No, Virginia, There's No Al-Qaeda

I just finished watching part three of Adam Curtis' documentary called The Power of Nightmares on SBS. Its premise is that Al-Qaeda as an organized worldwide terrorist group as portrayed by the US and Britain doesn't exist. Yes, it's true that there are a few terrorist groups here and there doing their thing, but it's not the well-oiled terrorist group it's being made to be. So if there's no real Al-Qaeda, then who is Bush and Blair trying to catch all this time? Well, that's the problem. If your target is a ghost, it doesn't matter how many billions of dollars and troops you pour into Iraq and Afghanistan. There'll be no end to the witchhunt. The more important question is why.

It all started with 9/11. We now know that 9/11 and Al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein are all different things. We now know that there are no weapons of mass destruction (only weapons of mass distraction). The neoconservatives saw this as their chance to advance their cause, so Saddam was made the scapegoat. There he was happily terrorizing his own people, then the US troops moved in and bombed him out of his foxhole.

When the US troops first went looking for Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, things weren't going too well. The British offered to help with their years of experience fighting the IRA. Weeks later, still no Al-Qaeda in sight. So they enlisted the help of the local Northern Alliance. Better results this time. I mean, if you're going to offer x amount of dollars for every "Taliban" caught, of course you're gonna get results. I understand business was so good, the Northern Alliance was turning in anyone who looked remotely Middle Eastern. Hah! Later on, the Northern Alliance told the US that Mr. Bin Laden is holed up in the Tora Bora caves. Mr. Rumsfeld even went on national television showing blueprints of the sophisticated mountain complex complete with multiple levels, interconnected tunnels, computer and computer systems, bedroom and office areas, ventilation systems, etc. With this "intelligence", the US bombed the whole place, and the Northern Alliance went in. No mountain complex, no Al-Qaeda, except for a few caves used as arms storage.

Feeling a bit out of luck, the neoconservatives took the search home. Wonder of wonders, everywhere they look there are terrorist sleeper cells. All of them Al-Qaeda! They said this man is a terrorist. Proof? He went to Disneyland with some friends, and he made a home video during the trip. They said he was casing the place for a possible terrorist attack. A trash can - that's where he plans to plant the bomb. A shot of the ground - he's counting the steps. Oh, a tree - that's where he intends to hide in a sniper operation. Another man was arrested as a possible terrorist. He had some doodles in his planner. An expert was called in and she testified that the doodles represent a military base in Turkey with AWACS planes and fighter jets on the runway. It was later proven that the man who drew the doodles is a 100% lunatic. I guess that makes the "expert" a lunatic, too. Heard about the one about Ultimate Jihad Challenge? Supposedly a school in London for terrorist training? Turns out it was a self-defense course. The school's only client is a security guard from a supermarket. Then there's this bunch of students playing paintball in Virginia. They were convicted of training to make a terrorist attack.

The stories are quite funny, until you realize they're all true. But don't take my word for it. Watch the series, or read the transcripts. Spread the word. Peace, man.