Claims of Saudi hand in September 11 attacks hang over Obama's speech

[Octafish]

15. ''Most Americans Don't Have a Clue''

ISIS and Washington’s Ignorance About the Sunni-Shia Divide

by GARY LEUPP
CounterPunch, Sept. 15, 2014

A couple weeks ago Saudi Arabia was warning against U.S. action against ISIL (ISIS, Islamic State) arguing that it would be perceived as a pro-Shiite intervention in a Sunni-Shiite conflict. Saudi Arabia is of course the land where the Prophet Mohammed lived, and the House of Saud sees itself as the guardian of the holy sites of Mecca and Medina. It is a bastion of Sunni orthodoxy; the Sharia is rigidly enforced. There are punitive stonings and beheadings. Women must wear the abaya and are forbidden to drive. Saudi Arabia was one of the very few countries that recognized and supported the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. In short, it has much in common with ISIL. Much of ISIL’s funding comes from private Saudi sources and “charities.”

But Saudi Arabia also has a longstanding close relationship with U.S. imperialism. It guarantees the supply of cheap oil to world markets in return for generous U.S. military aid. The regime seeks peace with Israel, and has proposed a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine question endorsed by the Arab League. From 1990 to 2003 it hosted U.S. military forces. (This was the factor that caused Osama bin Laden to break with the regime and call for the overthrow of the monarchy.) ISIL’s “Islamic State” despises the Saudi rulers just as bin Laden did. It wants to ultimately conquer the Arabian Peninsula and raise the black flag of the caliphate in Mecca and Medina.

So Riyadh fears ISIL. It has now succumbed to Washington’s pressure and agreed to take part in some sort of alliance to defeat the Islamic State. But it also fears Iran, a bastion of Shiite orthodoxy with a population three times its size. It has no rational fear of an Iranian attack; Iran indeed has not invaded another country in several hundred years. Iran’s military budget at around $6 billion annually is just 11% of Saudi Arabia’s. U.S. intelligence has long since concluded that Iran has no nuclear weapons program. But according to some reports, Riyadh would even look the other way if Israel flew over its airspace to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. What Riyadh dreads is the prospect of a Shiite rebellion within the Saudi kingdom, backed by Iran.

Over 10% of Saudis (perhaps even 18%) are Shiites. They are concentrated in the Eastern Province, especially in the cities of Al-Qatif and Al-Ahsa on or near the Persian Gulf. This province is the center of Saudi oil production. It could one day become an independent state. It should be obvious why Riyadh is concerned about the possibility that U.S. actions might advance Shiite interests at its expense.

Some necessary historical background: In the seventh century the still young Islamic movement split into two camps, Sunni and Shia. The proximate cause was a difference of opinion about the selection of a new caliph, the spiritual and political leader of the Muslim community. The Sunni felt he should be elected; those who came to be called Shiites believed that he must be a member of the Prophet’s family. The quarrel came to a head at the Battle of Karbala (in what is now Iraq) in 680 and the defeat of the Shiite faction, which still nurtures historical resentments towards the victors, and a sense of eternal victimhood.

Always a minority within the Islamic world, the Shiites developed their own beliefs and practices that somewhat diverged from those of the Sunnis (although there is enormous variety within both traditions). In particular, their reverence for saints and construction of shrines to their memory strikes many Sunnis as virtual idolatry. Some indeed refuse to concede that Shiites are truly Muslims.

Patrick Cockburn reports that Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to Washington (1983-2005), once told M16 head Sir Richard Dearlove: “The time is not far off in the Middle East, Richard, when it will literally be ‘God help the Shia.’ More than a billion Sunni have simply had enough of them.”

There are thus deep animosities within Islam, as there have been, historically, within Christianity.

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http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/09/15/isis-and-washingtons-ignorance-about-the-sunni-shia-divide/

Regarding former Sen. Bob Graham:

Former senator: Government, FBI hiding full 9/11 story

By: Craig Patrick, FOX 13 Political Editor
Updated: Sep 11, 2014 8:01 PM EDT

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham co-chaired the 9/11 investigation in Congress. He claims we still don't know the full story behind the September 11th attacks because our own government is covering it up.

While President Obama just called on Saudi Arabia to help us fight the ISIS terrorists (and while Secretary of State John Kerry is currently rallying support from Arab diplomats in Saudi Arabia), Graham claims the Saudi government is already sponsoring the terrorists.

"They essentially are the creator of ISIS and the primary source of its financial support today," Graham said. "Saudi Arabia feels they can do almost anything and nothing is going to happen (to them) because they're being protected, covered up by the U.S. government."

Graham helped write classified documents that he says reveal Al Qaeda had help launching the September 11th attacks. He claims there is evidence of a terror-support network in the United States, that supported Al Qaeda, and may still be in place for ISIS today.

Presidents Bush and Obama have both refused to release 28 pages of those classified records. Though Graham cannot reveal the specific contents, he accuses the Saudi government of working against us behind the scenes, and he accuses the U.S. government of keeping it a secret (possibly to protect our oil interests or alliance with the Saudi Arabia).

"For 13 years, that information has been denied to the American people," said Graham. "The pot is going to break soon."

He says only a few members of congress have seen the information.

“Without exception, when they have put down the 28 pages, their reaction has been, 'Oh God, I can't believe this has really happened!"

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http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/26511322/2014/09/11/former-senator-government-hiding-full-911-story

Thank you for the heads-up, Ichingcarpenter. For some reason, my television screen in Detroit hasn't brought these important concerns to my attention.