The following is a fairly detailed and nuanced argument, so before going any further please read this short statement by Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth and this short statement by physicist David Chandler and civil engineer Jonathan Cole, regarding the death of Osama bin Laden.
Also consider the following two statements that bin Laden has no bearing upon.
Former U.S. Army Air Defense Officer and NORAD Tac Director, decorated with the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the Soldiers Medal stated that there is no way that an aircraft . . . would not be intercepted when they deviate from their flight plan, turn off their transponders, or stop communication with Air Traffic Control ... Attempts to obscure facts by calling them a 'conspiracy Theory' does not change the truth. It seems, 'Something is rotten in the State.'"
"...We met other whistle-blowers on the side of the road in Maryland, ya know, to hear what they could tell us. None of them revealed state secrets to us by the way (laughs)... um, but, they had information... and basically, the Government knew... ya know, other than the exact moment... they knew the date, and the method of which the attacks were supposed to come." - 9/11 family member Patty Casazza
For refutations of "debunkers" on the topics noted thus far please click on the red text toward the bottom of this piece.
There has been a heated debate raging in the 9/11 truth movement, which is essentially: did bin Laden get killed by US forces last week, or was he really killed years ago and used until now as a war on terror sustaining boogie man, who is now of more use as a war expanding or false flag excuse creating, (pick your reason) officially dead man.
Let me tell you where I stand straight off; I am leaning quite strongly towards him being killed last week. However, I'm first going to play devil's advocate and demonstrate why those claiming that the US is faking the recent account should not be discounted with non-endearing terms like "deather" as espoused by Pat Curley of the Screw Loose Change blog.
FOX News running a story entitled "Report: Bin Laden Already Dead" in December 2001 is a starting point. But to continue believing that story in this narrative one would have to then have good cause to believe that the subsequent 40 audio or video tapes that surfaced between 2001 and 2011 of bin Laden were faked. (Counting the 5 most recent tapes.)
This might sound absurd, however, in May of last yaer the Washington Post reported the following about the CIA's Iraq Operations Group:
However, the declassified CIA memo "Concerning Criticism of the Warren Report," which called for the employment of "propaganda assets" for "discrediting the claims of the [JFK] conspiracy theorists," was labeled "PSYCH," presumably for psychological Warfare Operations. So it is of no comfort that "they had assets in psy-war down at Ft. Bragg" take over the fake Osama tape producing operation. There is, however, every reason for concern that they, or other such units, would use this type of propaganda against, not just our foreign enemies, but also the American public.
The next thing needed in this narrative is indisputable proof that at least one bin Laden audio or video tape was a fraud. Lo and behold this November 2002 report from the Guardian entitled "Swiss scientists 95% sure that Bin Laden recording was fake," which states that, "Scientists in Switzerland say they are almost certain that a recent audio tape attributed to Osama bin Laden is a fake," but then noted that:
The following excerpt from the February 1999 Washington Post article "When Seeing and Hearing Isn't Believing" indicates that the voice-morphing technology mentioned by Madsen really is as good, or even better, than he claims, in which case no amount of expert agreement would really matter:
And if a YouTube poster can make the following video, what could the CIA accomplish?
Now, take all of this combined with the following reports from Russia Today and you have your cause for disbelief by many. What they frame as the White House inviting conspiracy theories over bin Laden's death could also be viewed as further evidence of a conspiracy!
These issues were even reported by the Sun Sentinel to have struck a nerve with Jeannie Evans who lost her brother firefighter Robert Evans on 9/11, who stated, "Why not show us proof, that Bin Laden was killed? I would like to see that."
The reports that bin Laden was not armed also raise the question, as posed by Washington's Blog, "Why Didn’t We Capture the Terrorist Kingpin and Interrogate Him?"
With all that being said, here are my dissenting thoughts on this issue. The earlier reports of bin Laden's death are relying on pure hearsay. The often cited report I provided earlier from FOX News is from a "Taliban source," whose leader Muhammad Omar, is a long time friend of bin Laden; this is certainly a cause for doubt regarding this report. So what is there besides this?
(Note: I respect a lot of the work at PrisonPlanet.com and WhatReallyHappened.com, whom I'm about to criticise.)
Let's break down the article, "Inside Sources: Bin Laden’s Corpse Has Been On Ice For Nearly a Decade" on radio host Alex Jones' website Prison Planet. The only individual cited regarding bin Laden being on ice is an unnamed "high level Republican source," Paul Joseph Watson noted at the time that, "Alex has warned that this might be disinfo and the fact that we're reporting on it pre-emptively may cause them to change the script." OK, I'm noting this, it might be disinfo AND them reporting it may cause the government to change the script. So that second part doesn't mean that it might not be disinfo, right?
Next up is the very impressive "Council on Foreign Relations member Steve R. Pieczenik, who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under Henry Kissinger, Cyrus Vance, and James Baker" who told the Alex Jones Show that bin Laden had already been "dead for months" back in April 2002. For starters, blog contributor Scootle Royale pointed out yesterday that:
Interview of Steve R. Pieczenik - Alex Jones Show - April 24, 2002:
Here is a truther site proving it.
Here is a debunker site proving it.
And here is a video where an expert comes to the same conclusion.
Furthermore, since this video was likely recorded on September 26th 2001, at a time when nobody is claiming bin Laden had died yet, there is no reason to think it wasn't him. That being said, there is damning information about this tape, including the fact that bin Laden does not confess to 9/11 on it as the US claimed, but again, we'll get back there in a second.
And as Scootle has pointed out before, the idea of a fake bin Laden sitting down with the real al-Zawahiri doesn't make much sense.
All the other sources noted on the Prison Planet page contain no actual reports of bin Laden's death, but rather opinions: "Of course he is dead" "I think now, frankly, he is dead" "I personally think he [Bin Laden] is probably not with us anymore" "I would come to believe that [Bin Laden] probably is dead" "Osama may have died" "probably dead" "I don’t think he’s alive."
They also quote former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto as saying Omar Sheikh had killed Osama Bin Laden, which Scootle recently demonstrated was a misspeak.
They quote former US foreign intelligence officer and professor of international relations at Boston University Angelo Codevilla, who in his article "Osama bin Elvis," wrote that, "All the evidence suggests Elvis Presley is more alive today than Osama Bin Laden." In the article it is posited that "no reputable person" reports having seen bin Laden since 2001, and the argument that Osama's "increasingly secular language is inconsistent" with his Wahhabism is put forward. But his "evidence" also includes the Taliban souce, the Benazir Bhutto quote, and the "fatty bin Laden tape." The erroneous points that the bin Laden in the video writes with the wrong hand and shouldn't be wearing a gold ring according to Islamic law are also raised. Mr. Codevilla is clearly as wrong about much of the bin Laden evidence as he is the Elvis Presley evidence.
The only piece of evidence offered on the page "Osama bin Laden: A dead nemesis perpetuated by the US government" from What Really Happened, which isn't on the Prison Planet page, is from the editor-in-chief of a London-based Arab news magazine who in 2002 published what he asserted was a will written in 2001 by bin Laden. CNN reported that the will "could not be independently authenticated" and that the Arab news magazine editor admitted "he doesn't know for sure if bin Laden is dead." He does state that, "Once someone writes his will, it means either he's dying or he's going to die soon." However, bin Laden could have very well feared for his life due to him being the world's most wanted terrorist or his failing health and thus decided to write the will. Ultimately it proves nothing.
Considering that bin Laden evaded capture for almost a decade, his ill health, the evidence and possibility of faked audios and videos, and the report of him being dead backed by so many official's opinions that he was, it was a strong hypothesis to say he probably was dead. Given the new info, however, it must be considered that the former reports were based on disinfo and/or opinion.
On that note, the new report of bin Laden's death is supported by a claimed DNA match, which could be a lie, but also could be hard evidence, which the other report of his death did not offer. Some are asking how such a fast DNA match could have been made, as one answer on this YahooAnswers page noted, "...Most testing facilities are understaffed, underfunded, and overworked. Add in chain of custody protocols with evidence, and it takes a long time to get anything done."
Furthermore, GenomeWeb.com reports that "forensics experts have almost unanimously stepped forward to support the idea that the DNA testing – most likely Y-linked short tandem repeat PCR amplification and analysis – could easily have been performed in the amount of time and location it is purported to have been, using industry-standard products."
There is also a death photo that may yet be released, which has been seen by a number of members of Congress, again which could be fake or taken long ago, but can also be viewed as a substantiation of the reports that "commandos... used a camera phone to upload a photo to Operation room where engineers used facial recognition software to verify it." Again, such a picture could be a sophisticated fake, or taken long ago, but the other report offered no such corroboration.
There are also the accounts from the people in the house said to have been living with him. The Telegraph reports that bin Laden's fifth wife, Amal Ahmed al-Sadah, "who was shot in the leg during the raid... ...has already told Pakistani investigators they had been living in the compound since 2005." This report from the Daily Mail states that bin Laden's 12 year old daughter says he was captured alive and then executed.
Also, the 35 audios or videos that surfaced between 2001 and his reported killing, although possibly all fake, must now also be taken into consideration as evidence that the US did indeed kill him, if only circumstantial.
The same goes for five new videos released yesterday, one of which shows Osama bin Laden inside the compound where he was killed. In the video he is seen watching a report about himself on television, which includes images and video of Barack Obama suggesting the footage is recent. Mike Rivero of What Really Happened, who still promotes the false "fatty bin Laden" video idea, is proclaiming that it is "definitely not Osama Bin Laden" in a short post reproduced on Prison Planet today entitled "Bin Laden: The Ears Have It," stating, "Ears are as unique as fingerprints, and they do not change with time. The ears do not match (and the noses are also different). However, many commenters on Prison Planet do not agree.
Watson states in yet another article put out today that, "Almost every single neighbor that lived near the alleged Bin Laden compound in Abbottabad that was interviewed by news reporters said with absolute certainty that they had never seen Bin Laden and that they knew of no evidence whatsoever to suggest he lived there."
It is true that nobody reports seeing him, or as noted, anybody looking like him, but the statement that "almost every single neighbor that was interviewed" provided "no evidence whatsoever to suggest he lived there" is only accurate of the stories Watson cites in his articles. It goes well beyond their shopping habits and the report from the grocer that they "always paid cash, never asked for credit." The Associated Press article "Bin Laden's Neighbors Were Suspicious" reports:
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers."
-- Thomas Pynchon, Jr.
For those reading this who don't agree with CIT, consider the following summary of their Pentagon argument compared with my following summary of the bin Laden died in 2001 argument.
Recovered DNA identifying Osama: faked
Facial recognition software identifying Osama from a death photo that several members of Congress have seen: faked
Osama's wife and daughter identifying him: faked
Obviously the Pentagon would require many more conspirators and much more fakery, hence the "Not a Deather, but a Doubter." But my doubt is immaterial, because even if I were 100% convinced of a bin Laden hoax conspiracy, I would not be pushing it front and center (and I never have even when I had much stronger doubts) because this argument is such an uphill battle now with the public consciousness and would likely just be equated with harmful 9/11 issues that also depend on fakery arguments. Why do that that when we have such a diverse plethora of good evidence that only requires people to look at undisputed facts, obvious lies, physics, and forensics?
On that note, mechanical engineer Tony Szamboti had this to say recently at 911 Blogger:
And yes, in 2001 then Secretary of State Colin Powell stated that the government would soon "put out a paper ... that will describe clearly the evidence that we have linking" bin Laden to 9/11. One day later the government reneged on this pledge and no such paper has ever been offered.
However, Bin Laden has admitted to being involved in 9/11, but just like the FBI he has made contraduictory statements and denied his guilt on three reported occasions, including once on video, but this doesn't mean he wasn't involved. Afterall, there is circumstantial evidence against him in the form of a video showing him meeting with with some of the hijackers. And as 911myths.com points out, "Since 9/11, al-Qaeda have released footage of several of the hijackers. These include a number of video wills, where they talk about jihad and attacking America."
Another important issue right now are these statements from President Barack Obama to 60 Minutes, "We think that there had to be some sort of support network for bin Laden inside of Pakistan. But we don’t know who or what that support network was. We don’t know whether there might have been some people inside of government, people outside of government, and that’s something that we have to investigate and, more importantly, the Pakistani government has to investigate."
We should defintely be asking the Obama Administration to investigate the October 9, 2001 Times of India report that Pakistan's former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), General Mahmud Ahmed, who was meeting with US officials on 9/11, had $100,000 wired to 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta. When former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was confronted by the press about these isssues on May 16, 2002 she feigned complete ignorance of the issues, and the transcrips of the question asked were edited, changing "ISI chief" to "inaudibe." Click here for more info.
Another thing Obama should be investigating are reports that CIA station chief Larry Mitchell met with bin Laden in a Pakistani hospital two months before 9/11.
Now matter what your position on the bin Laden killing, right now is a pertinent time to bring up these issues and to let the Obama administration know that you oppose war in Pakistan even if every shred of the official 9/11 story is true. If you have all your eggs in one basket, now is a perfect time to spread them about and support groups that oppose war, even if they oppose 9/11 truth.
STOP THE WAR COALITION
Newsletter No. 1199
4 May 2011
Email office@stopwar.org.ukTel: 020 7801 2768
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stopthewarcoalition
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) BIN LADEN DEAD: WHERE NOW FOR "WAR ON TERROR"?
2) CAMPAIGNING IN THE COMING WEEKS
3) END THE SIEGE OF GAZA: NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION 14 MAY
4) CONFRONTING ANTI MUSLIM HATRED IN BRITAIN AND EUROPE
5) AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON TERROR TEN YEARS ON
6) STOP THE WAR'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL
********************************
1) BIN LADEN DEAD: WHERE NOW FOR "WAR ON TERROR"?
Bin Laden is dead but the "war on terror" continues as before.
2011 is the most violent year in Afghanistan since the invasion
ten years ago. April was Iraq's most deadly month since 2009. The
war on Libya, still being sold as "humanitarian intervention" to
protect civilians, has sunk to the level of killing three of
Gaddafi's grandchildren, all under the age of twelve.
As Andrew Murray, national chair of Stop the War, wrote in his
recent Guardian article, bin Laden's death is a fork in the road
in world politics. The choices are stark: end the "war on terror"
now, or else continue with a policy "which only offers the
promise of thousands more Bin Ladens arising, vowing to take the
fight to the western powers in the only way they see available".
(READ FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://bit.ly/jcCgGA)
The day after Bin Laden's death Stop the War issued the following
statement:
HOW TO DRAW A LINE UNDER 10 YEARS OF WAR SINCE 9/11
The killing of Osama bin Laden by US Special Forces in Pakistan
has been hailed a turning point in the 'war on terror'. The
assassination, it is claimed, will draw a line nearly 10 years
after 9/11. But if the US really wants to draws a line under
these wars it needs to adopt very different policies from those
which it is now pursuing.
The US and other NATO forces must now withdraw all troops from
Afghanistan. The capture or killing of bin Laden was a stated aim
when the attack began in October 2001 -- 'wanted dead or alive'
in the words of George Bush. Since that time, tens if not
hundreds of thousands have died in Afghanistan, the Taliban have
gained in strength, and the pro US government is one of the most
corrupt in the world. There is no justification for the war.
The US and Britain should remind themselves of the grievances
which bin Laden claimed in 2001: the presence of US troops in the
Middle East; the treatment of the Palestinians; and the continued
sanctions against Iraq. All of these grievances have worsened in
the last ten years. There are now western troops in Iraq,
Afghanistan, US bases all over the region, and an intervention
including troops and airstrikes in Libya. The Palestinians suffer
even more, and have been subject to aerial attack by Israel. Iraq
suffers full scale occupation as a result of the war in 2003.
The war has been extended into Pakistan, not just with Special
Forces operations such as the killing of bin Laden, but with
drone attacks which have killed thousands of Pakistanis and
created great instability in the country.
The US and its allies have followed a policy of backing dictators
and despots across the Middle East. Only the uprisings of the
peoples in these countries has in any way altered that policy,
and even now, while waging war in Libya, the west turns a blind
eye to the atrocities in Bahrain and the repression in Saudi
Arabia.
The war against Libya is not about humanitarian intervention but
about the western powers _ especially the former colonial powers
in North Africa_ trying to regain control of the region. The
airstrikes should stop immediately and all troops including
Special Forces and advisers should be withdrawn.
These policies have not helped to end terrorism, but have made it
more likely. Al Qaeda barely existed outside Afghanistan 10 years
ago; now it is a presence in a number of Middle Eastern
countries. The latest events will in all likelihood lead to more
attacks by al Qaeda, including in Europe and the US. The only way
to end terrorism is to change the policies which create space for
it to flourish in the first place.
THE STATEMENT IS REPRODUCED ON OUR WEBSITE, HERE:
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/usa-war-on-terror/468-the-killing-of-bin-laden-how-to-draw-a-line-under-ten-years-of-war-since-911
********************************
2) ANTI-WAR CAMPAIGNING IN THE COMING WEEKS
President Obama will be making a state visit to Britain at the
end of May and Stop the War will announce shortly the details of
a protest to denounce his continuation of the war policies of his
predecessor George W Bush.
We are asking all local Stop the War groups to organise events in
their communities, with public meetings, street stalls,
petitioning etc, to raise the profile of the anti-war majority in
this country that opposes the escalating aggression of the
western powers, and, specifically, to call for the immediate
withdrawal of all British troops from Afghanistan and an end to
the bombing of Libya.
Campaign leaflets and petition sheets are available to download
from our website.
If you would like to get involved in a local Stop the War group
in your area, contact our national office: Email
office@stopwar.org.uk or call 020 7801 2768.
********************************
3) END THE SIEGE OF GAZA: NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION 14 MAY
The plight of Palestinians continues to deteriorate, as Israel
maintains its siege of Gaza, denying its people basic resources,
and escalates its theft of Palestinian land and property on the
West Bank and in East Jerusalem.
Stop the War has joined with Palestine Solidarity Campaign, CND,
British Muslim Initiative and Palestinian Forum in Britain, in
calling a national demonstration on Saturday 14 May against
Israel's endless violations of international law. The
demonstration is supported by many other organisations. Full
details are available here: http://www.palestinecampaign.org/index9b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=4&l2_id=99&Content_ID=1831.
END THE SIEGE ON GAZA - FREE PALESTINE
JOIN THE PROTEST SATURDAY 14 MAY 2011
ASSEMBLE 12NOON DOWNING STREET LONDON SW1A
For updates, go to: http://www.palestinecampaign.org/index9b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=4&l2_id=99&Content_ID=1831
********************************
4) CONFRONTING ANTI-MUSLIM HATRED IN BRITAIN & EUROPE
The West's assaults on three Muslim countries in the last ten
years have been accompanied by a chorus of anti-Muslim
propaganda, which will no doubt swell further in the aftermath of
the killing of Osama Bin Laden.
To discuss the effects of Islamophobia and how to campaign
against it, Stop the War, as part of the Enough Coalition, is
organising a day conference which will bring together community
figures, campaigners, academics, experts, and victims of
anti-Muslim attacks, from Britain, Europe and the USA.
Speakers include Seumas Milne (The Guardian), Salma Yaqoob, Daud
Abdullah, Tony Benn, Lindsey German, Peter Oborne (Daily
Telegraph), Marwan Muhammed from France, Dr. Sabine Schiffer from
Germany and Professor John Esposito from the USA (FULL LIST OF
SPEAKERS HERE: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/may-21-conference-confronting-anti-muslim-hatred-in-britain-and-europe ).
The event if free but places are limited, so early booking is
advisable. Please register to book your place at
info@enoughcoalition.org.uk.
CONFRONTING ANTI MUSLIM HATRED IN BRITAIN & EUROPE
CONFERENCE: SATURDAY 21 MAY 11AM - 6PM
LONDON MUSLIM CENTRE WHITECHAPEL, LONDON E11JX
Leaflet: http://www.eastlondonmosque.org.uk/uploadedImage/pdf/2011_03_31_11_44_58_EC_V5.pdf
Register place: info@enoughcoalition.org.uk
********************************
5) AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON TERROR 10 YEARS ON
Anger against the western powers will only be increased by recent
events. The Taliban have just announced the start of the fighting
season in Afghanistan, Pakistan is deeply destabilised by the
"war on terror". The British government has now admitted that the
war on Libya could be "a long haul".
Stop the War's day conference on Saturday 11 June will highlight
the disasters of the Afghanistan war and put it in the context of
wider imperialist intervention. Central to the discussion will be
the next steps in the campaign to get the troops home.
Speakers include Tony Benn, George Galloway, Tariq Ali, Lindsey
German, David Swanson from the USA, Pankaj Mishra, Mehdi Hasan
(political editor of New Statesman), Joan Humphries from Military
Families Against the War and David Gentleman, the artist who
designs the now legendary bloodspot placards and posters for Stop
the War.
AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON TERROR 10 YEARS ON
DAY CONFERENCE: SATURDAY 11 JUNE
25 RED LION SQUARE LONDON WC1R 4RL
For updates, go to: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/june-11-day-conference-afghanistan-and-the-war-on-terror-ten-years-on
Admission is £5. Please book in advance by emailing
office@stopwar.org.uk or phoning 020 7801 2768.
********************************
6) STOP THE WAR'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Stop the War's YouTube channel, started just a few months ago, is
proving very popular, with close to 100,000 views already. Over
50 videos have now been posted and we are adding new films every
week. The two most recent are:
* Osama Bin Laden's death and the day America declared war on the
world.
* Look who came to the royal wedding: dictators, torturers, human
rights' abusers
WATCH STOP THE WAR'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/stopthewarcoalition
Related Info:
Rashard Mendenhall: 'I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style'
The Death of Osama, 9/11 and the War on Terror
Nafeez Mossadeq Ahmed on the Death of Osama Bin Laden
Bin Laden Didn't Destroy WTC 7!
Death of Bin Laden May Distract from a More Disturbing Story
Also consider the following two statements that bin Laden has no bearing upon.
Former U.S. Army Air Defense Officer and NORAD Tac Director, decorated with the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the Soldiers Medal stated that there is no way that an aircraft . . . would not be intercepted when they deviate from their flight plan, turn off their transponders, or stop communication with Air Traffic Control ... Attempts to obscure facts by calling them a 'conspiracy Theory' does not change the truth. It seems, 'Something is rotten in the State.'"
"...We met other whistle-blowers on the side of the road in Maryland, ya know, to hear what they could tell us. None of them revealed state secrets to us by the way (laughs)... um, but, they had information... and basically, the Government knew... ya know, other than the exact moment... they knew the date, and the method of which the attacks were supposed to come." - 9/11 family member Patty Casazza
For refutations of "debunkers" on the topics noted thus far please click on the red text toward the bottom of this piece.
There has been a heated debate raging in the 9/11 truth movement, which is essentially: did bin Laden get killed by US forces last week, or was he really killed years ago and used until now as a war on terror sustaining boogie man, who is now of more use as a war expanding or false flag excuse creating, (pick your reason) officially dead man.
Let me tell you where I stand straight off; I am leaning quite strongly towards him being killed last week. However, I'm first going to play devil's advocate and demonstrate why those claiming that the US is faking the recent account should not be discounted with non-endearing terms like "deather" as espoused by Pat Curley of the Screw Loose Change blog.
FOX News running a story entitled "Report: Bin Laden Already Dead" in December 2001 is a starting point. But to continue believing that story in this narrative one would have to then have good cause to believe that the subsequent 40 audio or video tapes that surfaced between 2001 and 2011 of bin Laden were faked. (Counting the 5 most recent tapes.)
This might sound absurd, however, in May of last yaer the Washington Post reported the following about the CIA's Iraq Operations Group:
The agency actually did make a video purporting to show Osama bin Laden and his cronies sitting around a campfire swigging bottles of liquor and savoring their conquests with boys, one of the former CIA officers recalled, chuckling at the memory. The actors were drawn from “some of us darker-skinned employees,” he said.Even though this project never came to fruition, it is still iron-clad proof that US agencies will engage in such activities. Some will protest, correctly, that this tape was reported to have been created to influence our foreign enemies. To that point, the "Psy-war" group mentioned is short for psychological warfare, which The U.S. Department of Defense defines as, "The planned use of propaganda and other psychological actions having the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of hostile foreign groups in such a way as to support the achievement of national objectives."
Eventually, “things ground to a halt,” the other former officer said, because no one could come to agreement on the projects...
The reality, the former officials said, was that the agency really didn’t have enough money and expertise to carry out the projects.
“The military took them over,” said one. “They had assets in psy-war down at Ft. Bragg,” at the army’s special warfare center.
However, the declassified CIA memo "Concerning Criticism of the Warren Report," which called for the employment of "propaganda assets" for "discrediting the claims of the [JFK] conspiracy theorists," was labeled "PSYCH," presumably for psychological Warfare Operations. So it is of no comfort that "they had assets in psy-war down at Ft. Bragg" take over the fake Osama tape producing operation. There is, however, every reason for concern that they, or other such units, would use this type of propaganda against, not just our foreign enemies, but also the American public.
The next thing needed in this narrative is indisputable proof that at least one bin Laden audio or video tape was a fraud. Lo and behold this November 2002 report from the Guardian entitled "Swiss scientists 95% sure that Bin Laden recording was fake," which states that, "Scientists in Switzerland say they are almost certain that a recent audio tape attributed to Osama bin Laden is a fake," but then noted that:
American experts initially concluded that the voice on the tape was probably Bin Laden, though it is unlikely ever to be fully authenticated because of the recording's poor quality.However, the article then goes on to make a stronger case for the Swiss study:
The Swiss findings conflict with other research published by the French news magazine L'Express last week.
In that study, Bernard Gautheron, director of the phonetic testing laboratory at the Institute of Linguistics and Phonetics in Paris, concluded there was a "very strong probability" that the al-Jazeera tape was genuine.
But researchers at the Dalle Molle Institute for Perceptual Artificial Intelligence, in Lausanne, believe the message was recorded by an impostor.But what of the other recordings?
In a study commissioned by France 2 television, researchers built a computer model of Bin Laden's voice, based on an hour of genuine recordings.
Using voice recognition systems being developed for banking security, they tested the model against 20 known recordings of Bin Laden. The system correctly identified his voice in 19 of them.
This meant there was only a 5% risk of error in their conclusion that the latest tape is a fake, Professor Hervé Bourlard, the institute's director, told the Guardian yesterday. "It's an automatic system but it's very sensitive," he said. "It picks up things the human ear doesn't pick up."
He agreed that the sound quality of the recent tape was poor but added: "Many of our 20 [test] recordings were also of poor quality. Some were very good, some very bad, but our results were all positive except in one case."
Prof Bourlard, a voice recognition expert, is the author or joint author of 150 research papers and two books, and has worked extensively with the International Computer Science Institute at Berkeley, California.
The following excerpt from the February 1999 Washington Post article "When Seeing and Hearing Isn't Believing" indicates that the voice-morphing technology mentioned by Madsen really is as good, or even better, than he claims, in which case no amount of expert agreement would really matter:
"Gentlemen! We have called you together to inform you that we are going to overthrow the United States government." So begins a statement being delivered by Gen. Carl W. Steiner, former Commander-in-chief, U.S. Special Operations Command.This article was famously used in early versions of the film Loose Change, to support the theory that the phone calls from the hijacked flights on 9/11 were faked, but as Jim Hoffman noted in a critique, "These examples, which merely consist of creating static messages, are not at all comparable to the phone conversations from Flight 93, which were real-time two-way conversations." Furthermore, as the debunking website 911myths.com asks, "...How did the conspirators obtain a "10-minute digital recording" of several passengers? Especially as many of the ones who made calls weren't even supposed to be Flight 93 passengers until the very last minute." These points are not an issue, however, with solitary diatribes by bin Laden.
At least the voice sounds amazingly like him.
But it is not Steiner. It is the result of voice "morphing" technology developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
By taking just a 10-minute digital recording of Steiner's voice, scientist George Papcun is able, in near real time, to clone speech patterns and develop an accurate facsimile. Steiner was so impressed, he asked for a copy of the tape.
Steiner was hardly the first or last victim to be spoofed by Papcun's team members. To refine their method, they took various high quality recordings of generals and experimented with creating fake statements. One of the most memorable is Colin Powell stating "I am being treated well by my captors."
"They chose to have him say something he would never otherwise have said," chuckled one of Papcun's colleagues.
Most Americans were introduced to the tricks of the digital age in the movie Forrest Gump, when the character played by Tom Hanks appeared to shake hands with President Kennedy.
For Hollywood, it is special effects. For covert operators in the U.S. military and intelligence agencies, it is a weapon of the future...
Digital morphing — voice, video, and photo — has come of age, available for use in psychological operations. PSYOPS, as the military calls it, seek to exploit human vulnerabilities in enemy governments, militaries and populations to pursue national and battlefield objectives.
To some, PSYOPS is a backwater military discipline of leaflet dropping and radio propaganda. To a growing group of information war technologists, it is the nexus of fantasy and reality. Being able to manufacture convincing audio or video, they say, might be the difference in a successful military operation or coup.
And if a YouTube poster can make the following video, what could the CIA accomplish?
Now, take all of this combined with the following reports from Russia Today and you have your cause for disbelief by many. What they frame as the White House inviting conspiracy theories over bin Laden's death could also be viewed as further evidence of a conspiracy!
These issues were even reported by the Sun Sentinel to have struck a nerve with Jeannie Evans who lost her brother firefighter Robert Evans on 9/11, who stated, "Why not show us proof, that Bin Laden was killed? I would like to see that."
The reports that bin Laden was not armed also raise the question, as posed by Washington's Blog, "Why Didn’t We Capture the Terrorist Kingpin and Interrogate Him?"
With all that being said, here are my dissenting thoughts on this issue. The earlier reports of bin Laden's death are relying on pure hearsay. The often cited report I provided earlier from FOX News is from a "Taliban source," whose leader Muhammad Omar, is a long time friend of bin Laden; this is certainly a cause for doubt regarding this report. So what is there besides this?
(Note: I respect a lot of the work at PrisonPlanet.com and WhatReallyHappened.com, whom I'm about to criticise.)
Let's break down the article, "Inside Sources: Bin Laden’s Corpse Has Been On Ice For Nearly a Decade" on radio host Alex Jones' website Prison Planet. The only individual cited regarding bin Laden being on ice is an unnamed "high level Republican source," Paul Joseph Watson noted at the time that, "Alex has warned that this might be disinfo and the fact that we're reporting on it pre-emptively may cause them to change the script." OK, I'm noting this, it might be disinfo AND them reporting it may cause the government to change the script. So that second part doesn't mean that it might not be disinfo, right?
Next up is the very impressive "Council on Foreign Relations member Steve R. Pieczenik, who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under Henry Kissinger, Cyrus Vance, and James Baker" who told the Alex Jones Show that bin Laden had already been "dead for months" back in April 2002. For starters, blog contributor Scootle Royale pointed out yesterday that:
...The fact that he is a high level insider should... raise alarms. Over the last decade many government, intelligence and military insiders have come forward apparently supporting our cause while promoting disinfo, such as David Shayler, Morgan Reynolds and Albert Stubblebine. Government insiders are attractive to us due to their apparent credibility, but the history of our movement has shown that generally they are in fact the least credible. So forgive me for expressing skepticism when a former CFR member, Kissinger associate and high ranking official of five past administrations, who is perpetrating a number of myths such as the myth that the 2001 'fatty bin laden' video was fake, comes out to apparently support our cause.We'll get to the "fatty bin Laden" video in a sec, but first I want to examine how Pieczenik came to his conclusion about bin Laden being dead.
Interview of Steve R. Pieczenik - Alex Jones Show - April 24, 2002:
Pieczenik: ...I found out through my sources that he had had kidney disease. And as a physician, I knew that he had to have two dialysis machines and he was dying. And you could see those in those films, those made-up photos that they were sending us out of nowhere. I mean, suddenly, we would see a video of bin Laden today and then out of nowhere, they said oh it was sent to us anonymously, meaning that someone in the government, our government, was trying to keep up the morale on our side and say oh we still have to chase this guy when, in fact, he's been dead for months.First off, Pieczenik is not saying that his sources told him bin Laden was dead, he is saying that they told him he was sick. It is based on this, him being a physician, and his belief that the "fatty bin Laden" tape was fake that he claims bin Laden has "been dead for months." And I'm not blind or stupid, but I am certain that bin Laden tape is not a fake.
Jones: You are talking about the obvious fat guy, sitting there that looked nothing like bin Laden.
SP: You've got it. I mean the whole thing was a, I mean it was such a hoax. I mean I said you would have to be, you know, blind and stupid to not realize that this is really being manipulating in trying to manipulate us.
Here is a truther site proving it.
Here is a debunker site proving it.
And here is a video where an expert comes to the same conclusion.
Furthermore, since this video was likely recorded on September 26th 2001, at a time when nobody is claiming bin Laden had died yet, there is no reason to think it wasn't him. That being said, there is damning information about this tape, including the fact that bin Laden does not confess to 9/11 on it as the US claimed, but again, we'll get back there in a second.
And as Scootle has pointed out before, the idea of a fake bin Laden sitting down with the real al-Zawahiri doesn't make much sense.
All the other sources noted on the Prison Planet page contain no actual reports of bin Laden's death, but rather opinions: "Of course he is dead" "I think now, frankly, he is dead" "I personally think he [Bin Laden] is probably not with us anymore" "I would come to believe that [Bin Laden] probably is dead" "Osama may have died" "probably dead" "I don’t think he’s alive."
They also quote former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto as saying Omar Sheikh had killed Osama Bin Laden, which Scootle recently demonstrated was a misspeak.
They quote former US foreign intelligence officer and professor of international relations at Boston University Angelo Codevilla, who in his article "Osama bin Elvis," wrote that, "All the evidence suggests Elvis Presley is more alive today than Osama Bin Laden." In the article it is posited that "no reputable person" reports having seen bin Laden since 2001, and the argument that Osama's "increasingly secular language is inconsistent" with his Wahhabism is put forward. But his "evidence" also includes the Taliban souce, the Benazir Bhutto quote, and the "fatty bin Laden tape." The erroneous points that the bin Laden in the video writes with the wrong hand and shouldn't be wearing a gold ring according to Islamic law are also raised. Mr. Codevilla is clearly as wrong about much of the bin Laden evidence as he is the Elvis Presley evidence.
The only piece of evidence offered on the page "Osama bin Laden: A dead nemesis perpetuated by the US government" from What Really Happened, which isn't on the Prison Planet page, is from the editor-in-chief of a London-based Arab news magazine who in 2002 published what he asserted was a will written in 2001 by bin Laden. CNN reported that the will "could not be independently authenticated" and that the Arab news magazine editor admitted "he doesn't know for sure if bin Laden is dead." He does state that, "Once someone writes his will, it means either he's dying or he's going to die soon." However, bin Laden could have very well feared for his life due to him being the world's most wanted terrorist or his failing health and thus decided to write the will. Ultimately it proves nothing.
Considering that bin Laden evaded capture for almost a decade, his ill health, the evidence and possibility of faked audios and videos, and the report of him being dead backed by so many official's opinions that he was, it was a strong hypothesis to say he probably was dead. Given the new info, however, it must be considered that the former reports were based on disinfo and/or opinion.
On that note, the new report of bin Laden's death is supported by a claimed DNA match, which could be a lie, but also could be hard evidence, which the other report of his death did not offer. Some are asking how such a fast DNA match could have been made, as one answer on this YahooAnswers page noted, "...Most testing facilities are understaffed, underfunded, and overworked. Add in chain of custody protocols with evidence, and it takes a long time to get anything done."
Furthermore, GenomeWeb.com reports that "forensics experts have almost unanimously stepped forward to support the idea that the DNA testing – most likely Y-linked short tandem repeat PCR amplification and analysis – could easily have been performed in the amount of time and location it is purported to have been, using industry-standard products."
There is also a death photo that may yet be released, which has been seen by a number of members of Congress, again which could be fake or taken long ago, but can also be viewed as a substantiation of the reports that "commandos... used a camera phone to upload a photo to Operation room where engineers used facial recognition software to verify it." Again, such a picture could be a sophisticated fake, or taken long ago, but the other report offered no such corroboration.
There are also the accounts from the people in the house said to have been living with him. The Telegraph reports that bin Laden's fifth wife, Amal Ahmed al-Sadah, "who was shot in the leg during the raid... ...has already told Pakistani investigators they had been living in the compound since 2005." This report from the Daily Mail states that bin Laden's 12 year old daughter says he was captured alive and then executed.
Also, the 35 audios or videos that surfaced between 2001 and his reported killing, although possibly all fake, must now also be taken into consideration as evidence that the US did indeed kill him, if only circumstantial.
The same goes for five new videos released yesterday, one of which shows Osama bin Laden inside the compound where he was killed. In the video he is seen watching a report about himself on television, which includes images and video of Barack Obama suggesting the footage is recent. Mike Rivero of What Really Happened, who still promotes the false "fatty bin Laden" video idea, is proclaiming that it is "definitely not Osama Bin Laden" in a short post reproduced on Prison Planet today entitled "Bin Laden: The Ears Have It," stating, "Ears are as unique as fingerprints, and they do not change with time. The ears do not match (and the noses are also different). However, many commenters on Prison Planet do not agree.
SilverFox Says:Another article by Paul Joseph Watson posted on Prison Planet today links to a report in which a man claims he knows who the man in the bin Laden video really is. Watson transcribes the quote from the report, "His name is Akhbar Han, he owns the house they said was Osama’s house, I know him very well." The name is a slight mistranslation, as the San Francisco Chronicle noted last Tuesday "Rashid and Akbar Khan owned the fortified residence where U.S. commandos killed bin Laden." The story quotes their grocer Anjum Qaisar as saying, "I was curious about why they bought so much food, but I did not want to be rude by asking." So this man's identity was well known, and if the above quoted commenters from Prison Planet had seen him around they surely would have noted a striking resemblence to bin Laden, so the fact that no other reports claim Akbar Khan is the man actually seen in the video makes this claim hard to believe.
Someone needs to do some simple research before writing articles. Yes, the ears, feet & nose change as we age.
The ears: 1. They grow larger 2. They grow hair 3. The lobes get thinner
Enjoy Says:
The heads are at different angles, so the angles would change. The one on the top left, he is looking down, the ear would appear higher...
The ‘angle’, is off a wee bit,just enough to ‘seem’, that one of the ears looks ‘taller’ than another ‘shot’ of the same side,of said ear..There is a ‘distinct flat run’, down the back of each ear photo…it is in all the photo’s. The nose shots match as well,along with the eyebrow line... I believe it was all ‘false flag’, anyhow...
neonexus Says:
Everything with cartilage changes with ages, everybody knows that. I agree with Silverfox, kinda FAIL ish article.
roodolpt Says:
I would have to say all be it reluctantly that point for point there is a lot of similarity between both images taking into acout camera angles and picture quality it will be more difficult to disprove than some of the other more obvious fakery going on
Good luck
xeno Says:
I hate to break it to you chaps, but those are the same ears. I’m baffled how anyone can manage to see two sets of ears there. The only differences are the angle the photos are taken from and the light sources.
DovCohen Says:
C’mon guys, this current picture of Bin Laden watching TV does, in fact, look like the Bin Laden picture next to it. The ears and nose do look similar. the earlobe is attached and same lines, etc...
roodolpt Says:
Point for point from the forehead down through the eye area nose and mouth the “real” osama pic is almost identical when enlarged and rotated to the same angle as the old osama, although at that point the ear is out of place this is easily explained by the different camera angles i experemented and was able to reproduce a similar effect using a friend as a subject. The ear although out of place was a respectable match both in size and scale points matching up very well
Try it yourself
I’m not saying this is really osama but if not it is a very osama like double
twieskid Says:
The ears look similar...
czar1027 Says:
Big fail here. The ears are very similar. Scale them and tilt them to the same angles and you will see they match up. I wish that PP would filter some stories a bit more. Stuff like this makes us look like tin hat kooks.
I love this site, but can we stick with quality over quantity please?
Watson states in yet another article put out today that, "Almost every single neighbor that lived near the alleged Bin Laden compound in Abbottabad that was interviewed by news reporters said with absolute certainty that they had never seen Bin Laden and that they knew of no evidence whatsoever to suggest he lived there."
It is true that nobody reports seeing him, or as noted, anybody looking like him, but the statement that "almost every single neighbor that was interviewed" provided "no evidence whatsoever to suggest he lived there" is only accurate of the stories Watson cites in his articles. It goes well beyond their shopping habits and the report from the grocer that they "always paid cash, never asked for credit." The Associated Press article "Bin Laden's Neighbors Were Suspicious" reports:
When a woman involved in a polio vaccine drive turned up at Osama bin Laden's hideaway, she remarked to the men behind the high walls about the expensive SUVs parked inside. The men took the vaccine, apparently to administer to the 23 children at the compound, and told her to go away...The article "Osama bin Laden Neighbors Noticed Odd Behavior" on News Max reports:
"People were skeptical in this neighborhood about this place and these guys. They used to gossip, say they were smugglers or drug dealers. People would complain that even with such a big house they didn't invite the poor or distribute charity," said Mashood Khan, a 45-year-old farmer...
"That house was obviously a suspicious one," said Jahangir Khan, who was buying a newspaper in Abbottabad. "Either it was a complete failure of our intelligence agencies or they were involved in this affair."
"We used to play cricket near the house but their kids never joined us," said Nabeel, 12. "The kids did not go to school. We never saw them going to school."...The article "What It's Like to Be Osama Bin Laden's Neighbor" from the Atlantic Wire reports:
People had been scratching their heads for years in Abbottabad, a typical medium-sized Pakistani city, 50 km (31 miles) northwest of the capital Islamabad.
Residents had tried to come up with some answers. They must be a religious family so that's why the women were never seen, kept inside.
But that didn't explain why the men of the house never attended weddings or funerals -- unusual behavior in Pakistan's deeply traditional Muslim society.
Irritations over the odd behavior built up.
During religious holidays many of the people of Abbottabad gave each other sweets.
But those in the house where U.S. officials say America's public enemy number lived in comfort were so anti-social that others never bothered to knock on their doors during those special occasions.
"We distribute kheer (a sweet dish of milk and rice) to our neighbors, but my mother never asked me to go there," said Mohammad Kabir...
Residents tell the Journal that one man whom they saw entering the compound identified himself as Rashid but often changed his story, claiming one day that he was in the transportation business and the next that he was a money changer. Other neighbors inform CNN's Nic Robertson that bin Laden's people identified themselves as gold merchants and kept to themselves, rarely venturing outside. When local children kicked balls over the compound's walls, they couldn't retrieve them and received money from someone in bin Laden's entourage instead (the account makes the plot of The Sandlot seem lame). Other neighbor accounts describe people only leaving the compound to go to the mosque and the fleeting image of a "stout man driving a red van." One neighbor explained to Bloomberg that she knew Arabic-speaking women lived in the house because her children heard them through the gate one day.Now back to the topic of the newly relased videos, the others are said to be from 2010, but look identical to a bin Laden video from 2007. One train of thought, as stated by Prison Planet is, "Hoax: White House Claims 4-Year-Old Bin Laden Video Is New Footage." Scootle summed it up another way in a post yesterday, stating:
The compound was also an intimidating place. Residents tell the L.A. Times that security cameras spied on anyone who approached. One day last month, according to Bloomberg, a neighbor knocked on the gate to recommend turning off the compound's powerful security lights because electricity is so expensive. A Pakistani opened the door and grew angry, inquiring, "Who told you to come here?"
"...Since the footage is identical the 2007 video and the man in the videos is clearly Osama, we can therefore reason that the so-called 'Blackbeard Bin Laden' in the 2007 video probably was Bin Laden after all, and not some other guy with a fake black beard or something, as many have assumed.This quote comes to mind.
However, other anomalies with the 2007 video are still of interest such as the fact that his lips don't seem to match his speech at points and for most of the speech the video is frozen. So the 2007 video may still have been a fake composed of old footage of Bin Laden, or maybe the Pentagon just likes screwing with us.
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers."
-- Thomas Pynchon, Jr.
For those reading this who don't agree with CIT, consider the following summary of their Pentagon argument compared with my following summary of the bin Laden died in 2001 argument.
Lamp posts downed by plane impact: faked35 audios or videos that surfaced between 2001 and his reported killing in 2011, as well as 5 videos released afterwards: faked
Generator damage by engine impact: faked
Boeing parts on the ground and inside the building: faked
Impact hole cutout in the Pentagon matching a 757-sized jetliner: faked
Recovered DNA identifying Flight 77 passengers and crew: faked
Recovered victim personal effects provided to family members: faked
All witnesses to the plane impact: plants or confused about what they saw
Recovered DNA identifying Osama: faked
Facial recognition software identifying Osama from a death photo that several members of Congress have seen: faked
Osama's wife and daughter identifying him: faked
Obviously the Pentagon would require many more conspirators and much more fakery, hence the "Not a Deather, but a Doubter." But my doubt is immaterial, because even if I were 100% convinced of a bin Laden hoax conspiracy, I would not be pushing it front and center (and I never have even when I had much stronger doubts) because this argument is such an uphill battle now with the public consciousness and would likely just be equated with harmful 9/11 issues that also depend on fakery arguments. Why do that that when we have such a diverse plethora of good evidence that only requires people to look at undisputed facts, obvious lies, physics, and forensics?
On that note, mechanical engineer Tony Szamboti had this to say recently at 911 Blogger:
The much bigger issue than when he died is that Osama bin Laden was not wanted for the 911 attacks by the FBI. The video of him allegedly admitting to it was found like a needle in a haystack in a house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan in Dec. 2001, after the invasion. The FBI apparently had a problem with that video as it did not deem it as grounds to indict bin Laden for the 911 attacks.The evidence indicates the problem the FBI has with the tape is that it proves, as 9/11 researcher Ed Hass wrote in 2007, that the tape was obtained in a CIA string operation and thus "the CIA had Osama bin Laden in its sights, camera and rifle, on or about September 26, 2001 and failed to capture or kill him in favor of gaining a videotape confession of sorts to support the Bush Administration’s invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. If Osama bin Laden had been captured or killed on or about September 26, 2001 – there would have been no international support for the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan." Click here for more info.
Shortly after 911 Colin Powell said a white paper would be released which proved the guilt of bin Laden for the 911 attacks. Incredibly, no white paper was ever provided to the public...
And yes, in 2001 then Secretary of State Colin Powell stated that the government would soon "put out a paper ... that will describe clearly the evidence that we have linking" bin Laden to 9/11. One day later the government reneged on this pledge and no such paper has ever been offered.
However, Bin Laden has admitted to being involved in 9/11, but just like the FBI he has made contraduictory statements and denied his guilt on three reported occasions, including once on video, but this doesn't mean he wasn't involved. Afterall, there is circumstantial evidence against him in the form of a video showing him meeting with with some of the hijackers. And as 911myths.com points out, "Since 9/11, al-Qaeda have released footage of several of the hijackers. These include a number of video wills, where they talk about jihad and attacking America."
Another important issue right now are these statements from President Barack Obama to 60 Minutes, "We think that there had to be some sort of support network for bin Laden inside of Pakistan. But we don’t know who or what that support network was. We don’t know whether there might have been some people inside of government, people outside of government, and that’s something that we have to investigate and, more importantly, the Pakistani government has to investigate."
We should defintely be asking the Obama Administration to investigate the October 9, 2001 Times of India report that Pakistan's former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), General Mahmud Ahmed, who was meeting with US officials on 9/11, had $100,000 wired to 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta. When former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was confronted by the press about these isssues on May 16, 2002 she feigned complete ignorance of the issues, and the transcrips of the question asked were edited, changing "ISI chief" to "inaudibe." Click here for more info.
Another thing Obama should be investigating are reports that CIA station chief Larry Mitchell met with bin Laden in a Pakistani hospital two months before 9/11.
Now matter what your position on the bin Laden killing, right now is a pertinent time to bring up these issues and to let the Obama administration know that you oppose war in Pakistan even if every shred of the official 9/11 story is true. If you have all your eggs in one basket, now is a perfect time to spread them about and support groups that oppose war, even if they oppose 9/11 truth.
STOP THE WAR COALITION
Newsletter No. 1199
4 May 2011
Email office@stopwar.org.ukTel: 020 7801 2768
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stopthewarcoalition
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) BIN LADEN DEAD: WHERE NOW FOR "WAR ON TERROR"?
2) CAMPAIGNING IN THE COMING WEEKS
3) END THE SIEGE OF GAZA: NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION 14 MAY
4) CONFRONTING ANTI MUSLIM HATRED IN BRITAIN AND EUROPE
5) AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON TERROR TEN YEARS ON
6) STOP THE WAR'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL
********************************
1) BIN LADEN DEAD: WHERE NOW FOR "WAR ON TERROR"?
Bin Laden is dead but the "war on terror" continues as before.
2011 is the most violent year in Afghanistan since the invasion
ten years ago. April was Iraq's most deadly month since 2009. The
war on Libya, still being sold as "humanitarian intervention" to
protect civilians, has sunk to the level of killing three of
Gaddafi's grandchildren, all under the age of twelve.
As Andrew Murray, national chair of Stop the War, wrote in his
recent Guardian article, bin Laden's death is a fork in the road
in world politics. The choices are stark: end the "war on terror"
now, or else continue with a policy "which only offers the
promise of thousands more Bin Ladens arising, vowing to take the
fight to the western powers in the only way they see available".
(READ FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://bit.ly/jcCgGA)
The day after Bin Laden's death Stop the War issued the following
statement:
HOW TO DRAW A LINE UNDER 10 YEARS OF WAR SINCE 9/11
The killing of Osama bin Laden by US Special Forces in Pakistan
has been hailed a turning point in the 'war on terror'. The
assassination, it is claimed, will draw a line nearly 10 years
after 9/11. But if the US really wants to draws a line under
these wars it needs to adopt very different policies from those
which it is now pursuing.
The US and other NATO forces must now withdraw all troops from
Afghanistan. The capture or killing of bin Laden was a stated aim
when the attack began in October 2001 -- 'wanted dead or alive'
in the words of George Bush. Since that time, tens if not
hundreds of thousands have died in Afghanistan, the Taliban have
gained in strength, and the pro US government is one of the most
corrupt in the world. There is no justification for the war.
The US and Britain should remind themselves of the grievances
which bin Laden claimed in 2001: the presence of US troops in the
Middle East; the treatment of the Palestinians; and the continued
sanctions against Iraq. All of these grievances have worsened in
the last ten years. There are now western troops in Iraq,
Afghanistan, US bases all over the region, and an intervention
including troops and airstrikes in Libya. The Palestinians suffer
even more, and have been subject to aerial attack by Israel. Iraq
suffers full scale occupation as a result of the war in 2003.
The war has been extended into Pakistan, not just with Special
Forces operations such as the killing of bin Laden, but with
drone attacks which have killed thousands of Pakistanis and
created great instability in the country.
The US and its allies have followed a policy of backing dictators
and despots across the Middle East. Only the uprisings of the
peoples in these countries has in any way altered that policy,
and even now, while waging war in Libya, the west turns a blind
eye to the atrocities in Bahrain and the repression in Saudi
Arabia.
The war against Libya is not about humanitarian intervention but
about the western powers _ especially the former colonial powers
in North Africa_ trying to regain control of the region. The
airstrikes should stop immediately and all troops including
Special Forces and advisers should be withdrawn.
These policies have not helped to end terrorism, but have made it
more likely. Al Qaeda barely existed outside Afghanistan 10 years
ago; now it is a presence in a number of Middle Eastern
countries. The latest events will in all likelihood lead to more
attacks by al Qaeda, including in Europe and the US. The only way
to end terrorism is to change the policies which create space for
it to flourish in the first place.
THE STATEMENT IS REPRODUCED ON OUR WEBSITE, HERE:
http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/usa-war-on-terror/468-the-killing-of-bin-laden-how-to-draw-a-line-under-ten-years-of-war-since-911
********************************
2) ANTI-WAR CAMPAIGNING IN THE COMING WEEKS
President Obama will be making a state visit to Britain at the
end of May and Stop the War will announce shortly the details of
a protest to denounce his continuation of the war policies of his
predecessor George W Bush.
We are asking all local Stop the War groups to organise events in
their communities, with public meetings, street stalls,
petitioning etc, to raise the profile of the anti-war majority in
this country that opposes the escalating aggression of the
western powers, and, specifically, to call for the immediate
withdrawal of all British troops from Afghanistan and an end to
the bombing of Libya.
Campaign leaflets and petition sheets are available to download
from our website.
If you would like to get involved in a local Stop the War group
in your area, contact our national office: Email
office@stopwar.org.uk or call 020 7801 2768.
********************************
3) END THE SIEGE OF GAZA: NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION 14 MAY
The plight of Palestinians continues to deteriorate, as Israel
maintains its siege of Gaza, denying its people basic resources,
and escalates its theft of Palestinian land and property on the
West Bank and in East Jerusalem.
Stop the War has joined with Palestine Solidarity Campaign, CND,
British Muslim Initiative and Palestinian Forum in Britain, in
calling a national demonstration on Saturday 14 May against
Israel's endless violations of international law. The
demonstration is supported by many other organisations. Full
details are available here: http://www.palestinecampaign.org/index9b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=4&l2_id=99&Content_ID=1831.
END THE SIEGE ON GAZA - FREE PALESTINE
JOIN THE PROTEST SATURDAY 14 MAY 2011
ASSEMBLE 12NOON DOWNING STREET LONDON SW1A
For updates, go to: http://www.palestinecampaign.org/index9b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=4&l2_id=99&Content_ID=1831
********************************
4) CONFRONTING ANTI-MUSLIM HATRED IN BRITAIN & EUROPE
The West's assaults on three Muslim countries in the last ten
years have been accompanied by a chorus of anti-Muslim
propaganda, which will no doubt swell further in the aftermath of
the killing of Osama Bin Laden.
To discuss the effects of Islamophobia and how to campaign
against it, Stop the War, as part of the Enough Coalition, is
organising a day conference which will bring together community
figures, campaigners, academics, experts, and victims of
anti-Muslim attacks, from Britain, Europe and the USA.
Speakers include Seumas Milne (The Guardian), Salma Yaqoob, Daud
Abdullah, Tony Benn, Lindsey German, Peter Oborne (Daily
Telegraph), Marwan Muhammed from France, Dr. Sabine Schiffer from
Germany and Professor John Esposito from the USA (FULL LIST OF
SPEAKERS HERE: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/may-21-conference-confronting-anti-muslim-hatred-in-britain-and-europe ).
The event if free but places are limited, so early booking is
advisable. Please register to book your place at
info@enoughcoalition.org.uk.
CONFRONTING ANTI MUSLIM HATRED IN BRITAIN & EUROPE
CONFERENCE: SATURDAY 21 MAY 11AM - 6PM
LONDON MUSLIM CENTRE WHITECHAPEL, LONDON E11JX
Leaflet: http://www.eastlondonmosque.org.uk/uploadedImage/pdf/2011_03_31_11_44_58_EC_V5.pdf
Register place: info@enoughcoalition.org.uk
********************************
5) AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON TERROR 10 YEARS ON
Anger against the western powers will only be increased by recent
events. The Taliban have just announced the start of the fighting
season in Afghanistan, Pakistan is deeply destabilised by the
"war on terror". The British government has now admitted that the
war on Libya could be "a long haul".
Stop the War's day conference on Saturday 11 June will highlight
the disasters of the Afghanistan war and put it in the context of
wider imperialist intervention. Central to the discussion will be
the next steps in the campaign to get the troops home.
Speakers include Tony Benn, George Galloway, Tariq Ali, Lindsey
German, David Swanson from the USA, Pankaj Mishra, Mehdi Hasan
(political editor of New Statesman), Joan Humphries from Military
Families Against the War and David Gentleman, the artist who
designs the now legendary bloodspot placards and posters for Stop
the War.
AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON TERROR 10 YEARS ON
DAY CONFERENCE: SATURDAY 11 JUNE
25 RED LION SQUARE LONDON WC1R 4RL
For updates, go to: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php/june-11-day-conference-afghanistan-and-the-war-on-terror-ten-years-on
Admission is £5. Please book in advance by emailing
office@stopwar.org.uk or phoning 020 7801 2768.
********************************
6) STOP THE WAR'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Stop the War's YouTube channel, started just a few months ago, is
proving very popular, with close to 100,000 views already. Over
50 videos have now been posted and we are adding new films every
week. The two most recent are:
* Osama Bin Laden's death and the day America declared war on the
world.
* Look who came to the royal wedding: dictators, torturers, human
rights' abusers
WATCH STOP THE WAR'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/stopthewarcoalition
Related Info:
Rashard Mendenhall: 'I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style'
The Death of Osama, 9/11 and the War on Terror
Nafeez Mossadeq Ahmed on the Death of Osama Bin Laden
Bin Laden Didn't Destroy WTC 7!
Death of Bin Laden May Distract from a More Disturbing Story
