[lbo-talk] Does Al Qaeda Exist?

Michael Dawson MDawson at pdx.edu
Wed Jan 12 14:27:46 PST 2005



> It's not a matter of whether Al Qaeda exists or not. It is a matter of
> what
> one understands Al Qaeda to be. I have never argued that it does not
> exist.
> I have challenged the view that it is a large, centrally controlled and
> integrated network. It is is this latter view that has given the Bush
> admin
> a blank check since 2001. I have also raised questions about links between
> (alleged) terrorists and Western intelligence agencies - links that have
> been shown to exist in mainstream news articles.
>
> There are two issues at play here:
>
> 1. What is Al Qaeda and how has the myth of Al-Qaeda been used and
> manipulated to fuel the 'war on terror'.
>
> On this we seem to be more less in agreement as far as I can tell.
>
> 2. Who was behind 9-11, Osama Bin Laden or the US Govt. or both?
>
> Here we disagree.
>
> I say I don't know since there has been no real criminal investigation.
>
> You want to kick the nuts of anyone who would challenge the official
> version
> of events.
>
> Joe W.

You hoax-peddlers can't let anybody think straight, can you? It _is_ a matter of whether Al Qaeda exists. It does, and it has claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks.

I never said Al Qaeda was big and sophisticated organization. For that matter, neither has the Bush Administration. You hoaxers are simply making that up, based on the story about the cave complex.

Bigness and centralization of Al Qaeda are not the reason our ruling class has managed to advance its deadly agenda. To claim so is to imply that, if Al Qaeda is small and ragtag, which it is, then we have no problem. Re-read the quotation from the NYRB piece in my last message. That's the problem and the issue and the basis for what Bush has been able to do. We will never combat that course of action by your worst-of-both-worlds (flaming conspiracy plus small, easily fixed problem) delusions. People will laugh at you, as they should.

Meanwhile, the question is how we can change U.S. foreign policy. Your junk distracts attention from that, the only real issue.

I want to kick the nuts of people who play games with past and future victims' (including ordinary Iraqis') lives by peddling nonsense and false stories. You and Bush are united on that front.



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