Thursday, July 19, 2007

What the US public believes about al-Qaeda


In response to my recent posts about the National Intelligence Report (NIE) on al-Qaeda growing stronger, I've received a wide variety of responses. Virtually all of the responses convince me that most people in this country don't trust what our government is telling us about al-Qaeda:

1. There is no such thing as al-Qaeda. It is a fabrication. 9/11 was planned and carried out by our "shadow government." I understand that about 30% of the people in this country believe that 9/11 was an inside job.

2. The NIE report is exaggerating the strength of al-Qaeda. Its top leadership has been wiped out. and it doesn't have the ability to wreak damage on the US homeland. My question: What about the rest of the world?

3. The NIE report is accurate, and the Bush cabal got diverted by attacking Iraq, thereby allowing al-Qaeda to reestablish itself. In fact, starting a war with Iraq has made it easier for al-Qaeda to recruit.

I really don't know what is true about al-Qaeda. What I do know is that Bush's and Cheney's incredible need to operate in secrecy, without any oversight, has led to an extraordinary level of distrust in our current administration.
(photo: phxnews.com)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Whew! I thought all radicals lived in Berkeley. Because that's where I went to college, I was glad to see that Osama would not choose to live there at least in the minds of forgerers of drivers licenses.

Greg Palast, in one of the more interesting takes on US foreign policy, says that Cheney's interests and Osama's interests in preserving the high price of oil are identical. Osama keeps the price of oil high just where he is, wherever that may be. Hence, why try to capture Osama when Cheney's and Osama's interests coincide?

At least he's not in Berkeley!

Janie