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Politics : Foreign Policy Discussion Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: zonder who wrote (5371)	3/31/2003 8:00:25 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 15987

The issue was Iraq. Why are you talking about Bin Ladin, who was a known terrorist before 9/11? You should be asking yourself why you are trying to separate the two issues.. The rise of Bin Laden's power base, or at least his ability to recruit followers, are inherently linked to one another... US troops are in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to deter Saddam and protect the oil fields. Bin Laden resented the "occupation" of Saudi Arabia by "crusaders" and sought to undermine the Saudi Royal family (which is why he lost his Saudi citizenship): "Bin Laden, in interviews and statements throughout the 1990s, made it clear the main motivation for his jihad was the presence of US military bases in Saudi Arabia. A secondary aim, further down his list, was the destruction of Israel. In an interview four years ago with Peter Bergen, author of Holy War, Inc, published last year, he criticised the US for criminal acts either directly or through its support of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. He blamed the US for deaths in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq. Bin Laden said: "Due to its subordination to the Jews, the arrogance and haughtiness of the US regime has reached to the extent that they occupied (Arabia). For this and other acts of aggression and injustice, we have declared jihad against the US." guardian.co.uk "He believed that Muslims could protect themselves and considered the presence of U.S. forces in the Arabian peninsula a humiliation inflicted on Muslims and Arabs everywhere by the Saudi royal family. Most analysts trace this period as the genesis for his fervent hatred towards the United States. "I think when we study his early speeches and writing, that's what you get, this kind of brewing resentment based on humiliation," Judith Miller of the New York Times told PBS' Frontline. Almost immediately, bin Laden became active with groups opposed to the Saudi royal family. His vocal opposition to Saudi involvement in the U.S.-led Gulf War prompted officials to confiscate his passport." popups.ctv.ca Now tell me the two issues are not linked... Had Saddam been toppled in 1991, US troops would not be nearly as present in Saudi Arabia as they have been for the past 12 yearss. Bin Laden would have been less able to rely upon his argument that the US was occupying "holy soil" in SA, and the Iraqi people would not be in the sorry economic situation they have been in for the past 12 years... Furthermore, it's quite likely that, without Saddam's support for Arafat, the Palestinian people would have a homeland (since Saddam's defeat would have likely led to Arafat's ouster for supporting him), taking the best deal they could get under the circumstances, and Israel's security concerns would have been met, possibly through mutual UN-US participation.. None of these issues can really be conveniently separated from one another Zonder... And neither can it be suggested that it is the sole causality.. But it did lay the foundation for where we are today... We had the perfect opportunity to overthrow Saddam in 1991. Saddam invaded and brutalized a neighboring nation/state, but was permitted to remain in power. But Arab governments believed that we didn't have a mandate for regime change and that he would fall on his own.. Well, that's just BS.. That's like defeating Nazi Gemany but permitting Hitler to remain power. The message that was sent to the world is that you can get away with invading another country, be defeated, and still be able to maintain power and wait for another opportunity... And that's why we're where we are today.. Hawk