"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.


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

Copyright Michel Chossudovsky, Centre for Research on Globalisation (CRG) at
 http://glbalresearch.ca, October 2001. All rights reserved. Permission is
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