A chutzpah award goes to CNN's Anderson Cooper for pushing that canard even after reading Bergen's book.

NOTE: "Al-Qaeda" by Jason Burke is the book I recommend.

It is outrageous for people to deny that bin Laden has been angry about U.S. support of Israel for a long time, for decades. Nearly everyone in the region thinks the US policies are wrong, why in the world wouldn't bin Laden share the same grievances? It makes no sense to insist bin Laden isn't actually angered by the same policies nearly everyone else is. (unless of course you are trying to dupe the public into thinking the policies have nothing to do with why we are being attacked) In 1984, Jamal Ismail met Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was 27 at the time and he made it clear even then that he didn't like U.S. support of Israel. Ismail said that bin Laden did not talk much but he did know how bin Laden felt about U.S. support of Israel: "I knew from the beginning that [bin Laden] was not willing to drink any soft drinks from American companies, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Sprite, 7-Up. He was trying to boycott all American products because he believed that without Americans, Israel cannot exist." p39 The Osama Bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader Peter Bergen The NYT's Thomas Friedman lies about bin Laden and Palestine but the fact is bin Laden has talked about Palestine for years. Peter Bergen points out that lies have been pushed: "conventional wisdom has it that bin Laden adopted the Palestinians issue only recently. Reading this declaration [the first declaration of war, issued in 1996] SHOULD PUT THAT CANARD TO REST." p164 The Bin Laden I Know, Peter Bergen

A chutzpah award goes to CNN's Anderson Cooper for pushing that canard even after reading Bergen's book. Anderson Cooper's pro-Israel bias is so extreme that even after reading Bergen's book, he still insisted on pushing the same canard. Cooper was actually interviewing Peter Bergen and says to him: "It -- it's interesting, also, to hear them reference Palestinians. As -- as I read in your book "The Osama Bin Laden I Know: The Oral History of Osama bin Laden," I mean, bin Laden wasn't talking about Palestinians from the get-go." Bergen looked uncomfortable in having to explain to Cooper, "Well, he -- he has always been interested in the Palestinian issue." Yet he also adds, "But he -- but they weren't really involved." which isn't correct! If encouraging militants to attack the U.S. for specific reasons like U.S. support of Israel and other foreign policies in the Middle East isn't being involved then what is? - ANDERSON COOPER 360 DEGREES Aired July 27, 2006

In the 1996 declaration, bin Laden wrote, "I still feel the pain of Al Quds [Jerusalem] in my internal organs" "My Muslim Brothers of The World: Your brothers in Palestine and in the land of the two Holy Places are calling upon your help and asking you to take part in fighting against the enemy --your enemy and their enemy-- the Americans and the Israelis" "It should not be hidden from you that the people of Islam had suffered from aggression, iniquity and injustice imposed on them by the Zionist-Crusaders alliance and their collaborators; to the extent that the Muslims blood became the cheapest and their wealth as loot in the hands of the enemies. Their blood was spilled in Palestine and Iraq. The horrifying pictures of the massacre of Qana [when Israeli forces struck a UN compound on April 18, 1996, killing one hundred] in Lebanon are still fresh in our memory. " p 165 Bergen (see the 1996 declaration of war) Osama bin Laden delivered in a videotaped message which aired on the Arab language network Al-Jazeera October 29, 2004. Transcript of his speech translated by CNN. In this speech, bin Laden says his motivation to attack the twin towers is rooted in U.S. support for Israel's attack on Lebanon: "But after the injustice was so much and we saw transgressions and the coalition between Americans and the Israelis against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, it occurred to my mind that we deal with the towers. And these special events that directly and personally affected me go back to 1982 and what happened when America gave permission for Israel to invade Lebanon. And as I was looking at those towers that were destroyed in Lebanon, it occurred to me that we have to punish the transgressor with the same -- and that we had to destroy the towers in America so that they taste what we tasted, and they stop killing our women and children." Osama bin Laden explained once again that Bush's claims about why they attack us are wrong: "Contrary to what [President George W.] Bush says and claims -- that we hate freedom --let him tell us then, "Why did we not attack Sweden?" It is known that those who hate freedom don't have souls with integrity, like the souls of those 19. [The 19 hijackers of 9/11] May the mercy of God be upon them. We fought with you because we are free, and we don't put up with transgressions. We want to reclaim our nation. As you spoil our security, we will do so to you." - "Why did we not attack Sweden?"

There is no logical reason to think bin Laden would not be in agreement with Abdallah Azzam, who was born in Palestine and was an "early spiritual mentor" of Osama bin Laden, about Palestine. (see page 2 of "Al-Qaeda" by Jason Burke ) There is no evidence that bin Laden isn't actually angered by the specific foreign policies he complains about. It is extremely unlikely that bin Laden didn't actually object to the specific foreign policies that he complains about, millions and millions of other people object to the same policies, by what "logic" would it be that bin Laden would be in a extremely small minority that "doesn't care" about the policies or thinks they are fine? Contrary to the insistences of some people who deny that specific US policies have nothing to do with why we are getting attacked (they also don't want the specific US policies to be stopped), there is no evidence that bin Laden isn't actually angered by the specific foreign policies that he and others have complained about and have clearly stated for years.

It is beyond the pale for Zionists to lie to us about why we were attacked on 9/11.

Mainstream media certainly has not made it easy to understand what motivated the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11.

NOTE: "Al-Qaeda" by Jason Burke is the book I recommend.

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