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Posted September 25, 2001
Publicity
Watched a news report on Sky News relayed to Ireland today about antiwar protests in U.S. Someone there had a simple poster that said "Antiwar.com." So I checked it out via internet and I am very glad I did.
Congratulations on site, keep up the good work. Our sincere sympathy is with the ordinary people who have suffered so much in recent days in America. Violence is not the answer to your terrible suffering. Peace will prevail in the end, it is what every normal human being desires. What a pity you have a cowboy for a President. He has poured insult upon insult to the bereaved and injured by every speech and news conference he has given.
Thank
you for a great site and I look forward to viewing it
in future. Peace to all your workers and to all people
of good will everywhere.
Mecca
I
am an enthusiastic reader of your website, but I was disturbed
by the article written by Yoichi Shimatsu ["Under
the Noses of CIA's Top Officials," September
20]. The writer alleges an incident in Mecca where 18
US servicemen were killed attempting to storm the shrine
there in 1993.
I have never heard of the incident. I have heard of allegations
that German troops were used to suppress the seizure of
the shrine at Mecca, but that was during the eighties.
I am curious about the incident alleged in that it is
the first time I heard about it and I am an avid reader,
keeping up with world events. Additionally, the author
fails to identify the soldiers, either by name or unit.
Most unusual is why would American troops be in the city
at all. All non-Muslims are banned from the holy cities
of Mecca and Medina.
The Saudi military is large. Why would any Americans be
there? Even during the Gulf War, no American troops were
there. I believe, as an editorial responsibility, you
should have the writer provide more information, or some
effort should be made on your behalf.
Yoichi Shimatsu replies:
Yes, the story is disturbing and please believe me that I was shocked upon hearing it. Some details:
They were US Air Force servicemen, which make me quite wary about the subsequent media reports about an equal number of servicemen killed in the Dharan bombing.
Second, the source is impeccable and the number is exact, I have no doubt about it.
Third, this incident illustrates the concern among leading Saudi families about the stationing of US troops on the Arabian peninsula. The WTC was bombed for the first time soon thereafter, I assume on contract.
Finally, the issue of the stock trading prior to the WTC attack. The US and G-7 authorities had a full-court press on both Osama bin Laden and various agents for Iraq. That level of insider trading could have only been conducted by an ally, not an enemy, of the US Only a member of the country club could have done it – the WTC attack has the quality of an economic crime rather than a political crime, being done to impact the economic system (punish other members of the country club) rather than furthering a political cause among the population.
The
Federal investigation so far seems to be barking up the
wrong tree. I am inclined to believe that the investigation
and all the war rhetoric is a diversion. This is a family
feud, an insider vendetta, and the White House knows it.
Very disturbing to say the least. Anyway, there were airmen
at Dharan throughout the Gulf War. Clearly, more investigation
needs to be done on the American side, given the implications
of this incident.
Process/Project Towards A New Paradigm
Thank you for this very concise article. [Yoichi Shimatsu's guest column, "Under the Noses of CIA's Top Officials," September 20]
The conclusion of the article, however, is only partially correct in my opinion.
Until it is proven otherwise, it is assumed that some group of Muslim fanatics actually destroyed the Towers and murdered thousands. Those who remain alive of that group (fanatical Muslims or not) must be apprehended and provided a court trial. Those who acted as murderers, in this present tense action, must be held accountable for their own unlawful actions no matter who trained them.
Yes, the CIA along with other American projects have historical culpability and the US foreign policy as well as the US domestic policy must likewise, in the present tense, initiate the long process/project towards a new paradigm of political and social interaction with the world and at home.
Yoichi
Shimatsu replies:
Thanks
much for the comments. International law makes no exception
for the motives of perpetrators of high crimes like the
WTC attack. The operatives who survived the attack should
be pursued and face trial, but it would be myopic to assume
that the hitmen sit at the top of the chain of command.
My article was addressing the larger issue of culpability, particularly the question of why spymasters of Western intelligence agencies and government officials are allowed to elude responsibility or even examination for the results of the state terror apparatus that they have systematically organized.
In the Twin Towers case, it seems that the operation, apparently a blowback with a long fuse, was carried out by quite sizable remnants of an organization originally assembled by the CIA and other arms of the US government. That instrument of (Western) state terrorism, may have been cut adrift, but presumably it still maintains some links with Western intelligence agencies and perhaps is conducting various and sundry assignments for their former paymasters.
In other words, the CIA officials who now fill the upper and middle echelons of the State Department know a lot more than they are letting on. I doubt if the real story will ever be disclosed.
Stated another way, I am suggesting that any investigation by the FBI, and, hopefully, independent probes by investigative journalists, should not allow a blind spot when it comes to the governmental role in, and official links with, the infrastructure of terrorism. If the trail does ultimately lead back to the corridors of power inside the Beltway, then the only responsible attitude is to let the chips fall where they may.
In investigating the Tokyo subway gassing in 1995, I led the investigative journalism team with The Japan Times Weekly (and contributed to the effort by the Japanese-language Takarajima magazine) that uncovered undeniable intelligence and weapons-transfer links between the Aum Shinrikyo sect and the highest rungs of the governments of Japan and Russia, including Yeltsin's national security adviser and leading politicians in Japan's two major parties. I am now suggesting that American journalists should not allow the patriotic sentiments of the moment to get in the way of a no-holds-barred investigation into the official investigation.
Christian Arabs
My
wife, an Arab, tells me that the name of one of the terrorists
is Christian!
Imagine if half the terrorists turn out to be Christians. So much for the notion of an Islamic jihad. It will point the finger directly at our support for Israel as the motivating factor. Just think how surprised most Americans will be, if they're ever let in on this juicy tidbit, to learn that there even are such things as Christian Arabs!
~ Ken Meyercord