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Moore may be correct.........

Title: Bin Laden family to end ties to Carlyle , The Times, Oct 23, 2001
Database: Newspaper Source

Bin Laden family to end ties to Carlyle

Section: Business, pg. 30

The family of Osama bin Laden is close to ending its relationship with the
Carlyle Group, the US investment group backed by George Bush Sr, the former
President, and John Major, the former Prime Minister.

It is understood that Carlyle Group and the Saudi Binladin Group, the Middle
Eastern conglomerate owned by the family of bin Laden, have decided to part
company by "mutual consent".

The end of the relationship comes in spite of the fact that Osama bin Laden,
the terrorist blamed for the September 11 attacks against the US, has been
disowned by the family. The family has distanced itself even further from the
al-Qaeda leader by using a different spelling of its name.

It is also thought that Mr Bush has signalled his determination to remain an
adviser to Carlyle, whose interests in the defence industry make it the
eleventh largest military contractor in the US.

Mr Bush has been accused by political activists of indirectly profiting from
the war being waged against the Taleban by his son, George W. Bush.

Carlyle's involvement with the Binladin Group, one of the biggest companies in
the Middle East, is natural given the company's extensive interests in the
region. The former President's close relationship with the Saudi Royal Family
has helped Carlyle to attract rich investors from the Middle East.

The Binladin family, whose empire generates annual revenues estimated at $5
billion (Pounds 3.5 billion), has been dubbed "Saudi Arabia's answer to the
Rockefellers". The Binladin Group has been involved in projects ranging from
expanding the mosque in Mecca to building military support facilities for US
forces in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War.

After the September 11 attacks, 11 members of the Binladin family fled the US,
leaving only one behind, Abdullah Binladin. Mr Binladin is thought to be living
under around-the-clock protection from the FBI.

Asked whether members of the Binladin family were still investors in Carlyle,
a source close to the company replied: "They are still investors, but they are
probably not going to be investors that far into the future." The source added
that the Binladin family was an investor in certain Carlyle investment funds,
but not the company as a whole. The size of the family's investment is not
known, although it is thought to be less than $10 million.

Asked why the Binladin family would end its relationship with Carlyle, the
source said: "I am not party to those conversations, but it would be a mutual
thing."

It has also emerged that Carlyle, a diversified investment group, is
considering scaling back its $657 million European venture capital fund. About
23 per cent of the fund has been invested so far, but the results are thought
to have been disappointing.

Copyright (C) The Times, 2001

Source: The Times, Oct 23, 2001
Item: 7EH3862019630

Moore may be correct.........

No, he may not be. That the BinLadin Group and the Carlyle group have had business dealings is common knowledge. But the BinLadin Group is NOT Usama Bin Laden, it is his father's company, and a quite respectable one (they have done construction projects in Egypt, Jordan, and elsewhere). To suggest that there is something sinister here (as Moore is doing) is as ridiculous as trying to blame the U.S. cocaine problem on Coca Cola.

You're peddling this crap all over FR tonight.

The Carlyle Group accepted investments from BinLaden's father, who kicked his sorry-assed son out of the family.

The fact is, there is no tie between the Bush family and Osama binLaden, but Moore will pimp that line anyway.

If Gibson's company finances this movie, FReepers need to take a long, hard look at what Gibson is really about.

I happen to think Mel is a bit weird myself. A good guy to his family, but not everybody builds a Catholic chapel in his back yard.