Posted on 11/10/2001 5:30:44 PM PST by Pokey78
And yes, the Left has received its marching orders: anti-American, anti-Western Islamic fundamentalists are to be referred to as the "religious right," just as left-over Communist hardliners in the Soviet bloc were systematically re-christened "conservatives" in leftist media outlets during the nineties. All very Orwellian, but then Orwell was a keen student of leftist tactics.
You asked: By this, I assume you are talking about bc failing to nail OBL after the first WTC attack and the Embassy bombing in S Africa?
That's part of it. He failed to keep any real pressure on the Iraqi regime. He allowed them to kick out the UN inspectors, failed to keep the embargo in place, and didn't even try to interrupt the alliances being formed by al-Qaeda, especially between Hussein and OBL.
He didn't go after bin Laden in Sudan, when Sudan was ready to hand him over. And he did next to nothing about the Cole.
Nor does he seem to have done anything about the cells springing up here. And then there was the coverup of the problem of Muslim involvement in OKC and TWA 800.
Those are the things that spring immediately to mind, but I suspect there are others.
And not just in the '90s!
I'm old enough to remember Brezhnev and his cohort, back in the '70s, labelled "conservatives."
Back to the '90s again, the Western media's hero, Gorbachev, was of course favorably labelled as a "liberal." And perhaps he was, in some ways; but his Marxist ideology was as "hardline" as Brezhnev's.
Those are the things that spring immediately to mind, but I suspect there are others.Dittos to all you mentioned, plus I can think of one more that hurt a lot. And if you haven't heard this, you won't believe it either! Buckle your seat belt!
bill clintoon didn't want to hire more spies for the CIA, but he KNEW that would be a hard thing to sell to anyone. So he did something VERY CLEVER to achieve his goal (not hiring spies) and make it SOUND like a GREAT thing. He RAISED the requirement Soooo HIGH, that virtually NOBODY could pass muster. Thus, they couldn't hire any more because NOBODY COULD QUALIFY! But if anyone questioned him about it, he could defend it by saying "Hey, we want to set HIGH standards for our spies!" Ain't he a genius???? ArseHole!! G-r-r-r-r! (/rant)
There is a thread here on FR somewhere that talks about this and I may have it bookmarked. If you are interested, I can find that for you (or try).
Thanks for your post, friend!
I've probably already read it :) At least, I've read other discussions about the problem.
From what I can see, Toon stacked the FBI with "his" people, then worked to ensure that they took over the role of the CIA--effectively giving himself a personal "secret police force".
From what I can see, Toon stacked the FBI with "his" people, then worked to ensure that they took over the role of the CIA--effectively giving himself a personal "secret police force".
October - November 2001 OSAMA BIN LADEN has for the first time admitted that his al-Qa'eda group carried out the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, the Telegraph can reveal. The video had been circulating for 14 days prior to the news.telegraph.co.uk getting wind of it. The killing of at least 4,537 people was justified, he claims, because they were "not civilians" but were working for the American system. Bin Laden also makes a direct personal threat against Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, for the first time, and warns nations such as Australia, Germany and Japan to stay out of the conflict.
Bin Laden: Yes, I did it
By David Bamber
(Filed: 11/11/2001)
OSAMA BIN LADEN has for the first time admitted that his al-Qa'eda group carried out the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, the Telegraph can reveal.
Osama bin Laden with journalist Hamid Mir during the interview for a Pakistani newspaper
In a previously undisclosed video which has been circulating for 14 days among his supporters, he confesses that "history should be a witness that we are terrorists. Yes, we kill their innocents".
In the footage, shot in the Afghan mountains at the end of October, a smiling bin Laden goes on to say that the World Trade Centre's twin towers were a "legitimate target" and the pilots who hijacked the planes were "blessed by Allah".
The killing of at least 4,537 people was justified, he claims, because they were "not civilians" but were working for the American system.
Bin Laden also makes a direct personal threat against Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, for the first time, and warns nations such as Australia, Germany and Japan to stay out of the conflict.
The video will form the centrepiece of Britain and America's new evidence against bin Laden, to be released this Wednesday.
The footage, to which the Telegraph obtained access in the Middle East yesterday, was not made for public release via the al-Jazeera television network used by bin Laden for propaganda purposes in the past. It is believed to be intended as a rallying call to al-Qa'eda members.
In the video, bin Laden says: "The Twin Towers were legitimate targets, they were supporting US economic power. These events were great by all measurement. What was destroyed were not only the towers, but the towers of morale in that country."
The hijackers were "blessed by Allah to destroy America's economic and military landmarks". He freely admits to being behind the attacks: "If avenging the killing of our people is terrorism then history should be a witness that we are terrorists. Yes, we kill their innocents and this is legal religiously and logically."
In a contradictory section, however, bin Laden justifies killing the occupants of the Twin Towers because they were not civilians - Islam forbids the killing of innocent civilians even in a holy war.
He says: "The towers were supposed to be filled with supporters of the economical powers of the United States who are abusing the world. Those who talk about civilians should change their stand and reconsider their position. We are treating them like they treated us."
Bin Laden goes on to justify his entire terror campaign. "There are two types of terror, good and bad. What we are practising is good terror. We will not stop killing them and whoever supports them."
He directly threatens the lives of President Bush and Mr Blair. "Bush and Blair don't understand anything but the power of force. Every time they kill us, we kill them, so the balance of terror can be achieved." He also calls on all Muslims to join him. "It is the duty of every Muslim to fight. Killing Jews is top priority."
Bin Laden warns other nations to keep out of the conflict, implying that they could face terror attacks if they do not.
In the video, he also claims responsibility for an unspecified terrorist outrage in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which he claims was sparked by secret messages in one of his videos.
He admits for the first time using public pronouncements on video to whip up terrorism - a danger about which the British and American governments have warned broadcasters.
It is significant that throughout the video he uses the personal pronouns "I" and "we" to claim responsibility for the attacks. In the past, he has spoken of the attackers only in the third person.
Bin Laden has publicly issued four previous videos since September 11, always denying carrying out the atrocities.
He now claims to have access to nuclear and chemical weapons. Bin Laden made the claims on Friday night during an interview with the English language Pakistani newspaper Dawn.
He said: "If America used chemical or nuclear weapons against us, then we may retort with chemical and nuclear weapons. We have the weapons as deterrent."
Defence analysts dismissed these claims. They said that although bin Laden could have access to nuclear material through links with Pakistan or former Soviet republics, he was unlikely to have the technology to cause an explosion.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We know that he was looking for that capability. We believe he does not have it."
Emergency powers to imprison suspected international terrorists indefinitely using special closed courts will be announced this week. The measure, which will require exemption from human rights legislation, will be used to round up about 20 suspects hiding in Britain beyond the reach of existing laws.
This is the article Rush is discussing today.
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