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>From www.wsws.org
WSWS : News & Analysis : The US War in Afghanistan
No substance to Blair�s new evidence against Al Qaeda
By Chris Marsden
19 November 2001
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Last week, Britain�s Prime Minister Tony Blair, announced that the
dossier of evidence supposedly linking Osama bin Laden�s Al
Qaeda network with the September 11 terrorist attacks had been
updated and strengthened.
The dossier had initially been presented on October 4 in an attempt
to justify the bombing of Afghanistan in the face of widespread
opposition in Muslim countries and considerable disquiet in Britain
itself.
The World Socialist Web Site subjected the original document to a
detailed critique and found that it contained nothing of substance
proving a link between bin Laden, Al Qaeda or the Taliban to the
September 11 outrages. It was not simply that the document fell
short of the standards of proof required in a court of law; it did not
even come close. It was made up largely of claims regarding Al
Qaeda�s past involvement in terror attacks against the US, quotes
relating to bin Laden�s anti-American views and the
unsubstantiated assertion that three of the hijackers had proven
links with the Al Qaeda network.
Anyone demanding more concrete proof was told that this existed,
but to reveal it may threaten national security by endangering
agents or exposing informers. We concluded that Britain�s dossier
should be viewed as providing a pretext for a decision to bomb
Afghanistan that had already been taken and for reasons unrelated
to September 11�the desire to establish US dominion over Central
Asia and its reserves of oil and gas.
Fully seven weeks later, the update of the original document
contains nothing that requires a revision of the position originally
taken by the World Socialist Web Site. No fresh evidence is
presented, merely fresh assertions and an extended quotation that
proves nothing.
Blair claimed in parliament that a hitherto unpublicized videotaped
interview with bin Laden showed him claiming responsibility for the
terror attacks and even gloating over them. In emotive language, he
declared, �Far from hiding their guilt, they gloat about it.�
He went on to claim British intelligence now had proof that a
majority of the 19 hijackers were linked to Al Qaeda, as opposed to
the earlier claim of three confirmed conspirators.
British officials said the video was recorded on October 20, but not
broadcast on Al Jazeera, the Arabic-language television network
based in Qatar. Instead it had been circulated as a recruiting and
propaganda device amongst Al Qaeda�s supporters.
Once again, there is no evidence cited to back up the claim that an
unspecified number�now a majority�of the hijackers had links
with Al Qaeda. We are asked to take this on trust.
The language used is vague: �Many of them had previous links with
Al Qaeda or have so far been positively identified as associates of
Al Qaeda.� What is meant by �many�, �previous links� and
�associates� is not specified.
Again the claim is made, �There is evidence of a very specific
nature relating to the guilt of bin Laden and his associates that is
too sensitive to release.� And further, �The document does not
contain the totality of the material known to HMG [Her Majesty�s
Government], given the continuing and absolute need to protect
intelligence sources.�
In contrast to Blair�s assertion in parliament that bin Laden had
admitted responsibility for September 11, the actual document is
more guarded. It states in point 63, �In addition, Osama bin Laden
has issued a number of public statements since the US strikes on
Afghanistan began. The language used in these, while not an open
admission of guilt, is self-incriminating.�
There follows a list of rhetorical excesses by bin Laden that prove
little other than his pedigree as an Islamic fundamentalist and
hostility to the US.
In the un-broadcast October 20 interview, bin Laden is supposed to
have said, �It is what we instigated for a while, in self-defence. And
it was in revenge for our people killed in Palestine and Iraq. So if
avenging the killing of our people is terrorism, let history be a
witness that we are terrorists.�
He adds later, according to British intelligence, �The battle has
been moved inside America, and we shall continue until we win this
battle, or die in the cause and meet our maker.�
Not only does bin Laden not directly admit responsibility for
September 11, as Blair claimed he did, but the three sentences are
presented in isolation so that it is impossible to judge precisely
what he is speaking of.
In the end, all that we are left with is yet another bald assertion:
�No other organisation has both the motivation and the capability to
carry out attacks like those of the 11 September�only the Al
Qaeda network under Osama bin Laden.�
To paraphrase the old song, �Is that all there is� to proving bin
Laden�s guilt?
Yet Blair�s parliamentary speech and the documents additions
were dutifully and uncritically reported by the US and British media
and presented as good coin. Not one newspaper saw fit to
challenge the validity of Blair�s claims, let alone question the
government�s motives in issuing the revised document.
In this regard, one of the most sinister aspects of the dossier is the
repeated insistence that substantive evidence cannot be made
public due to the possible impact on national security.
As this web site has pointed out, the recently proposed anti-terror
legislation in Britain and the US cites this same consideration as a
pretext to withdraw the legal right to a fair trial for anyone accused
of a connection with terrorist groups or offenses.
In Britain, once new legislation is passed, the home secretary will
be able to issue an international terrorist certification against a
foreign national thought to be involved in planning or conducting
terrorist offences or having links with terrorist groups. Those so
identified can be interned without charge for up to six months, and
then brought before a Special Immigration Appeals Commission
(SIAC), held in secret with the suspects denied the right to hear
the evidence against them. They then face being deported.
Last week President Bush issued an executive order allowing for
the use of special military courts to try suspected terrorists. The
trials will be held in secret and the military prosecutors will not be
required to reveal any information about proceedings, that can end
in the execution of the defendant, to the public. Just as with the bin
Laden dossier, proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is not
required and the tribunals will not be obliged to follow established
rules of evidence.
In both cases, the standard of proof one can expect to apply is
indicated by Britain�s published efforts to excuse a war that has
already led to the deaths of thousands of innocent men, women
and children.
Copyright 1998-2001
World Socialist Web Site
All rights reserved
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
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The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking
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Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it
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A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled
one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller,
German Writer (1759-1805)
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It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that
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