Greg Palast - on finding out that his book was in Osama Bin Laden's house

[kpete]

The US government told me Bin Laden read my book. But what is it not telling us?
Greg Palast
Finding out that The Best Democracy Money Can Buy was on the Bin Laden bookshelf confirms my fears about America’s war on whistleblowers

It was actually quite embarrassing to learn that Bin Laden was reading my tome – and a few by my homie Noam Chomsky. It’s embarrassing because it’s clear that Bin Laden was more well-read than our president of the time (though, in George W Bush’s defence, there’s much to be learned from My Pet Goat).

The new official war on whistleblowers and reporters
is NOT about keeping information out of the hands of terrorists

IT's ABOUT KEEPING INFORMATION FROM US

And what did Bin Laden think of my investigation of the 9/11 attack? While working at Newsnight, a few weeks after the towers fell, a little birdie dropped off a 30-page memo marked “SECRET,” “eyes only” and “1-99I WF”, which is code for “national security document”. The document suggested that FBI agents were blocked from investigating the Bin Laden family well before 11 September 2001. Calls to the Defense Intelligence Agency, CIA and FBI insiders authenticated this bombshell of a devastating intelligence failure.

No, the evidence did not show that President Bush knew about the 9/11 attack in advance. But here was something still quite damning: we learned that the Bush family connection to the Bin Laden family business might have been a shield against government probes. Did Bin Laden, reading that, make a note to himself to thank the Bushes for their unintended protection? I assumed the FBI would deny the authenticity of the document. Instead of denying that the Bin Laden investigation had been spiked, the FBI spokesman told Newsnight these chilling words: “There are a lot of things the intelligence community knows and other people ought not to know.”

.........




Ought not to know? What else ought we not to know?
What else is government hiding from us – and when will it kill us?



.........

Finding that Bin Laden read my book, with its several chapters revealing state secrets, confirms for me that the new official war on whistleblowers and reporters is not about keeping information out of the hands of terrorists, but making sure that “the public ought not to know” where the fools at the helm are leading us.



MORE:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/may/21/us--government-osama-bin-laden-book?CMP=share_btn_tw

[freshwest]

1. Everything Palast and Bin Laden predicted has happened since BushCo. got into office. n/t

[hifiguy]

14. Palast looks under the rocks no one wants to even admit are there.

I trust his reporting completely.

[niyad]

2. k and r

[FlatBaroque]

3. making sure that “the public ought not to know” where the fools at the helm are leading us.

so true

[Fast Walker 52]

4. that "bookshelf" is highly fishy for who it supposedly belonged to

why would bin Laden be interested in conspiracies and 9/11 truth literature?

[Damansarajaya]

10. Palast and Chomsky have nothing to do with conspiracies and 9-11 truthers. nt

[geek tragedy]

13. Vanity. Also to see if there's useful information in them nt

[jakeXT]

25. Reminds me of the first interview

Osama bin Laden denies his involvement in the 9/11 attacks. In an interview with the Daily Ummat, a Pakistani newspaper, he says: “I have already said that I am not involved in the September 11 attacks in the United States (see September 16, 2001). As a Muslim, I try my best to avoid telling a lie. I had no knowledge of these attacks, nor do I consider the killing of innocent women, children, and other human beings as an appreciable act. Islam strictly forbids causing harm to innocent women, children, and other people. Such a practice is forbidden even in the course of battle.… The United States should try to trace the perpetrators of these attacks within itself; the people who are a part of the US system but are dissenting against it. Or those who are working for some other system; persons who want to make the present century as a century of conflict between Islam and Christianity so that their own civilization, nation, country, or ideology can survive. They may be anyone, from Russia to Israel and from India to Serbia. In the US itself, there are dozens of well-organized and well-equipped groups capable of causing large-scale destruction. Then you cannot forget the American Jews, who have been annoyed with President Bush ever since the Florida elections and who want to avenge him.… Then there are intelligence agencies in the US, which require billions of dollars worth of funds from Congress and the government every year.… They needed an enemy.… Is it not that there exists a government within the government in the United Sates? That secret government must be asked who carried out the attacks.” [DAILY UMMAT (KARACHI), 9/28/2001] The newspaper says it conducted the interview with bin Laden by submittng questions for him to Taliban officials and then receiving written replies. [ANANOVA, 9/28/2001]

http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a091601noinvolvement

[Art_from_Ark]

29. And the BBC disclosed that several of the purported hijackers were alive and well after 9-11

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1559151.stm

[hedda_foil]

31. ^^^Thank you for this, Jake. I have never seen this interview before and it's explosive even now.

I recall that he first denied involvement, but nothing beyond that.

The United States should try to trace the perpetrators of these attacks within itself; the people who are a part of the US system but are dissenting against it. Or those who are working for some other system; persons who want to make the present century as a century of conflict between Islam and Christianity so that their own civilization, nation, country, or ideology can survive. They may be anyone, from Russia to Israel and from India to Serbia. In the US itself, there are dozens of well-organized and well-equipped groups capable of causing large-scale destruction. Then you cannot forget the American Jews, who have been annoyed with President Bush ever since the Florida elections and who want to avenge him.… Then there are intelligence agencies in the US, which require billions of dollars worth of funds from Congress and the government every year.… They needed an enemy.… Is it not that there exists a government within the government in the United Sates? That secret government must be asked who carried out the attacks.”

[Fast Walker 52]

33. several people say that bin Laden actually died long before 2011

Benazhir Bhutto said this before she was assassinated, for instance.

[arcane1]

5. That book will get you zapped with a tazer if you show it to John Kerry.

[Mnemosyne]

6. Bhutto told the truth about Bin Laden, no one wanted/s to hear. nt

[BrotherIvan]

9. That idea is hard to wrap my head around

But the fact that we have no information other than the official version of the OBL raid and that his body was dumped, the narrative has a ton of plot holes. In Hollywood, the rule has always been that if a character dies off screen, they aren't dead. In this case, he may have already been dead. Or as some have said, so weak and sick that he could have been captured. I'll probably be dead before the truth comes out.

[Mnemosyne]

16. She had no known reason to lie about it, that I could find. Gave interview to David Frost Nov. 2,

2007, assassinated Dec. 27, 2007.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

And I agree, too many will be dead before the truth comes out.

[BrotherIvan]

22. Here is a post with a timeline

It's blowing my head up! She had no reason to lie and I respect her immensely.

But anyone who wants to read more info, here is a post with a timeline and a link to her video interview.

http://littlecountrylost.blogspot.com/2008/01/benazir-bhutto-omar-shiekh-murdered.html

Yes, it is CT, but it is a very compelling argument.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

17. No comparison between the OBL raid plot holes, and the 9/11 plot holes (if you care to research).

I highly recommend "The Terror Timeline: Year by Year, Day by Day, Minute by Minute: A Comprehensive Chronicle of the Road to 9/11--and America's Response"
by Paul Thompson.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the long lead up to 9/11 and the purposeful ignorance of the Federal government.

[BrotherIvan]

24. The rabbit hole goes so deep

I have no idea if we will come out on the other side. It's the number ONE reason why TPTB will make sure that an insider, not an outsider wins the election. It is too important to have impeachment off the table and to look forward not backward.

[Fast Walker 52]

34. indeed

and she was killed not too long afterwards

[Politicalboi]

7. Was Herding Goats in 10 easy steps there too

Free to plant whatever they need to scare more people with nonsense, and possibly point fingers.

[Damansarajaya]

8. So far, the only "classified" information I've seen in the press

simply shows how incompetent the Bush administration was or illegal activities of the CIA / NSA.

I haven't seen anything that would give aid or comfort to the enemy. The "secrets" seem only to be covering up agency and administration F ups.

[KoKo]

11. Recommend!

[sabrina 1]

12. Lol, there is something fishy about all this 'Bin Laden' bookshelf info. All those 'lefties' he

was apparently a 'fan' of.

Was there any O'Reilly or Limbaugh 'literature' on his bookshelf?

No?


Just Chomsky and Palast?


Text book propaganda, 'Tie the Left to Terrorism'.

I wonder what Orwellian name they have for this 'mission'.

'Operation ???'

[Dr Hobbitstein]

19. Operation Dr Oz.

[sabrina 1]

21. Why are you stalking me? Are you aware that it is against the rules of this site to keep following

people around with comments from other threads?

If you want to talk about Monsanto's attacks on Oz among others who want the American people to have the right to have their food labeled, then start a thread on your objections to that right. I will happily comment on in that thread.

But your stalking is becoming extremely creepy at this point.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

20. OBL was a very intelligent man.

Why the F would he listen to Faux News?? Only Americans are that stupid.

[kpete]

27. I have had the pic in my head all day

Bin Laden eating an apple reading Chomsky, probably listened to Leonard Cohen too

[Fast Walker 52]

32. good point!

Operation Leftysmear?

[JDPriestly]

15. K&R. Excellent article by Greg Palast.

[WillyT]

18. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[Oneironaut]

23. Bin Laden was crafty and intelligent.

The US at the time, in their failure to acknowledge this fact, made the terrible error of not knowing their enemy.

[randys1]

26. Palast is a heroic truth teller like Michael Moore.

[riderinthestorm]

28. The war on whistleblowers is about keeping information from us...

so true!!!

Big K&R

[Dont call me Shirley]

30. K & R

[freebrew]

35. Why do you think Bin Laden was assassinated??

Instead of captured. He knew all of the bad guys and would probably name them.

Just as Saddam and many other 'terror' figures.

Most are funded by the unwitting US taxpayer.