http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.hanson15sep15,0,4332544 .story?coll=bal-attack-headlines
Bin Laden tape shows we have a lot to relearn about our terrorist foes By Victor Davis Hanson Originally published September 15, 2006 In speeches leading up to the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush focused on the dangers of Islamic fascism and the efforts, at home and abroad, to combat it. In response, his election-year rivals fired back that we are no safer than we were five years ago. According to them, we are mired in Afghanistan and Iraq and have sacrificed our civil liberties while exaggerating the global terrorist threat. But al-Qaida is not so conflicted. While American politicians tore into each other, Al Jazeera calmly released a video of Osama bin Laden from before 9/11. Given the timing of the tape's release, you could call it bin Laden's alternative commemoration of the mass murder of nearly 3,000 Americans. The film reveals bin Laden strutting through his Afghan terrorist camp and blessing those who were preparing the 9/11 suicide attacks. Other top men in al-Qaida appear, and at least two of the hijackers boast of their planned jihad in Manhattan. There is a lot to relearn from the footage that we have apparently forgotten in these last five years. Let's start with what prompted 9/11. Today, according to a Scripps Howard poll, more than a third of Americans suspect the attacks were an inside job (with federal officials either helping the hijackers or at least knowing about them in advance). Meanwhile, a majority of our Canadian neighbors believe U.S. policies were a primary cause of the attack. But what does the newly released tape tell us? Was 9/11 a result of American support for Israel, the presence of our troops in Saudi Arabia, or the U.N. embargo of Iraq - the grievances that bin Laden in 1998 named as grounds for murdering Americans? Not according to two of the captioned "Martyrs of the Manhattan Raid," who spoke freely in this newly released tape. Saudi nationals Hamza Alghamdi (who helped crash Flight 175 into the South Tower of the World Trade Center) and Wail Alshehri (who joined Mohamed Atta on Flight 11 to topple the North Tower) mostly voiced anger over Western violence against Muslims in Chechnya and Bosnia. Never mind that the U.S., almost alone among Western countries, criticized Russian tactics in Grozny, and bombed a European Christian country for several weeks to save Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo. Instead of having any precise claim against America, these killers showed that their hurt arose from their own sense of envy and collective failure - as the now all-too-familiar references to "being humiliated" and lost honor in the tape attest. There is no doubt who Mr. Alghamdi and Mr. Alshehri were - or what they were planning to do. Yet polls since 9/11 consistently reveal that most Muslims in the Middle East do not believe that al-Qaida, much less any Arab Muslims at all, carried out the attacks. Instead, Israel or the CIA is blamed. So the tape is also a chilling reminder that in this war, evidence means nothing - superstition, bias and delusion everything. It's also important to note that bin Laden acknowledges the murder plot and prays for the hijackers ("ask God ... to aim their shots well"). Yet some delude themselves that bin Laden, albeit misguided and dangerous, is still a resistance fighter driven by notions of Islamic purity. In the past, bin Laden has even denied his involvement in planning 9/11. Here, though, he clearly takes credit for it. The Arab "street" should be reminded that its icon is not only a killer and a thug but a pathological liar as well. And let's not forget what has become of these odious jihadists since this creepy pre-9/11 video was made, since their various fates might offer some barometer of our success or failure in this present period of domestic recriminations. Most of our enemies who appear in this latest film are either dead, scattered or in captivity - and by the very policies of military retaliation and incarceration so criticized around the world. Ultimately, the tape of this now-extinct terrorist camp reminds us not to impute our own notions about motives to these jihadists. Instead, why not just watch and listen to what they really do and say? The truth may shock us. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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