[GAsux]

This from Peter Bergen, the now relatively famous CNN resident "bin Laden Expert" with regards to bin Ladens CIA ties....

**Note**
In the previous post I mistakently implied that CIA funding went through Israel. Actually, it was Pakistan. My bad!

"...One author charges the CIA had funded and trained the Afghan Arabs during the war. Another refers to the central role of the CIAs Muslim mercenaries. Both authors present these claims as axioms, but provide no real corroboration.

Other commentators have reported that bin Laden himself was aided by the CIA. (*Here he quotes a Guardian atricle which staes that the CIA helped bin Laden build a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan in 1986)*. However, American officials rarely ventured into Afghanistan during the war against the Soviets for fear of handing the communists a propaganda victory. bin laden, meanwhile, had espoused anti American positions since 1982, and thanks to the fortune derived from his family's giant construction busniess had little need of CIA money. In fact, the underground camp at Khost was built in 1982 by an Afghan commander, with Arab funding.

A source familiar with bin Laden's organization explains that bin Laden "never had relations with America or American officials. ...he was saying very early in the 80s that the next battle is going to be with America...No aid or training or other support have ever been given to bin Laden from Americans."


Anyway, here is all I am getting at. I'm not trying to make some infallable claim that America does no wrong and everything was kosher with what went down in Afghanistan. I'm not that niave. But what I am saying is that I grow tired of the notion that the CIA, and the U.S. was somehow responsible for turning bin Laden in to some kind of Arnold-esque super terrorist commando.

And even if they did, they did a piss poor job because even amongst Arabs there is little to suggest that bin Laden was a great warrior. His actual battlefield prowress is unsubstantiated. Most argue that his influence came with money and charisma, not CIA taught commando skills.

Like I said, there are plenty of reasons, well documented at that, to criticize U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. I think the case that the CIA somehow was providing bin Laden himself some kind of hands on training that he later utilized in terrorism is shaky at best.