Dead Or Alive? Osama Bin Laden

A Marketing Tool for US-NATO Military Operations

By Elizabeth Woodworth
September 11, 2009
Courtesy Of Global Research

In 1961, upon leaving office, President Eisenhower warned of the danger of a military-industrial takeover of information, power, and resources in a democracy[1] . His dark vision has been steadily unfolding. Since September 11, 2001, world, and particularly US military budgets, have grown enormously[2], when the focus of the entire planet should have been on the ecological crisis. There is no time to lose in mounting effective worldwide action against global warming, and it is now essential that we have the correct information about the events underpinning the war on terror: 9/11 and the role of Osama bin Laden. A recent survey of news reports covering Osama bin Laden from 2001 to 2009[3] has provided overwhelming evidence that the al Qaeda leader has been dead since December 13, 2001, and that all messages that have been aired since that time have been fabricated[4] [5]. A long-buried 2001 CBS Evening News report, researched by foreign correspondent Barry Petersen and presented by Dan Rather, featured two hospital staff witnesses who saw bin Laden escorted into a military hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on the evening of September 10, 2001. He was there to receive kidney dialysis [6]. One witness reported, “they moved out all the regular staff in the urology department and sent in a secret team to replace them,” to treat a very special person. "The military had him surrounded," said another hospital employee, "and I saw the mysterious patient helped out of a car. Since that time, I have seen many pictures of the man. He is the man we know as Osama bin Laden. I also heard two army officers talking to each other. They were saying that Osama bin Laden had to be watched carefully and looked after."[7] Yet seven years later, President Obama, relying on military intelligence, states that bin Laden is “almost certainly” hiding in the mountains bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, the “most dangerous place in the world” for the American people[8]. However, only 25% of American want more troops in Afghanistan and almost twice that many want fewer [9]. Many Americans may recall that no messages have been intercepted between bin Laden and his followers since mid-December 2001, which was precisely the time of an unconfirmed funeral announcement, covered by Fox News, that bin Laden had died and been buried in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan[10]. A deeper question should be inspired by the fact that the US Department of Justice has never indicted bin Laden for the attacks, nor does the FBI's "Most Wanted Terrorist" page list him as wanted for 9/11. A spokesman openly admitted that “the FBI has no hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11.” [11] It appears that bin Laden may be no more than a marketing tool for imperialistic military operations. A brilliant tool indeed, if the obsessive hunt for him were not blocking our response to the foundational issue of global warming. It is vital to all nations that the many 2001-02 reports of bin Laden’s end-stage renal disease [12], and subsequent death, be resurrected to urge an investigation into who has been issuing fake audio and videotapes since 2001[13]. Indeed world governments should press the United States for an impartial, transparent investigation into the events of 9/11, with subpoena power to interview witnesses who were never called in the travesty that passes as the “9/11 Commission Report” (2004). The Commissioners themselves have publicly condemned C.I.A. obstruction to key witnesses [14]. Meanwhile, the United Nations should be given the responsibility and resources to protect the oil-rich Middle East from further imperialistic aggression. All national troops should be withdrawn and any efforts at stabilization should be led by the UN. Then finally it might be possible to transform the global military economy into a cooperative alternative energy economy. Notes [1] President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Military-Industrial Complex Speech, 1961. “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.” (http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/indust.html). [2] “World Wide Military Expenditures” shows current figures ( http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/spending.htm). “World Military Spending” shows expenditure increases from 1988 to 2007 in constant 2005 dollars (http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending). [3] David Ray Griffin, Osama bin Laden: Dead or Alive? Olive Branch Press, Northampton, 2009. [4] World Tribune.com, “Bin Laden may be dead, but living on through old sound bites.” Feb. 11, 2008 (http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2008/me_terror_02_11.asp) [5] Mark Tran, “Bin Laden: the ultimate marketing tool,” The Guardian, Sept. 11, 2007 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/sep/11/alqaida.september111). [6] CBC Evening News, “Hospital Worker: I Saw Osama,” January 28, 2002 (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/28/eveningnews/main325887.shtml) Recovered video footage of the report was posted August 22, 2009 to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OW4A-yd9BI. [7] The full transcript is available at: Michel Chossudovsky . “Where was Osama bin Laden on 9/11? Bush Administration knew the Whereabouts of Osama,” November 16, 2003 (http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO311A.html). [8] The White House. Office of the Press Secretary. “Remarks by the President on a New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan,” March 27, 2009 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-a-New-Strategy-for-Afghanistan-and-Pakistan/). [9] Radio Free Europe, September 7, 2009. “Pentagon Defends Afghan Strategy As Public Support For War Ebbs” (http://www.rferl.org/content/Pentagon_Defends_Afghan_Strategy_As_Public_Support_For_War_Ebbs_/1814766.html). [10] Fox News, December 26, 2001. “Report: Bin Laden Already Dead,” (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,41576,00.html). [11] Muckraker Report, June 6, 2006, “FBI says, ‘No hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11’” (http://web.archive.org/web/20060610053720/http://www.teamliberty.net/id267.html). [12] CNN correspondent and brain surgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who declined to be Surgeon General to the Obama adminstration, assessed bin Laden’s medical condition based on the videotape released December 27, 2001, which was made sometime after November 16th. Gupta said that Bin Laden’s “grayness of beard, paleness of skin, very gaunt sort of features” is often associated with chronic kidney failure, and noted that bin Laden could not move his left arm, probably due to a stroke resulting from kidney failure. He explained that dialysis machines require electricity, clean water and a sterile environment. Without such a machine, a patient could only survive less than a week. “Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Bin Laden Would Need Help if on Dialysis,” CNN, 21 January 2002 (www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/01/21/gupta.otsc/index.html). [13] The most obvious fabrication can be seen in a video dated November 9, 2001, known as the bin Laden “confession” video, which was released by the Pentagon December 13, 2001. Extracts may be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhctMpvszqQ. Notice the broad nose, short fingers, and right-handedness. For comparative photos and analysis, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41UAnkQARFs and http://www.welfarestate.com/wtc/faketape/ [14] Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton, “Stonewalled by the C.I.A.”, New York Times, January 2, 2008. The commissioners of the 9/11 Commission concluded: “What we do know is that government officials decided not to inform a lawfully constituted body, created by Congress and the president, to investigate one the greatest tragedies to confront this country. We call that obstruction.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/02/opinion/02kean.html).

Elizabeth Woodworth is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Global Research Articles by Elizabeth Woodworth