Many on the left are 'anti-establishment', and OBL is 'anti-establishment'. Some on the left might even ask, is OBL and/or the Taliban revolutionary? If revolutionary, the type that appeals to some transcendental position but ends up as religious authoritarianism (like Iran)? Or perhaps as some sort of immanent revolutionary who challenges all the establishments because he changes the way everyone thinks?
Can't answer those questions, so to answer my first question. Who does OBL most resemble? If he is a revolutionary, he is most decidedly a hands-on one. He seems to have evolved to a seriously religious figure as well. And an anti-American one. At least on two accounts, he most resembles: FRANCISCO VILLA!
Read on (all content from the page cited, sic for all the mis-spellings).
From: http://www.expage.com/reese
Why did Villa attack the United States???
To understand why Francisco Villa began attacking Americans in 1916, one must first look back at the events that unfolded in 1913. In Febuary of 1913, President Francisco I. Madero was assissinated by one of his leading Generals, Victoriano Huerta. Huerta had used the military to gain power. He had also maintained his power through a variety of tactics. He had the press censored. Political rivals were bribed or removed. In short, Huerta was turning Mexico into a dictatorship. To Woodrow Wilson, having a dictatorship so close to home was becoming uncomfortable.
Wilson began to look for options that might help lead to Huerta's removal. His chance came on April 21, 1914. The Ypringa, a German cargo boat, had ported into Veracruz. The boat was loaded with guns that were intended for the forces of Huerta. President Wilson ordered U.S. Navy 'Bluejackets' into the town. The fight would take lives on both sides. Most of the revolutionaries seemed to join in their protest that was directed towards the United States. Venustiano Carranza had warned the U.S. that such actions could bring war between the two countries. However, when it came to Pancho Villa, the tone changed. Villa refused to bad mouth his American friends. He understood the diplomacy of official recognition. The honor entitled the receiver to money and guns from the U.S. Without it, a revolution would have been hard to fight.
Trouble between the United States and Pancho Villa began in the summer of 1915. Wilson had been watching the situation in Mexico very closely. At the Battle of Celaya, Villa was making an assualt on the forces of Carranza. Led by General Alvaro Obregon, the forces of Carranza defeated Villa badly. Villa suffered a loss of some 14,000 men. Some say that Carranza's troops were using weapons that had been left by the Americans while in Veracruz. Villa's loss was so horrific that Wilson decided that the 'wait and see' time was no longer necessary. On October 21, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson extended official recognition to the faction of Venustiano Carranza as being the legitimate government of Mexico.
The worst was yet to come for Villa. Just days after this had happened, Villa was ambushed at Agua Prieta. What made this situation worse was the fact that the ambush was aided by the United States. The U.S. had lent Carranza the use of its railroad to transport his troops and weapons. Carranza also had access to U.S. machine guns and flood lights. When Villa approached Agua Prieta at night he and his men were shocked to see both the lights and the guns go off at once.
Agua Preita, added with the recognition of Carranza, changed Villa and his view of the Mexican Revolution. Pancho Villa decided to end his fight with his brothers, the Mexicans. Instead, he was going to pursue a new agenda. He was from that point going to kill Americans when and where he saw them.
Knowing this, it is easy to understand why Francisco Villa made his attack on Columbus, New Mexico in March of 1916. He was a man that felt a large degree of betrayel. Was he not a friend of the Americans? Had he refused to speak out against them when they took Veracruz? His position is easy to understand. However, the position of the United States is also easy to understand. Wilson had no choice but to pick a faction that was stronger than the others. The conflict down below was a concern to him. As long as the fighting would last, Americans down in Mexico were in danger.
These facts are easy to understand. History has told them over and over. However, knowing what Villa's intention were, why were the Americans unaware of what Villa was going to do next. Had he not been quoted in the papers saying he no longer viewed the U.S. as a friend? Had he not made threats on the lives of all Americans? Why then was the attack on Columbus a suprise? The answer to this question can be found in President Woodrow Wilson.