Letter to the editor: War's costs include lost opportunities

SayWhat wrote:

Lil john writes: ""The Taliban refused to directly speak to Bush, stating that talking with a non-Muslim political leader would be an insult to Islam. But they made statements through their embassy in Pakistan: the Taliban rejected the ultimatum on September 21, 2001, saying there was no evidence in their possession linking bin Laden to the September 11 attacks."" That's the point Lil john, there is still no evidence linking bin Laden to 9/11. The U.S Government has never produced any. All the Taliban wanted was evidence, do you have it Lil john?

You can hide your head in the sand and take deep breaths -- there is tons of direct evidence including his taking credit for the destruction of the towers.

My god, who were the planes pilot hijackers working for , dummy.

What damn planet are you from!

Stay away from your comics. There's always some creep out there like you.

On October 29, 2004, at 21:00 UTC, the Arab television network, Al Jazeera, broadcast excerpts from a videotape of Osama bin Laden addressing the people of the United States, in which he accepted responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks

SayWhat wrote:

Lil john writes: ""The Taliban refused to directly speak to Bush, stating that talking with a non-Muslim political leader would be an insult to Islam. But they made statements through their embassy in Pakistan: the Taliban rejected the ultimatum on September 21, 2001, saying there was no evidence in their possession linking bin Laden to the September 11 attacks."" That's the point Lil john, there is still no evidence linking bin Laden to 9/11. The U.S Government has never produced any. All the Taliban wanted was evidence, do you have it Lil john?

isn't it time for your evening prayers toward mecca.

Just the Facts wrote:

The technology to wean us off of oil already exists. Changing over to renewables will create another boom in this country. There is no reason to kill any more people in the Middle East!
Surely you don't mean to imply that we have a right to kill the people of the Middle East for having the audacity to live over "our" oil???
"Oil is too important to be left to the Arabs."
Henry Kissinger 1972

You talk like changing over to renewable enrgies is going to happen next week. Nothing has been done for 30 years and nothing will be done now.

You have your opinion on this sunject, I have mine so please do try to profile me because of one opinion. And yes I advocate the entire restructuring of the Middle East by whatever means neccessary.

Arabs had no compunction not to kick us out after we were invited to drill and profit under existing agreements at that time.. The result was nationalization and expulsion and loss of western investments. And I believe we should take it back, instead of selling them weapons. I also believe we should stop the practice of mititary bullying and use our armed foeces to their fullest extent.
If we aren't fighting to win, we are fighting to lose. Fantasies get nothing done. We are already in.
lets get it over with. But I'm not losing any sleep over my little nothng opinion. You shouldn't either.

The Taliban originated when the CIA with ISI (the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate) recruited radical Muslims from around the world to fight with the Afghan mujahadeen against the Soviet Union. The United States wanted to demonstrate that the entire Muslim world was fighting against the USSR along with Afghans and American benefactors. And in 1980, Osama bin Laden arrived in Afghanistan, bringing funds from the reactionary Saudi Arabian ruling class to the mujahadeen. When the CIA and ISI decided to train thousands of Muslims from around the world to fight in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden was one of the key organizers in this effort. After 1982 more than 100,000 Muslims from dozens of countries received political or military training in the CIA-backed camps of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Western popular perception has consciously equated Islam with the Taliban and Bin Laden style terrorism-but, Before the Taliban, Islamic extremism had never flourished in Afghanistan. The U.S. and its allies planted and nourished it. Bin Laden was "our boy" and our government didn't say a peep about the Taliban's atrocities or their war on women. In fact, most of the Islamic world never said a word about the Taliban's extremism. Pakistan, Saudi and Arab states did not issue statements calling for rights for women.

SayWhat wrote:

The Taliban originated when the CIA with ISI (the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate) recruited radical Muslims from around the world to fight with the Afghan mujahadeen against the Soviet Union. The United States wanted to demonstrate that the entire Muslim world was fighting against the USSR along with Afghans and American benefactors. And in 1980, Osama bin Laden arrived in Afghanistan, bringing funds from the reactionary Saudi Arabian ruling class to the mujahadeen. When the CIA and ISI decided to train thousands of Muslims from around the world to fight in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden was one of the key organizers in this effort. After 1982 more than 100,000 Muslims from dozens of countries received political or military training in the CIA-backed camps of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Western popular perception has consciously equated Islam with the Taliban and Bin Laden style terrorism-but, Before the Taliban, Islamic extremism had never flourished in Afghanistan. The U.S. and its allies planted and nourished it. Bin Laden was "our boy" and our government didn't say a peep about the Taliban's atrocities or their war on women. In fact, most of the Islamic world never said a word about the Taliban's extremism. Pakistan, Saudi and Arab states did not issue statements calling for rights for women.

our government didn't say a peep about the Taliban's atrocities or their war on women. In fact, most of the Islamic world never said a word about the Taliban's extremism. Pakistan, Saudi and Arab states did not issue statements calling for rights for women.''''''

So freakin what!

When they rooted out the Soviets then what?

Who the hell cares what they did with their own country.

On one hand you blast us for intervening in Iraq and now you blast us for NOT intervening in afghanistan..

Try this -- think of OUR national interest first and theirs second.

Hope your evening prayers to Allah went well!

How did jesus release his anger? I think he just told the truth...Did he hurt anyone?

Was he nice all the time?

What exactly al-Qaeda is, or was, remains in dispute. In the BBC documentary The Power of Nightmares, writer and journalist Adam Curtis contends that the idea of al-Qaeda as a formal organization is primarily an American invention. Curtis contends the name "al-Qaeda" was first brought to the attention of the public in the 2001 trial of Osama bin Laden and the four men accused of the 1998 United States embassy bombings in East Africa. As a matter of law, the U.S. Department of Justice needed to show that Osama bin Laden was the leader of a criminal organization in order to charge him in absentia under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, also known as the RICO statutes. The name of the organization and details of its structure were provided in the testimony of Jamal al-Fadl, who claimed to be a founding member of the organization and a former employee of Osama bin Laden.[27] To quote the documentary directly:

The reality was that bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri had become the focus of a loose association of disillusioned Islamist militants who were attracted by the new strategy. But there was no organization. These were militants who mostly planned their own operations and looked to bin Laden for funding and assistance. He was not their commander. There is also no evidence that bin Laden used the term "al-Qaeda" to refer to the name of a group until after September the 11th, when he realized that this was the term the Americans had given it.[28]

Questions about the reliability of al-Fadl's testimony have been raised by a number of sources because of his history of dishonesty and because he was delivering it as part of a plea bargain agreement after being convicted of conspiring to attack U.S. military establishments.[29][30] Sam Schmidt, a defense lawyer from the trial, had the following to say about al-Fadl's testimony:

There were selective portions of al-Fadl's testimony that I believe was false, to help support the picture that he helped the Americans join together. I think he lied in a number of specific testimony about a unified image of what this organization was. It made al-Qaeda the new Mafia or the new Communists. It made them identifiable as a group and therefore made it easier to prosecute any person associated with al-Qaeda for any acts or statements made by bin Laden.

Did he stir up pocketbbooks?

Did david have symtoms of depression?

SayWhat wrote:

What exactly al-Qaeda is, or was, remains in dispute. In the BBC documentary The Power of Nightmares, writer and journalist Adam Curtis contends that the idea of al-Qaeda as a formal organization is primarily an American invention. Curtis contends the name "al-Qaeda" was first brought to the attention of the public in the 2001 trial of Osama bin Laden and the four men accused of the 1998 United States embassy bombings in East Africa. As a matter of law, the U.S. Department of Justice needed to show that Osama bin Laden was the leader of a criminal organization in order to charge him in absentia under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, also known as the RICO statutes. The name of the organization and details of its structure were provided in the testimony of Jamal al-Fadl, who claimed to be a founding member of the organization and a former employee of Osama bin Laden.[27] To quote the documentary directly:
The reality was that bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri had become the focus of a loose association of disillusioned Islamist militants who were attracted by the new strategy. But there was no organization. These were militants who mostly planned their own operations and looked to bin Laden for funding and assistance. He was not their commander. There is also no evidence that bin Laden used the term "al-Qaeda" to refer to the name of a group until after September the 11th, when he realized that this was the term the Americans had given it.[28]
Questions about the reliability of al-Fadl's testimony have been raised by a number of sources because of his history of dishonesty and because he was delivering it as part of a plea bargain agreement after being convicted of conspiring to attack U.S. military establishments.[29][30] Sam Schmidt, a defense lawyer from the trial, had the following to say about al-Fadl's testimony:
There were selective portions of al-Fadl's testimony that I believe was false, to help support the picture that he helped the Americans join together. I think he lied in a number of specific testimony about a unified image of what this organization was. It made al-Qaeda the new Mafia or the new Communists. It made them identifiable as a group and therefore made it easier to prosecute any person associated with al-Qaeda for any acts or statements made by bin Laden.

The UN Security Council had issued Resolutions 1267 and 1333 in 1999 and 2000 directed towards the Taliban which applied financial and military hardware sanctions to encourage them to turn over bin Laden for trial in the deadly bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa in August 1998, and close terrorist training camps.

So it's an american invention? Get off the comic books or a bbc filmakers POV.

You probably have the whole collection of harry potter too!

Lil john- Once again you fail to comprehend what you read. I was speaking of al Qaida, not the Taliban. You better stick to comic books, they are easier for you to understand. Call them like I see them--Oh, the CIA said so. Now I know it is a lie. Don't you know what the CIA does and has done?

jack wrote:

Knick Knack is back with all the kook left conspiracy crap.
How does it feel to be part of the surrender at all cost party that is racking up endorsements from terrorist groups in the Middle East?

I am a registered Republican and remained so. I did not fall for Limbaugh theater tactics as you did. I am sure that if Limbaugh told you to pour gasoline on yourself and light a match, you would purchase premium to ensure that Sunoco made more profit and then you would follow you radio heroes orders and set your brainless self ablaze.

You havent a functioning think for yourself brain cell in that little robot mind of yours. You function on a 2 dimension level (example: dems- republicans, right - left, libs - conservatives, there is no in-between for IQ challenged idiots such as yourself.

jack wrote:

Now we are back to the "Blame America" talking points
Liberals stil want to fight terrorism like it is a crime and not an act of war
They want to offer terrorists understanding and therapy instead of killing or capturing them

I dont know what liberals want to do, but I am certain that Patriots that love America want the criminals responsible for attacking the US on September 11, 2001, and then lying the US into war brought to justice. If that were to happen, we would find out if Bu$h and Darth Cheney would be able to walk to the gallows as did Saddam Hussein? Or will they have to be dragged screaming?

jack wrote:

Talis was allegedly punching Maureen, a fan of the first lady since meeting her in 2004.
My, don't you just love the libs who are so opposed to the war and violence?

alleged = supposed or not proved.

jack wrote:

<quoted text>
It is something to see the kook left supporting the enemies of the US all in a feeble attemot to score political points

It is you that suport the ENEMY to this country.

SayWhat wrote:

Lil john- Once again you fail to comprehend what you read. I was speaking of al Qaida, not the Taliban. You better stick to comic books, they are easier for you to understand. Call them like I see them--Oh, the CIA said so. Now I know it is a lie. Don't you know what the CIA does and has done?

You should read the entire post.
They were after the taliban to turn over bin laden long before 9-11 AND it was called alqueda then too. It wasn't just the U.S. it was the U.N.

Do you wear glasses or just ignore the truth!

Nic Knack wrote:

<quoted text>
I dont know what liberals want to do, but I am certain that Patriots that love America want the criminals responsible for attacking the US on September 11, 2001, and then lying the US into war brought to justice. If that were to happen, we would find out if Bu$h and Darth Cheney would be able to walk to the gallows as did Saddam Hussein? Or will they have to be dragged screaming?

It's really doubtful that you are a republican or democrat nic.
Any american that would want to see the president and vice president hanged must really be warped or simply be an enemy of the U.S. AND JUST WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THE CRIMINALS that attacked the us. 19 of them perished in the attacks and the rest of them were killed in afghanistan or other countries,while yet some were captured and others are still at large.

The Iraq war is mainly a product of more than a decade of U.N. sanction violations and the attempted assassination of President George H.W. Bush by Iraq. And in my opinion,the iraq war later became a war on terror,and the U.S. Military is doing a great job. No terrorists attacks on the United States in over six years...thanks to the President,VP,CIA,FBI,Homeland Security,Border Patrol,NSA,and many other departments that function under this Whitehouse Administration...

Let's look on the bright side once in awhile!

gravy wrote:

<quoted text>
OH! He just BURNED you SayWhat...Watch out for the quick wit on this fellow.

Nothing to whine about tonight gravy----
Are you ready for school tomorrow, time for beddy bye don't you think!

I hate to over use the term but gadfly does fit you! or you could use the graphic picture of a pimple on what?