Freeman on Israel and 9/11 by Jeffrey Goldberg

Here are Jeffrey Goldberg's deliberate lies.

  1. Most al-Qaeda experts seem to agree that the stationing of American troops in Saudi Arabia was the main motivating grievanceYou could take Israel out of the equation and Al Qaeda would still want to attack us
  2. For bin Laden, the main goal was to expel American troops from Saudi Arabia
  3. If you look at Al Qaeda's own writing and their public statements, Israel was not a major theme
  4. They want to eliminate the presence of the 'far enemy'--us--from the Islamic world, because the far enemy props up the 'near enemy,' the moderate Arab states
  5. If Israel didn't exist, they'd be doing the same thing."
  6. Mr. bin Laden's principal point, in pursuing this campaign of violence against the United States, has nothing to do with Israel
  7. It has to do with the American military presence in Saudi Arabia, in connection with the Iran-Iraq issue.
  8. No doubt the question of American relations with Israel adds to the emotional heat of his opposition and adds to his appeal in the region. But this is not his main point."

Here are the statements by Bin Laden during his interview of May 1988

  1. We know at least one reason behind the symbolic participation of the Western forces and that is to support the Jewish and Zionist plans for expansion of what is called the Great Israel .
  2. Their presence has no meaning save one and that is to offer support to the Jews in Palestine who are in need of their Christian brothers to achieve full control over the Arab Peninsula which they intend to make an important part of the so called Greater Israel
  3. they [Muslims] should pool all their resources and their energy to fight the Americans and the Zionists and those with them.
  4. It is not enough for their people to show pain when they see our children being killed in Israel i raids launched by American planes, nor does this serve the purpose. What they ought to do is change their governments which attack our countries.
  5. The enmity between us and the Jews goes far back in time and is deep rooted. There is no question that war between the two of us is inevitable. For this reason it is not in the interest of Western governments to expose the interests of their people to all kinds of retaliation for almost nothing.
  6. The leaders in America and in other countries as well have fallen victim to Jewish Zionist blackmail. They have mobilized their people against Islam and against Muslims.
  7. Once again, I have to stress the necessity of focusing on the Americans and the Jews for they represent the spearhead with which the members of our religion have been slaughtered. Any effort directed against America and the Jews yields positive and direct results - Allah willing.
  8. The fatwah is general (comprehensive) and it includes all those who participate in, or help the Jewish occupiers in killing Muslims.
  9. We are certain that we shall - with the grace of Allah - prevail over the Americans and over the Jews , as the Messenger of Allah promised us in an authentic prophetic tradition when He said the Hour of Resurrection shall not come before Muslims fight Jews and before Jews hide behind trees and behind rocks.
  10. We are certain - with the grace of Allah - that we shall prevail over the Jews and over those fighting with them. Today however, our battle against the Americans is far greater than our battle was against the Russians.
  11. And, while America blocks the entry of weapons into Islamic countries, it provides the Israel is with a continuous supply of arms allowing them thus to kill and massacre more Muslims.
  12. We believe that this administration represents Israel inside America. Take the sensitive ministries such as the Ministry of Exterior and the Ministry of Defense and the CIA, you will find that the Jews have the upper hand in them. They make use of America to further their plans for the world, especially the Islamic world.
  13. American presence in the Gulf provides support to the Jews and protects their rear. And while millions of Americans are homeless and destitute and live in abject poverty, their government is busy occupying our land and building new settlements and helping Israel build new settlements in the point of departure for our Prophet's midnight journey to the seven heavens. America throws her own sons in the land of the two Holy Mosques for the sake of protecting Jewish interests. ...
  14. We say to the Americans as people and to American mothers, if they cherish their lives and if they cherish their sons, they must elect an American patriotic government that caters to their interests not the interests of the Jews.
  15. Their brothers in East Europe, in Turkey and in Albania have been guided by Allah to submit to Islam and to experience the bliss of Islam. Unlike those, the European and the American people and some of the Arabs are under the influence of Jewish media. ...

This is what Jeff Goldberg has posted on his blog

Freeman on Israel and 9/11

07 Mar 2009 04:31 pm

Andrew says that I base my concerns about Charles Freeman on this speech, but doesn't provide the portions of the speech that seem most problematic to me. Here is one of those passages from this 2006 speech:

We have paid heavily and often in treasure in the past for our unflinching support and unstinting subsidies of Israel's approach to managing its relations with the Arabs. Five years ago we began to pay with the blood of our citizens here at home.

Freeman blames Israel, and American support for Israel, for provoking 9/11. This is a very serious charge, and it is an untrue charge. Most al-Qaeda experts seem to agree that the stationing of American troops in Saudi Arabia was the main motivating grievance, though there were many putative causes. "You could take Israel out of the equation and Al Qaeda would still want to attack us," Lawrence Wright, the author of The Looming Tower, once told me. "Israel is a tremendously powerful recruiting tool, but there are people who are drawn to Al Qaeda for many different motivations. For Zawahiri, the main goal was Egypt. For bin Laden, the main goal was to expel American troops from Saudi Arabia." Richard Clarke told me, "If you look at Al Qaeda's own writing and their public statements, Israel was not a major theme. What they say is pretty clear. They want to eliminate the presence of the 'far enemy'--us--from the Islamic world, because the far enemy props up the 'near enemy,' the moderate Arab states. If they increase the pain on us, they believe that they can topple the Arab regimes. If Israel didn't exist, they'd be doing the same thing."

And one other Middle East expert -- Charles Freeman -- said in 1998: "Mr. bin Laden's principal point, in pursuing this campaign of violence

against the United States, has nothing to do with Israel. It has to do

with the American military presence in Saudi Arabia, in connection with

the Iran-Iraq issue. No doubt the question of American relations with

Israel adds to the emotional heat of his opposition and adds to his

appeal in the region. But this is not his main point."

So the question is, what caused Charles Freeman to change his opinion about the causes of al-Qaeda radicalism? Could it be his close ties to Saudi Arabia? This was my original concern about Freeman, that he was too tied to a country that is an obvious target for the collectors and analysts of American intelligence.  

http://jeffreygoldberg.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/03/freeman_on_israel_and_911.php

Fair Use Notice: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in the ZioMania website is archived here under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in reviewing the included information for personal use, non-profit research and educational purposes only.
Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml