Reply #48: Finally!

[paulthompson]

The information in the first post of this thread comes from my 9/11 Timeline. I posted this same information in several other DU threads recently, but got zippo response, so I'm surprised and pleased to see this thread getting some traction.

I posted some other information that I'll also repost here. First, I'm amazed all the socializing between the UAE leaders and bin Laden hasn't been bigger news in the wake of this deal. Check out for instance this entry from my timeline:

February 1999: Bin Laden Missile Strike Called Off for Fear of Hitting Persian Gulf Royalty

Intelligence reports foresee the presence of bin Laden at a desert hunting camp in Afghanistan for about a week. Information on his presence appears reliable, so preparations are made to target his location with cruise missiles. However, intelligence also puts an official aircraft of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and members of the royal family from that country in the same location. Bin Laden is hunting with the Emirati royals, as he did with leaders from the UAE and Saudi Arabia on other occasions (see 1995-2001). Policy makers are concerned that a strike might kill a prince or other senior officials, so the strike never happens. A top UAE official at the time denies that high-level officials are there, but evidence subsequently confirms their presence. (9/11 Commission Report, 3/24/04 (B))

And from this timeline entry, note how the UAE was funding the Taliban right until 9/11:

Early June 2001: Extensive ISI Support for Taliban Continues
UPI reporters visiting Taliban leader Mullah Omar note, “Saudi Arabia and the (United Arab Emirates) secretly fund the Taliban government by paying Pakistan for its logistical support to Afghanistan. Despite Pakistan's official denials, the Taliban is entirely dependent on Pakistani aid. This was verified on the ground by UPI. Everything from bottled water to oil, gasoline and aviation fuel, and from telephone equipment to military supplies, comes from Pakistan.” (UPI, 6/14/01)

The third point I wanted to make has to do with the second entry posted in the first thread, the one about drug dealing and arms smuggling and much more going through the UAE. The key person in this has been Victor Bout, who is without question the world's biggest illegal arms dealer. He's like one of those James Bond villians come to life, so much so that Hollywood is currently making not one but two movies about him.

The amazing thing is that his illegal network still continues, with the UAE as its central hub. And the even more amazing thing is that one of his main clients these days in the US military in Iraq. That's right, the US military is paying Victor Bout's network - the same network that greatly supported al-Qaeda for years before 9/11 - to fly in and out of Iraq, and has continued to do so for several years now despite many mainstream media accounts pointing this out.

I unfortunately don't have any timeline entries about this, but Douglas Farah, a Washington Post reporter now on leave to write books, is one of the few people on top of it. Check out the past several years of his blog at www.douglasfarah.com for updates on the Victor Bout situation. I just went to his blog right now and I was pleased to see he's posted an update about Victor Bout in light of this UAE port deal. I'll post that in a minute.