Keith, I know you're being contentious and hypothetical here. But let's spell it out, okay? Among any number of historical reasons and precedents, bin Laden has targeted us because: I) We are the main military supporter of Israel's continued occupation and dominance in Palestine territory, in bin Laden's view a sovereign Arab and Islamic nation. II) We continue to maintain troops in Saudi Arabia and other sovereign Arab and Islamic nations, thereby marking ourselves in his view as "colonial forces." Bin Laden is ruthless and a bloodthirsty ideologue. But he's far from irrationally crazy. He's got perfect self-justification for his hatred of anyone that doesn't subscribe to his ideals of complete and total Wahhabite Islam in Arab countries. Please remember that after the Soviets were driven out of Afghanistan, the next thing al Qaeda did was assassinate Anwar Sadat, president of an Arab nation, whose crime was making peace with Israel. Bin Laden's zealot bent, incidentally, is precisely the reason that overt collusion with Saddam -- who has never been a fundamentalist and leads a largely secular, even in SOME way progressive, society -- is unlikely in the extreme. Steve Smith ssmith36@sprynet.com NP - Hector Berlioz, "Les pelerins etant venus" - Roberto Alagna (EMI) -------Original Message------- From: s~Z <keithsz@concentric.net> Sent: 02/13/03 12:46 PM To: zorn-list@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: War
we've been on this guy's list for a long time.<<<
Why did he put us there? There plenty of other infidel nations he doesn't mess with. Why'd he pick us?
Bin Laden's zealot bent, incidentally, is precisely the reason that overt collusion with Saddam -- who has never been a fundamentalist and leads a largely secular, even in SOME way progressive, society -- is unlikely in the extreme.
http://www.nwc.navy.mil/press/review/2001/autumn/art1%2Dau1.htm It says that after Afghanistan Bin Laden set his sites on Saddam for that very reason. The Saudis wouldn't let him raise an army to take out Saddam, but rather called the US into the conflict. Bin Laden was quite angry at being dismissed and then having the infidels in the holiest of holies of Islam. Not a bad article by the by. Zach
participants (3)
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Steve Smith -
s~Z -
Zach Steiner