Bin Laden's wealth didnot finance 9/11

[Sleepless In NY]

Bin Laden's wealth not the force behind 9/11
Wealth overstated
Thursday, September 2, 2004 Posted: 8:20 PM EDT (0020 GMT)



WASHINGTON (AP) -- Recent investigations into al Qaeda, including by the September 11 commission, have substantially altered the commonly held view that Osama bin Laden's inheritance and massive fortune are being used to finance his international terror operations.

While bin Laden isn't poor, he's not worth the $300 million once believed. Nor is he thought to be directly financing his terror group with his personal wealth or a network of businesses in Sudan, where he operated from 1991 to 1996.

"There has been a revision of collective thinking," said Kenneth Katzman, a Congressional Research Service expert who has studied terror groups. "The new thinking is that bin Laden's fortune didn't really enter into al Qaeda that much, or wasn't the driving force in al Qaeda."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/09/02/binladen.wealth.ap/index.html

[jean]

1. weren't the majority of the hijackers Saudi's? Hmmm. That's a rich country

[DenverDem]

2. CIA coke money financed it.

Take it to the bank.

[Bhaisahab]

11. You are SPOT ON!

And don't forget this curious bit of info- Pakistani ISI agent Mahmoud Admed had wired $100K to Atta before the attack.
The 911 attacks are the biggest, most evil, and most cruel frauds in American, no WORLD, history.

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. The families of the the guys that did it unwittingly financed it

UBL probably had only passing knowledge of the thing.

[leQ]

4. so does this mean there's another rich terrorist out there

who has proven to be capable of attacking our shores? does this mean osama isn't important any more?

i can't figure out what side of the coin this is landing on.

[Born Free]

10. so does this mean there's another rich terrorist out there"

Interesting question, maybe the bush team needs a new demon, either because they failed to get the orginal demon or they just need a new demon to keep the people afraid.

[Pallas180]

5. Rumsfeld's disinformation OSP office - they read us and know

what we're saying.

DU posters = truth

AP = talking points from Rove, Rumsfeld, and Cheney

[Tight_rope]

6. Well...I knew the day of 9/11. I was never fooled.

What happened on 9/11 could never have been the work of one master mind. Come on people. It was too big, too smart, too precise. Think about it. It's not just since Bush took office that others around the world have hated Americans. Hell Americans hate Americans.

It's all common sense here. Think about all the wars, all the invasions, all the under the cover deals that America's politicians and rich have made with people in other countries. Some of the deals back fired or went through but when the media found out, those involved in America turned on their partners in crime.

There is "NO" war in the last 50 years that the US has not had a hand in. All those rebels taking over African countries received their weapons or money to buy weapons from someone in the US. You might say how can that be. They didn't benefit. Oh! It's not something "you" can see but trust me someone in the US benefited.

As we now know "THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE WAR BUSINESS"!

Here's just one example: http://www.alternet.org/story/13134

snip~
In 1983, as the South African apartheid regime was fighting for its survival, Abramoff became chairman of the College Republican National Federation. The group passed a resolution condemning "deliberate planted propaganda by the KGB and Soviet proxy forces" against the South Africa regime. The resolution made no mention of apartheid.

The dawn of the 1990s found Abramoff in apartheid South Africa once again, this time producing an anti-communist thriller film, "Red Scorpion." The film depicted the South African army's fight against "pro-communist forces." The film was banned by the United Nations since it violated the UN's embargo on doing business with the racist South African regime.

snip~
All the US participants involved with the IFF, including Abramoff, deny any knowledge that South African intelligence had funded any of IFF's operations. The IFF disbanded in 1993 when South African president de Klerk pulled the funding for most of the government's clandestine operations.

In 1994, Abramoff had a new lobby-client in Africa: Zairian dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Sese Seko was a corrupt despot whom the U.S. State Department had designated as one of Africa's "biggest obstacles to democracy."

[TreasonousBastard]

7. So, just how much did it cost anyway?

These guys lived pretty much on the cheap, except for the flying lessons which are a few hundred bucks an hour.

Airline schedules are free and commonly available, and the tickets aren't all that much.

Living expenses, flying lessons, and tickets-- we're not talking really big bucks here.

The rest of the operation doesn't seem to be all that well funded either. They've got small arms that any underground arms dealer can get for you and revolutionary forces all over the world seem to be well supplied with.

[Carolab]

8. So...

The monograph reveals in detail how the hijackers received money from wire transfers, cash and traveler's checks, and credit or debit cards for overseas bank accounts. The report says most of the funds were sent by Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, a nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

So, where did Ali get it? And, if we "got" Mohammed in 2003, who is handling al Qaeda's finances now? Ali?

[Rex]

9. Let's see...

OBL took no responsibility (initially) for 9/11, and now appears not to have financed it. What I do find interesting is that he has business dealings in Sudan, a country torn apart by civil war and genocide. I'm wondering if he has had any hand in these activities.

[Moderator]

12. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=796166