Some sources disagree...

Post #11,767 by Simon_Jester 10/4/01 12:40:15 PM Reply	Some sources disagree... We did not fund or assist Bin Laden. In fact, some cite that we assisted bin Ladin specificially because of the proposed "Communistic threat" that Reagan fought against.
Post #11,770 by bepatient 10/4/01 12:53:31 PM Reply	Haven't seen them... All I've seen is that there were weapons commitments made to the Afghan fighters. Most notably Stingers. These weapons did, in fact, turn the tide in the war against the USSR. That does NOT constitute direct assistance to Bin Laden...and the CIA operatives that I've seen say that while they were running in the same circles...Bin Laden was giving more money to them than we were....and we were definitely not giving any money or support to him directly. This is why the Taliban support him so...he was more directly involved than the US was in the war against the USSR. They owe him. But Bin Laden turned on the US when we did not leave Saudi after Desert Storm. You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! _{Laurie Anderson} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #11,778 by Fearless Freep 10/4/01 1:40:13 PM Reply	See if I can find it but.... We were supporting some of the rebels in Afghanistan but not bin Laden or the Taliban. The Taliban was created by the Pakistanis and Saudis, unknown to us, as a way of keeping a certain amount of instability in Afghanistan to prevent a pipeline from Uzbeckistan to the coast because Uzb. has a lot of oil. After the USSR was out, the the Taliban moved into the power vacuum Jay O'Connor "Going places unmapped to do things unplanned to people unsuspecting"
Post #11,952 by Simon_Jester 10/5/01 1:58:40 PM Reply	According to the sources I read (I'm looking for them...) We tried to train the Afgan fighters. But they were...um..difficult to work with. So we worked with the Muslim that moved into the area (and which were easier to train). I doubt we ever expected them to take over the country, much less attack us. These were Saudias, (according to some sources) our best allies over there bar none. Hell, we sell the Saudias some of our better defense equipment. They were fighting Communism. Why WOULDN'T we train them? (I'm looking for my sources now though.)
Post #11,955 by Simon_Jester 10/5/01 2:11:13 PM Reply	Source I was thinking of... [link\|http://msnbc.com/news/190144.asp?cp1=1\| Source ]
Post #11,958 by bepatient 10/5/01 2:26:28 PM Reply	Still... ...it was on CNN, IIRC...an interview that touched upon these issues...with a member of the CIA team...basically said that the CIA and Osama's organizations were both interested in the same objectives...there wasn't any financial support and very little military support provided directly to his organization. It was more of a "hey, Osama...find out where these Stingers are supposed to go" than a "here's a bunch of Stingers for you to distribute" kind of assistance. But in order to know for sure...we'll have to wait for those documents to be de-classified...and I've a feeling that may take a really long time. You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! _{Laurie Anderson} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #11,967 by Another Scott 10/5/01 2:55:16 PM Reply	Here's one supporting this... From Frontline [link\|http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/interviews/bearden.html\|Interview with Milton Bearden]. Cheers, Scott.
Post #11,990 by bepatient 10/5/01 4:45:26 PM Reply	Good one... ...cause thats the interview I saw...so it was PBS...not CNN. You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! _{Laurie Anderson} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #12,032 by Simon_Jester 10/5/01 10:22:42 PM Reply	A very long time.... But in order to know for sure...we'll have to wait for those documents to be de-classified...and I've a feeling that may take a really long time. if ever. Probably doesn't really matter anyway.

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