-Caveat Lector-
From
http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/north.htm
}}}>Begin excerpt
Origins: For most of us who watched the televised Iran-Contra
hearings in 1987 -- held by Congress to determine whether the Reagan
administration had secretly and illegally sold arms to Iran in order
to secure the release of American hostages, then used
the profits from those sales to fund the contra rebels in Nicaragua -
- the enduring image we came away with was a memory of an
unapologetic and resolute Lt. Col. Oliver North delivering testimony
in a Marine uniform. North, who was a central figure in the plan to
secretly ship arms to Iran despite a U.S. trade and arms embargo, and
who as a National Security Council aide directed efforts to raise
private and foreign funds for the contras despite a Congressional
prohibition on U.S. government agencies' providing military aid to
the Nicaraguan rebels, testified before Congress under a grant of
limited immunity in July 1987, becoming "the darling of the American
conservative movement with his earnest, self-justifying testimony
during the televised hearings" (or, to the other side, becoming a
villain "who lied to Congress to support an illegal war").
Although North had been granted limited immunity for his testimony,
he was later convicted of criminal charges related to Iran-Contra
activities (a conviction that was eventually overturned on the
grounds that witnesses had been influenced by his immunized
testimony). One of the charges against North was that he had
received a $16,000 home security system paid for out of the proceeds
of the Iran-Contra affair and had forged documents to cover his
receipt of an illegal gratuity. North admitted that he knew the
security system was a "gift" but maintained he never inquired about
who had paid for it or how it was financed, and he was insistent that
he needed the security system because the government had failed to
provide adequate protection against international terrorists for him
and his family.
The terrorist North mentioned in his testimony was not Osama bin
Laden, however. To the extent that bin Laden was known to the
western world in 1987, it was not as a "terrorist" but as one of the
U.S.-backed "freedom fighters" participating in the war against the
Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden's hatred of the
U.S. and conversion to "terrorist" status is not believed to have
come about until the Gulf War of 1990-91, when he was outspokenly
critical of Saudi Arabian dependence upon the U.S. military and
denounced U.S. support of a "corrupt, materialist, and irreligious"
Saudi monarchy. (The Saudi Arabian government stripped bin Laden of
his citizenship in 1994 for his funding of militant fundamentalist
Islamic groups.)
No, Oliver North did not testify about or speak the name Osama bin
Laden during the Iran-Contra hearings. He claimed that threats
against his life had been made by terrorist Abu Nidal, telling a
congressional committee:
I want you to know that I'd be more than willing . . . to meet Abu
Nidal on equal terms anywhere in the world. There's an even deal for
him. OK? But I am not willing to have my wife and my four children
meet Abu Nidal or his organization on his terms.
End excerpt<{{{
&&&&&&&
From
http://lexicorient.com/e.o/abu_nidal.htm
}}}>Begin
Abu Nidal
Arabic: 'abű nidal
Real name: Sabri l-Banna
An Introduction to Koranic and Classical Arabic
Privacy Information
(Jaffa 1937- )
Palestinian politician and guerilla leader.
Abu Nidal, which real name is Sabri l-Banna, has for the last 25
years been one of the figures in the Middle East which most often
have changed sides. He has been cooperating with the leaders of Iraq,
Syria, Saudi Arabia
and Libya. He has always been a controversial figure, and since his forces have
proven valuable (if dangerous) for many leaders his career has been dominated by both
expulsions and invitations.
Abu Nidal has been responsible for terrorist attacks outside the Middle East, too. In
recent years Abu Nidal have been far less active, much because he has not had the
willing employers he had before.
HISTORY
1937: Born in Jaffa.
1948: Banna's family flees to a refugee camp on the Gaza Strip, later they move to
Nablus on the West Bank.
1955: Banna joins the Ba'th party of Jordan.
1957: When the Ba'th party gets suppressed, Banna moves to Saudi Arabia and becomes
secret member of Al Fatah.
1969: Banna is selected Al Fatah's representative in Sudan.
1970: Banna is sent to Baghdad as Al Fatah's representative, where he is strongly
influenced by Iraqi political views.
1974: Banna is expelled from Al Fatah, after criticising Al Fatah's establishment of a
national authority for a liberated Palestine. Banna responds with building his own
group, called Fatah Revolutionary Council, which re
ceives funds from Iraq. Banna uses Baghdad as his base.
November: Al Fatah accuses Banna of murder plots, and sentences him to death.
1983: Abu Nidal is thrown out of Baghdad, as Iraq needs US support in
the war against Iran. Abu Nidal moves to Syria, where he starts to
cooperate with the government.
1985: Abu Nidal is employed to hinder an agreement between Jordan,
Israel and the PLO.
— Abu Nidal's troops are used to attack international airlines, in
Vienna and Rome, and a Pan-Am flight is hijacked in Karachi.
1986 September: After Western accusations of Syrian participation in
international terrorism, Abu Nidal's training camps here are closed
down. Abu Nidal is since then believed to have moved to Libya.
1991: One of PLO's highest officers, Salah Khalaf, is killed in Tunis
by attack of Abu Nidal's men.
End<{{{
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