Denial and Deception: An Insider's View of the CIA by Melissa Boyle Mahle

Author:Melissa Boyle Mahle [Mahle, Melissa Boyle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, American Government, General
ISBN: 9780786737598
Google: uch7kgvdqX0C
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Published: 2005-12-21T21:47:03+00:00

KHURASAN, AFGHANISTAN, 1996: It is unclear how long bin Ladin had been working on the 11,500 word fatwa, but it certainly framed the main tenets of the ideology that he would promote over the next half decade. On August 23, he delivered the fatwa to his supporters in Afghanistan. In the months that followed, Muslims around the globe would learn about the fatwa, either through its publication in the Movement for Islamic Reform in Saudi Arabia’s newsletter Islah, or by listening to tapes of bin Ladin reading it.

A close reading of the fatwa should have made alarm bells go off in the West—correction—a mere reading of the title should have created a five-alarm alert: “Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places.” Few took note of it. Those who did relegated it to a strictly anti-Saudi context. Indeed, much of the fatwa was specific to Saudi Arabia, with accusations of poor governance, persecution, and un-Islamic practices. However, a significant portion was directed against the United States and Israel.

The fatwa was a clear declaration of war, enumerating the crimes committed by the United States against the Muslim people. It explained and justified to Muslims their obligation to put aside their differences and to undertake a defensive jihad against the United States and its supporters. The U.S. presence in Saudi Arabia after the end of the first Gulf War offensive was termed an occupation of the Holy Lands. Bin Ladin accused the United States of evil intentions and deeds, subjugation and humiliation of the Muslims, theft of their natural resources, destruction of their culture, and massacre of their people. Bin Ladin called the United States a paper tiger, evidenced by its cowardly withdrawal after being attacked by Islamic fighters. Bin Ladin did not mince his words, but painted a vivid picture of the United States as the new Crusader state, drawing upon cultural and historical references and Islamic symbols that struck deep resonance in the Muslim world:It should not be hidden from you [believers] that the people of Islam have suffered from aggression, inequity and injustice imposed on them by the Zionist Crusader alliance and their collaborators; to the extent that Muslim blood became the cheapest and their wealth loot in the hands of the enemies. Their blood was spilled in Palestine and Iraq. The horrifying pictures of the massacre of Qana, in Lebanon, are still fresh in our memory. Massacres in Tajikistan, Burma, Kashmir, Assam, Philippines, Pattani, Ogadin, Somalia, Eritrea, Chechnya and in Bosnia/ Herzegovina took place, massacres that send shivers in the body and shake the conscience. All of this while the world watched; not only did it not respond to these atrocities, but [it engaged] in a clear conspiracy between the United States and its allies and under the cover of the unfair United Nations, while denying the dispossessed people from obtaining arms to defend themselves. . . .

If there is more than one duty to be carried out, then the most important one should receive priority.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.