Nexus - 0905 - New Times Magazine-pages

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Director John O'Neill, the real source of bin Laden's network lies. The Facts as Documented In particular, it is a documented fact that the Bush administration A summary of the facts on record, as documented in this study, has sealed any inquiry into the complicity of the ISI [Pakistan's is presented here: Inter-Services Intelligence] in the September 11 attacks. * Both the United States and the [former] USSR are responsible Indeed, there is reason to believe that through the ISI, which for the rise of religious extremism, terrorism and civil war within has "close links" to the CIA and plays the role of a regional instru- Afghanistan since the 1980s. The US, however, is directly ment of US interests, elements of US military intelligence may responsible for the cultivation of a distorted "jihadi" ideology that, have had direct complicity in funding and supporting the terrorists along with US arms and training, fuelled the ongoing war and acts who undertook the air attacks on September 11. This notion is of terrorism within the country after the withdrawal of Soviet supported by the fact that the ISI chief, who siphoned forces. US$100,000 to the alleged lead hijacker Mohamed Atta, resigned * The US approved of the rise of the Taliban and went on at quietly under US pressure—thus avoiding a scandal produced by least tacitly to support the movement, despite its egregious human undue publicity, along with any accompanying demands for an rights abuses against Afghan civilians, in order to secure regional investigation into the full extent of the strategic and economic interests. ISI's role in September 11. It is a docu- ¢ The US government and military mented fact that the Bush administra- planned a war on Afghanistan prior to tion, in applying pressure, has success- The US government has September 11 for at least a year, a plan fully protected the ISI from any further allowed suspected terrorists rooted in broad strategic and economic damaging revelations on its complicity . . considerations related to control of in supporting those behind the air linked to Osama bin Laden to Eurasia, and thus the consolidation of attacks, while also protecting the ex- train at US military facilities unrivalled global US hegemony. chief of ISI himself. . . . ¢ The US government has consis- By obstructing investigations of ter- financed by Saudi Arabia as tently blocked investigations and rorists and by maintaining what effec- well as at US flight schools inquiries of Saudi royals, Saudi busi- tively amounts to a covert financial, nessmen and members of the bin political and even military alliance with for years. Laden family implicated in supporting them, the Bush administration has Osama bin Laden and terrorist opera- effectively supported their activities. tives linked to him. This amounts, in The objective of US policy has, further- effect, to protecting leading figures more, been focused principally on securing elite strategic and eco- residing in Saudi Arabia who possess ties with Osama bin Laden. nomic interests abroad, while deterring public understanding at * The US government has consistently blocked attempts to indict home. and apprehend Osama bin Laden, thus effectively protecting him As shocking and horrifying as these conclusions are, they are directly. based on an extensive analysis of events leading up to, during and ¢ The US government has allowed suspected terrorists linked to after September 11, 2001. However, it is not the intent of this Osama bin Laden to train at US military facilities financed by author to pretend that the conclusions outlined here are final. On Saudi Arabia as well as at US flight schools for years. the contrary, in the opinion of this author, these conclusions are ¢ High-level elements of the US government, military, intelli- merely the best available inferences from the available facts that | gence and law enforcement agencies received numerous credible have been so far unearthed. It is up to the reader to decide and urgent warnings of the September 11 attacks, which were of whether or not to agree with this assessment. Ultimately, this such a nature as to reinforce one another successively. Only a study is not concerned with providing a conclusive account but, full-fledged inquiry would suffice to clarify in a definite manner rather, is intended to clarify the dire need for an in-depth investi- why the American intelligence community failed to act on the gation into the events of September 11 by documenting the facts. warnings received. However, the nature of the multiple warnings received, along with the false claims by US intelligence agencies that they had no spe- ia) cific warnings of what was about to occur, = a suggests that the agencies indeed had exten- - sive foreknowledge of the attacks but are —" < now attempting to prevent public recogni- =3 tion of this. + In spite of extensive forewarnings, the US Air Force emergency response systems collapsed systematically on September 11, in violation of the clear rules that are nor- mally and routinely followed on a strict basis. This is an event that could only con- ceivably occur as a result of deliberate obstructions to the following of Standard Operating Procedures for emergency response. " : . " ¢ To succeed, such systematic Those cartels are really getting organised. obstructions could only be set in place by key US government and military officials. allowed suspected terrorists linked to Osama bin Laden to train at US military facilities financed by Saudi Arabia as well as at US flight schools for years. C> Sarthe. 12 + NEXUS The Facts as Documented The US government has "Those cartels are really getting organised." www.nexusmagazine.com AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2002