By Larry Chin
Global Research
Iran is engaged in a surreal global shouting match with so-called Al Qaeda figures over who and what was responsible for the atrocities of 9/11.
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began by publicly pronouncing that 9/11 was a US government false flag operation. Al-Qaeda responded by accusing Ahmadinejad of being a conspiracy theorist — a “9/11 truther”. Iran then replied in kind by pointing to CIA involvement with Al-Qaeda.
This spectacle would be uproarious, if the actual stakes were not so high; if this war of words was not part of a much larger and very real war that places the future of the entire world at risk.
What we are witnessing is a typical propaganda battle in which truth, lies and half-truths have been liberally mixed. Only the most clear-minded and astute observers can see the battle lines clearly.
Looking past the noise, putting aside the reliability of the figures making it, there are clear and undeniable historical facts:
- Al-Qaeda has been an instrument of Anglo-American military-intelligence since its inception. ” Al-Qaeda ” is a covert operation, a “database” of intelligence legends, exhaustively detailed in the work of Chaim Kupferberg ( Part One and Part Two ). This intelligence apparatus, the CIA, and its affiliates, have orchestrated the global “war on terrorism” from every angle.
- Islamic “terrorists” (including now supposedly dead CIA asset and eternal boogeyman Osama bin Laden ) have been in the continuous employ of western forces and the CIA since the Cold War—before, during, and since 9/11. Osama was a US asset. ISI is a branch of CIA. Energy-rich Libya is being overthrown and conquered by NATO, in attacks spearheaded by CIA, its allied intelligence branches, and Al-Qaeda.
The exhaustively compiled evidence on Al-Qaeda and 9/11 can be found in Michel Chossudovsky’s America’s ‘War on Terrorism’ , Michael C. Ruppert’s Crossing the Rubicon , in the work of Paul Thompson , and many others. The facts cited in these definitive works have not been refuted.
- When “Al-Qaeda” speaks or acts, the chances are good that the CIA has either guidance or direct influence. The many so-called Al-Qaeda transmissions from the past decade, including many fake Osama bin Laden tapes and other ridiculous products, are marked by idiomatic American linguistics and thought. These include the present case itself. The idea of attacking Ahmadinejad’s credibility by accusing him of being a 9/11 conspiracy truther could only have been hatched by someone out of Langley, VA. The concept of 9/11 as a false flag operation is not a shocking concept for people outside of the US (raising the larger question of what audience is being addressed with this spectacle).
- 9/11 remains a potent propaganda instrument, evidenced by the recent 9/11 “remembrance”, a refreshed call to arms for the “war on terror”.
- There is no corner of the globe, no aspect of modern life that is not directly or indirectly infested with the influence of the CIA or its myriad affiliates, from CIA assets in governments, to all forms of media and information throughout the world. The CIA has become increasingly powerful and entrenched, overwhelming all attempts to stem its power (the 1970s Church Committee, post-Iran Contra show trials, etc.) Under Bush/Cheney and now Obama, the CIA literally runs everything.
While pointing this out is (or should be) unremarkable, voices that expose and speak out against the intelligence-industrial complex — whether it is Ahmadinejad or a lonely activist holding up a protest sign on an American street corner — are targeted for ridicule and character assassination, and worse, depending on what was done or said.
- The CIA — or more accurately, those who give the marching orders to the CIA — plays all sides. The reliability of high-level propaganda-style arguments involving CIA issues must be treated with intense suspicion.
Purely on the facts, Iran has told some of the truths. “Al-Qaeda” has merely issued noise.
More importantly, what is really behind this seemingly absurd Iran versus Al-Qaeda “steel cage” propaganda match over 9/11 and the omnipresence of the CIA?
Geostrategically vital Iran, a prime and persistent target of Anglo-American attack (military and covert operations, political pressure, etc.), is fighting for its survival. In daring to expose any ugly truths about 9/11 and the CIA, daring to undo a decade of secrecy and official cover-up in such a loud, brazen fashion, Iran is playing high stakes poker.
What Iranian officials seek to gain by wielding this handful of ugly truths remains to be seen. Are there more trump cards to be played? Iran’s recent recognition of the Afghanistan Taliban (which is itself crawling with CIA influence) also speaks volumes that a larger back-channel war continues to unfold.
Larry Chin is a frequent contributor to Global Research.