Ah, now we know who is behind bin Laden!

Posted by: bonzi

Ah, now we know who is behind bin Laden! - 09/05/2004 16:03

As the latest Moore's book and film (the topic of another thread) tell us, Dubya and House of Saud are old buddies. Now, some original thinking from those oil-rich buddies:
A number of committees whose members include Islamic scholars have been set up to study the reasons for the spread of terrorism and find out who are financing it and inciting youth to carry out terrorist attacks, he [Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif] said.

He said Saudi security forces were now ahead of the terrorists’ game. “We have paralyzed the movement of terrorists,” Yemen’s September 26 weekly quoted the minister as saying. When asked about the bombing of a security building in Riyadh that killed six people and wounded 145 others, he said the Kingdom was “well prepared to confront such terrorist attacks.” Prince Naif denied a conflict between his account of who was behind the Yanbu killing spree and that of Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard.

Speaking to top military and civilian officials in Jeddah last Saturday when four terrorists went on a shooting spree in Yanbu killing five Westerners and a National Guard officer, the crown prince said he believed Zionists were behind most terrorist attacks in the Kingdom. But in a press statement after the attack, Prince Naif blamed Al-Qaeda.

“I don’t see any contradiction in the two statements, because Al-Qaeda is backed by Israel and Zionism,” he said.
The source. See also comment in this semi-underground blog from Saudi Arabia. Is it just me, or did this statement receive far less attention in Western media than it deserves?
Posted by: ninti

Re: Ah, now we know who is behind bin Laden! - 10/05/2004 02:01

> See also comment in this semi-underground blog from Saudi Arabia.

That blog has to be one the most interesting thing I have read in a while. Very funny, very informative. Thanks for the link.
Posted by: davec

Re: Ah, now we know who is behind bin Laden! - 10/05/2004 07:19

Is it just me, or did this statement receive far less attention in Western media than it deserves?
There's far too much news that doesn't get escalated to headline status in the Western media... This story never got the attention/scrutiny it deserves, IMO.
Posted by: bonzi

Re: Ah, now we know who is behind bin Laden! - 10/05/2004 09:54

I have impression I heard about it a lot. Let's try Googling (Google News only):

"oil for food bribes" - around 200 hits
"Al-Qaeda is backed by Israel and Zionism" - one hit

So, it would appear that whe whole Franco-American row about Iraq boils down to "the guy who controls oil exports vs. the guy who wants that control (and then some)"... Sad, but hardly surprising.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Ah, now we know who is behind bin Laden! - 10/05/2004 10:01

Franco-American
Uh, oh! Spaghetti-Os!
Posted by: bonzi

Re: Ah, now we know who is behind bin Laden! - 10/05/2004 10:10

Franco-American
Uh, oh! Spaghetti-Os!

Huh? Illegal use of hyphen, perhaps?
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Ah, now we know who is behind bin Laden! - 10/05/2004 10:25

Sorry. There was a company called Franco-American that made such wonderful kid food products as Spaghetti-Os. I believe that Spaghetti-Os are all that still exist from them, but I remember there being quite a range of canned pastas back in the day.

Why, exactly, a company named Franco-American made Italian-derived dishes is beyond the scope of this post.
Posted by: bonzi

Re: Ah, now we know who is behind bin Laden! - 10/05/2004 15:31

Sorry.
I am sorry. I must not assume every your post I don't understand is about grammar...
There was a company called Franco-American that made such wonderful kid food products as Spaghetti-Os. I believe that Spaghetti-Os are all that still exist from them, but I remember there being quite a range of canned pastas back in the day.
That bit of American trivia never reached me. I should have Googled, but I did it now: they are part of Campbell Soups and still make other forms of canned pasta in several kinds of sauces. And a range of canned gravies. Shudder! I can't imagine taste and consistency of pasta that spent months soaking in a can; it certainly can't be correctly al dente. Call me spoiled, but once my pasta gets cold, it goes to compost (OK, unless it is part of pasta salad).
Why, exactly, a company named Franco-American made talian-derived dishes is beyond the scope of this post.
Ah, but I always liked detailed historical digressions!
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Ah, now we know who is behind bin Laden! - 11/05/2004 08:25

Oh, and I forgot to point out that during the 70s and 80s, a large portion of their advertising campaign had to do with the phrase "Uh-oh! Spaghetti-Os!" said in a real sing-songy voice. It's been too long for me to remember what the context for that was. Maybe something to do with the fact that normal spaghetti was messy whereas the small bits of pasta in Spaghetti-Os was not?
Ah, but I always liked detailed historical digressions!
In that case, it's also beyond the scope of my knowledge.