Archive for July 22, 2004
Saudi Prince Al-Walid Bin Talal answers a question by Der Spiegel: SPIEGEL: Young Saudi Arabians have been involved in many terrorist attacks throughout the world. Are your young people getting out of hand? Prince Walid: Young people are full of energy everywhere in the world.
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
Israeli spy case twist: Reports allege that suspected Mossad agent wanted for passport fraud in New Zealand was an Israeli diplomat.
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
Those who are kidnapping and killing poor foreign workers in Iraq are NOT “resistance” fighters.
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
Thirty-nine prisoners have died in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan since the fall of 2001 and there have been 94 cases of proven or suspected abuse, US Army says.
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
Bush praised the 9-11 Commission Report for being a good source for “learning about our country.” He said that he was surprised to learn that Washington, DC is the capital of the US. All along, he had assumed it was Honolulu.
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
US 9-11 Report endorses US propaganda efforts directed towards (or against?) Muslisms/Arabs (p. 377): “Recognizing that Arab and Muslim audiences rely on satellite television and radio, the government has begun some promising initiatives in television and radio broadcasting to the Arab world, Iran, and Afghanistan. These efforts are beginning to reach large audiences. The Broadcasting [...]
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
I find the information that a member of the House of Saud has helped Bin Laden to be important and explosive. Watch the US and Arab media ignore it. This is the first direct evidence we have of direct cooperation in recent years between at least a member of the royal family and Bin Laden. [...]
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
From page 335 of the 9-11 Report: “Secretary Powell recalled that Wolfowitz—not Rumsfeld—argued that Iraq was ultimately the source of the terrorist problem and should therefore be attacked.66 Powell said that Wolfowitz was not able to justify his belief that Iraq was behind 9/11. “Paul was always of the view that Iraq was a problem [...]
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
You must understand my frustrations as somebody who observes two “worlds” (the American and the Arab “worlds”). While I lament American ignorance of things Arab/Muslim, I also lament Arab ignorance of things American. I have just watched the weekly show on AlJazeera with Muhammad Hasanayn Haykal (the most famous and admired Arab journalist alive). He [...]
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
From page 207 of the 9-11 Report: “U.S.-Saudi relations in the summer of 2001 were marked by sometimes heated disagreements about ongoing Israeli- Palestinian violence, not about Bin Ladin.”
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
In endnote 9, page 466 of the Report, it says: “Baghdad Caliphate’s destruction by the Mongols in 1292.” Do Bernard Lewis and the esteemed Commission’s Report staff not know that Baghad was destroyed by the Mongols in 1258?
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
There is a section on Islam and Middle East issues in the Report. It is either written by, or distilled from the writings of, none other than Bernard Lewis. I can easily recognize his silly generalizations, like this one (p. 50): “Islam is both a faith and a code of conduct for all aspects of [...]
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
Look how even the commission is keen on protecting the House of Saud. Why not name this “dissident member of the House of Saud”? From page 74 of the 9-11 Report: ” The Saudi government exiled the clerics and undertook to silence Bin Ladin by, among other things, taking away his passport.With help from a [...]
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
From page 30 of 9-11 Report: “One of the callers from United 93 also reported that he thought the hijackers might possess a gun… Passengers on three flights reported the hijackers’ claim of having a bomb.”
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
Conspiracy theorists in the Middle East will have a field day with this passage (p. 22) from the 9-11 Commission Report: “As this was happening, passenger Daniel Lewin, who was seated in the row just behind Atta and Omari,was stabbed by one of the hijackers—probably Satam al Suqami, who was seated directly behind Lewin. Lewin [...]
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
Full text: 9-11 report.
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
Israel’s wall just keeps on growing.
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad
So I just finished reading the Democratic Party platform. What a badly written, cobbled-together piece of political vapidity. And here is the section on the Middle East: “The Democratic Party is fundamentally committed to the security of our ally Israel and the creation of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace between Israel and her neighbors. [...]
Posted on July 22, 2004 by As'ad