www.theoxfordscientist.com
11 September 2022
... at the end of every road, there is a mirror
E LaMont Gregory MSc Oxon
Twin Towers of the World Trade Center
The enduring question is, why did it happen?
... chilling mockery
... chilling mockery
,
A week before the 11th of September 2001, according to an exclusive interview published in the Evening Standard of London on the 16th of September 2001, the German Federal Police had in their custody an individual who shared an apartment in Hamburg with the Saudi pilot Atta, before he departed Germany for a rather torturous route into the United States, the city of Boston, Massachusetts, and finally Logan Airport.
And, he was telling the German Federal Police a fantastic story. He spoke of an event planned for the United States in which some of those who lived in the apartment with him would be involved, that in his words "would change the world as we know it."
What happened over the course of the week leading up to the events of 9/11, should remind each and every one of us that communications between the United States and our allies are critical to our national security and theirs.
A lesson that fell upon deaf ears in the four years of a tumultuous Trump administration and presidency. It is difficult to convey just how shallow and desperate the Trump administration was, but it is necessary to preserve the record for future reference.
The German Federal police, as is customary, dutifully posted the information they gained from their interrogations on the network of relevant international police services. And, in addition, made specific and direct communications with British and American intelligence services and then the wider network of European and select other regional capitols. Yet, and to the utter amazement of the German Federal Police, no one responded.
Desperation, is not a description that one can easily attribute to the most least likely to moralize excessively German Federal authorities and intelligence and security officials, but in this singularly unique circumstance, the German authorities undertook extraordinary measures to illicit a response from their counterparts in London, Washington, Paris, Ottawa and beyond, to no avail.
Finally, towards the end of the week before the event that would 'change the world as we know it' the German Federal Police made a direct call to the White House, to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
In the Hollywood thriller/drama movie, Air Force One, untoward circumstances on a flight compels the president to make a telephone call to the White House. The person who answers, when they are told that it is the president calling, treats that information with dismissive incredulity. Whereupon, the president, portrayed by Harrison Ford, tells the person on the other end of the phone at the White House to follow protocol and trace the call. They do, and the movie progresses with those in the White House now aware of the upheaval taking place on Air Force One.
One should realize that the telephone system at the White House, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, even in 2001 was rather sophisticated. For example, most will be aware that any call made from a telephone at an airport is accompanied by audible beeps which clearly identify that the call is made from an airport. Well the system in the White House has enhanced capabilities to identify and distinguish incoming calls from officials domestic and foreign.
After the German Federal police had been on the phone trying to get someone to listen, the call was interrupted, dropped as it were by the person who answered the call, more correctly the the person to whom the original call receiver had transferred the call to. The German Federal police continued their effort to convey the seriousness of the information they had, right up to and until the planes began flying into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and later the Pentagon.
When President Bush met with the German chancellor shortly after 9/11 and in a joint press conference Bush spoke about never letting - it - happen again, it was that specific telephone call that he and the chancellor were referring to. We will never let - it - happen again, Bush said.
During the trial of the 1993 Twin Towers bombers, a trial of the century in which the careers of prosecutors would be hoisted to the dizzying heights of stardom, several themes emerged in the prosecutorial effort. The most salient of which was the idea that the bombers, hell bent on the destruction of America as symbolized by their ability to destroy, to bring down the iconic towers, glittering symbols of American power and prestige.
The prosecutors, in tones of chilling theatrical mockery, told the court and the accused just how little the accused knew about the country whose symbols of might they sought to destroy. First, there was their belief that the pillars they sought to destroy in the underground garage structure held up the buildings, they did not. The carnage and destruction the bombers caused showed just how little they knew about their intended targets. It was stressed that one of the features of the twin towers, their architectural significance, was that they were unique for such tall buildings, because the external walls of the buildings were the principal supports that held the towers aloft. So blowing up the pillars in the underground garages could not achieve their desired aim.
This was just one example of the utter ignorance, the prosecutors exhorted, of the accused and how very little they knew about the country they were hell-bent on destroying. Not only was the carnage and damage useless, but if they understood anything about how things are done in America they would have known that buildings in America, in modern America, have to have an approved plan in place as to how the building will be demolished, if it has to be, due to some unforeseen problem, or at the end of the service life of all buildings and structures, especially tall buildings like the twin towers, before permission is granted to build them.
So, if the accused knew anything about America, and New York City, they would have known that the plan to demolish the twin towers, involved their being emptied, and a series of explosions would be triggered at the top of the towers and they would crumble under their own weight, and cause, with proper preparation, little or no damage to surrounding buildings in the process.
And, that in America, but the accused would not know that, one could visit the planning and building departments and inspect the plans in place to bring the buildings down. But the accused knew so little about America that they would kill and destroy needlessly. While, in liberty-loving America, the public has access to all that information, except that now there was a charge for photocopying.
Well, there was at least one person listening to the theatrics of that courtroom, a Pakistani, and he took a plan to one Bin Laden, who some FBI investigators believed had had something to do with the 1993 bombings. Unfortunately, the principal FBI agent that pursued that line of inquiry, had left the FBI and was the chief of building security for the Twin Towers, and died in the attacks on 9/11, while at work.
The Pakistani devised a plan that involved a series of five hijackings of planes with knives, most of which were diverted to Kandahar Airport, where Bin Laden personally greeted the returning warriors. These hijackings were mere preparation for the day that would change the world, when the explosions at the top of the Twin Towers would be triggered by planes flying into them. And, the towers would crumbled under their own weight, according to the approved plan of record for their demolition.
The question that many Americans still ask to this day is why; why 1993 and, why 2001?
The answer is rather unsettling, and it is the same then and now, they just want to 'send a message to Americans that we are at war'.
It is difficult to convey just how desperate Trump is not to be remembered as the worst one-term president of the United States in American history. That reality, however, is etched in stone. Only his most unthinking adherents ever believed his signature campaign promise to build a wall between Mexico and the United States that Mexico would pay for.
All Trump's other ventures have been equally unsuccessful, such as, the tax cuts to the ultra rich that against all economic reasoning either Keynesian, Austrian school or historically, would magically trickle down to consumers. When real wage increases are the only real known policy that will actually boost economic activity. Racial animus against those, who have over Trump's long and undistinguished career, have had sue him for violations of their constitutional rights, and to force him to pay his sub-contractors.
But notably, the very idea of dispatching Pompeo to conduct off-the-cuff negotiations with the Taliban on the eve of the Day of Remembrance of the slaughter of thousands of Americans and many others, begs rational discernment.
But alas, desperation knows no bounds of decency.
Trump is sort of a Lex Luthor type character (some children identify with Superman and Lois Lane, while others gravitate to the villainous Lex Luthor), but not a smart one. And whereas, Lex Luthor was portrayed as someone driven to be a master criminal, Lex did not exhibit Trump's sadistic nature. Taking on Superman was one thing, but to torture children is something else, altogether. Trump and his latter day Himmler, Stephen Miller, have set the American glowing star back to the days of genocidal savagery that accompanied slavery, manifest destiny, reconstruction and the Jim Crow eras in American history.
It is Trump's utter desperation to be seen as a leader, and not just another rabble rouser with a microphone that will only increase as he flails about in search of some honor or another, which he does not deserve and will never achieve.
The history of the Trump presidency, as horrible at it seems, ultimately will be written to reflect the fact that his administration, his congress, his security and intelligence establishment, was not equal to the task.
And, all apologies to those whose loss on the 11th of September 2001 bears heavy on their hearts, and to those who loss one of our brave daughters and sons who sought to right the wrongs inflicted upon us.
May Providence see us through rather challenging times.
A week before the 11th of September 2001, according to an exclusive interview published in the Evening Standard of London on the 16th of September 2001, the German Federal Police had in their custody an individual who shared an apartment in Hamburg with the Saudi pilot Atta, before he departed Germany for a rather torturous route into the United States, the city of Boston, Massachusetts, and finally Logan Airport.
And, he was telling the German Federal Police a fantastic story. He spoke of an event planned for the United States in which some of those who lived in the apartment with him would be involved, that in his words "would change the world as we know it."
What happened over the course of the week leading up to the events of 9/11, should remind each and every one of us that communications between the United States and our allies are critical to our national security and theirs.
A lesson that fell upon deaf ears in the four years of a tumultuous Trump administration and presidency. It is difficult to convey just how shallow and desperate the Trump administration was, but it is necessary to preserve the record for future reference.
The German Federal police, as is customary, dutifully posted the information they gained from their interrogations on the network of relevant international police services. And, in addition, made specific and direct communications with British and American intelligence services and then the wider network of European and select other regional capitols. Yet, and to the utter amazement of the German Federal Police, no one responded.
Desperation, is not a description that one can easily attribute to the most least likely to moralize excessively German Federal authorities and intelligence and security officials, but in this singularly unique circumstance, the German authorities undertook extraordinary measures to illicit a response from their counterparts in London, Washington, Paris, Ottawa and beyond, to no avail.
Finally, towards the end of the week before the event that would 'change the world as we know it' the German Federal Police made a direct call to the White House, to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
In the Hollywood thriller/drama movie, Air Force One, untoward circumstances on a flight compels the president to make a telephone call to the White House. The person who answers, when they are told that it is the president calling, treats that information with dismissive incredulity. Whereupon, the president, portrayed by Harrison Ford, tells the person on the other end of the phone at the White House to follow protocol and trace the call. They do, and the movie progresses with those in the White House now aware of the upheaval taking place on Air Force One.
One should realize that the telephone system at the White House, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, even in 2001 was rather sophisticated. For example, most will be aware that any call made from a telephone at an airport is accompanied by audible beeps which clearly identify that the call is made from an airport. Well the system in the White House has enhanced capabilities to identify and distinguish incoming calls from officials domestic and foreign.
After the German Federal police had been on the phone trying to get someone to listen, the call was interrupted, dropped as it were by the person who answered the call, more correctly the the person to whom the original call receiver had transferred the call to. The German Federal police continued their effort to convey the seriousness of the information they had, right up to and until the planes began flying into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and later the Pentagon.
When President Bush met with the German chancellor shortly after 9/11 and in a joint press conference Bush spoke about never letting - it - happen again, it was that specific telephone call that he and the chancellor were referring to. We will never let - it - happen again, Bush said.
During the trial of the 1993 Twin Towers bombers, a trial of the century in which the careers of prosecutors would be hoisted to the dizzying heights of stardom, several themes emerged in the prosecutorial effort. The most salient of which was the idea that the bombers, hell bent on the destruction of America as symbolized by their ability to destroy, to bring down the iconic towers, glittering symbols of American power and prestige.
The prosecutors, in tones of chilling theatrical mockery, told the court and the accused just how little the accused knew about the country whose symbols of might they sought to destroy. First, there was their belief that the pillars they sought to destroy in the underground garage structure held up the buildings, they did not. The carnage and destruction the bombers caused showed just how little they knew about their intended targets. It was stressed that one of the features of the twin towers, their architectural significance, was that they were unique for such tall buildings, because the external walls of the buildings were the principal supports that held the towers aloft. So blowing up the pillars in the underground garages could not achieve their desired aim.
This was just one example of the utter ignorance, the prosecutors exhorted, of the accused and how very little they knew about the country they were hell-bent on destroying. Not only was the carnage and damage useless, but if they understood anything about how things are done in America they would have known that buildings in America, in modern America, have to have an approved plan in place as to how the building will be demolished, if it has to be, due to some unforeseen problem, or at the end of the service life of all buildings and structures, especially tall buildings like the twin towers, before permission is granted to build them.
So, if the accused knew anything about America, and New York City, they would have known that the plan to demolish the twin towers, involved their being emptied, and a series of explosions would be triggered at the top of the towers and they would crumble under their own weight, and cause, with proper preparation, little or no damage to surrounding buildings in the process.
And, that in America, but the accused would not know that, one could visit the planning and building departments and inspect the plans in place to bring the buildings down. But the accused knew so little about America that they would kill and destroy needlessly. While, in liberty-loving America, the public has access to all that information, except that now there was a charge for photocopying.
Well, there was at least one person listening to the theatrics of that courtroom, a Pakistani, and he took a plan to one Bin Laden, who some FBI investigators believed had had something to do with the 1993 bombings. Unfortunately, the principal FBI agent that pursued that line of inquiry, had left the FBI and was the chief of building security for the Twin Towers, and died in the attacks on 9/11, while at work.
The Pakistani devised a plan that involved a series of five hijackings of planes with knives, most of which were diverted to Kandahar Airport, where Bin Laden personally greeted the returning warriors. These hijackings were mere preparation for the day that would change the world, when the explosions at the top of the Twin Towers would be triggered by planes flying into them. And, the towers would crumbled under their own weight, according to the approved plan of record for their demolition.
The question that many Americans still ask to this day is why; why 1993 and, why 2001?
The answer is rather unsettling, and it is the same then and now, they just want to 'send a message to Americans that we are at war'.
It is difficult to convey just how desperate Trump is not to be remembered as the worst one-term president of the United States in American history. That reality, however, is etched in stone. Only his most unthinking adherents ever believed his signature campaign promise to build a wall between Mexico and the United States that Mexico would pay for.
All Trump's other ventures have been equally unsuccessful, such as, the tax cuts to the ultra rich that against all economic reasoning either Keynesian, Austrian school or historically, would magically trickle down to consumers. When real wage increases are the only real known policy that will actually boost economic activity. Racial animus against those, who have over Trump's long and undistinguished career, have had sue him for violations of their constitutional rights, and to force him to pay his sub-contractors.
But notably, the very idea of dispatching Pompeo to conduct off-the-cuff negotiations with the Taliban on the eve of the Day of Remembrance of the slaughter of thousands of Americans and many others, begs rational discernment.
But alas, desperation knows no bounds of decency.
Trump is sort of a Lex Luthor type character (some children identify with Superman and Lois Lane, while others gravitate to the villainous Lex Luthor), but not a smart one. And whereas, Lex Luthor was portrayed as someone driven to be a master criminal, Lex did not exhibit Trump's sadistic nature. Taking on Superman was one thing, but to torture children is something else, altogether. Trump and his latter day Himmler, Stephen Miller, have set the American glowing star back to the days of genocidal savagery that accompanied slavery, manifest destiny, reconstruction and the Jim Crow eras in American history.
It is Trump's utter desperation to be seen as a leader, and not just another rabble rouser with a microphone that will only increase as he flails about in search of some honor or another, which he does not deserve and will never achieve.
The history of the Trump presidency, as horrible at it seems, ultimately will be written to reflect the fact that his administration, his congress, his security and intelligence establishment, was not equal to the task.
And, all apologies to those whose loss on the 11th of September 2001 bears heavy on their hearts, and to those who loss one of our brave daughters and sons who sought to right the wrongs inflicted upon us.
May Providence see us through rather challenging times.
If, the events of the 11th of September 2001 have taught us nothing else, is it that what happens in often far away places can have a dramatic influence on all aspects of American life.
A decade ago, President Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney tried to convince voters that each had a better plan to create more and better jobs. In reality, the value of the Chinese currency influenced the recovery of the US manufacturing sector more than most domestic factors, and still many Americans looked for a uniquely internal solution to our economic woes.
When the dust settled and the American people took a long reflective look at the choice they made that November, ten years after the fateful events of 9/11, one issue emerged as the most important one, and that was, who was most capable of navigating a more difficult set of international challenges than any president has had to face since World War II.
The determining factor in that election came down to who the American people believed could guide the United States of America through the tepid waters of US foreign affairs. That is to say, which of the contenders was able to lead our diplomatic efforts and, when called upon to do so command the Armed Forces of the United States properly. - http://www.theoxfordscientist.com/tepid-waters.html
The 11th of September 2001 attacks, according to former Secretary of State Rice, were rooted in oppression and despair, and therefore, the US should advance democratic reforms and support basic human rights throughout the greater Middle East.
To achieve a fundamental change in Middle East governments, Rice envisioned the US cooperating with other nations to assist in building and sustaining democratic, well-governed states, that would respond to the needs of their people and conduct themselves in the international system responsibly.
Current realities, however, paint a much different picture of the greater Middle East.
Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood wield power and exert significant influence in many of the corridors of power across the greater Middle East region. And, both will in all likelihood emerge as significant players in a yet far off post-Assad Syria.
These are hardly the ingredients for well-governed states that respond to needs of their people.
Diplomacy unfortunately is all too often a history of missed opportunities, and we are witnessing major lost opportunities as we are brought to contemplate the continuation of an all-out civil war in Syria. And yet, Rice must find some solace in the final communique issued by the world's two most powerful leaders at the close of the G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico.
In a joint statement delivered by Obama and Putin, both leaders committed to the shared goal of bringing about a “political transition to a democratic, pluralistic political system that would be implemented by the Syrians themselves.” The significance of Putin joining in on a statement that could have been written by former Secretary Rice should not be under nor over valued.
Progress in the Syrian crisis will come when those who exert influence in Syria, given the failed UN mission led by former Secretary General Kofi Anan, come to accept that the only realistic option to avoid all-out civil war in Syria is to allow Putin the world-stage diplomatic role he craves as mediator. All other contingencies having been mapped out this approach is the only logical one to pursue.
I know the immediate reaction to Putin in general is one of opprobrium, but in the reality of final analysis, we are either going to steer Putin into appropriate and responsible actions on the world stage or fight a non-conventional war against Russia, at an indeterminant cost.
Presidential candidate Romney, like so many other white nationalists, never paid particular attention to the relationship he intended to garner with Putin and other world leaders. Putin will arrive on the world stage as a significant influence and his cooperation in Syria can only increase the effectiveness of American involvement in the region. If we are not engaged, we are left to react in real time to the implementation of Russian policy initiatives, as they play out in an very active theatre of war.
While the Syrian chess match continues, Libya hangs in the balance, Mali has been overthrown by fighters returning from the 'revolution' in Libya with weapons supplied by NATO forces, and the newly emerged nations of North and South Sudan are again a very troubled region. The first North African state to emerge from the Arab Spring, Tunisia, is not a settled matter by any means, and their neighbors have all seen increased unrest and low level, but continuous and escalating violence.
The US Fifth Fleet is armed to the teeth in and around the Strait of Hormuz, and Israel and Iran are on a collision course. Iraq is an ethnic and religious battleground steadily slipping into all out multiple-faction civil war.
China, our military dictatorship trading partner, is not playing by the rules on currency valuation, and Europe will need our help to stave off its growing economic crisis. Russia is also emerging from the chaos of its own dramatic change in governance and its southern Central Asian States are teetering between rational and irrational forms of government. North Korea is a question mark at best, and Indonesia a nation with the world's largest Islamic population and their neighbor Maylasia may or may not remain stable. Nigeria is in the midst of a religious war that also consumes many of its neighbors. East Africa is still the paradise of pirates, and another famine in Ethiopia is not far off.
The next US president will have to deal with a myriad of pressing and unavoidable international challenges at a time when most Americans want to see their president sorting out our own domestic problems.
In reality, however, as soon as one enters the White House and assumes the role of President of the United States and Commander in Chief of US Military Forces, one must play the hand that one is dealt, and often no one has cut the cards beforehand.
in process
Bookmark this page, you will want to read the next section of this article.
A decade ago, President Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney tried to convince voters that each had a better plan to create more and better jobs. In reality, the value of the Chinese currency influenced the recovery of the US manufacturing sector more than most domestic factors, and still many Americans looked for a uniquely internal solution to our economic woes.
When the dust settled and the American people took a long reflective look at the choice they made that November, ten years after the fateful events of 9/11, one issue emerged as the most important one, and that was, who was most capable of navigating a more difficult set of international challenges than any president has had to face since World War II.
The determining factor in that election came down to who the American people believed could guide the United States of America through the tepid waters of US foreign affairs. That is to say, which of the contenders was able to lead our diplomatic efforts and, when called upon to do so command the Armed Forces of the United States properly. - http://www.theoxfordscientist.com/tepid-waters.html
The 11th of September 2001 attacks, according to former Secretary of State Rice, were rooted in oppression and despair, and therefore, the US should advance democratic reforms and support basic human rights throughout the greater Middle East.
To achieve a fundamental change in Middle East governments, Rice envisioned the US cooperating with other nations to assist in building and sustaining democratic, well-governed states, that would respond to the needs of their people and conduct themselves in the international system responsibly.
Current realities, however, paint a much different picture of the greater Middle East.
Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood wield power and exert significant influence in many of the corridors of power across the greater Middle East region. And, both will in all likelihood emerge as significant players in a yet far off post-Assad Syria.
These are hardly the ingredients for well-governed states that respond to needs of their people.
Diplomacy unfortunately is all too often a history of missed opportunities, and we are witnessing major lost opportunities as we are brought to contemplate the continuation of an all-out civil war in Syria. And yet, Rice must find some solace in the final communique issued by the world's two most powerful leaders at the close of the G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico.
In a joint statement delivered by Obama and Putin, both leaders committed to the shared goal of bringing about a “political transition to a democratic, pluralistic political system that would be implemented by the Syrians themselves.” The significance of Putin joining in on a statement that could have been written by former Secretary Rice should not be under nor over valued.
Progress in the Syrian crisis will come when those who exert influence in Syria, given the failed UN mission led by former Secretary General Kofi Anan, come to accept that the only realistic option to avoid all-out civil war in Syria is to allow Putin the world-stage diplomatic role he craves as mediator. All other contingencies having been mapped out this approach is the only logical one to pursue.
I know the immediate reaction to Putin in general is one of opprobrium, but in the reality of final analysis, we are either going to steer Putin into appropriate and responsible actions on the world stage or fight a non-conventional war against Russia, at an indeterminant cost.
Presidential candidate Romney, like so many other white nationalists, never paid particular attention to the relationship he intended to garner with Putin and other world leaders. Putin will arrive on the world stage as a significant influence and his cooperation in Syria can only increase the effectiveness of American involvement in the region. If we are not engaged, we are left to react in real time to the implementation of Russian policy initiatives, as they play out in an very active theatre of war.
While the Syrian chess match continues, Libya hangs in the balance, Mali has been overthrown by fighters returning from the 'revolution' in Libya with weapons supplied by NATO forces, and the newly emerged nations of North and South Sudan are again a very troubled region. The first North African state to emerge from the Arab Spring, Tunisia, is not a settled matter by any means, and their neighbors have all seen increased unrest and low level, but continuous and escalating violence.
The US Fifth Fleet is armed to the teeth in and around the Strait of Hormuz, and Israel and Iran are on a collision course. Iraq is an ethnic and religious battleground steadily slipping into all out multiple-faction civil war.
China, our military dictatorship trading partner, is not playing by the rules on currency valuation, and Europe will need our help to stave off its growing economic crisis. Russia is also emerging from the chaos of its own dramatic change in governance and its southern Central Asian States are teetering between rational and irrational forms of government. North Korea is a question mark at best, and Indonesia a nation with the world's largest Islamic population and their neighbor Maylasia may or may not remain stable. Nigeria is in the midst of a religious war that also consumes many of its neighbors. East Africa is still the paradise of pirates, and another famine in Ethiopia is not far off.
The next US president will have to deal with a myriad of pressing and unavoidable international challenges at a time when most Americans want to see their president sorting out our own domestic problems.
In reality, however, as soon as one enters the White House and assumes the role of President of the United States and Commander in Chief of US Military Forces, one must play the hand that one is dealt, and often no one has cut the cards beforehand.
in process
Bookmark this page, you will want to read the next section of this article.
... some stirred up Moslems
Brzezinski acknowledged in an interview with the French news magazine Le Nouvel Observateur in January 1998 that he initiated a policy in which the CIA covertly began arming the mujahedeen in July 1978—six months before Soviet troops intervened in Afghanistan in February of 1979—with the explicit aim of dragging the Soviet Union into a debilitating war.
Perhaps, the reader will take a moment and read the paragraph above a second time, because understanding the implications of it, are important to understanding, why 11 September 2001 happened?
Asked, given the catastrophe unleashed upon Afghanistan and the subsequent growth of Islamist terrorist groups like Al Qaeda, whether he regretted the policy he championed in Afghanistan:
“Regret what?" Brzezinski retorted dismissively, "That secret operation was an excellent idea."
"It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it?"
"The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter: We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam War. Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict that brought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire.”
Asked specifically whether he regretted the CIA’s collaboration with and arming of Islamist extremists, including Al Qaeda, in fomenting the war in Afghanistan, Brzezinski responded contemptuously:
“What is most important to the history of the world? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some stirred-up Moslems or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war?”
Perhaps, the reader will take a moment and read the paragraph above a second time, because understanding the implications of it, are important to understanding, why 11 September 2001 happened?
Asked, given the catastrophe unleashed upon Afghanistan and the subsequent growth of Islamist terrorist groups like Al Qaeda, whether he regretted the policy he championed in Afghanistan:
“Regret what?" Brzezinski retorted dismissively, "That secret operation was an excellent idea."
"It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it?"
"The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter: We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam War. Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict that brought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire.”
Asked specifically whether he regretted the CIA’s collaboration with and arming of Islamist extremists, including Al Qaeda, in fomenting the war in Afghanistan, Brzezinski responded contemptuously:
“What is most important to the history of the world? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some stirred-up Moslems or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war?”
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