"Osamagate"

"Now the Taliban will pay a price'' vowed    President George W. Bush as
American and British fighter planes unleashed    missile attacks against
major cities in Afghanistan. The US Administration    claims that Osama bin
Laden is behind the tragic events of the 11th of    September. A major war
supposedly "against international terrorism" has been    launched, yet the
evidence amply confirms that agencies of the US government    have since
the Cold War harbored the "Islamic Militant Network" as part of
Washington's foreign policy agenda. In a bitter irony, the US Air Force is
targeting the training camps established in the 1980s by the CIA.

The    main justification for waging this war has been totally fabricated.
The    American people have been deliberately and consciously misled by
their    government into supporting a major military adventure which
affects our    collective future.


"OSAMAGATE"

by

Michel    Chossudovsky
Professor of Economics, University of    Ottawa



Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG) at    http://globalresearch.ca,
8 October 2001

The URL of this artcile is is:
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO110A.html


Confronted with    mounting evidence, the US Administration can no longer
deny its links to    Osama. While the CIA admits that Osama bin Laden was
an "intelligence asset"    during the Cold War, the relationship is said to
"go way back". Most news    reports consider that these Osama-CIA links
belong to the "bygone era" of the    Soviet-Afghan war. They are invariably
viewed as "irrelevant" to an    understanding of present events. Lost in
the barrage of recent history, the    role of the CIA in supporting and
developing international terrorist    organisations during the Cold war and
its aftermath is casually ignored or    downplayed by the Western media.

Yes, We did support Him, but "He Went    Against Us"

A blatant example of media distortion is the so-called    "blowback"
thesis: "intelligence assets" are said to "have gone against their
sponsors"; "what we've created blows back in our face."1   In a    twisted
logic, the US government and the CIA are portrayed as the ill-fated
victims:

"The sophisticated methods taught to the Mujahideen, and the    thousands
of tons of arms supplied to them by the US - and Britain - are now
tormenting the West in the phenomenon known as  `blowback', whereby a
policy strategy rebounds on its own devisers." 2

The US media,    nonetheless, concedes that "the Taliban's coming to power
[in 1995] is partly    the outcome of the U.S. support of the Mujahideen,
the radical Islamic group,    in the 1980s in the war against the Soviet
Union".3 But it also readily    dismisses its own factual statements and
concludes in chorus, that the CIA had    been tricked by a deceitful
Osama.  It's like "a son going against his    father". 

The "blowback" thesis is a fabrication. The evidence    amply confirms that
the CIA never severed its ties to the "Islamic Militant    Network". Since
the end of the Cold War, these covert intelligence links have    not only
been maintained, they have in become increasingly    sophisticated.

New undercover initiatives financed by the Golden    Crescent drug trade
were set in motion in Central Asia, the Caucasus and the    Balkans.
Pakistan's military and intelligence apparatus (controlled by the    CIA)
essentially "served as a catalyst for the disintegration of the Soviet
Union and the emergence of six new Muslim republics in Central Asia."    4

Replicating the Iran Contragate Pattern

Remember Ollie North    and the Nicaraguan Contras under the Reagan
Administration when weapons    financed by the drug trade were channeled to
"freedom fighters" in    Washington's covert war against the Sandinista
government. The same pattern    was used in the Balkans to arm and equip
the Mujahideen fighting in the ranks    of the Bosnian Muslim army against
the Armed Forces of the Yugoslav  Federation.




Throughout the 1990s, the Pakistan Inter    Services Intelligence (ISI) was
used by the CIA as a go-between -- to channel    weapons and Mujahideen
mercenaries to the Bosnian Muslim Army in the civil war    in Yugoslavia.
According to a report of the London based International Media
Corporation:

"Reliable sources report that the United States is now    [1994] actively
participating in the arming and training of the Muslim forces    of
Bosnia-Herzegovina in direct contravention of the United Nations
accords.  US agencies have been providing weapons made in  & China (PRC),
North Korea (DPRK) and Iran.  The sources indicated that  & Iran, with the
knowledge and agreement of the US Government, supplied the Bosnian forces
with    a large number of multiple rocket launchers and a large quantity of
ammunition.  These included 107mm and 122mm rockets from the PRC, and
VBR-230 multiple rocket launchers  & made in Iran.  & It was [also]
reported    that 400 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (Pasdaran)
arrived in    Bosnia with a large supply of arms and ammunition. It was
alleged that the US    Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had full knowledge
of the operation and that    the CIA believed that some of the 400 had been
detached for future terrorist    operations in Western Europe.

During September and October [1994],    there has been a stream of "Afghan"
Mujahedin  & covertly landed in Ploce,    Croatia (South-West of Mostar)
from where they have traveled with false papers     & before deploying with
the Bosnian Muslim forces in the Kupres, Zenica and    Banja Luka areas. 
These forces have recently [late 1994] experienced a    significant degree
of military success.  They have, according to sources    in Sarajevo, been
aided by the UNPROFOR Bangladesh battalion, which took over    from a
French battalion early in September [1994].

The Mujahedin    landing at Ploce are reported to have been accompanied by
US Special Forces    equipped with high-tech communications equipment,  &
The sources said that the    mission of the US troops was to establish a
command, control, communications    and intelligence network to coordinate
and support Bosnian Muslim offensives    -- in concert with Mujahideen and
Bosnian Croat forces -- in Kupres, Zenica    and Banja Luka.  Some
offensives have recently been conducted >from within    the UN-established
safe-havens in the Zenica and Banja Luka    regions.

( &)
 
The US Administration has not restricted its    involvement to the
clandestine contravention of the UN arms embargo on the    region  &  It
[also] committed three high-ranking delegations over the    past two years
[prior to 1994] in failed attempts to bring the Yugoslav    Government into
line with US policy.  Yugoslavia is the only state in the    region to have
failed to acquiesce to US pressure.5

"From the Horse's    Mouth"

Ironically, the US Administration's undercover    military-intelligence
operations in Bosnia have been fully documented by the    Republican Party.
A lengthy Congressional report by the Republican Party    Committee (RPC)
published in 1997, largely confirms the International Media    Corporation
report quoted above. The RPC Congressional report accuses the    Clinton
administration of having "helped turn Bosnia into a militant Islamic
base" leading to the recruitment through the so-called "Militant Islamic
Network," of thousands of Mujahideen from the Muslim    world:

 "Perhaps most threatening to the SFOR mission - and more    importantly,
to the safety of the American personnel serving in Bosnia - is    the
unwillingness of the Clinton Administration to come clean with the
Congress and with the American people about its complicity in the delivery
of    weapons from Iran to the Muslim government in Sarajevo. That policy,
personally approved by Bill Clinton in April 1994 at the urging of CIA
Director-designate (and then-NSC chief) Anthony Lake and the U.S.
ambassador    to Croatia Peter Galbraith, has, according to the Los Angeles
Times (citing    classified intelligence community sources), "played a
central role in the    dramatic increase in Iranian influence in Bosnia.

( &)

"Along    with the weapons, Iranian Revolutionary Guards and VEVAK
intelligence    operatives entered Bosnia in large numbers, along with
thousands of mujahedin    ("holy warriors") from across the Muslim world.
Also engaged in the effort    were several other Muslim countries
(including Brunei, Malaysia, Pakistan,    Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Turkey)
and a number of radical Muslim organizations.    For example, the role of
one Sudan-based "humanitarian organization," called    the Third World
Relief Agency, has been well documented. The Clinton    Administration's
"hands-on" involvement with the Islamic network's arms    pipeline included
inspections of missiles from Iran by U.S. government    officials & the
Third World Relief Agency (TWRA), a Sudan-based, phoney    humanitarian
organization  & has been a major link in the arms pipeline to    Bosnia.  &
TWRA is believed to be connected with such fixtures of the Islamic
terror network as Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman (the convicted mastermind behind
the    1993 World Trade Center bombing) and Osama Bin Laden, a wealthy
Saudi émigré    believed to bankroll numerous militant groups. [Washington
Post, 9/22/96]  "6




Complicity of the Clinton    Administration

In other words, the Republican Party Committee report    confirms
unequivocally the complicity of the Clinton Administration with    several
Islamic fundamentalist organisations including Osama bin Laden's al
Qaeda.

The Republicans wanted at the time to undermine the Clinton
Administration. However, at a time when the entire country had its eyes
riveted on the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the Republicans no doubt chose not
to    trigger an untimely "Iran-Bosniagate" affair, which might have unduly
diverted    public attention away from the Lewinsky scandal. The
Republicans wanted to    impeach Bill Clinton "for having lied to the
American People" regarding his    affair with White House intern Monica
Lewinsky. On the more substantive    "foreign policy lies" regarding drug
running and covert operations in the    Balkans, Democrats and Republicans
agreed in unison, no doubt pressure by the    Pentagon and the CIA not to
"spill the beans".

From Bosnia to    Kosovo

The "Bosnian pattern" described in the 1997 Congressional RPC    report was
replicated in Kosovo. With the complicity of NATO and the US State
Department. Mujahideen mercenaries from the Middle East and Central Asia
were    recruited to fight in the ranks of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)
in    1998-99, largely supporting NATO's war effort.

Confirmed by British    military sources, the task of arming and training
of the KLA had been    entrusted in 1998 to the US Defence Intelligence
Agency (DIA) and Britain's    Secret Intelligence Services MI6, together
with "former and serving members of    22 SAS [Britain's 22nd Special Air
Services Regiment], as well as three    British and American private
security companies".7
 
The US DIA    approached MI6 to arrange a training programme for the KLA,
said a senior    British military source. `MI6 then sub-contracted the
operation to two British    security companies, who in turn approached a
number of former members of the    (22 SAS) regiment. Lists were then drawn
up of weapons and equipment needed by    the KLA.' While these covert
operations were continuing, serving members of 22    SAS Regiment, mostly
from the unit's D Squadron, were first deployed in Kosovo    before the
beginning of the bombing campaign in March. 8

While British    SAS Special Forces in bases in Northern Albania were
training the KLA,    military instructors from Turkey and Afghanistan
financed by the "Islamic    jihad" were collaborating in training the KLA
in guerilla and diversion    tactics.9: 

 "Bin Laden had visited Albania himself. He was    one of several
fundamentalist groups that had sent units to fight in Kosovo,    ... Bin
Laden is believed to have established an operation in Albania in 1994
... Albanian sources say Sali Berisha, who was then president, had links
with    some groups that later proved to be extreme    fundamentalists".10

Congressional Testimonies on KLA-Osama    Links

According to Frank Ciluffo of the Globalized Organised Crime    Program, in
a testimony presented to the House of Representatives Judicial    Committee:

"What was largely hidden from public view was the fact that    the KLA
raise part of their funds from the sale of narcotics. Albania and    Kosovo
lie at the heart of the "Balkan Route" that links the "Golden Crescent"
of Afghanistan and Pakistan to the drug markets of Europe. This route is
worth    an estimated $400 billion a year and handles 80 percent of heroin
destined for    Europe.11

According to Ralf Mutschke of Interpol's Criminal    Intelligence division
also in a testimony to the House Judicial    Committee:

"The U.S.  State Department listed the KLA  as a    terrorist organization,
indicating  that it was financing its operations    with money from the
international heroin trade and loans from Islamic    countries and
individuals, among them allegedly Usama bin Laden" . Another    link to bin
Laden is the fact that the brother of a leader in an Egyptian    Jihad
organization and also a military commander of Usama bin Laden, was
leading an elite KLA unit during the Kosovo conflict. "12

Madeleine    Albright Covets the KLA

These KLA links to international terrorism and    organised crime
documented by the US Congress were totally ignored by the    Clinton
Administration. In fact, in the months preceding the bombing of
Yugoslavia, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was busy building a
"political legitimacy" for the KLA. The paramilitary army had --from one
day    to the next-- been elevated to the status of a bona fide
"democratic" force in    Kosovo. In turn, Madeleine Albright has forced the
pace of international    diplomacy: the KLA had been spearheaded into
playing a central role in the    failed "peace negotiations" at
Rambouiillet in early 1999.




The Senate and the House tacitly endorse    State Terrorism

While the various Congressional reports confirmed that    the US government
had been working hand in glove with Osama bin Laden's Al    Qaeda, this did
not prevent the Clinton and later the Bush Administration from    arming
and equipping the KLA. The Congressional documents also confirm that
members of the Senate and the House knew the relationship of the
Administration to international terrorism. To quote the statement of Rep.
John    Kasich of the House Armed Services Committee: "We connected
ourselves [in    1998-99] with the KLA, which was the staging point for bin
Laden &"    13

In the wake of the tragic events of September 11, Republicans and
Democrats in unison have given their full support to the President to "wage
war on Osama".

In 1999, Senator Jo Lieberman had stated authoritatively    that "Fighting
for the KLA is fighting for human rights and American values."    In the
hours following the October 7 missile attacks on Afghanistan, the same
Jo Lieberman called for punitive air strikes against Iraq: "We're in a war
against terrorism & We can't stop with bin Laden and the Taliban." Yet
Senator    Jo Lieberman, as member of the Armed Services Committee of the
Senate had    access to all the Congressional documents pertaining to
"KLA-Osama" links. In    making this statement, he was fully aware that
agencies of the US government    as well as NATO were supporting
international terrorism.

The War in    Macedonia

In the wake of the 1999 war in Yugoslavia, the terrorist    activities of
the KLA were extended into Southern Serbia and Macedonia.    Meanwhile, the
KLA --renamed the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC)-- was elevated    to United
Nations status, implying the granting of "legitimate" sources of    funding
through United Nations as well as through bilateral channels,    including
direct US military aid.  

And barely two months    after the official inauguration of the KPC under
UN auspices (September 1999),    KPC-KLA commanders - using UN resources
and equipment - were already preparing    the assaults into Macedonia, as a
logical follow-up to their terrorist    activities in Kosovo. According to
the Skopje daily Dnevnik, the KPC had    established a "sixth operation
zone" in Southern Serbia and    Macedonia:

"Sources, who insist on anonymity, claim that the    headquarters of the
Kosovo protection brigades [i.e. linked to the UN    sponsored KPC] have
[March 2000] already been formed in Tetovo, Gostivar and    Skopje. They
are being prepared in Debar and Struga [on the border with    Albania] as
well, and their members have defined codes." 16

According    to the BBC, "Western special forces were still training the
guerrillas"    meaning that they were assisting the KLA in opening up "a
sixth operation    zone" in Southern Serbia and Macedonia. 17

"The Islamic Militant    Network" and NATO join hands in Macedonia

Among the foreign mercenaries    now fighting in Macedonia (October 2001)
in the ranks of self-proclaimed    National Liberation Army (NLA), are
Mujahideen from the Middle East and the    Central Asian republics of the
former Soviet Union. Also within the KLA's    proxy force in Macedonia are
senior US military advisers from a private    mercenary outfit on contract
to the Pentagon as well as "soldiers of fortune"    from Britain, Holland
and Germany. Some of these Western mercenaries had    previously fought
with the KLA and the Bosnian Muslim Army.    18

Extensively documented by the Macedonian press and statements of the
Macedonian authorities, the US government and the "Islamic Militant
Network"    are working hand in glove in supporting and financing the
self-proclaimed    National Liberation Army (NLA), involved in the
terrorist attacks in    Macedonia. The NLA is a proxy of the Kosovo
Liberation Army (KLA). In turn the    KLA and the UN sponsored Kosovo
Protection Corps (KPC) are identical    institutions with the same
commanders and military personnel. KPC Commanders    on UN salaries are
fighting in the NLA together with the Mujahideen.

In    a bitter twist, while supported and financed by Osama bin Laden's Al
Qaeda,    the KLA-NLA is also supported by NATO and the United Nations
mission to Kosovo    (UNMIK). In fact, the "Islamic Militant Network"
--also using Pakistan's Inter    Service Intelligence (ISI) as the CIA's
go-between-- still constitutes an    integral part of Washington's covert
military-intelligence operations in    Macedonia and Southern Serbia.




The KLA-NLA terrorists are funded >from US    military aid, the United
Nations peace-keeping budget as well as by several    Islamic organisations
including Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda. Drug money is also    being used to
finance the terrorists with the complicity of the US government.    The
recruitment of Mujahideen to fight in the ranks of the NLA in Macedonia is
implemented through various Islamic groups.

US military advisers mingle    with Mujahideen within the same paramilitary
force, Western mercenaries from    NATO countries fight alongside
Mujahideen recruited in the Middle East and    Central Asia.  And the US
media calls this a "blowback" where so-called    "intelligence assets" have
gone against their sponsors!

But this did    not happen during the Cold war! It is happening right now
in Macedonia. And it    is confirmed by numerous press reports, eyewitness
accounts, photographic    evidence as well as official statements by the
Macedonian Prime Minister, who    has accused the Western military alliance
of supporting the terrorists.    Moreover, the official Macedonian New
Agency (MIA) has pointed to the    complicity between Washington's envoy
Ambassador James Pardew and the NLA    terrorists.19 In other words, the
so-called "intelligence assets" are still    serving the interests of their
US sponsors.

Pardew's background is    revealing in this regard. He started his Balkans
career in 1993 as a senior    intelligence officer for the Joint Chiefs of
Staff responsible for channeling    US aid to the Bosnian Muslim Army.
Coronel Pardew had been put in charge of    arranging the "air-drops" of
supplies to Bosnian forces. At the time, these    "air drops" were tagged
as "civilian aid". It later transpired --confirmed by    the RPC
Congressional report-- that the US had violated the arms embargo. And
James Pardew played an important role as part of the team of intelligence
officials working closely with the Chairman of the National Security
Council    Anthony Lake.

Pardew was later involved in the Dayton negotiations    (1995) on behalf of
the US Defence Department. In 1999, prior to the bombing    of Yugoslavia,
he was appointed "Special Representative for Military    Stabilisation and
Kosovo Implementation" by President Clinton. One of his    tasks was to
channel support to the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which at the    time
was also being supported by Osama bin Laden. Pardew was in this regard
instrumental in replicating the "Bosnian pattern" in Kosovo and
subsequently    in Macedonia &

Justification for Waging War

The Bush    Administration has stated that it has proof that Osama bin
Laden is behind the    attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon. In the words of
British Prime Minister    Tony Blair: "I have seen absolutely powerful and
incontrovertible evidence of    his [Osama] link to the events of the 11th
of September."20 What Tony Blair    fails to mention is that agencies of
the US government including the CIA    continue to "harbor" Osama bin
Laden's Al Qaeda.

A major war supposedly    "against international terrorism" has been
launched by a government which is    harboring international terrorism as
part of its foreign policy agenda. In    other words, the main
justification for waging war has been totally    fabricated. The American
people have been deliberately and consciously misled    by their government
into supporting a major military adventure which affects    our collective
future.

This decision to mislead the American people was    taken barely a few
hours after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade    Centre. Without
supporting evidence, Osama had already been tagged as the    "prime
suspect." Two days later on Thursday the 13th of September --while the
FBI investigations had barely commenced-- President Bush pledged to "lead
the    world to victory". The Administration confirmed its intention to
embark on "a    sustained military campaign rather than a single dramatic
action" directed    against Osama bin Laden. 21 In addition to Afghanistan,
a number of countries    in the Middle East were mentioned as possible
targets including Iraq, Iran,    Libya and the Sudan. And several prominent
US political figures and media    pundits have demanded that the air
strikes be extended to other countries    "which harbour international
terrorism." According to intelligence sources,    Osama bin Laden's al
Qaeda has operations in some 50 to 60 countries providing    ample pretext
to intervene in several "rogue states" in the Middle East and    Central
Asia.




Moreover, the entire US Legislature --with    only one honest and
courageous dissenting voice in the House of    Representatives-- has
tacitly endorsed the Administration's decision to go    war. Members of the
House and the Senate have access through the various    committees to
official confidential reports and intelligence documents which    prove
beyond doubt that agencies of the US government have ties to
international terrorism. They cannot say "we did not know". In fact, most
of    this evidence is in the public domain.

Under the historical resolution    of the US Congress adopted by both the
House and the Senate on the 14th of    September:

"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."

Whereas there    is no evidence that agencies of the US government "aided
the terrorist    attacks" on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, there
is ample and    detailed evidence that agencies of the US government as
well as NATO have    since the end of the Cold War continued to "harbor
such    organizations".

Patriotism cannot be based on a falsehood, particularly    when this
falsehoods constitutes the pretext for waging    war.

Ironically, the text of the Congressional resolution also    constitutes a
"blowback" against the US sponsors of international terrorism.    The
resolution does not exclude the conduct of an "Osamagate" inquiry, as well
as appropriate actions against agencies and/or individuals of the US
government, who may have collaborated with Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda. And
the    evidence indelibly points directly to the Bush    Administration.



Notes

1 United Press International    (UPI), 15 September 2001.

2. The Guardian, London, 15 September    2001.

3.  UPI, op cit,

4. For further details see Michel    Chossudovsky, Who is Osama bin Laden,
Centre for Research on Globalisation, 12    September 2001, 
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO109C.html.

5. International Media    Corporation Defense and Strategy Policy, US
Commits Forces, Weapons to Bosnia,    London, 31 October 1994.

6. Congressional Press Release, Republican    Party Committee (RPC), US
Congress, Clinton-Approved Iranian Arms Transfers    Help Turn Bosnia into
Militant Islamic Base, 16 January 1997, available on the    website of the
Centre of Research on Globalisation (CRG)  at
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/DCH109A.html. The original document is on
the website of the US Senate Republican Party Committee (Senator Larry
Craig),    at http://www.senate.gov/~rpc/releases/1997/iran.htm)

7. The Scotsman,    Glasgow, 29 August 1999.
 
8. Ibid.
9. Truth in Media, Kosovo in    Crisis, Phoenix, Arizona, 2 April 1999

10. Sunday Times, London, 29    November 1998.

11. US Congress, Testimony of  Frank J. Cilluffo ,    Deputy Director,
Global Organized Crime, Program director to the House    Judiciary
Committee, 13 December 2000. 

12. US Congress, Testimony    of Ralf Mutschke of Interpol's Criminal
Intelligence Division, to the House    Judicial Committee, 13 December
2000. 

13 US Congress, Transcripts    of the House Armed Services Committee, 5
October 1999,

14.  Quoted    in the Boston Herald, 19 March 2001.
15.  Quoted in Knight Ridder    News, 8 October 2001.

16. Macedonian Information Centre Newsletter,    Skopje, 21 March 2000,
published by BBC Summary of World Broadcast, 24 March    2000.

17.  BBC, 29 January 2001,    at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1142000/1142478.stm)

18.     Scotland on Sunday, Glasgow, 15 June 2001 at 
http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/text_only.cfm?id=SS01025960, see also UPI,
9    July 2001. For further details see Michel Chossudovsky, Washington
behind    Terrorist Assaults in Macedonia, Centre for Research on
Globalisation, August    2001, at
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO108B.html.)

19.     Macedonian Information Agency (MIA), 26 September 2001, available
at the    Centre for Research on Globalisation at
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/MNA110A.html




20.  Quoted in The DailyTelegraph,    London, 1 October 2001.

21. Statement by official following the speech    by President George Bush
on 14 September 2001 quoted in the International    Herald Tribune, Paris,
14 September 2001.


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