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Subscribe to RSSNewly released documents seized in the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's compound show bin Laden had ordered al-Qaida to assassinate President Barack Obama or Gen. David Petraeus. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.
Al-Qaida and Iran had a “highly antagonistic” relationship in the years before Osama bin Laden’s death, with Iran jailing top al-Qaida officials and the terrorist organization responding by kidnapping an Iranian diplomat and threatening other violent measures to get them released, according to documents released Thursday by the U.S. government.
The feud between al-Qaida and Tehran was documented in several of the 17 letters retrieved from bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan and released by the Army’s Countering Terrorism Center at the West Point military academy in New York. While much reporting on the documents focused on squabbling and worse between bin Laden and al-Qaida affiliates, the friction between Iran and al-Qaida is noteworthy because it flies in the face of the view held by some U.S. conservatives that the two have worked together against U.S. interests.
The discussion in the letters, written between September 2006 and April 2011, relates to al-Qaida’s decision to send some of its top leaders – and members of bin Laden’s family — to Iran following the collapse of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan late in 2001.
Operational personnel, including Khalid Sheik Mohammed and Ramzi bin al Shibh, both part of the planning for the September 11 attacks, were dispatched to Pakistani cities, where they were later grabbed in joint US-Pakistani operations. But the terror group’s Management Council. which handled military, security and financial affairs, among other things, were sent to Iran, where it was hoped the Iranian government would “leave them alone,” the West Point analysis of the materials said.
“Al-Qaida did not appear to have looked to Iran from the perspective that ‘the enemy of my (American) enemy is my friend,’” it said, “but the group might have hoped that ‘the enemy of my (American) enemy would leave me alone.’”
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point has published the declassified documents that offer a fresh look inside the mind of Osama bin Laden. NBC's Bob Windrem and Roger Cressey discuss.
Instead, the Iranians immediately moved to detain them and in some cases deport them to their countries of origin, the report stated. In fact, al-Qaida believed the decision to detain and deport was taken by the Islamic Republic under pressure from the United States. At the time, the U.S. and Iran were engaged in a number of back channel discussions on al-Qaida, according to officials from both countries.
Many of the top al-Qaida leaders languished in Iranian custody for months and years. U.S. officials admit that prior to the Abbottabad raid, they had little understanding of the circumstances of their detention -- whether it was house arrest or imprisonment. Iranian officials had always insisted the al-Qaidaofficials and their families were “in jail,” as one high ranking Iranian official told NBC News several years ago, but many U.S. officials did not believe such assurances.
The materials released Thursday, however, indicate that the al-Qaida leaders were imprisoned and held in harsh conditions. In a letter to bin Laden, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, essentially his chief of staff, recalled Sa’ad bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader’s son, telling him “the truths of what was happening, that they had repeatedly asked to leave Iran but they were beaten and suppressed.” The elder bin Laden, in one of his last letters to Atiyah, who is generally referred to by his first name, said that Sa’ad’s letter should be added to the group’s archives “in view of the important information it reveals about the truth of the Iranian regime.”
Negotiations for release of the prisoners ebbed and flowed, with some pleas sent directly from al-Qaida to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyad Ali Khamenei. At one point, late in 2008, al-Qaida decided to take other measures. An Iranian diplomat, the commercial counselor at the Iranian consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan, Hesmatollah Atharzadeh-Nyaki, was kidnapped by al-Qaida operatives in November of that year. At the same time, al-Qaida apparently made other threats against Iranian interests.
Atiyah, who was reportedly killed by a U.S. drone strike in 2011, boasted to bin Laden that the diplomat’s kidnapping had a chilling effect on the Iranians, whom he referred to as “criminals” and portrayed as being afraid of al-Qaida.
“We believe that our efforts, which included escalating a politicaland media campaign, the threats we made, the kidnapping of their friend the commercial counselor in the Iranian Consulate in Peshawar, and other reasons that scared them based on what they saw (we are capable of), to be among the reasons that led them to expedite (the release of these prisoners),” Atiyah wrote.
Still, things did not move as fast as bin Laden had hoped. He pressed Atiyah repeatedly in the letters to get his family released.
"In the second half of 2010,” the West Point analysis said, “bin Ladin asked Atiyah to correspond with the Iranians (not clear if directly or indirectly) to tell them that ‘they promised that upon releasing their captive, they would release my family, which includes my daughter Fatima, who (should naturally stay in the company of) her husband,’” who was a top al-Qaida fighter.
Ultimately, Iran did release some of the bin Laden family and some fighters, some in the weeks before Bin Laden was killed. But they retained others, perhaps as hostages. Atharzadeh-Nyaki, the Iranian diplomat, was finally released unharmed in March 2010.
A call to the Iranian Mission to the United Nations by NBC News on Thursday for comment was not returned.
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Security-conscious bin Laden's methods of undetected travel revealed
Kill Obama so 'utterly unprepared' Biden becomes president, bin Laden told followers
Technolog: Al-Qaida spokesman called its Internet forums 'repulsive': report
Bin Laden in hiding: Hatching horrific plots despite crippling attacks on al-Qaida
Throughout the negotiation process, Atiyah expressed anger and frustration at the Iranians, writing at one point, “The criminals did not send us any letter, nor did they send us a message through any of the brothers (they released)! Such behavior is of course not unusual for them; indeed, it is typical of their mindset and method. They do not wish to appear to be negotiating with us or responding to our pressures, as if to suggest that their actions are purely one-sided and based on their own initiative.”
The West Point analysis notes that the Iranians’ rationale in keeping the al-Qaida officials prisoner for so long remains unclear, but suggests two possibilities: to keep al-Qaida from carrying attacks in Iran or against Iranian assets overseas or as bargaining chips in negotiations with the United States.
In fact, U.S. and Iranian officials have told NBC News that third parties approached the U.S. in the years after 9-11 to offer a deal in which al-Qaida personnel would be traded for leaders of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran who were in U.S. custody in Iraq. The U.S., both sides report, declined.
Robert Windrem is a senior investigative producer for NBC News.
More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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- 'A little fixing up'? Philippines hides slum behind wall ahead of poverty conference
- Sarkozy fails to floor Hollande in France election television debate
- Has Britain's Prime Minister Cameron lost his gloss? Voters issue their verdict
- Catholic priest: I've been secretly married for a year
- Five years on, parents of missing Madeleine McCann cling to hope
Leave a Comment:
You are a paranoid delusional asswipe who should be housed in Gitmo.
Buffalo,,, Who the hell are you talking too? Who's the "You"? You are the 1st one to post
Dude,, All people have to do is look at a young man with PTSD or missing limbs.. But some people are incapable of thinking about that like Romney who seems to be Hell Bound to start another Middle East War
Think about it a moment,,, If you put everything in the public domain, how would you catch the bad guys? Some of these countries you can't trust
WE DESTABLIZED THE BALANCE IN THE REGION WITHOUT A PLAN TO FILL THE VACUME.
In another words, we help build Iran AGAIN, buy taking out Iranian enemies (Iraq and Afgan (Taliban/Al Qaeda)). Thanks to the shoot first mentality, or is it really a planned setup to ratch up the oil price for ALL OIL PRODUCERS (including Americans... yes such as the Bush family).
Hmmmmmmm
Russkies are really nice guys. you just have to get to know 'em. ask their neighbors:)
I'm in Sacramento man,,, They are neighbors, I can actually see them from my house!
OMG -- THE REDS ARE HERE!
All I can say is:
"If this administration ever took control of the "Sahara desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand"
M. Friedman
Yes, I paraphrased.
Leiya,,, How did the last administration work out?
They drained our economy (ruined it), killed thousands of perfectly good troops, our troops at that + their frigging desert & came up empty!
This administration has been tasked with putting the sand (economy) back! -- And they didn't come up empty!
Jim-372206
And how is THIS administration turning out? 6+ trillion more in debt as forcasted by the economists.
I'm going to bed but I'd like to retort/debate tomorrow under the COH. Work day comes early on Friday:)
Take an economics class Leiya & quit listening to the same idiots who said the economy was strong right before it crashed in 2007 & ignored all the warnings
Definitely don't get your info from those who want banking & finance regulation eliminated,, They are the same people & that is what started the collapse & Bail Outs
Bushonomics 2.0 on steroids? -- I don't think we need to go down that dirt road again, it's a dead end
BJ: slow down big guy; you need to let somebody post before you start attacking them
@Jim-372206
This administration has been tasked with putting the sand (economy) back! -- And they didn't come up empty!
I don't know what administration or what numbers you have been looking at, but it can't be here in the U.S.
If it is, try telling that to the 53% of college students who are graduating and have no chance of being hired or the 8.+% who are still unemployed.
Obama has been good at keeping the current level and pace of radical spending plus adding an additional 5+ trillion to the national debt.
Here is one idea... have Michelle cut back on her vacations this year...it's a start. Not to mention their lavish parties such as the costume party with the Alice in Wonderland theme. You know, the one where Mr. Depp was paid to appear as the Mad Hatter in full costume.
So hush, hush, that Mr. Depp & Mr. Burton's names were kept off the White House visitor's logs so events could be denied if needed. So much for transparency... what a joke!
Hello folks, news flash; Osama was seen by a spy drone having lunch with Elvis in a cave west of Kabul. Not just any cave, but the cave where he orchestrated the 9-11 attacks with sophisticated can and string communication technology and a blackboard with chalk. The plans scribbled on the blackboard had details on how to penetrate the most heavily defended air space in the world.
He was also seen with crates of state of the art box cutters and manuals on how to fly jumbo jets for dummies. There were also sparklers that were used to jump from WTC1 and 2 to WTC7 which caused the building to free fall at demolition like implosion speed. He also had passports that are able to withstand the high temperatures of a jet fuel explosion.
Don’t worry, we will send Seal Team 7 to get him, again. They have been trained to locate 6’4” terrorists dragging a dialysis machine around with them.
Root causes of destabilizations in ME and taking economy down the drain were Iraqi wars (1991 and 2003).
Saudis, oil companies and lobbyists manipulated wars and high oil prices.
No wars for ten years even on Iran and Syria.
"If this administration ever took control of the "Sahara desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand"
M. Friedman
Yes, I paraphrased."
Good thing this administration does not invade countries for no reason and kill a lot of our people and steal our money in the process.
"Take an economics class Leiya & quit listening to the same idiots who said the economy was strong right before it crashed in 2007 & ignored all the warnings"
“I don't believe we're headed into a recession,”
"the fundamentals of our economy are strong,"
-John McCain and George W Bush
To say that risking the lives of 24 Navy SEALs and losing a TOP SECRET 40 million dollar Stealth military helicopter to get this bull@!$%# information was worth it, you'd be the biggest dumbass in the Whitehouse.
Three Tomahawk cruise missiles would have done the job at a cost of just 3 million dollars and no risk of US lives. Obama has gotten more US troops killed in Afghanstan in 3 1/2 years 1,277 that in all of Buhs's 7 1/2 years.
The cruise missiles may screw up and kill someone else, and we can not get the information that the US government needs and willing to pay a lot more for it. The stealth helicopter was a defected product (it was not shot down!).It would crashed and may kill some seals with it at a later date. I will not pay a dime for that piece of junk .
Buffalo,,,, Those SEALS you are talking about would be really pissed at you abusing them for your lunatic politics
Clinton used Tomahawk cruise missiles & didn't get him, Bush had him but let OBL go in Tora Bora... This is a great historic moment for our country... Deal with it, show some honor to your country
You're an idiot. Do you think Pakistan would have admitted finding his body in the rubble.
BS information? If so, then why did Dickhead Cheney lie to us and say the Al Qaeda was working with Iran when he KNEW he was deliberately deceiving the American people? Just one of many lies this a-hole told that sent Americans to their deaths. Effin war criminal should be hanged. It's no wonder he can't leave the US. He'd be arrested on site. You are still rankled the President Obama presided over the killing of Bin Laden. Get over it dude. Your hating won't change a thing.
buffalojim. It is hell being a Teabagger these days isn't it. Bastards like you are just pissed that we can't go into Iran like we did under flash pretense like we did in Iraq, with the release of these letters. If McCain would have been elected, We would have 3 wars going on right now and no way to pay for them. Its no wounder OBL wanted Obama and Petrazas killed. OBL know this President would do what he said and hunt him down and make fish food out of him. Al-Zawahiri will be found and like OBL will be fish food as well. OBAMA in 2012 all the way....... Choke on it Jim
BuffaloJim, I wonder how much more stupid it was to go attack Iraq in 2003, a nation uninvolved in the 9/11 attacks and with no demonstrable links to Al Qaeda.
But how would you know?
Clinton did use cruize missles, but we missed. Then the political storm came soon after accusing Clinto of using the terrorism as a cover for Monica... Please tell me that someone remember!
WE DESTABLIZED THE BALANCE IN THE REGION WITHOUT A PLAN TO FILL THE VACUME.
In another words, we help build Iran AGAIN, buy taking out Iranian enemies (Iraq and Afgan (Taliban/Al Qaeda)). Thanks to the shoot first mentality, or is it really a planned setup to ratch up the oil price for ALL OIL PRODUCERS (including Americans... yes such as the Bush family).
Hmmmmmmm
BJ: you missed the whole point. The point was to get in there, verify that Osama was there, and then take him out. A cruise missile can not do that.
Poor bitter Buffalo, I know it sucks to have Obama accomplish more in 3 years than Bush did in 8, but it must REALLY suck to know that he OWNS the National Security and Foreign policy issues in this election. Im just laughing at the GOP desperation as they lose on their bread and butter issue. Priceless!
Funny also that the Iran-Al Qeada link isn't what the GOP was claiming.
Oh well, back to praying the economy tanks, eh Buffalo?
Obama/Biden 2012
Oh wise one (yes, BJ, I'm talking to you), I know you are so much more intelligent and well-informed than all of the military and administration leaders. Yeah, you know how to do it. But, you probably have to have help wiping your ass when you defecate. You are a total jerk.
Only George Bush, Sr could send forces to save that feudal, highly corrupt, despotic and bigoted Kuwaiti ruler with 65 wives.
Only they could station the US forces without Bibles to save another beastly Saudi ruler and his 5000 princes and princesses.
Only George Bush, Jr without knowing ABC of regions could have wars in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq 2003.
Despite the disasters from all points including economic ones, only John McCains can think of Iran and Syria!
Can any sane leaders can do all the above in 21st century?
You're so smart. Mitt. will ask you to be Sec. of Defense.
Hey Obama, where's Ayman al-Zawahiri? Still can't find him?
He'll move heaven and earth if needed. Luckily Romeny won't be Prez.
Looking for asswipes who should be housed in Gitmo; don't you have a mirror, @!$%#head?
Zawahiri? NEXT
I doubt if he's moving very fast now, Fox News said he was likely pretty busted up back in '08
Question is, since Romney has said twice since '07 that OBL wasn't worth the expense & once recently in his campaign he said he wouldn't make the decision, the military would,,, You've really got to ask, "Is Romney the one you want to wake up at 1 AM?"
The Ayatollah Romeni would NEVER had made the call! He would be too busy trying to get his 1%'s more of the middle class's money!
rofl, if this is the best you've got, Buffalo...
Stay tuned, Buffalo. At least the Obama admin is looking for him. Most of Al Queada leadership is dead, mostly under Obama's watch. What will you say when we get Zawahiri... Where's Waldo?
So when he gets Zawahiri, are you going to apologizeand change your tune? I doubt it, you'll just come up with some other lame and contrived criticism. Sooner or later someone will rat him out. We know we aren't torturing this intel out these guys anymore so it should be pretty clear that most of these guys getting a personal call from a Predator drone have been ratted out by someone.
Al Qaida has killed far more fellow Muslims than Westerners, Iran had no use for them and you can be sure that no formal Muslim government does either. That is why these guys have to hide out in lawless regions or in countries with very weak or ineffective governments. Even OBL was figuring out that they weren't welcomed amongst legitimate Muslim countries. That's why he was even considering a name change for the organization.
You don't hear the US government talking very much about Zawahiri and that may very well be that it's because they are hot on his trail and don't want to tip him off. I will not at all be surprised if he gets his within the next 4-6 months. I hope that turns out to be the case and you should be hoping for it too, but most of us figure that you probably hope just the opposite because God forbid that you'd have to give Obama some credit.
We already got 20 out of the top 30 al Queada leaders, buffalojerk. And we'll whack the Egyptian doctor, Ayman al Zawahiri too, maybe with a drone strike from out of the blue, or maybe a Navy Seal will put a red dot on his distinctive forehead before ending his incompetent leadership in the middle of the night, just like we did to OBL.
Biggest sponsors of al-Qaida have been Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, UAE and other Sunni bigoted beastly rulers.
If Saddam had taken over Saudi Arabia in 1991 itself, al-Qaida would not have become so powerful.
To save these Islamic masters Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and others Iraqi war in 1991 itself was the biggest blunder.
Osama and Ayman al-Zawahiri would not have ended up as powerful as they became later.
BuffaloJim =
8========D
Jonathan,
Let's be accurate, elements within those countries, but not their governments. Al Qaeda has conducted literally hundreds of attacks in Saudi Arabia, most focused against their government and the Saudi Royals. They started in Saudi Arabia with the intent of overthrowing the government.
The lawless regions of Pakistan hold a lot of the remaining Al Qaeda, but the Pakistani government has no use for them. Arguably, the Pakistani government has in the past utilized some elements within the Taliban, but not Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda and the Taliban have had a "working relationship", but for the most part their goals are different from each other. They both want to kill Americans in Afghanistan, but after that their long term goals start to diverge.
A lot of these countries in the region have militant elements within them with support of some portion of their populations, but those militants all pose a threat to the official governments too. Don't confuse governments who don't like us, with militant terrorists. If the Pakistani government really wanted to put a stop to drone attacks, they could do it or at least make it extremely difficult. The vast majority of these drone attacks are launched from right within Pakistan.
If the Tea Party started conducting international terrorism, would that be with the backing of the US government? No, they may reside here, but they aren't the government. And our US government would have difficulty cracking down on them for the simple reason that they are US citizens and have a reasonable amount of "sympathizers" within the country. Do you think we would be conducting raids and military attacks on Red State "strongholds?" I doubt it. As far as we know, these folks aren't going out and conducting terrorist attacks in Muslim countries, but when you listen to some of the rhetoric, is it really that far fetched? How do you think people in Muslim countries view all the anti-Muslim rhetoric?
We have a lunatic fringe who wants to conduct very public demonstrations like burning Korans. Does the US government want to burn Korans? No, I don't think so, and we make a very strong point that it isn't the voice of our government speaking. But how do you think it is viewed in Muslim countries? You can argue that it's not the same thing, but it has its similarities. For some of these people, burning a Koran is a bigger deal than killing a dozen of their brethren.
So we should dig a little deeper before we start blaming governments of these countries who in reality see these militant terrorist groups as a real problem in their countries. And they have their own issues trying to deal with it.
Looks as though the Pentagon's ventriloquist dummy - Bin Laden - is trying to direct the ire of al Qaida towards Iran.
Why would the Pentagon want to do that?
So mch for that theory: Iran and El Qaida.
It really shouldn't be all that surprising because no one with a remotely stable and organized government would want to partner with these guys. They are militant terrorists. What government leader would deal with them thinking he could trust them? In OBL's history, he turned on every government leader or country who hosted him at one point or another. Al Qaida kills more Muslims than Westerners because they aren't behaving the way they think is right or they are "conspiring" with Western forces. Al Qaida's goals have always been about creating a new "Muslim world" uniting all under their leadership, therefore any existing government, even Muslim ones, are their enemy. Globally, virtually every government has no use for these guys. They may not all publicly criticize Al Qaida, but that is purely for political reasons so as not to enrage the militant elements in their own countries.
If Romeys, McCains, Liebermanns and Clintons don't meddle, Iran and al-Qaida will battle each other better.
Give them ten years watching from the sidelines, they will do our jobs.
I'm so sick of this crap. Quadrillions of dollars spent all over the world to endlessly slaughter each other. When are human beings going to choose to use resources for something positive?
There is no excuse whatsoever for one child on earth to go hungry tonight, one person to die from disease caused by drinking filthy water, anyone to have futile dreams of an education they can't afford.
There are no excuses, but there are sick, greedy, power-mad morons who will never be satisfied until they have slaughtered everyone on earth except their own servants.
And it will never stop until the common people say, "Hell NO, I won't go."
Draft dodging coward Ted Nugent said that & he is still a disgrace to the United States.. Our military doesn't want him performing on our bases anymore
Less than 10% of "Americans" fought in the Revolutionary War and most of them deserted regularly. I wonder how they would have felt about a draft.
War is stupid as @!$%#. Saying being anti-war is anti-American is the stupidest arguments ever made. The same people that tout freedom of speech and "defending our rites" are the same people that think dissent is some how un-American... the most contradictory of arguments ever made.
The founding fathers were dissenters. If you think that anti-war "hippies" are crazy today... I'd invite you to meet Thomas Jefferson.
Patter123 I agree with some of what you said. In fact I agree with most of your post. One has to ask the question. Is this what God meant to happen, when he started all over with the 12 tribes that couldn't talk each others languages? Every war BC were over women and power. Later it was about religion. Then it was about oil. The Iraq war was about oil and little Bush wanted to kill the man that put a hit out on his dad. If GW would have just said I am going to get Sudam Husane for trying to kill my dad a former President. I think the American people would got behind him. But we could have done it like with OBL. But that wouldn't have gotten the oil company's back in charge of the oil in Iraq. The only reason we were in Vietnam was to protect the rubber plantations. I don't get why Americans have to protect the interest of other country's. We fight all the wars for everyone. The Saudi's, Israel, China, just about anyone in the world that ask us to help them, we do. But there is big business in war. The thing is no one pays us back for fighting there wars for them. We let our kids get killed, like we did in Nam. For what?
Ya but... Ted Nugent is a total disgrace & thinks he's "Braveheart" ----- Braveheart was a 14th century Scottish legend that Hollywood created who's star was an Australian
Nugent doesn't even know what is "American" & hell yes Nugent is a coward!
MPV24: While on one level I agree with you.
People had to go back home to feed their families. But they came back to fight on. Washington did kill some deserters, but at a extremely sensitive point in the war.
We have no draft today. Ever think , that if we did have a draft. We might not have quite so many wars???
Nugent is a hippie who became rich. A large number of them become viral right. Kinda like , born agains in the religious spectrum.
I can't speak about the character of Ted Nugent, but I think warmongers are the most despicable scum on earth. And I think the pawns who are willing to die for them are fools.
.
Benji,, Bark, say something.. Scratch at the door if you want out
My bad, I just loved the movie
USA! USA! USA!
Thank you, welcome back
Saleem, we'll be passing Goat Hills on the main dirt road right after the sun comes up. Hope to see you there.
Hakeem, my camel and god willing, we'll be there for the kidnapping.
I've seen Anaheim Hills & Laguna Hills.... Goat Hills? That's a pizza chain
http://goathill.com/
Buffalo is Buffalo. Buffalo are not very smnart but good bulolo. Their speciality is to attack and not think
If your tired of these wars and truly want the truth of our world. Take a flight to Dubia and spend afew months at the coffee shops. Where all countries are doing business with each other. Iran,America,Afghastan,Pakistan,Russia,China,All Europe countries,North Korea and lots more have businesses in Dubia.You might get a different view of our world. Take a look at the businesses in Dubia on your computer.
Dubia is nothing but a desert with a lot of oil.Dubia has seen the light at the end of the petroleum tunnel and understands in 40 years they will be out of reserves!They're doing everything and anything to get people to buy some of thier worthless real estate.They tried using Micheal Jackson and other to promote their projects but so far all they have manged to do is build ghosttowns! There are very few buyer for their crap outside of Arab countries,who I presume get tremendious cuts in the prices!Go there,buy yourself a condo and see what it's worth in 24 months!Better to take up doing drugs,at least you can get some pleasure out of your money!
The release of these irrelevant, obselete documents falls under the category of incumbent Presidents running for re-election have a distinct advantage by using Government resources, including such intel, to show competence in foreign policy.
I have no problem with that, in fact, I congratulate President Obama for shaving it up the Republicans ass. Heck, the idiot George WWIII, Bush and his clowns started a war of convenience against Iraq to get re-elected.
More of this to follow, kick ass Mr President.
Ad'M, It could be interpreted as political, but I seriously doubt it... Think of it as "Open Government" & the details are interesting new releases & we won't have to wait 20 years for it to be declassified
It's not new that OBL didn't get along with either Iran or Iraq's Saddam... Both countries considered OBL a criminal.... We've known that for at least 10 or 12 years, probably longer... It was all over the Think Tanks & open source information back then
Ad'm I think you had a Fraudian slip there with "shaving it up"! Sounds like you like that,big guy!
From both a strategic and historical viewpoint, these documents are treasures. They aptly demonstrate the thinking of the murderers and how they plan and implement their sick desire to rule the world.
LOL ... these SOBs thugs wear sheets on their heads, for God sakes.
They are criminals just like the drug cartels, nothing more. In fact, the drug cartels do more damage to our society than these Islamic freaks.
In my opinion, I would like to see one infrastructure develop to fight both of these enemies, drug cartels and the Islamic terrorists, with same resources and with the same intensity. And with a matrix to obtain reachable goals.
This is news to whom? Anybody who delved any deeper than the neo-con BS in the MSM would have known that Iran has been fighting Sunni terrorists just as the West has been since their revolution. It does demonstrate how brainwashed some people are when it comes to relations with Iran. With the constant drumbeat and war cries for attacking Iran, it gets frustrating to hear people continuously call for things which are not in anybody's best interest. War should be avoided, not courted.
Another slam piece by PMSNBC! Couldn't read the article after"U.S. convervatives" comment! Someone,please tell me when it was the last time you read anything in one of PMSNBC articles that used the term" US Liberals"! Impossible!You should be forced to register as lobbiest for the Berrie administration! Shameless!
It helps to distinguish between "US Conservatives" & "their Conservatives", those are "Conservative" countries with "Conservative" evangelistic religions... Taliban are Conservative Fundamentalists like Al Quida
OBL & Al Quida you could say was their version of a radical violent conservative "Tea Party" demanding death to Big Governments & demanding freedoms no country would want them to have in the 1st place
Well it's Iran again, I never know what to say. I always feel like Iran is or will in the end help al-Qaida or there current countries and hurt the US and Israel with help and nuclear weapons. The US would have liked these detainees and otherwise its good work of Iran. I love to hear and see Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on TV and have missed him. I guess a lot of bad of Iran now and in the future and Iran seems to do the same of us. Maybe they are not that bad, in the movies they seem ok. I don’t know but if they can help us find al-Qaida, then they are a great help. Maybe they are only looking to protect themselves and that is ok. I’d watch out for Israel, they may attack still. I wish I could help Iran but there is no way for me to do so.
This does tend to refute the neo-con theories of global jihad; the terrorists just are not that organized. All the fear mongering has created a global threat out of a couple of camel jockies (this is not intended to be racist, more to indicate that these were a couple of losers) that got lucky in 2001, causing us to waste trillions of dollars. It was our reaction that made them successful, not their actions.
Taking a bath or getting out of bed is still more dangerous than all of these terrorists; yet we did not give up civil liberties due to the risk from beds and bathtubs.
That would depending on how much effort you expend climbing over the fat lady in bed with you & if she wakes up or not ---- Or how many "liberties" you surrendered to get her in bed
More people died slipping in bath tubs in the last 10 years than have died from terrorist attacks.
Shouldn't we prioritize our efforts based on which threats are more dangerous? We have given these losers power by making them the 'enemy in the war on terror' ... but there is no terrorist army to fight. Instead, we have gotten caught up in regional conflicts that have been going on for thousands of years, and will continue for thousands of years after we leave.
Look at the way Osama was living, in hiding, in fear of our finding him. He was a joke.
Jim: thanks for the humor. It's too easy to take our selves too seriously at times.
Dubai, not Dubia. Historical note: The moslems are no more monolithic than the communists were. Iran is Shia, AlQaeda is Sunni. These are the two main moslem sects. They have never gotten along. The Chinese Coms hated the Russians because until near the end of WWII the Russians had supported Chiang, not the Coms. The Russians became aware tha Chiang had lees support than Mao, and switched their backing. The Soviets did not want a large Communist nation right across the Amur River, but when they saw that Chiang was on borrowed time, they did what they thought they had to. As for Iraq, remember that Saddam was the leader of the Sunni minority, which is why so may Iraqis (Shias)) didn`t like him.
bywood,,,, Same God as yours, Same evangelism with the same ending, waiting on a savior from heaven --- Just a different prophet & book
Look it up! Monotheism was the rage after the father of both Judaism & Islam invented it
Steve, please post the legitimate research study, source or document used to know how many people died in bathtubs. Else, you're simply showing your lack of knowledge or credibility.
Osama Bin Laden was Sunni Muslim. The Iranians are Shiite. No way are they ever going to work on anything together. The Sunni and Shiite have fought one another for centuries. What do you think the war in Syria is about? Democracy? The Alawites minority who control the government in Syria are supported by the Shiite in Iran against the Sunni majority in Syria. The war has nothing to do with democracy or with us. If McCaine had been elected President, we would be in Syria fighting who knows who. No thanks I do not need another Republican President to get us into another war.
ruby, I think you're lying.
I'm ready to see them throwdown on Jerry Springer's show.
Who? Rubyhoward & her neighbor, or her neighbor's step-mother & Ruby for ratting her out?
Is anyone surprised? AlQaeda are Sunni, Iran is Shiite...The one looks upon the other as heretical...its as simple as that...
But, we will likely see, down the road, out of Afghanistan and Pakistan, Taliban and other fanatics tieing up with Iran as Iran begins to fund activities against "Christian" Russia....All Iran has to do is use the "religion card" against the true "infidel" next door and we will begin to see something real interesting.
Russia is so silly in holding onto its 19-20th Century concepts and Iran is taking all it can get in the meantime...and just biding its time while the Northern Hemisphere muslims begin to look beyond what divides them and focuses on what unites them....and what better catalist than Iran...
You can say you "read it" here....duhhh?
Anybody with half a brian KNOWS the 100 billion dollar war with Iraq was all about George W saving face after Saddam Hussein threated to kill George Sr for kicking his sorry a^^&^& out of Kuwait COUPLED WITH Dick Cheney's love of war and all the money it would bring Haliburton, It NEVER had anyghing to do with 9/11 or weaposn of mass destruction. But, you'll never hear anybody from the Tea Party say.."boy, what a waste of money and good soldier thanks to the incompetent president and his sleazy admistration..." Everything is Obama's fault. Oh year, he got Bin Laden (George W didn't) but he's weak on national interests...When the Tea Party goes away, I might consider looking at republican candidates again..
Al Qaeda kidnapped an Iranian official in order to get bin-Laden relatives released. There appears to be a boxing match between Sunni Islamic terrorists and the radical Shi-ite dictatorship in Iran. It reminds of an interview with Israeli prime minister, Menachem Begin, during the Iran-Iraq war. He was asked which side Israel supported, the Sunni controlled dictatorship of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, or the the Shi-ite controlled dictatorship in Iran. PM Begin answered, "We wish both sides luck." If the civilized world was smart they would utilize the conflict between radical Islamic Sunnis and radical Islamic Shias to defeat their war of aggression being waged against civilization.
So from this article we can get the impression that it’s the US vs Al’Qaeda, Al’Qaeda vs Iran and Iran Vs the US? Hmmmmm does anybody else think this whole war on Islamic terror is far more complex than what many people want claim it is?
Guess this means simple solutions just ain't going to work eh?