LAT: Saudi Arabia & Pakistan Aided Bin Laden,Say 9/11 Panel

[DeepModem Mom]

THE WORLD
2 Allies Aided Bin Laden, Say Panel Members
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan let terrorists flourish before 9/11, apparently in return for protection from attacks by Al Qaeda.

By Josh Meyer, Times Staff Writer


WASHINGTON — Pakistan and Saudi Arabia helped set the stage for the Sept. 11 attacks by cutting deals with the Taliban and Osama bin Laden that allowed his Al Qaeda terrorist network to flourish, according to several senior members of the Sept. 11 commission and U.S. counter-terrorism officials.

The financial aid to the Taliban and other assistance by two of the most important allies of the United States in its war on terrorism date at least to 1996, and appear to have shielded them from Al Qaeda attacks within their own borders until long after the 2001 strikes, those commission members and officials said in interviews.

"That does appear to have been the arrangement," said one senior member of the commission staff involved in investigating those relationships.

The officials said that by not cracking down on Bin Laden, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia significantly undermined efforts to combat terrorism worldwide, giving the Saudi exile the haven he needed to train tens of thousands of soldiers. They believe that the governments' funding of his Taliban protectors enabled Bin Laden to withstand international pressure and expand his operation into a global network that could carry out the Sept. 11 attacks....

(Much more from panel members on this finding)


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-alqaeda20jun20,1,440629.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[mhr]

1. You Mean Bush Is So Stupid He Attacked The Wrong Country?

eom

[stepnw1f]

2. Which Means The Administration had Ignored Their #1 Priority

to protect "We the people" from especially from terrorist nations that harbor terrorists. Oooops.... wrong country!

[rpannier]

3. That's Not A Secret

here in Asia. We've known that Saudi Arabia (and Kuwait) were funding the schools that indoctrinated young men into the Wahabi form of Islam. Pakistan financed the Taliban in their Civil War against the Muhajadeen in the nineties.
This has been known for quite some time.
That they continued to aid them after 9/11 is not totally surprising. Afterall, as much credit as we're (the US) is given to creating the fiasco in Afghanistan, in the nineties, it was Pakistan and Saudi Arabia who really created and kept alive the Taliban as a viable government.

[DeepModem Mom]

7. Thanks, rp, for insight from outside the U.S. -- n/t

[fryguy]

4. the only people who DON"T recognize the al Queda -Saudi link.....

are the same ones insisting on the tenuous al Queda - Iraq link; bush & co.....

the so-called connection that Saddam had with al Queda, according to chimp and cheney, amount to meetings - al Queda has been nearly underwritten by the Saudis for christ's sake! but the boys running the show now have their minds permanently set to Saddam that they refuse to see this....not to mention the loving business arrangements they all have with the House of Saud - wouldn't want to mess up those waters....

[varun]

5. Everyone knows about the Pakistani connection...

Money was wired to Mohammad Atta (the ringleader of the 911 hijackers) days before 9/11 from Karachi, Pakistan. Upto 80% of the population (about 150 million people) supported Osama in 2001. Pakistan was instrumental in the rise of Taliban in Afghanistan...

Bush has seriously miscalculated... He has allied with the enemies.

[FreakinDJ]

6. Oops .. We attacked the wrong country

Hey Rummy come here I got a couple more low hanging fruit for you

[Carolina]

8. no kidding!

When 15 of the 19 hijackers as well as Osama bin Laden are Saudi Arabians, I guess it takes a blue ribbon panel to tell us: guess what guys, maybe we should have been looking at Saudi Arabia. Well no shit, Sherlock. DUers have been saying that for fucking ever.

But NOOOOOOOO, 9/11 ringleader Atta allegedly met in Prague with ONE of Saddam's intelligence officers, so Saddam must be to blame. Sheesh.

Two other hijackers were from Yemen (site of the USS Cole terror attack), one was from Egypt and one was from United Arab Emirates. SO WHY THE FUCK ARE WE IN IRAQ? And why didn't anybody in the media, or better still anybody in the Democratic Party including John Kerry ever say that?!

[IronLionZion]

9. another link

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/748821.cms

If this is news to anyone, get your head out of your ass. Our "allies" hate us.