by Michel Chossudovsky

Global Research

While the President and Commander in Chief of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama "celebrates" the first anniversary of the alleged death of bin Laden, the substantive issue as to WHO WAS OSAMA BIN LADEN remains unheralded.  (Remarks by President Obama in Address to the Nation from Bagram Air..., see video at foot of article)

Through lies and fabrications --which he intends to use in his election campaign-- president Obama`s carefully scripted speech upholds a world of total fantasy, in which "bad guys" are lurking and "plotting acts of terror". Meanwhile, Islamic "jihadists" are said to be threatening Western civilization. 

Each and every statement in Obama's May 1st speech at Bagram Air Force base regarding the role of Al Qaeda is a fabrication: (below are excerpts from Obama's Remarks in italics, author's comments are indicated inside square brackets [ ] ):  

It was here, in Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden established a safe haven for his terrorist organization

[Osama bin Laden was recruited by the CIA, Al Qaeda was set up with the support of the CIA. Osama's safe haven was protected by US intelligence] .

It was here, in Afghanistan, where al Qaeda brought new recruits, trained them, and plotted acts of terror.

[The Mujahideen were recruited and trained by the CIA. America's ally Saudi Arabia financed the Wahabbi  koranic schools, Ronald Reagan praised the Mujahideen as "Freedom Fighters". Unknown to the American public, the US spread the teachings of the "Islamic jihad" in textbooks "Ma...]

It was here, from within these borders, that al Qaeda launched the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 innocent men, women and children.

[Obama is referring to the tragic events of September 11 2001. To this date there is no evidence that Al Qaeda was involved in the 9/11 attacks. Moreover, confirmed by CBS News, on September 10, 2001 Osama bin Laden had be... in Rawalpindi, courtesy of America's ally Pakistan. Did he coordinate the 9/11 attacks from his hospital bed?]

And so, 10 years ago, the United States and our allies went to war to make sure that al Qaeda could never again use this country to launch attacks against us.

[The 9/11 attacks was the justification for waging war on Afghanistan on the grounds of`"self defense". Afghanistan was said to be harboring Al Qaeda and was, therefore, complicit in an outright act of war against the USA.

The fact of the matter is that the Taliban government on two occasions in the weeks following 9/11 offered (through diplomatic channels) to hand over Osama bin Laden to the US Justice system. President George W. Bush refused the offer of the Taliban government, intimating that America "does not negotiate with terrorists". 

NATO went to war in support of the US, invoking Article Five of the Washington Treaty. The latter states that an "act of war" against one member of the Atlantic Alliance is considered "an act of war" against all members of NATO under the doctrine of collective security.]

Despite initial success, for a number of reasons, this war has taken longer than most anticipated. In 2002, bin Laden and his lieutenants escaped across the border and established safe haven in Pakistan. America spent nearly eight years fighting a different war in Iraq. And al Qaeda’s extremist allies within the Taliban have waged a brutal insurgency.

[The whereabouts of Osama bin Laden have always been known to US intelligence. President Obama conveys the illusion that US-NATO forces and their intelligence operatives could not find bin Laden. In the words of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (2002), "it is like searching for a needle in a stack of hay". The alleged Al Qaeda safe haven in Pakistan serves as a pretext for waging drone attacks against alleged terrorists in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

President Obama also intimates that Al Qaeda operatives equipped with stinger missiles and Kalashnikovs had managed to outsmart the US-NATO multi-trillion dollar military machine.]  

But over the last three years, the tide has turned. We broke the Taliban’s momentum. We’ve built strong Afghan security forces. We devastated al Qaeda’s leadership, taking out over 20 of their top 30 leaders. And one year ago, from a base here in Afghanistan, our troops launched the operation that killed Osama bin Laden.

[A lot has been written on this issue. No proof as to the identity of the person who was allegedly killed by the Seals Special Forces  In the words of Paul Craig Roberts; "The US government’s bin Laden story was so poorly crafted that it d......" ] 

The goal that I set -- to defeat al Qaeda and deny it a chance to rebuild -- is now within our reach.

[There is ample evidence that Al Qaeda (a US sponsored "intelligence asset") is still alive and fully operational. Officially, the goal is to "defeat Al Qaeda". Unofficially, Al Qaeda is supported covertly by US intelligence. 

Since 9/11, Al Qaeda has developed into a multinational entity with "subsidiaries" in various geopolitical hotspots around the world.

In Libya and Syria, Al Qaeda brigades are the foot soldiers of the US-NATO military alliance. Wherever the US military and intelligence apparatus is deployed, Al Qaeda is present: 

Al Qaeda in Iraq, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Libya Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), Al Shaabab (Somalia), Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) (Army of Mohammed) (Pakistan), Jemaah Islamiya organization (JI) (Indonesia) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, etc. (See US State Department Foreign Terrorist Organizations, United Nations Security Council, List of individuals, groups, undertakings and other entities associated with Al-Qaida Al-Qaida Sanctions List)

In a bitter irony, in all these countries, US intelligence is covertly coordinating the activities of Al Qaeda affiliated groups. Officially counterterrorism consists in fighting the "Islamic jihad" Unofficially through covert operations, Western intelligence supports their "assets" including terror entities on the US State Department list.

Moreover, these various terrorist organizations are now being used in US-NATO covert military operations against sovereign countries (e.g. Libya and Syria). According to Israeli intelligence sources:

"NATO headquarters in Brussels and the Turkish high command are meanwhile drawing up plans for their first military step in Syria, which is to arm the rebels with weapons for combating the tanks and helicopters spearheading the Assad regime's crackdown on dissent. Instead of repeating the Libyan model of air strikes, NATO strategists are thinking more in terms of pouring large quantities of anti-tank and anti-air rockets, mortars and heavy machine guns into the protest centers for beating back the government armored forces."(DEBKAfile, NATO to give rebels anti-tank weapons, August 14, 2011) ]

 ]

Ronald Reagan chats with Mujahideen Freedom fighters

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Who is or was Osama?

An "intelligence asset", namely an instrument of the CIA used to justify the "Global War on Terrorism".

It is worth recalling that on September 14, 2001, both the House and the Senate adopted a historical resolution authorizing the president to "go after" countries which "aided the [9/11] terrorist attacks"

The president is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.

Today in 2012, there is ample evidence that:  

1) Al Qaeda was not behind the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.

2) There is also detailed evidence that agencies of the US government as well as NATO, continue to support and "harbor such organizations" [Al Qaeda and its affiliated  organizations].  In Libya, the "pro-democracy" rebels were led by Al Qaeda paramilitary brigades under the supervision of NATO Special Forces. The "Liberation" of  Tripoli was carried out by "former" members of the Libya Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). The jihadists and NATO work hand in glove. These "former" Al Qaeda affiliated brigades in Libya were the backb...

3) There is evidence that the WTC towers were brought down through controlled demolition, raising the possibility of complicity and cover-up within the US government, intelligence and military. (See the writings of Richard Gage, Undisputed Facts Point to the Controlled Demolition of WTC 7, Globa..., March 2008, see also video, Richard Gage  Controlled Demolitions Caused the Collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) buildings on September 11, 2001, Global Research)

Who is Obama?

A political liar and a war criminal.

Obama's scripted speeches are slanted distortions. Realities are turned upside down. Acts of war are heralded as peace-making operations...  

Ironically, the text of the September 14, 2001 Congressional resolution (see above) does not exclude judiicial action and criminal investigation directed against the US-NATO sponsors of international terrorism, including president Obama, who have used the tragic events of 9/11 as a pretext to wage "a war without borders" under the humanitarian banner of the "Global War on Terrorism" (GWOT). 

Obama versus Romney

In the election campaign opposing Barack Obama to Mitt Romney, Osama and the "threat of Al Qaeda" will be "center stage". 

Supported by carefully crafted public relations campaigns, each of the presidential candidates will present --within the realm of a world of sheer fantasy--  their  "Al Qaeda -Global War on Terrorism platform" to the American people. In this ritual, Al Qaeda becomes the central talking point of the campaign; all real major issues including the economic crisis, poverty in America and the devastations of war will be conveniently side-stepped. 


Included below are a number of articles by the author which provide relevant evidence and details on Al Qaeda. (Scroll down)

More here:  http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=30654