by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright November 29, 2007
All Rights Reserved.

afely tucked away somewhere in the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier, the mastermind of Sept. 11 and world's most notorious terrorist Osama bin Laden continues his propaganda bombardment with impunity. Forced underground and chased by U.S. Special Forces since the U.S. bombed the Taliban Oct. 7, 2001, Bin Laden has not stopped his public relations blitzkrieg against the West. Together with his chief lieutenant former Eyptian Brotherhood physician Ayman al-Zawahri, the two have produced scores of audios and videos denouncing the U.S., Israel and its allies. Bin Laden's Nov. 29 video attempts to set the historical record straight on who's responsible for Sept. 11. He regrets the U.S. attack on the Taliban because he alone accepts responsibility for attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Bin Laden craves attention and notoriety.

      Bin Laden has menaced the U.S. with unrelenting attacks since the Dec. 1992 bombing of the Golden Mihor Hotel in Aden, Yemen. He was implicated in Iran's surrogate terrorist group Hezbollah in the Oct. 23, 1987 truck-bomb attack on the U.S. Marine barracks at the Beirut airport, causing 299 military deaths. Bin Laden's finger prints were all over the rubble in Khobar Towers in the Oct. 23, 1996, where 18 serviceman perished. He reemerged Aug. 7, 1998 bombing U.S. East African embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya, killing 212, mostly Tanzanians and Kenyans, prompting then FBI Director Louis J. Freeh to declare war on al-Qaida and pushing former President Bill Clinton to fire Cruise missiles at Bin Laden's training camps 100 kilometers from Kabul. On Oct. 2, 2000, Bin Laden hit the guided missile frigate U.S.S. Cole in Yemen's port of Aden.

      Since Freeh declared “war” on Bin Laden in 1998, Clinton did virtually nothing to mobilize U.S. assets to stop the menace that eventually destroyed the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon on Sept. 11. Bin Laden's attack on the Cole killed 17 U.S. sailors and came only weeks after Clinton's last-ditch attempt at Mideast peacemaking. Yet Bin Laden continued to operate with impunity up to Sept. 11. “The events of Manhattan were retaliation against the American-Israeli alliance's aggression against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, and I am the only one responsible for it. The Afghan people and government [Taliban] knew nothing about it. America knows that,” said Bin Laden in his more recent rant. It's no accident he released his propaganda one day after President George W. Bush concluded his peace summit with Palestine's Mahmoud Abbas and Israel's Ehud Olmert.

      Over six long years after Sept. 11, the U.S. is no closer to ending Bin Laden's unrelenting reign of terror and propaganda. He's been given sanctuary by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, agreeing to let the Taliban and al-Qaida operate freely in the ungoverned mountainous region along the Afghan border. Former NFL Arizona Cardinal safety, Army Ranger Cpl. Pat Tillman lost his life April 23, 2004 to friendly fire in the mountains of Afghanistan, presumably on the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Yet six years later, Bin Laden is free to release propaganda videos and plot more terror attacks against U.S. interests. “As the FBI has said since 9/11, Bin Laden was responsible for the attack,” said FBI spokesman, special agent Richard Kolko. Saying who's responsible for Sept. 11 is old news, completely irrelevant from the failure of law enforcement, intelligence, and U.S. military to bring Bin Laden to justice, revealing today's White House priorities.

      Bin Laden complains about the White House going after the Taliban, when they failed to turn him over immediately after Sep. 11. Taliban's Mullah Mohammed Omar gave Bin Laden safe passage to his current mobile hideaway somewhere in the mountainous cave-complexes along the Pakistan border. Bin Laden's latest message intimidates Europeans, urging them to abandon U.S. foreign policy. “The American tide is ebbing, with God's help, and they will go back to their countries,” Bin Laden addressing Europeans, knowing his 2004 attacks in Madrid and 2005 attacks in London, create lingering anxiety. Bush's peace summit with Palestinians and Israelis prompted Bin Laden latest vitriol. Bin Laden hopes to mobilize rogue regimes like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Iran and Bashar al-Assad's Syria to derail White House attempts at Mideast peacemaking.

      Bin Laden latest message reminds people about wayward U.S. priorities, spilling blood and wasting treasure in Iraq. While there's no easy answer, the U.S. must commit whatever resources necessary to end Bin Laden's reign of terror. Neither Clinton nor Bush have dealt with the implacable challenge of tracking down and terminating the world's most dangerous terrorist. He's not neutralized launching new videos from his safe haven in the badlands between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It dishonors the memory and sacrifice of soldiers like Pat Tillman when U.S. affords Bin Laden sanctuary. It's disgraceful that ten years after FBI Director Louis J. Freeh declared war on Osama bin Laden, he continues to menace the U.S. and its allies. Making more excuses about al-Qaida in Iraq or elsewhere won't stop Bin Laden from making more videos and plotting his next attack.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

©1999-2005 Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.
(310) 204-8300
All Rights Reserved.