What do Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein have in common besides being boogeymen to Westerners? They were both CIA assets at some point in their lives.
Saddam Hussein was a member of a small Arab nationalist party known as the Ba'ath Party. In 1959, at the young age of 22, Saddam was part of a six person CIA operation to rout out the Iraqi leader General Abd al-Karim Kassim. Kassim was an enemy of the US’s because in two short years he nationalized Iraq’s oil, threatened invasion of Kuwait, and shifted Iraq’s cold war position from US to Soviet. Saddam was the gunman in the assassination attempt of Kassim, but he ended up botching it. Kassim stayed in power for another three years while Saddam fled to Egypt for safety. In 1963 Kassim was successfully assassinated and Saddam returned to Iraq. He was immediately instated as the head the Al-Jihaz al-Khas, the clandestine Ba'athist Intelligence organization. His cooperation and effectiveness in eliminating Communists allowed him to rise through the ranks until he became the leader of Iraq in 1979. The USA and Britain allied themselves with Saddam’s Iraq during the 1980 Iraq-Iran war. The western powers and Saddam Hussein were both fearful of the rise of Shi’a Muslims in the region, which may be why the US turned a blind eye to Saddam Hussein’s suppressive regime. It wasn’t until Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, a long time US alley, did Saddam step on the US’s toes. Saddam’s betrayal was used to make an international example of what will happen to those who defy us. We couldn’t get him the first time around (due to the elite Iraqi Republic Guard) and he wasn’t corruptible so it required a second attempt.
Bin Laden grew up in an affluent Saudi family which made their money through oil and banking. In 1979, he left his family to help fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden has always been an Arab nationalist, rejecting any sort of western guide to righteousness. Shortly after arriving in Afghanistan he became leader of an organization known as Maktab al-Khidamar (MAK), which was an Afghan mujahedeen [A group of guerilla Islamic fundamentalists]. Osama bin Laden’s money and connections to Saudi government and the Pakistani Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) allowed Arab countries to funnel money and arms to the rebels. The CIA noticed the rise of these “Freedom Fighters” and helped train, fund, and arm the MAK and similar organizations in their fight against the Soviets. Osama bin Laden did not shift his hatred to the western world until the first invasion of Iraq in the early 1990’s. To throw salt in the wound, it was the royal Bin Laden family that permitted the United States to use Saudi Arabia as a launching pad for operations in Iraq. Feeling disowned by his own family, he shifted his anger and operations towards the new occupying power: The United States of America.
*Note: Shortly after news of Osama Bin Laden’s death. China released a statement “Any attack on Pakistan would be construed as an attack on China.”
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, may be the next boogeyman in line. Will the US connect the dots between Afghanistan and Iraq? Occupation of Iran would be a logistical boon to US military operations in the region. Also, with access to the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf, there would be great possibilities for Government contractors to build the mother of all oil pipelines. Motive for war is already being laid down; there are reports that Iran is developing excessive amounts of radioactive materials. Iran claims that their nuclear program is strictly for bolstering electricity supply and to provide fuel for medical reactors. The UN, Israel, and the USA are growing increasingly wary of the situation and may make a pre-emptive move. There is only one little issue that stands in the way: Iran is China’s largest oil supplier.
Hugo Chavez, the current leader of Venezuela, has been drawing more attention recently. Just last month, Chavez nationalized gold producers in Venezuela. That same day he announced that he was withdrawing all of Venezuela’s wealth (cash & gold bullion) from western banks to keep Venezuela’s worth in “countries that have more solid economies.” This move will transfer $12 Billion in gold and $6.5 Billion in cash from HSBC, JP Morgan, Barclays, and Bank of England to Chinese and Russian banks. In my opinion this move makes perfect sense because Venezuela is China’s second largest oil supplier after Iran and before Sudan. With growing tensions between China and the United States, other countries may follow Venezuela’s move and start securing their wealth through their allies.
Kim Jong-Il, North Korean dictator and longtime ally of the Chinese government. All I have to say is: Bat Shit Crazy.
I really like this article. Another question may be, 'how will the government convince US citizens that we need to go after a new boogeyman." That answer is easy with Kim Jong-Il and Ahmadinejad, weapons of mass destruction. That question is tougher with Chavez, since the WMD's risk is low, but I agree he's high on the list, especially now that he's moving money from the big banks. I'm guessing there are extensive operations to closely monitor all three leaders now, but we won't find out about them. That's because people in the US are just too disenchanted by any act that may set off another terrorist act or war, and placing a bullseye on any of these three leaders would just anger their loyal followers.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, the next boogeyman will likely be one of these three, but don't expect Obama to allow this to happen, especially in his current term, he'll let things simmer a bit.
Also, what about the Rothschild mention? Are these the three remaining countries that don't have a Rothschild controlled central bank?
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