From: "Eli Pariser" <bulletin@9-11peace.org>
To: <9-11peace@complete.org>
Subject: The C.I.A. and Afghanistan
Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 08:14:59 -0500
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9-11PEACE.ORG BULLETIN, Issue 5
Available online at http://www.9-11peace.org/bulletin.php3

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CONTENTS
---------
1. Introduction: The Origins of Blowback
2. Foreign Policy Primer: The Big Picture
3. What Did the C.I.A. Know?
4. The Future
5. Ask an Expert
6. Featured Action
7. Get Involved
8. About the Bulletin


INTRODUCTION: THE ORIGINS OF BLOWBACK
--------------------------------------
In spook-speak, the term is "blowback."  Originally, it was
used to refer to a cloud of radioactive gas left over after
an atomic bomb test that blows back over the study center.
Now, it refers to individuals or groups who received
training from US operatives and who later turned against us.
Think Manuel Noriega.  Think Saddam Hussein.  Think Osama
bin Laden.

The roots of Sept. 11 go back to 1979, just prior to the
Soviets invasion of Afghanistan.  In response, the United
States launched the largest covert operation in American
history, funneling millions of dollars in supplies and
weapons to fighters in Afghanistan.  The U.S. used Arab
Afghans -- a group that included Osama bin Laden -- and
others who were resisting the Soviet invasion as financiers
and troops in a proxy war that was meant to be the
U.S.S.R.'s Vietnam.  At the time, Osama bin Laden and others
like him were hailed as "freedom fighters", not terrorists.
The guns and money provided by the U.S. were distributed by
the I.S.I., Pakistan's intelligence agency.  And in an
unprecedented move, Stinger missiles were distributed to the
forces that the U.S. was backing.  American troops now face
Taliban soldiers wielding the missiles we supplied them with
little more than a decade ago.

The argument that the U.S. government makes is that
collapsing the Soviet Union was well worth the price of
creating well-trained terrorist forces in the Middle East
(as well as a thriving heroin market that didn't exist
before the C.I.A. became involved).  In fact, U.S. Senator
Orin Hatch has been reported to have said that even given
bin Laden's embassy bombings in 1996, "it was worth it" to
defeat the U.S.S.R.  But with the deaths of 5,000 Americans,
people have begun to question the wisdom of arming ruthless
killers to achieve short-term military success.

Below, we present a clear picture of the US intelligence
effort in Afghanistan in the 1980s, and show how the United
States helped to arm and train Osama bin Laden and his
allies.

Next week: Who's Who in the Northern Alliance


FOREIGN POLICY PRIMER: THE BIG PICTURE
---------------------------------------
In "Bin Laden comes home to roost," Michael Moran of MSNBC
explains how the U.S. helped to create bin Laden.  Although
the article was written in 1998, it's still a compelling
case for U.S. complicity.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/190144.asp

A funny and educational article that could also have been
titled "Afghanistan for dummies".  Read it to find out who
is "good", who is "bad", and why.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=16

David Corn argues that although the C.I.A. may not have had
direct contact with Osama bin Laden, they are ultimately
responsible for the conditions that created him.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11757

"Blowback chronicles": An article summarizing information
from several books on past actions of the C.I.A. and U.S.
foreign policy.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=18

A clear, cogent summary of the actions of the C.I.A. in
Afghanistan prior to September 11.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=15

Did the C.I.A. back the wrong factions in the war against
the Soviet Union?
http://www.9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=19

More on U.S. policy in South-western Asia.  This article
helps complete the picture by discussing C.I.A. intrigue in
Iran, the oil factor, Iraq, and the devastating effects of
U.S. foreign policy for the last fifty years.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11796


WHAT DID THE C.I.A. KNOW?
--------------------------
The attacks on September 11 have been called a massive
intelligence failure.  The C.I.A. has even publicly admitted
that it had no prior knowledge that the destruction of 9-11
would occur.  But other evidence suggests that the C.I.A.
may have known more than it's letting on.  While we are
skeptical of conspiracy theories, there remain some
startling and inexplicable events that suggest that we're
not getting the whole story.  We leave you to make the final
judgment for yourself.

Guerrilla News has provided an extremely well sourced
timeline regarding the C.I.A.'s involvement in September
11th, written by one of the journalists who exposed the (now
admitted) C.I.A. drug-running scheme in the mid-80s.
http://www.guerrillanews.com/newswire/211.html

George Bush Sr. has a longstanding connection to bin Laden's
family.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=17

An Indian report has exposed the fact that Pakistan's chief
spy, Lt. General Mahmoud Ahmad, had links with the presumed
"ring leader" of the WTC attacks, Mohamed Atta.
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO111A.html


THE FUTURE
-----------
The tragedy of September 11 is generally being used as an
opportunity to push for policy changes that will "unleash"
the C.I.A.  This will allegedly help prevent more tragedies
in the future.  This begs the question of whether giving the
C.I.A. more money and more free reign in deciding who to
work with will indeed make the world a safer place, or
whether it will simply create more people like Osama bin
Laden.

William Blum from the newsletter Counterpunch argues that
the C.I.A. was never really shackled in the first place.
http://www.counterpunch.org/blum1.html

This article argues that more money will not solve the
C.I.A.'s intelligence problem, since what they really need
is more low-tech human intelligence. The involvement of the
ISI is highlighted.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=20

What the current intelligence war looks like.  Includes
information on the Taliban's intelligence agency.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=21

The C.I.A. is already unleashed anyway.  Bush decides to
allow the C.I.A. carry out a number of covert
assassinations, and not just in Afghanistan, either.
http://www.9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=22


FEATURED ACTIONS
-----------------
First, we encourage you once again to seek out the news that
the mainstream media will not give you.  Here are two more
sites that you may want to look at:
http://www.projectcensored.org/default.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/

One of our readers also submitted a site where you can read
Al Jazeera in English:
http://tarjim.ajeeb.com/ajeeb/default.asp?lang=1

As an organization of spies, the C.I.A. is hard to target or
pin down.  Since so much of what it does will never see the
light of day, it is difficult to keep the organization
accountable to the people and values it purportedly serves.
It seems to us that the most effective thing that you can do
is to spread the information presented in this bulletin, and
seek out more information as well.  Talk about it with
people, both those you know and strangers.  Post it to
discussion boards.  Email it to your friends.  Write letters
to key officials questioning C.I.A. involvement in
Afghanistan.  After all, the American government and the
C.I.A. won't have to answer for their actions unless
American citizens, and the rest of the world, question them.


GET INVOLVED
-------------
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ABOUT THE BULLETIN
-------------------
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