From: Dickey, Michael F (michael_f_dickey@groton.pfizer.com)
Date: Wed Jan 15 2003 - 08:49:51 MST
"Here's food for thought to those on the left that would like to claim that
people like Osama bin Laden and Mohammad Atta"
Both of these claims appear to be false, at least according to the Urban
Legends Reference page.
Claim: Oliver North stated during the 1987 Iran-Contra hearings that Osama
bin Laden was "the most evil person alive" and that "an assassin team
[should] be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth."
Status: False. From - http://www.snopes.com/rumors/north.htm
Salient points
- Senator Al Gore of Tennessee was not a member of the United States Senate
Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan
Opposition and therefore did not take part in the questioning of any
witnesses before the Committee.
- Oliver North did not testify about or speak the name Osama bin Laden
during the Iran-Contra hearings. He claimed that threats against his life
had been made by terrorist Abu Nidal, telling a congressional committee:
"I want you to know that I'd be more than willing . . . to meet Abu Nidal on
equal terms anywhere in the world. There's an even deal for him. OK? But I
am not willing to have my wife and my four children meet Abu Nidal or his
organization on his terms. "
- To the extent that bin Laden was known to the western world in 1987, it
was not as a "terrorist" but as one of the U.S.-backed "freedom fighters"
participating in the war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Osama
bin Laden's hatred of the U.S. and conversion to "terrorist" status is not
believed to have come about until the Gulf War of 1990-91
AND
Claim: A convicted terrorist released by Israel at the insistence of the
United States participated in the September 11 terrorist attacks on America.
Status: False. From - http://www.snopes.com/rumors/atta.htm Both were
named Mohammad Atta, but were in fact different individuals with the same
name.
Regards,
Michael
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Lorrey [mailto:mlorrey@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 10:28 PM
To: extropians@extropy.org
Subject: Food For Thought
Here's food for thought to those on the left that would like to claim
that people like Osama bin Laden and Mohammad Atta were in the employ
of the CIA and/or were on our most favored muslim whackjobs list in the
1980's (though it seems they were on the Democrats preference list)..
"Anyone remember this?? It was 1987! At a lecture the other day they
Were playing an old news video of Lt. Col. Oliver North testifying at
the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan Administration. There was
Ollie in front of God and country getting the third degree, but what he
said was stunning!
He was being drilled by a senator; "Did you not recently spend close To
$60,000 for a home security system?"
Ollie replied, "Yes, I did, Sir."
The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience,
"Isn't that just a little excessive?"
"No, sir," continued Ollie.
"No? And why not?" the senator asked.
"Because the lives of my family and I were threatened, sir."
"Threatened? By whom?" the senator questioned.
"By a terrorist, sir" Ollie answered.
"Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you that much?"
"His name is Osama bin Laden, sir" Ollie replied.
At this point the senator tried to repeat the name, but couldn't
pronounce it, which most people back then probably couldn't. A couple
of people laughed at the attempt. Then the senator continued. "Why are
you so afraid of this man?" the senator asked.
"Because, sir, he is the most evil person alive that I know of" Ollie
answered.
"And what do you recommend we do about him?" asked the senator.
"Well, sir, if it was up to me, I would recommend that an assassin team
be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth."
The senator disagreed with this approach, and that was all that was
shown of the clip. By the way, that senator was Al Gore.
ALSO: Terrorist pilot Mohammad Atta blew up a bus in Israel in 1986.
The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him. As part of the Oslo
agreement with the Palestinians in 1993, Israel had to agree to release
so-called "political prisoners". However, the Israelis would not
release any with blood on their hands. The American President at the
time, Bill Clinton, and his Secretary of State, Warren Christopher,
"insisted" that all prisoners be released.
Thus Mohammad Atta was freed and eventually thanked the US by flying an
airplane into Tower One of the World Trade Center. This was reported by
many of the American TV networks at the time that the terrorists were
first identified.
It was censored in the US from all later reports."
__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com
LEGAL NOTICE
Unless expressly stated otherwise, this message is confidential and may be privileged. It is intended for the addressee(s) only. Access to this E-mail by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not an addressee, any disclosure or copying of the contents of this E-mail or any action taken (or not taken) in reliance on it is unauthorized and may be unlawful. If you are not an addressee, please inform the sender immediately.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Jan 15 2003 - 17:35:51 MST