-Caveat Lector- > He claimed that threats against his life had > been made by terrorist Abu Nidal,
------- Forwarded message follows ------- -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: 'ab� 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<{{{ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many generations. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of Teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutta + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller, German Writer (1759-1805) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." Universal Declaration of Human Rights + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. 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