Joni wrote;
> Can anyone tell me what Bin Ladin's message is? What does he want? From
> what I gather it's not purely a religious issue. It goes beyond Israel vs
> Arab. I see no way these two groups will ever co-exsist. Both groups
have
> valid issues...but neither is willing to budge. No one will win, instead
we
> will ALL lose.
Here's what I've been able to gather on Bin Laden. If I'm inaccurate on any
points, please feel free to correct them.
(To set the stage, keep in mind that *most* Islamic / Arab states have no
middle class to speak of, this despite the fact that there is often a
tremendous amount of wealth. Some countries, like the UAE, have an average
income in the $20,00 range, but for the most part, the middle-eastern man on
the street has a huge bone to pick with the wealthy, titled classes leading
these countries.)
1) Osama (or Usama) is not an Afghan, but a Saudi. He is the 20th and
youngest son of a Saudi construction magnate. Had he gone another route, he
might have turned out to be an international playboy like D. Al Fayed (of
Princess Diana fame...)
2) Instead, when the Red Army tried to invade Afghanistan, Osama moved there
to aid in the resistance. He spent millions and millions of his personal
fortune aiding the Afghan rebels in their 10 year struggle.
3) Reports say that he was extremely generous, to the point of literally
giving away the clothes off his back. He was also extremely modest, living
in small tents and sleeping on the floor.
4) Osama was aided in his efforts against the Afghan rebels by the CIA.
5) After the Russians vacated in the late 80's, Osama concentrated on
building a network called "The Base." Osama was always a very conservative
Muslim, but the evolution of his thought sees him going in more and more
radical directions. (Frighteningly, there are apparently ex-members of The
Base who are even more radical than him.)
6) The Base has operations in probably 20 or more countries, including,
according to some sources, Western Pakistan. These operations are not much
more than tents, shooting ranges, and the like. It is said that Osama
himself does not use a cell phone any longer, but gives out directives via
human messenger. This makes him extremely hard to track with modern
surveilance equipment.
7) Osama is the father-in-law of the leader of the Taliban government. The
Taliban (literally, "Students") control 95% of Afghanistan, and they are the
strictest sect in Islam. In fact, they are so strict that the governement of
Iran has called them "The most dangerous regime in the world."
The leader of the only viable Afghan resistance to the Taliban, called The
Northern Alliance, was assasinated and buried this week. (Perhaps the bombs
going off in the Afghan capital were in retaliation for his murder.)
Afghanistan is probably among the most miserable place on the planet to
live, especially for women. To "bomb them back to the middle ages" is
misplaced, as they are already there. There are no roads, no infrastructure,
and precious little food. Women are not allowed in school, and men are only
taught to read the Koran... no other subjects.
It is also a mountainous country which would make it very difficult, if not
impossible, to conduct an effective air-campaign against the The Base. (And
even if you bomb them, so what? All they've got is tents.)
8) Osama, who is now protected by the Taliban, directed his wrath on the US
in '91, after the Saudi king invited the US to defend the Saudi border in
the Gulf War. This is key because Saudi Arabia is home to two of Islam's
three holiest sites, Mecca and Medina.
9) In some interpretations of the Koran, Christianity (i.e. the US, in their
eyes), is a polytheistic religion as opposed to Islam, which is strongly
monotheistic; this, coupled with the massive amounts of moral pollution
broadcast from US shores, (i.e. Britney Spears on down) led Osama to
conclude that US citizens are infidels.
For this reason, it is the highest outrage that US soldiers should be
allowed to step foot on the hallowed ground of Saudi Arabia. (Remember that
during the Gulf War, US troops were not allowed to bring either their Bibles
or their Playboy magazines, both of which are forbidden there.)
Despite this, Osama feels that the King of Saudi Arabia has sold him, and
Islam, out. He wants the US infidels completely out of the Middle East.
10) Although he is, to my knowledge, not a cleric, he has nevertheless
issued "Fatwahs" which are religious declarations. One of the most famous
fatwahs was issued by the Ayatollah Khomeni, who declared that author Salmon
Rushdie must be killed for penning "The Satanic Verses." (This Fatwah,
interestingly enough, was, I believe, endorsed by none other than Yusef
Islam... aka the wild one Cat Stevens. Can anyone confirm this?)
Bin Laden's fatwah is that it is incumbent on all Moslems anywhere to kill
as many US citizens, military or civilian, as is possible at any time they
get the opportunity.
When George HW Bush sent a peacekeeping-humanitarian mission into Somalia,
Bin Laden took credit for supplying the weapons that killed 18 soldiers.
However, he has not taken credit for the recent attack, and in a way, this
is probably the truth. Once the fatwah has been issued, it is up for
individual Moslems to carry it out in ways that they see fit.
Today, Bin Laden said, rather craftily, in my view, that those who committed
the acts were pursuing their own agendas. True enough, but their agenda is
quite obviously to fullfil Bin Laden's fatwah!
Bin Laden provides the support, monetarily, for these groups, and the
training they need to commit acts of terror, but the individual members act
for themselves. Cheney accurately described the base as sort of an "internet
chat room" of terror where members come and go, taking what they need to
fulfill their own purposes. (It is also rumored that Bin Laden is almost
completely out of money and that he is in ill health. I know many of you are
heartbroken by that news.)
It is also probably not an exaggeration to say if the US and Israel were
both gone, there would be no peace between the Islamic extremist groups
themselves.
11) As for Israel. Well, the 3rd of the three holiest sites for Islam is
Jerusalem, so the presence of the Hebrews there is, in light of these
radical views, obviously somewhat problematic.
It must be noted that it is probably fair to say that most Moslems in the
Middle East do not agree with the radicalized interpretation of Islam or the
Koran practiced by Bin Laden or the Taliban. Yet these radicals are often
used by the various leaders of the Arab states, i.e. Syria, Libya, and,
according to the Isrealis, even by Arafat and the Palestinian Authroity.
Also, consider that even "moderate" Arab states like Saudi Arabia often have
abysmal human rights records and women are generally viewed as second or
third class citizens.
Let me conclude by saying that the war is not between Islam and
Christianity, or Islam and Judaism. The war is fundamentally between 2
irreconcilable forms of governement, theocracy and democracy.
My rather bleak view is that it will not be enough to eradicate the current
generation of dangerous, deadly theocratic zealots. As long as the Arab
states resist democratic reform, the conditions that will produce further
generations of Osama Bin Ladens will still obtain.
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