The Bush administration opposed any independent investigation of 9/11. It was only due to tremendous public pressure, with the families of 9/11 victims themselves taking a lead role, that led to the 9/11 Commission being established – a commission that only with the greatest cynicism could one call "independent." The families submitted lists of questions for the 9/11 Commission to investigate and answer. One of them had to do with the alleged financing of the operation by Pakistan's ISI chief.
The Commission report is not silent on the matter of financing. No, indeed. It states that no evidence has emerged indicating the involvement of any state or government official in the attacks. What's more, it states that ultimately the question of who financed the attacks "is of little practical significance."
That's right. The 9/11 Commission concluded in its report that it isn't important to follow the money trail leading to those ultimately responsible for this crime. We know for a fact that its members were made aware of the allegations of ISI involvement, so they can't claim ignorance as an excuse. And if the Commission in fact investigated the allegations and found that they were unsubstantiated, wouldn't that be worthy of even a footnote? Instead, the report simply denies with its silence that the reports even exist and tries to convince its readers that they needn't bother to trouble themselves with the question. Don't look at that man behind the curtain.
But again we digress. Despite continuing evidence of Pakistani support for terrorists and armed militants from within the ISI and Pakistani military, the U.S. continued to back Musharraf, a dictator who seized power in a coup in 1999. The government in Washington continued to support him even as he held a fraud election last year, declared martial law, suspended the constitution, replaced judges – including on Pakistan's Supreme Court – with his own lackeys, and cracked down on his political opposition – all in the name of fighting terrorism, a cynical euphemism he could only get away with under the backing of those in Washington only too well familiar with employing the same rhetorical device to push through their own ideologically driven policies and agendas.
There is no shortage in history of governments violating human rights and freedoms in the name of security. That trend continues today, and the United States is no exception.
Returning to the point, the fact is that those who argue that the U.S. is fighting a "war on terrorism" don't have a leg to stand on. The very notion is an absurdity. The world's leading culprit of state-sponsored terrorism – the only country ever to have been found guilty of what amounts to international terrorism, the "unlawful use of force," for its proxy terrorist war against the elected government of Nicaragua (giving the U.S. the benefit of the doubt that its actions didn't amount to the even greater crime of aggression) by the World Court – cannot possibly fight a "war on terrorism."
This would be like Panama declaring under Manuel Noriega (a long-time CIA asset) that it was waging a "war on drugs."
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
