Scheuer’s Osama bio rattles blogosphere
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 11:07AM Michael Scheuer, former chief of Alec Station for the CIA, has written a new bio of the FBI’s number one most wanted fugitive. Osama bin Laden was penned by the man who was tracking Osama bin Laden from the early 1990s—the station, according to Lawrence Wright, was listed as “Terrorist Financial Links” on the organizational chart for the agency.
Scheuer comes off as a libertarian of sorts; his website is titled Non-Intervention. He blogs there and he is openly critical of those he calls “Israel First” types as well as US officials who have cartoonized bin Laden, rendering a super demon from the man who was a key player in the deaths of approximately 3,000 innocents on September 11, 2001, in New York and numerous more in other places.
Scheuer believes US foreign policy has more or less been manipulated by terrorists. After all, bin Laden wanted us to attack Afghanistan. Wright, in his excellent work The Looming Tower, explains: “Bin Laden wanted to lure the United States into Afghanistan, which was already being called the graveyard of empires. The usual object of terror is to draw one’s opponent into repressive blunders, and bin Laden caught America at a vulnerable and unfortunate moment in its history.” [pg. 272]
Scheuer, however, perceived bin Laden as a threat to be dealt with decisively. When the capture or killing of bin Laden was obstructed by bureaucratic rivalries and the Clinton administration’s foreign policy, Scheuer was rightly frustrated. Despite his wealth of knowledge about the man who awakened a lethargic giant, Scheuer ended up an outcast within his own agency. Had his recommendations been followed, 9-11 probably would not have happened.
Why the U.S. was attacked
Scholars and pundits have argued the reasons al Qaeda attacked the U.S. since that fateful day in 2001. Repressive regimes allied with the U.S. are often put forth as the reason although those who argue that point overlook the repressive regimes coming into power once the coups are done. Iran is a perfect example.
Bin Laden remains atop the FBI most-wanted list. A number of Americans believe he is dead.There’s also the matter of bin Laden’s own upbringing. His father, according to Wright, fathered 54 children by 22 wives, some of whom were teens. He fathered more by his concubines. Bin Laden’s father divorced his mother Alia whom he had married when she was about 16 years old. When Osama was 4 or 5, Wright said, his father divorced Alia and he “awarded her to one of his executives.” [pg. 72-73] That concept is very difficult for a Western mind to fathom, and personally I believe much of bin Laden’s anger and frustration actually stemmed from his upbringing.
Bin Laden idolized his father who became a great man in Saudi Arabia and there was very little interaction between them. Bin Laden, I think, desperately sought a means of measuring up to his own father’s greatness. The difference of course is that his father was a builder and in my opinion bin Laden is a serial killer. A demon by any other name is still a demon.
Israel-First?
Scheuer’s book is already being debated—do a simple search and you’ll find an abundance of commentary. He has been criticized for his stance on Israel—he has a blog post at Non-Intervention titled ‘Scheuer-vs-Israel-First.’
At the moment, the Jimmy Carter approach is en vogue in America. Even liberal Jews appear frustrated with foreign policy on Israel, a position that astounded me the first time I encountered it. Over the years I began to understand it a little better. There is antagonism in some quarters over faith—one example was uber liberal comic Sarah Bernhard’s hate-filled skit targeting Gov. Sarah Palin for her evangelical Christian beliefs. In a skit in 2008, Bernhard said, “Don’t touch my Old Testament, you bitch,” A video originally accompanied the article I wrote, but the creators removed it.
On the flip side of the theological coin are themes in creative works like Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ, holding Jews accountable for the crucifixion from the standpoint of Christ as an outsider despite the fact He was Jewish.
As a Christian raised in a faith most view as liberal—Lutheran—I was taught nothing of hate. Lutherans had a simple tenet—God’s grace is freely given to all. I’ve worshiped in numerous houses of faith and my life has been enriched by that experience.
But for those of us in the camp of ‘Israel First,’ there’s also a fairly simple explanation often overlooked by media, an industry replete with misinformation about Christianity.
My faith, my education and my upbringing were based on principles in The Bible. Much of our holy book comes from the Jewish faith. My own heritage is inextricably entwined with that of Judaism and whatever your attitude towards both, it is indisputable that these teachings created the most exceptional concept of governance known as the US Republic. We are the freest society on the face of the earth. Although liberals revel in the fact Muslims ritually pray multiple times a day, those same liberals appear to be unaware many Christians do the same. For me it isn't ritualistic; praying is as natural as breathing.
I make no apologies for my ‘Israel First’ attitude. As a conservative, I have no problem choosing a position aligned with my heritage, faith and wellbeing. I do recognize commonalities among Judaism, Christianity and Islam; I am aware of the intertwining of prophets and messengers. However, Islam relies on submission. Christianity is a matter of free choice.
On the other hand, the Islam Osama bin Laden preaches is a regressive and oppressive system that has effectively nationalized Islamism. We hear much about US nationalism. We hear little about bin Laden’s theocratic nationalism and we hear even less about the impact of that nationalism on women who are the world’s oldest object of bias. Bin Laden has lured children to suicide and coordinated the killing of people of his own faith. I believe his fanaticism has more to do with his own inner demons than with anyone’s foreign policy. Bin Laden spawned many martyrs but he obviously chose to live. Otherwise he’d have martyred himself.
I plan to read Scheuer’s book. I also highly recommend Wright’s book.
Did US foreign policy cause 9-11?
US foreign policy, in my opinion, most definitely contributed to the attack on Sept. 11. But I don’t perceive it in the way Scheuer might.
Repeatedly we turned the other cheek, paying lip service only to various terrorist attacks. Bin Laden believed the U.S. had no appetite for war, to the point where he was surprised at the method we chose to deliver justice after so many were slaughtered.
Moderate Muslims have also been dealt a severe blow by bin Laden and his followers. I believe moderates are in a minority, but they are there. However there is little opportunity for moderates to speak out—indeed, that can be dangerous—and there is the problem of the concept holding that anyone who is not a Muslim is of less value. Even in countries where other faiths were tolerated, those other faiths had less rights and paid taxes for the privilege of retaining their own beliefs. That concept contradicts Western thought and principles of liberty.
In my opinion, bin Laden is a madman just like so many others throughout history. One of the people closest to him seemed to agree. Wright reports bin Laden’s bodyguard’s reaction as he was being questioned in Yemen after Sept. 11. Abu Jandal at first was uncooperative, literally turning his back on “the infidels.” Then he saw a local newspaper with a headline stating 200 Yemenis died in the attack in New York. Even though bin Laden had created a sophistic argument justifying the killing of Muslims who didn’t follow a fundamentalist interpretation of their faith, Abu Jandal was moved and he began to cooperate. He told his interrogators, “I think the Shiekh went crazy.” [pg. 367]
Scheuer’s Osama bio is rattling the blogosphere. I suspect as the 10th anniversary of 9-11 approaches, the intensity of that rattle will increase. Our current foreign policy imitates that of the Clinton administration, a fact anti-Western Islamic nationalists have likely made careful note of.
Related Articles
Expert on Middle East predicted current instability in Egypt
The US Report
Deja vu for Democrats in Egyptian civil unrest
The US Report
al Qaida confirms it carried out the September 11 attacks
US Government
(Commentary by Kay B. Day/Feb. 8, 2011)