Reddit reviews Osama Bin Laden

We do know why they're happening.

Have you ever read a history book? Generally speaking every single discussion* they ever had required a "note taker" and it's our custom to speak about these decisions a couple decades after. Obviously the whole truth isn't out there, and certainly not everyone tells the truth. But the motives behind everything I mentioned were clear as day.

I would encourage you to read books like

http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-The-History-CIA/dp/0307389006

http://www.amazon.com/Osama-Bin-Laden-Michael-Scheuer/dp/0199898391

http://www.amazon.com/One-Minute-Midnight-Kennedy-Khrushchev/dp/1400078911

These men aren't all powerful, they don't take orders from some homogenous group that always retains the same position. And most importantly the information our leaders are given is often woefully inaccurate. The president more than anyone has the information that he is presented to him manipulated. Although some certainly have been more savvy than others.

Maybe 80%, :P. It's no problem. It's hard to make unambiguous statements on the internet. I don't agree that religion was the secondary motivator, but I don't feel like arguing any more today. But for bin Laden specifically, he definitely had strong religious motivations.

Check out this interview and pay attention to the part where he says "This battle is not between al Qaeda and the U.S." That part of the interview reveals his underlying belief that he's fighting the holy wars all over again and that this is a contest between Muslims and the crusaders.

Bin Laden was really a fascinating character. I highly recommend this book on him by Michael Scheuer, who used to head the CIA detachment dedicated to finding and eliminating him.

The only book that is close to that area is Michael Scheuer's "Osama Bin Laden". Truly a great book. Scheuer is one of the world experts on Osama Bin Laden if not thee world expert. He was head of the Osama Bin Laden unit in the CIA during the 90s. Scheuer goes through Bin Laden's history and why he did the things he did.

http://www.amazon.com/Osama-Bin-Laden-Michael-Scheuer/dp/0199898391

Apologies for getting your citizenship wrong.

> but come on Barack Obama is worse then Osama bin Laden

No, I said nothing about Obama. I said American foreign policy is abhorrent.

> The only reason the U.S. killed more people then the terrorists was because they were better equipped and more competent then a defunct terrorist group

1950 invasion of North Korea. 1961 invasion of Cuba. 1965 invasion of Dominican Republic. 1970 invasion of Cambodia. 1971 invasion of Laos. 1983 invasion of Grenada. 1989 invasion of Panama. 1991 invasion of Iraq. 1994 invasion of Haiti. 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. 2003 invasion of Iraq...

These are just invasions (America has acted first). Not necessarily wars (like Vietnam etc). You seem to think I'm referring only to the USA vs Al-Q. I am not. I'm not simply referring to one incident, I'm talking of the whole picture. The US has caused significantly more civilian bloodshed than any terrorist organisation. It's not up for debate.

> but Osama the calm brilliant man did want to kill all the unbelievers

OBL was a Wahabbist. Perhaps even Salafi. Of course he wanted to kill non believers. Please note I am not defending his actions, merely pointing out that he was not entirely to blame. He did not attack the US specifically because it was full of non believers but because the USA as a non Islamic nation was occupying close the holiest of Islamic lands (Mecca). Furthermore, I'd not describe him as brilliant either. He was quiet, calm, a strong listener and delegator, extremely focussed and a relatively smart guy. This made him an excellent leader by all accounts.

> But hey you know he was still at fault because hey bin Laden according to international law you cant just attack another country because you disagree with how its run.

You're forgetting the reason for his attack. Infidel forces on Al Jazeera. That is not 'attacking a country because you disagree with how it is run'. And even if he did just attack... I'm not defending him and saying that's fine. I'm saying there are two sides to every story. The side you get all too often depends on which media you absorb.

Honestly, I recommend Osama Bin Laden by Michael Scheuer. It will cover the basics for you.

Find me a single piece of evidence claiming that there was coordination between the CIA and OBL. Even books written by anti-imperialists like Michael Scheur tear that narrative apart. OBL fought against the Russians and we financed mujihadeen against the Russians, but OBL was from a billionaire family with extensive connections to other gulf billionaires, and all evidence that exists shows that he was self-financed and did not rely on any sort of CIA aid. In fact, as Michael Scheur and others show, CIA documents from the 90s show that they did not even know who OBL was until around the time of his 1996 fatwa.