Another naive neocon writes an editorial....

[AntiFascist]

this time, in today's New York Times, Roger Cohen takes a swipe at conspiracy theorists. In "Beyond Conspiracy, Progress" he writes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/opinion/27cohen.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

no American cold-war strategist could have imagined those C.I.A.-funded Islamists turning on the United States and bringing down the twin towers in 2001.

...

Americans and Canadians training young Afghan recruits near Soviet junkyards in a faraway land must be the work of someone, a plot of international speculators, or perhaps Mossad agents who, for the grotesquely conspiracy-minded, planned 9/11.

Most of life, however, is unplanned. It’s banal, capricious, a frustration to any puppet master — which does not make it any less precious, of course, or fragile.

...

Openness is advancing, even in the Middle East. This is the age of empowerment. The back-to-the-Caliphate boys cannot resist it. Their own junkyard awaits them.

Instead of promoting war analogies, Mr. Cohen ought to take a look at the reality of what has happened in Afghanistan - according to this CBC article:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/drugs/heroin-afghanistan.html

There has a been a 49 per cent increase, just last year alone, in the opium harvest right under the noses of NATO troops. The annual harvest involves 3 million Afghans and more than $3 billion (US), almost half the GDP, and is widely said to be funding the Taliban resistance.

From a law enforcement point of view, this new business plan suggests a number of things. Among them, that the Taliban may be stockpiling heroin in large amounts, particularly in Europe, either to flood the market or trade for weapons, which may help explain a growing number of heroin addicts in Russia and Eastern Europe, where old Cold War weaponry is still available.

Now, it's certainly not conspiratorial to think that drug money may have played a role in the 9/11 attacks. This recent resurgance only indicates that we are not addressing the right issues, the real issue of funding for the Taliban is simply being ignored by the neocons and their enablers such as Mr. Cohen. The more conspiratorial amongst us may even believe that the US is taking part in some of this action. Has the Iran/Contra affair taught us nothing?!

Progress certainly is being made in Afghanistan, but its not all flowers and candy for the US, more like guns and poppies.

[acmavm]

1. The reason that there are conspiracy theories is that there are so many

times conspiracies.

Let me quote the famous words of one victim of a conspiracy; "Et tu, Brute?"

[AntiFascist]

2. It only takes 2 to make a conspiracy....

I wonder what AQ Khan is up to these days.