My Dad forwarded me the following e-drivel:
> There was Olie in front 0f God and Country getting the third degree.
> But what was said stunned me. He was being grilled by some Senator I
> didn't recognize, who asked him; 'Did you not recently spend close to
> $60,000. for a home security system?' North replied, 'Yes, I did,
> Sir.' The Senator contiued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience,
> 'Isn't that just a little excessive?' 'No Sir,' continued Oliver. 'No.
> And why not?' 'Because the life of my family and I were threatened'
> 'Threatened? By who?' 'By a terrorist, Sir.' 'Terrorist? What
> terrorist could possibly scare you that much?' 'His name is Osama bin
> Laden.'
> At this time the Senator tried to repeat the name, but couldn't
> pronounce it, which most people back then probably couldn't. A couple
> of people laughed at the attempt. Then the Senator continued. 'Why are
> you so afraid of this man?' 'Because Sir. he is the most evil person
> alive that I know of.' 'And what would you recommend we do about him?'
> 'If it were me, I would recommend an assassin team be formed to
> eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth.' That was all
> they showed of this interview clip.
Now the reason this strikes me as absurd on its face is that in 1986, ObL and the US were still on the same side, since back then the US was still supporting the "freedom fighters" in Afghanistan just like we were in Nicaragua. And yet I do have a vague memory of the original exchange, and I'm pretty sure Ollie did name some famous terrorist he said was out to get him, like Carlos the Jackal or someone. Does anyone happen to remember who it was? Or is anyone geeky enough to have the Iran-Contra hearings in book form on their shelf where they can look it up?
Michael
__________________________________________________________________________ Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com