whenever President Bush wants more money or justifies extreme measures he chants “9/11.” Thank you bin Laden.
What about the attacks on the American embassies in East Africa? A low cost method of establishing bin Laden’s Muslim credentials. Africans are less important than Europeans or Asians. Why didn’t bin Laden order Al Qaeda to attack the U.S. embassies in Western Europe, Japan or India? These nations are important to the U.S., that’s the reason.
Could you imagine the level of outrage if an American embassy in Paris or Copenhagen was demolished? As a political statement, it would have far more effective to destroy a European embassy than one in Africa. However, for CIA purposes African embassies were adequate for its purposes—to establish bin Laden as a Muslim-hero-terrorist.
To justify the invasion of two countries requires more than the destruction of a couple of embassies. What was required was a spectacular act that was visible and symbolic, and the twin towers and Pentagon were perfect targets. The videos of a jet colliding into the tower and the subsequent collapse of both building have become iconic images of world culture. The whole world was mesmerized as they watched the videos over and over. President Bush and his neo-cons now had carte blanche to wage war in the Middle East and to bloat the Pentagon budget as well as ignore civil liberties.
Osama bin Laden is a CIA agent. More facts: Tora Bora. In early December 2001 bin Laden was cornered in Tora Bora, which is located in the mountainous region near Pakistan, and was allowed to escape. Since then bin Laden remains free despite the use of high tech surveillance equipment and a $25 million dollar reward. The alleged area where he is concealed is not a densely populated area, like southern Pakistan with its teeming cities, but a series of small mountain villages and towns, through which small traders and travelers have passed for thousands of years. Bin Laden’s entourage must number hundreds and would be noticed easily by any traveler, especially by one who passes regularly through this area. Bin Laden has not been killed or captured because he is the CIA’s most important tool.
To many naïve Muslims 9/11 was a great victory. The Americans called it another Pearl Harbor, and this is the more accurate description. Because of the sneak attack on December 7, 1941, Japan was destroyed and had atomic bombs fall on two of its cities. Millions of Japanese died and Japan lost all the territory it had gained during its expansionist history—Manchuria, Korea and a number of northern islands. Today no Japanese would call Pearl Harbor a great victory.
Because of 9/11 the Taliban lost Afghanistan and Saddam is in jail, and Iran sees Americans on its borders. Thousands of Muslims have martyred themselves at the hands of American weapons, and the Muslim pro-western governments remain unchallenged. If history can be rewritten, is there no doubt that Saddam and the Taliban would wish that 9/11 never happened?
It does not really matter if bin Laden is or isn’t a CIA agent. For all practical purposes his acts have given justification for Bush and the CIA to wage wars that were not possible without 9/11. If Osama bin Laden did not exist, the CIA would have created him.
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