|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The New York Times has reported an upcoming trial for 9/11 plotters.(1) A death penalty for Khalid Sheikh Muhammad would be a potential coverup in understanding the truth behind the 9/11 attacks. Khalid Sheikh Muhammad is now an historical figure who should be carefully kept alive until a time when Amerikans can more coolly assess what happened on 9/11--at a time when Amerika's political leaders do not have a self-interest in evaluation of the question. It's not just what he himself did but what he knows more broadly.
Recently Bill Clinton addressed 9/11 in a discussion with alleged hecklers in Denver. Bill Clinton said 9/11 was not an "inside job" and that "we look like idiots, that the people who murdered our fellow citizens did it, when they are continuing to murder other people around the world."(2)
Yet who is to blame for the ongoing war with Al Qaeda is a political question and the trial of Khalid Sheikh Muhammad would be a political trial at this point. We can rest assured that there is no politician that could have proposed negotiating with Al Qaeda, so Clinton's point that the United $tates is still at war with Al Qaeda only raises the political nature of the problem. At this point it is clear that it is the united $tates to blame for rebuffing open overtures for peace from Osama Bin Laden.
Osama Bin Laden's son Omar Bin Laden recently made a statement about his campaign for peace in North Africa. He has a British wife and the correct instinct about British politics. In the imperialist countries, it is our job to push for peace, because the exploiters have a built- in drive for predatory war.
We call on Omar Bin Laden to ignore the decadent people of the PETA:
"On Monday the activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) urged Omar bin Laden, to cancel plans for a gruelling horse race across the Sahara desert as a way to promote peace."(3)He should go right ahead with his peace campaign. In the Third World, the oppressed take up armed struggle, but in the First World we must oppose imperialist war. Omar Bin Laden should be a natural Maoist. If Omar Bin Laden does not succeed, it is possible the environment for horses will disappear, so horses should make their contribution too.
Notes:
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/us/09gitmo.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp
2. http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/01/bill-clinton-un.html
3. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=nw20080205142444932C486640