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Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Tech Master who wrote (11447)2/21/2003 12:52:56 PM
From: LPS5  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 25898
 
Nope. That story has been going around, recycled, since just after 9/11.

In fact, in those hearings LTC Oliver North named Abu Nidal as the terrorist he was concerned about; not Osama bin Laden.

LPS5



To: Tech Master who wrote (11447)2/21/2003 12:53:50 PM
From: Karen Lawrence  Respond to of 25898
 
Oh, I remember that, it comes from the anuses of fiction, just a bunch of bs....http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/ollienorth-osama.htm

Oliver North Warned of the Terrorism of Osama Bin Laden during the Iran-Contra Hearings in 1987-Fiction!


Summary of eRumor:
Oliver North allegedly told a congressional hearing that he had installed a security system in his home because of threats to his family by Osama Bin Laden. Later versions of the story say the person questioning Col. North was Senator Al Gore.


The Truth:
According to the Congressional Record, there was no mention of Osama Bin Laden during the Iran-Contra hearings by Oliver North or anyone else. In fact, there was no mention of Osama Bin Laden in the Congressional Record at all in 1987, the year of the hearings.

Also, Senator Al Gore was not a member of the joint House-Senate Iran-Contra Committee and did not do any of the questioning.

One of the charges against North at that time, however, was his accepting a security system for his home as a gift. He said he needed it because of threats against himself and his family by Palestinian terrorist Abu Nidal.

Paul Bedard whose column WASHINGTON WHISPERS appears on USNEWS.com contacted North who confirmed that he never referenced Bin Laden who, in fact, became a friend of the U.S. against Soviet invaders of Afghanistan.


A real example of the story as it has been circulated:

LEST WE FORGET--
Subject: A little history...


You know, it's funny. I remember very vividly
the Oliver North hearings, but did not recall the
name of Osama bin Laden as the terrorist that
North was threatened by. Has this slimeball been
around that long?. It's pretty evident, in hindsight
that we should have listened to OLLIE!


I was at a UNC lecture the other day where they
played a video of Oliver North during the Iran-Contra
deals during the Reagan administration.
I was naive back then but
was surprised by this particular clip.

There was Olie in front of God and Country
getting the third degree.

But what he said stunned me. He was being
drilled by some senator I didn't recognize who
asked him;

'Did you not recently spend close to $60,000
for a home security system?'

Oliver replied, 'Yes I did sir.'

The senator continued, trying to get a laugh
out of the audience,
'Isn't this just a little excessive?'

'No sir,' continued Oliver.

'No. And why not?'

'Because the life of my family and I were threatened.'

'Threatened? By who.'

'By a terrorist, sir.'

'Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare
you that much?'

'His name is Osama bin Laden.'

At this point the senator tried to repeat the
name, but couldn't pronounce it, which most
people back then probably couldn't. A couple
of people laughed at the attempt. Then the senator
continued.

'Why are you so afraid of this man?'

'Because sir, he is the most evil person alive
that I know of.'

'And what do you recommend we do about him?'

'If it were me I would recommend an assassin
team be formed to eliminate him and his men
from the face of the earth.'

The senator disagreed with this approach and that
was all they showed of the clip.

It's scary when you think 15 years ago the
government was aware of Osama bin Laden
and his potential threat to the security of the world.
I guess like all great tyrants they start small but if
left untended spread like the virus they truly are.



To: Tech Master who wrote (11447)2/21/2003 12:58:15 PM
From: Mao II  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 25898
 
Claim: A convicted terrorist released by Israel at the insistence of the United States participated in the September 11 terrorist attacks on America.
Status: False.

Examples: [Collected on the Internet, 2001]

snopes.com

Also it was Abu Nidal, not Osama



To: Tech Master who wrote (11447)2/21/2003 1:27:11 PM
From: jlallen  Respond to of 25898
 
I think those were both inaccurate stories.