If it was Israelis (not Saudis & 1 Egyptian) behind 9/11, would USA have bombed them?

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

I seem to recall something along those lines....and most who were there in Kabul to say it, died for that stunt, too. Was it worth the joke with a fatal punchline? How many died so the Taliban could play word games and semantics?

I remember watching and reading about it as it was happening, and I didn't think it was a joke or an issue of semantics. The US has said they had proof of bin Laden's involvement in 9/11, and the Taliban called their bluff by demanding to see it before handing him over.

I don't think they actually had bin Laden anyway, and I don't think they had any doubt that the US was going to attack them no matter what, so the whole thing was (like most world events) a piece of performance art. But I did think at the time, and I still think now, that they were trying to make a public statement by getting their request for proof (and the lack of response from the US to that request) on record.

The rest of your post is spot on - I couldn't agree more.

reply to post by gardener


I'm afraid the Palestinians are the only ones who currently have that honor. Or atleast they get blamed for it.
The only way the U S could bomb Israel is get their permission first.

reply to post by magicrat


I'm not sure how you could see that request for proof any other way? Have we ever, in history to matter here, seen such a demand for proof made and honored during a pending war time situation? However much was or wasn't valid behind the scenes in all that is secondary and there may be good stories to pursue in that. Still, the back stage details aside, to the public view? They were demanding the US hash out the legal basis in the world press...which was totally absurd.

If I were the Taliban in 2001 and didn't fancy being killed in the very near future....I'd have inquired with a few different world powers, to include the Swiss and the Vatican as entities with a proven track record of being honest brokers in international situations of real stress and high stakes. That could...maybe..have accomplished something.

In terms of Mullah Omar personally having Bin Laden to meet at the Baghram Airport and hand over to a flight out? No... I don't think he had him at all, in that sense. However, it wasn't a random act of violence that assassinated the Commanding General of Northern Alliance forces (Anti-Taliban and Pro-US) days before the US strike to leave the only internal opposition within Afghanistan without clear or effective leadership. That spoke of the coordination and unified nature of what happened.

They could have easily given coordinates of where Bin Laden WAS...(again, give it to the Swiss Guards of the Vatican forces ..and they do have some rarely talked much of....) and let someone fly right in and pull him out.

...Would it have short circuited the war? Maybe..maybe not. Americans were out for blood and I was absolutely among them at that point in time. However, the world's sense of fair play and LACK of American dominance to the levels it's reached today would have made for one very interesting situation..had Bush's bluff really been called by more than demands for something no nation in history has or would do under the circumstances.

They both asked for something the other would never..EVER..give. They both insured the die was cast, and war would come.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

No, I can't think of any such demand for proof made or honored, but I can't think of any remotely similar situation to compare this to. It's as if the US demanded that the North Vietnamese give up the captain of the boat that attacked the USS Maddox, said they had proof that the captain did it, and the North Vietnamese say sure, as long as you can show everybody that proof you mentioned, and the US says so that's a no? Okay then, we're invading.

I love the idea of the Swiss Guard parachuting into the Afghan mountains to extract bin Laden - now that would have made a great movie.

They both asked for something the other would never..EVER..give. They both insured the die was cast, and war would come.

Exactly.

magicrat
reply to post by andy1972

 

Now you're the one who's joking, right? Or are you seriously saying that one of the guys in that photo is Tim Osman? And the other guy is his wife (no offence intended, but I can't tell)? And your family members in the CIA gave you a photo of the world's most notorious villain's secret identity after his death so you could share it on internet forums?

I found the photo in this article from 2008, so I assume you're joking. Anyway, it's a cool story.

Ermmm, yeah...it was a joke...thats just some Russina mafia dude and his fat wife.
But, seriously, Bin Laden from the begining to the end was a CIA operative. Once CiA always CIA.
My assumption is that an elemene, be it rogue or not, kept him one step ahead of the sniffer dogs for many years.
Thats why when he was the worlds most hunted man he met with the CIA head of station in Saudi Arabia while he was in hospital undergoing dailysis, and they didn't bother to detain him.

reply to post by andy1972

Sorry - I'm usually not so dense (I hope).