Saudi Arabia is home to some of Islam’s holiest sites and the deployment of US forces there was seen as a historic betrayal by many Islamists, notably Osama Bin Laden. It is one of the main reasons given by the Saudi-born dissident –blamed by Washington for the 11 September attacks–to justify violence against the United States and its allies. [BBC News, 4/29/03]
“Dissident”?
Bear in mind those US forces were deployed in the Middle East to stop this:
A 31-year-old Kuwaiti woman, Asrar Qabandi, was captured by Iraqi secret police occupying her country in 1990 for “crimes,” one of which included speaking with CNN on the phone. They beat her daily for two months, forcing her father to watch. In January 1991, on the eve of the American-led offensive, they smashed her skull and tore her body apart limb by limb. A plastic bag containing her body parts was left on the doorstep of her family’s home. [New York Times]
So the “justification” is the the U.S. should have allowed Saddam to stay in Kuwait.
***
Tony Blair contrasts BBC objectivity to the “Iraqi information Minister”:
“Tony Blair blitzed the BBC on Friday over its twisted coverage of the Iraq war. The PM was furious after a newsman claimed terror in Baghdad is worse than under Saddam. War reporter Andrew Gilligan said on Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘Baghdad’s people are passing their first days of liberty in a greater fear than they’ve ever before known. The old fear of the regime was habitual, low-level. This fear is sharp and immediate.’ Mr Blair was furious at a War Cabinet meeting on Friday. He gave his official spokesman his blessing to say: ‘Try telling that to people whose relatives have been dropped head-first into shredders. I doubt if the Iraqi information minister would try to justify this report.’ ” [Sun]
OK, maybe Bagdahd Bob isn’t dishonest enough to work for the BBC. My apologies to the “Iraqi information Minister.”