by Scott Creighton
Yet another similarity between the Bush administration and Obama’s that gets far too little press, is brought up by James Cogan at the World Socialist Web Site: the fact that Obama, like Bush before him, really doesn’t seem to have any interest in capturing Bin Laden nor are they really going after Al Qaeda like they say they are.
The main storyline in Afghanistan is that they have to get “The Taliban”… but of course, even according the the “Official Story of 9/11″ the Taliban had NOTHING to do with 9/11.
In fact, the Taliban offered to capture bin Laden themselves and hand him over if Bush’s White House were to simply provide PROOF that bin Laden attacked the Twin Towers on Sept. 11th 2001… Their offer was completely ignored by Bush, who then went on to attack Afghanistan with an invasion plan that was actually drawn up and ready for the president’s approval on Sept. 9th 2001.
“I don’t know where he (bin Laden) is… nor.. I just don’t spend that much time on it to be honest with you. I am more worried about making sure our soldiers are well supplied, that the strategy is clear, that the coalition is strong…” George Bush press conference.
As you can see, even at that point, bin Laden didn’t factor in at all. He wasn’t the REASON for the invasion… just the justification.
Now for the Obama administration…
It is remarkable that even as the Obama administration has escalated the war, it has virtually dropped the original pretext that was used to justify it.
What ever happened to Osama bin Laden? He is rarely if ever mentioned and Al Qaeda is increasingly relegated into the background in the official propaganda and media accounts.
This is no small matter. The ostensible legal basis on which American troops are in Afghanistan is the “Authorization for Use of Military Force”, the joint resolution passed by the US Congress on September 18, 2001—one week after 9/11. The resolution authorised military force for the purpose of capturing or destroying the Al Qaeda leadership, beginning with bin Laden, so as to prevent further terrorist attacks.
Nearly eight years later, there is barely the pretence that American troops are in Afghanistan to hunt down Al Qaeda. Instead, the war is declared to be against the “Taliban”—a label indiscriminately applied to any Afghan who resists the US-led occupation. At no time, however, was there an accusation that the Taliban had a role in 9/11. The Bush administration’s justification for targeting the Islamist government in Kabul was that it rejected an ultimatum to turn over the Al Qaeda leadership to the United States.
The dropping of the original pretext for the invasion poses the question: with what purported legal justification has the US government and its allies continued and escalated the war? The truth is they have none. Nothing remains but the reality of an imperialist war of plunder and domination. WSWS
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NPR report yesterday AM makes it sound like it’s the poppy fields we’re after in Afghanistan. They’re making the Taliban out to look like the “Drug Lords” of Latin America–forcing local farmers to grow illegal drugs, etc.
Their expert was somebody who wrote a book. She calls it “Seeds of Terror”, or something like that.
R Ap
I think if everyone would look at the historical evidence that exists, that would answer the question of why there is a major US millitary presence in Afghanistan.
The evidence clearly, CLEARLY establishes why the US is there in Afghanistan. TO INSTAL A NATURAL GAS PIPELINE THROUGH THAT COUNTRY.
While the television news media was showing us those low level B-52 strikes there , and while President Bush was stating in reference to Osama Ben Laden that” YOU CAN RUN,,,BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE” Out of view of those cameras, was the beginning of construction of that pipeline that was the TRUE OBJECTIVE WITH GOING INTO AFGHANISTAN.
Willy, consider the following.
Remember back when the B-52 strikes began in Afghanistan, shortly after 9-11 ? Remember the Bush people were stating the Taliban had been running terrorist trainning camps? What if they, the Taliban dudes, after having been wined and dined there in HUSTON TEXAS just preveious to 9-11, and after NOT excepting any deal on the construction of that pipeline UNICAL (and the US government) wanted them (the Taliban) to except, What id these camps were ACTUALLY operating in anticipation of some sort of US millitary operation directed against the Taliban, AFGHANISTAN, KNOWING that UNICAL and the US GOVERNMENT was DETERMINED come HELL or HIGH WATER, to get that godamm pipeling construction up and running?
AFTER ALL! The ONLY REAL sucsess the US has EVER had in Afghanistan, is the SUCSESSFULL construction of that fucking PIPELINE, which is now operational.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57hzN4Asdl4&eurl
Present for ya!
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/42656
Nano-thermite took down the WTC?
British Scientific Speaks out at RT