tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195554.post696300506574397347..comments2023-10-28T18:12:33.101+07:00Comments on The Opinionated Diner: All you gotta do is winUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195554.post-72200199706422394412009-08-01T14:54:15.131+07:002009-08-01T14:54:15.131+07:00That link being only of benefit to al Qaeda, of co...That link being only of benefit to al Qaeda, of course. And there were other, long-held grievances (particularly about the Saudis and their relationship with the US that is still unresolved) that boosted al Qaeda.<br /><br />As you say, "yet <b>another</b> rallying point"...nzlemminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18351882869127927629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195554.post-36023120758259739132009-08-01T14:51:02.372+07:002009-08-01T14:51:02.372+07:00Okay, that may be my mis-reading, and the mention ...Okay, that may be my mis-reading, and the mention of Saddam in a post about al Qaeda. <br /><br />Clinton certainly does not have clean hands WRT the sanctions and the use of terrorists as deniable agents. His foreign policy, like most foreign policy from any country you care to name, is murkier than his supporters want to know, as is Obama's, when you can figure out just what it is.<br /><brnzlemminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18351882869127927629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195554.post-8369139468109154032009-08-01T14:43:35.643+07:002009-08-01T14:43:35.643+07:00Maybe too, its worth mentioning the one valid link...Maybe too, its worth mentioning the one valid link between Iraq and Al Qaeda, and that's that the sanctions and bombings of Iraq most definitely caused extreme resentment in the Islamic world and provided Al Qaeda with yet another rallying point against the west.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09278183271703930217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195554.post-87296192319010049802009-08-01T14:40:17.070+07:002009-08-01T14:40:17.070+07:00I'm not sure where you get that from Mark. I&#...I'm not sure where you get that from Mark. I've never come within an AWACS target screen of implying a connection and I'm rather taken aback that you think I would.<br /><br />All I'm saying is that a) Clinton can't be given a get out of jail free on the ties with Al Qaeda, and that b) Clinton's foreign policy was hardly the end-recipient friendly zone that we often pushedSimonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09278183271703930217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195554.post-33711765409895626252009-08-01T14:21:17.544+07:002009-08-01T14:21:17.544+07:00Well, in turn, I'm not going to disagree with ...Well, in turn, I'm not going to disagree with you ;-) but, I'm still mystified by your claim that "Of course, if true, the very uncomfortable part is that this implicates both Bush / Cheney and Clinton. "<br /><br />Sure Clinton and Bush/Cheney continued the sanctions, and I agree that the sanctions were evil, and both administrations used the mujahadeen in all sorts of ways, nzlemminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18351882869127927629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195554.post-84923460769025072632009-08-01T13:48:56.359+07:002009-08-01T13:48:56.359+07:00I'm not going to disagree with anything in tha...I'm not going to disagree with anything in that Mark (although I do think that ALQe took out the towers, however I remain unconvinced that Washington didn't know it was coming in one way or another and were not unhappy when it came). It provided a huge window and it wasn't hard to sell a US population who are easily sold a bucket of nonsense at the best of times, a war which they are Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09278183271703930217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195554.post-29647711219935857542009-08-01T13:26:58.397+07:002009-08-01T13:26:58.397+07:00WTF has Saddam to do with Bin Laden, or the Taliba...WTF has Saddam to do with Bin Laden, or the Taliban? Sanctions against Iraq, under Bush 1 and Clinton, were because of Gulf War I, which both Saddam and Bush fucked up in a major way. Al Qaeda and the Taliban were Reagan/Bush stooges in Afghanistan against the Russkis. It's no surprise they were used elsewhere, but despite Bush 2's best efforts, there is no link between Saddam Hussein andnzlemminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18351882869127927629noreply@blogger.com