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Politics : Israel to U.S. : Now Deal with Syria and Iran -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sea_urchin who wrote (15736)	7/20/2007 3:34:36 PM
From: sea_urchin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22250

> whenever "Al Qaeda" appears Uncle Sam cannot be far behind (17) prisonplanet.com >>White House Gets Defensive Over Accusation Bin Laden Is Dead Usually obedient press corps ask how a dying man on a dialysis machine can survive in remote Pakistani hill caves for six years White House Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend was asked at a press conference earlier this week what evidence she had that Osama Bin Laden was still alive, considering the fact that he has been gravely ill and on a kidney dialysis machine while traversing the harsh terrain of the Pakistani border region. Townsend's response was to refuse to discuss the matter and immediately leave. Here's the exchange from the end of the press conference (watch the video and cycle to the final 2 minutes). REPORTER: Fran, do you know if Osama bin Laden is still on a dialysis machine, is he still ill? What? I mean, could you tell us about that? I mean, because -- it might be laughable, but people are finding it hard, six years this man is sick, moving around from cave to cave, and can't be found -- with a dialysis machine? MS. TOWNSEND: Have you ever been to the tribal areas? I suspect not. REPORTER: No, I haven't, but I've seen some great pictures from Ken Herman as to the rough terrain over that way. (Laughter.) MS. TOWNSEND: It's not exactly easy. If it were easy he'd be dead. REPORTER: But it's not easy for him to travel around with medics and machinery if he's sick. I mean, is he -- do you know from your intelligence if he's still sick? What do you know about that? MS. TOWNSEND: I'm not going to talk about that. Townsend immediately went on the defensive before cutting the press conference short and leaving the room. Judging from all the available evidence, the White House knows for certain or at least strongly suspects that Bin Laden is dead and has been for many years, but they have chosen to maintain his myth for the purposes of political propaganda and as a hook on which to pin the advance of the imperial Neo-Con agenda. Townsend's reaction to the question is a clear indication that the Bush administration don't even want to be drawn into a debate on whether Bin Laden is still alive. The premise that he might be dead cannot even be entertained because it would strip "Al-Qaeda" of much of the menace that the Neo-Cons need to attach to the group in order to keep Americans frightened and obedient. According to French newspaper Le Figaro, Bin Laden was on a kidney dialysis machine after he had one shipped to his base in Kandahar Afghanistan in 2000. Other accounts suggest he was also suffering from Hepatitis C at the time and had only two years left to live.<<

To: sea_urchin who wrote (15736)	7/20/2007 4:08:53 PM
From: philv	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22250

With all the prisoners taken since the US/UK invasion of Iraq, its obvious that if there was a real Al Qaeda organization, the beans would long ago have been spilled. Its a mirage, a contrived convenient straw man, just like the assertion of weapons of mass destruction was. Where was Al Qaeda before the invasion? Certainly Saddam Hussein wouldn't tolerate any kind of organization like that, if only because it might threaten his dictatorship. But, repeat a lie often enough, and if its big enough, ......... Al Qaeda in Europe, in England, in America, in Asia, Al Qaeda everywhere! And superbly commanded by Osama Bin Laden? Where will this amazing organization called Al Qaeda rear its ugly head next? The truth is that Iraq has been broken up into its various factions, and in the aftermath of the war, Iraq has become mired into sectarian and criminal violence because of the lack of a strong central government, thanks to the war. Any continued opposition to the war or any insurgency is now condemned and labeled as Al Qaeda. Acts of terrorism and Al Qaeda are almost inter changeable, and gives governments the world over the cover to enact extreme measures, which result in loss of personal freedoms. And of course, the answer to insurgency and acts of terrorism is more war, and the result is more acts of violence and less freedom.