For the third time this week, a retired CIA officer has told Antiwar Radio that U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East is the driving force in al Qaeda’s recruitment and motivation for attacking America on September 11th.
Ray McGovern, a 27 year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency, when asked Friday afternoon what he thought of the exchange between Congressman Ron Paul and Rudy Giuliani said (at 23:45 out of 43:23)
‘I’m really edified by Ron Paul stepping up and stating what he believes to be the case.
‘If you believe that they hate us for our democracy or for our freedoms, well I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn that I’d really like to sell you at a cut rate.
‘They hate us for our policies and that’s what Ron Paul was saying. ’¦
‘Giuliani ’¦ really showed his true colors there as a demagogue.’
Earlier this week Michael Scheuer, the former chief of the CIA’s bin Laden unit and Philip Giraldi, another former CIA counter-terrorism officer, made much the same statements to Antiwar Radio.
McGovern then made the common analogy of terrorists and mosquitos and why the policy should be to ‘drain the swamp.’ But rather than advising more invasions in the name of swamp draining as the Bush administration has maintained is their policy, McGovern says if you want to remove the circumstances which create terrorism, by ‘find[ing] out where these terrorists are breeding.’
‘[There is a] swamp of grievances dating back decades: Three generations of people living in the equivalent of concentration camps in the West Bank and Gaza, dictatorial regimes in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other places.
‘If you look at those grievances and instead of trying to shoot those terrorists as they leave that swamp, you drain that swamp by addressing those grievances and giving these people some reason to hope for a better future. ’¦
‘People will come back and say, ’Now Ray, for God’s sake, Osama bin Laden doesn’t give a darn about the Palestinians.’ Well, that doesn’t matter whether he does or he doesn’t. He knows the kind of resonance that kind of appeal has.’
McGovern then quoted the 9/11 Commission Report regarding the motivation of Kahlid Sheik Mohammad, the ringleader of the September 11th attacks:
‘Kahlid Sheik Mohammad was motivated not by any antipathy resulting from his stay in the United States [where he had attended college years before], but by his profound hatred for U.S. policy toward Israel — favoring Israel one-sidedly.’
McGovern then summarized a footnote in the back of the 9/11 Commission Report as saying:
‘These are practically the exact words of what Ramzi Yousef – Kahlid Sheik Mohammad’s nephew – used in bragging about his pride in being condemned to 140 years in a federal penitentiary for trying to knock down one of the Twin Towers back in 1993.’
That is indeed what Yousef said.
Also discussed: How the 9/11 Commission whitewashed the role of U.S. Israel policy in their report, How the Dick Cheney-neoconservative cabal lied us into war in Iraq and Tenet’s failure to stop them, the history of the ‘crazies in the basement,’ Bush Jr.’s relationship with Cheney in light of Steve Clemons’ scoop about Dick Cheney’s efforts to force a war with Iran in an end run around the President, Brent Scowcroft’s statement that Ariel Sharon had Bush wrapped around his little finger and why he made it, Cheney’s twisted motivations for the exercise of his power, the interest which put Cheney firmly in the camp of the Israel Lobby over most of the rest of the establishment and why he hasn’t completely given up on the Democrats.
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