The Bush cartel just can't say goodbye to old business buddies.
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Dubai's Port of No Return
Don't jump to conclusions, but there are ties between the UAE, bin Laden,
and the Taliban
by James Ridgeway
February 22nd, 2006
WASHINGTON, D.C.-No matter what Bush and his supporters say, there is
indisputable evidence of tight connections between the United Arab Emirates
and leadership of both the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The country is the center
of financial activity in the Persian Gulf, and has next to no laws
controlling money laundering.Two of the hijackers came from the UAE and
hijacker money was laundered through the UAE. The details are spelled out in
documents in the government's case against Moussaoui.
The ties with bin Laden and the Taliban reach far back into the '90s.
Prominent Persian Gulf officials, including members of the UAE royal family,
and businessmen would fly to Kandahar on UAE and private jets for hunting
expeditions, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2001. In addition to ranking
UAE ministers, these parties included Saudi big wigs like Prince Turki, the
former Saudi intelligence minister who now is ambassador to the U.S.
General Wayne Downing, Bush's former national director for combating
terrorism, was quoted on MSNBC in September, 2003 saying, "They would go out
and see Osama, spend some time with him, talk with him, you know, live out
in the tents, eat the simple food, engage in falconing, some other pursuits,
ride horses. One noted visitor is Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktum,
United Arab Emirates Defense Minister and Crown Prince for the emirate of
Dubai.''
Bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar joined the hunting parties, and
there are suspicions Al Qaeda and Taliban personnel are smuggled out on
returning flights.
Here is one report, sourced to the 9-11 Commission, appearing in Paul
Thompson's 9-11 timeline:
"February 1999: Bin Laden Missile Strike Called Off for Fear of Hitting
Persian Gulf Royalty. Intelligence reports foresee the presence of bin Laden
at a desert hunting camp in Afghanistan for about a week.
Information on his presence appears reliable, so preparations are made to
target his location with cruise missiles. However, intelligence also puts an
official aircraft of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and members of the royal
family from that country in the same location. Bin Laden is hunting with the
Emirati royals, as he did with leaders from the UAE and Saudi Arabia on
other occasions (see 1995-2001).
Policy makers are concerned that a strike might kill a prince or other
senior officials, so the strike never happens. A top UAE official at the
time denies that high-level officials are there, but evidence subsequently
confirms their presence. (9-11 Commission Report, 3/24/04 (B))"
It remains a key center of operations for Victor Bout, the notorious arms
dealer, with ties to Taliban and Al Qaeda. There were also ties to the
infamous BCCI.
As the Financial Times put it, in the UAE, "Western fraud investigators may
find a link here or a connection there, with a person suspected of breaking
western laws. But in Dubai, and its neighbor Sharjah, trails tend to vanish
like wind-blown tracks in desert sands . . . Secrecy keeps everyone
guessing-and speculating . . . 'Medieval feudalism' is how one senior
western banker described Dubai's style of government, 'with a veneer of 21st
century regulations.' "
http://villagevoice.com/generic/show_print.php?id=72286&page=ridgeway&issue=0609&printcde=MzQyMjEyNDM5Ng==&refpage=L25ld3MvaW5kZXgucGhwP2lzc3VlPTA2MDkmcGFnZT1yaWRnZXdheSZpZD03MjI4Ng==
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They Knew...
Despite the whitewash, we now know that the Bush administration was warned
before the war that its Iraq claims were weak
http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/they_knew_0802/
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A published report says a top al-Qaida operative in U.S. custody gave false
information later used by the Bush administration to support its contention
that Iraq trained al-Qaida militants to use illegal weapons.
The New York Times reports Sunday that newly declassified portions of a
February 2002 Defense Intelligence Agency document says Ibn al-Shaykh
al-Libi misled debriefers in his claims about Iraq's work with al-Qaida
members.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/library/news/2005/intell-051106-voa01.htm
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