ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style3 { height: 68px; } .MsoNormal {} h1 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style4 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style6 { height: 69px; } h2 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style7 { width: 285px; } .style8 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } .style9 { font-size: small; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> &nbsp;<table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr> <td height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style7"> <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140" class="style6"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" class="style6"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td height="2" class="style7"></td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style4">Al-Qaeda&#39;s War Against America</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curt</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>is<a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright July 28, 2010<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style8">S</span>omething went terribly wrong in Feb. 15, 1989 when the Osama bin Laden finally succeeded with massive U.S. covert help of chasing the Soviets out of Afghanistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Nine years before, former President Jimmy Carter cancelled the U.S. participation in the Moscow Olympics after the Soviets, at the request of a puppet government, invaded Afghanistan Dec. 27, 1979.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Carter passed the baton to Ronald Reagan Jan. 20, 1980, who continued Carter s policy of undermining the Soviets by supporting terrorist groups, especially Bin Laden s mujahedeen fighters, whose ragtag band of Islamic warriors fought a bloody guerrilla war with CIA help until the Soviets finally gave in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When the Soviets called it quits Feb. 15, 1989, it was nine months<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> before the Berlin Wall collapsed Nov. 9, 1989, signaling an end to the beleaguered post-WWII Soviet Union.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>During the long twilight battle against the Soviets, the CIA poured billions in covert aid to Bin Laden, building his cave complexes, supplying arms and providing vital intelligence from which to attack the Soviets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When the Soviets called it quits, the CIA and Al-Qaeda celebrated, though quietly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Fast-forward to al-Qaida s failed first Feb. 26, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Eight months later U.S. forces battled al-Qaeda again in the Oct. 3, 1993 battle of Mogadishu<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>With two Blackhawk helicopters shot down and 19 U.S. Marines killed, Bin Laden go the better of U.S. forces when former President Bill Clinton ordered a withdrawal of U.S. troops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Unwilling confront Bin Laden at Mogadishu, the U.S. let Bin Laden regroup, eventually finding his way back to Afghanistan to help a fledgling radical Islamic government called the Taliban.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Five years later, Bin Laden struck again. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <![endif]> On August 7, 1998, Bin Laden bombed U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya, killing dozens of embassy personnel, prompting then CIA Director George J Tenet to declare war on al-Qaeda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Instead of landing ground troops in Afghanistan, Clinton chose a throwaway Cruise missile attack on Bin Laden s training camps 100 kilometers from Kabul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Two years later, Bin Laden struck again, suicide bombing the U.S.S. Cole Oct 12, 2000, killing 17 U.S. sailors, only 11-short months before Sept. 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Oh American people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>We offered you a peace plan, and mutual benefit, but your governments were proud and haughty, and so the attacks against you followed one after another, everywhere from Indonesia to Times Square, by way of Madrid and London.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>And the attacks are ongoing and more will come one after another, said Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda s No. 2.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>When former President George W. Bush detoured to Iraq March 20, 2003, the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Afghan War was long lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>After a stunning defeat of the Taliban Nov. 15, 2001, the U.S. completed Operation Enduring Freedom, ejecting the radical regime in only three weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Instead of tracking down Bin Laden and Taliban chief Mullah Mohammed Omar, U.S. forces let both escape to Pakistan in the Dec. 12-17, 2001 in the battle of Tora Bora.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Since then, the Taliban has fought a successful guerrilla war, wreaking havoc on U.S. and coalition forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Today s mission in Afghanistan is no longer about going after Osama bin Laden, Mullah Mohammed Omar or any other terrorist responsible for Sept. 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While campaigning to end the Iraq War, President Barack Obama has escalated the Afghan War, adding over 50,000 troops since taking office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Meanwhile, Bin Laden continues to threaten the U.S.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Instead of nimbly following Bin Laden s movements outside Afghanistan, the U.S. now escalates a go-nowhere war, defending the government of U.S. puppet Hamid Karzai, despite his close ties with the Taliban.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Karzai reportedly stole a U.N.-monitored election in June 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Hamid s half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, is heavily involved in Afghanistan s opium trade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Karaza s Pashtun family are part of the same tribe as the Taliban, the  enemy from which U.S. forces continue to die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Zawahiri s recent threat stems from the successful June 1 CIA drone attack killing al-Qaeda s No. 3 man Mustafa Abu al-Yazid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Since July 19, Zawahiri and radical U.S.-born al-Qaeda operative Anwar al-Awlaki have threatened the U.S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Al-Awlaki, believed based out of Yemen, reportedly inspired the Nov. 7, 2009 Fort Hood massacre, where 39-year-old Army psychiatrist Maj. Abdel Malik Hasan killed 13 soldiers.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>More threats from al-Qaeda must be taken seriously not because of an imminent Sept. 11-like threat but precisely because they continue to plan and execute terrorist acts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Imperial hubris is leading America to its fate:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>A war of attrition, a continuous hemorrhage that would end with fall and splintering of the United States of America, said Yemen-based Awlaki.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>After keeping several steps ahead of U.S. counter-terrorism operations, Obama must shift gears, end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and gear terrorism efforts to al-Qaeda s shifting operations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Recent leaks about the Afghanistan War can t obscure the necessity of resetting U.S. terrorism policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Full-scale military operation in Iraq and Afghanistan waste precious U.S. assets and do little to prevent the next Sept. 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. should join France in declaring war on al-Qaeda, taking the battle to the enemy.</p> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span class="style9">About the Author</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="style8">&nbsp; </span>&nbsp;&nbsp; </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <b>John M. Curtis </b>writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He&#x2019;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style7"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td height="1" class="style7"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Homecobolos> p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>