There are only atheists in foxholes.
vruz: …and in bunkers, and behind bullet-proof crystal, and in pope-mobiles.
Reblogged from Substituting Reality
Taliban 'offered bin Laden trial before 9/11'
—via jonathan-cunningham:
The Taliban government in Afghanistan offered to present Osama bin Laden for a trial long before the attacks of September 11, 2001, but the US government showed no interest, according to a senior aide to the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar.
Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, Taliban’s last foreign minister, told Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview that his government had made several proposals to the United States to present the al-Qaeda leader, considered the mastermind of the 2001 attacks, for trial for his involvement in plots targeting US facilities during the 1990s.
“Even before the [9/11] attacks, our Islamic Emirate had tried through various proposals to resolve the Osama issue. One such proposal was to set up a three-nation court, or something under the supervision of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference [OIC],” Muttawakil said.
“But the US showed no interest in it. They kept demanding we hand him over, but we had no relations with the US, no agreement of any sort. They did not recognise our government.”
When the US demands you hand over a person (whether for trial or immediate execution), you have 2 options: obey unquestioningly or be utterly annihilated.
vruz: well, being the taliban the taliban, I would treat their information like something as reliable as something coming from the Tea Party. however, it was in their best interest to resolve the Bin Laden problem then, if they wanted to keep their country untouched. apparently the US just didn’t want to leave Afghanistan’s resources untouched.
Reblogged from Tumble DC 25
Bill Moyers Interviews Andrew Bacevich
by Bill Moyers, The New Press / “Bill Moyers Journal: The Conversation Continues” is the Truthout Progressive Pick of the Week.
Our finest warriors are often our most reluctant warmongers. They have seen firsthand the toll war exacts. They know better than anyone that force can be like a lobster trap that closes with each stage of descent, making escape impossible. So it was when the liberal consensus lured America into Vietnam during the ’60s, and again after 9/11, when neoconservatives clamored for the invasion of Iraq…. One old warrior looked on sadly, his understanding of combat’s reality tempered by twenty-three years in uniform, including service in Vietnam…. Bacevich supported Barack Obama’s candidacy but believes that Obama’s commitment of more troops to Afghanistan was a deadly mistake.
Obama: Bin Laden’s death refocuses Afghan war
Steve Kroft spoke with President Obama on how the killing of Osama bin Laden will influence the war in Afghanistan.
