After speaking with Saddam, I was not especially surprised to hear from Osama. He did not care to speak with me off the record and wanted me to record and publish our conversation. He said he could no longer imagine talking to any American in a position of authority. He said he had been trying to do that for more than twenty years and the response was always; who are you that we should listen? He felt he had satisfactorily answered the question of who he was and noted that it produced no meaningful dialogue.
Osama: I am calling you to speak to the people of the world. Video and audio tapes have not worked very well. Do you have any questions for me?
Ed: Oh yes! Probably many you don't want to answer.
Osama: Try me.
Ed: Why do you attack innocent people?
Osama: We do not attack innocent people. We attack ignorant people who make it their business to support distorted government policies- policies that create humiliation and suffering in far away places. We attack the irresponsible people who serve the policy makers and fraudulent financiers.
Ed: Is that why you attacked the World Trade Center?
Osama: Exactly. Not only were they symbolic of overwhelming economic power, we needed to send a message to the hidden government of money and debt, that their days are numbered. They can hide from the entire world and quietly control everything, but we can bring them down, even if we don't know their names, and we do.
Ed: Then your partially successful attack on Washington D.C. was symbolic of the military power that serves the money power?
Osama. Very good. The idea was to cut off the head of the dragon, and then the limbs, in sequence. We had three Washington targets and only two attack ships, but timing demanded we strike when we did.
Ed: You have made it clear that if at first you don't completely succeed, you try again. I'm assuming that you will try to finish your targets in Washington.
Osama: I'm glad I called you. Since 1993, we have been trying to tell the people of the world that we will not fail in our mission, no matter how long it takes. We have been very patient and know the value of patience. At the same time, we give warning to all who live and work in and near our targets. That is another reason why we are not attacking innocent people. We are attacking targets where people choose to be, in spite of our warnings. They bet we won't succeed and then they lose the bet, again and again. The World Trade Center should have stood empty since '93. Everyone there bet on the U.S. Government and against us. They are doing the very same today in Washington, because Americans refuse to learn from their mistakes and believe they are helpless to change, especially the leaders.
Ed: I cannot argue with that. As I understand it, Al Qaeda and associates are well trained in the use of weapons of mass destruction. Why haven't you used them?
Osama: For many reasons. First, it is not our desire to destroy all the people of America but to awaken them to a reality in global politics, they, like their leaders, choose to ignore. Between attacks we leave space for dialogue. When none develops, we move on to the next step.
Next, there are more than a few logistical problems in moving the weapons to locations close to where they will be used. Saddam has been very helpful in this matter. Operation Iraqi Freedom has created great new opportunities for us. We owe the U.S. a debt for this assistance.
Ed: You mean Saddam's money and cooperation?
Osama: That and more. The things Saddam wanted as head-of-state became very easy to acquire as Saddam-at-large, with pockets full of money. Since this stateless condition is new to him, he quickly teamed up with various stateless movements, with goals similar to his own.
Ed: Such as Al Qaeda and Palestinian fighters?
Osama: Very much like those. You recall his support for the families of the Palestinian suicide bombers. Saddam set up a trust account that will continue that support, long after he is gone. When living in Palestine is more profitable than dying, the bombings will cease. I don't see that happening any time soon.
Ed: I don't think anyone does. You said the Iraqi invasion has been good for you in many ways. Such as?
Osama: Our recruitment has more than doubled our numbers. It is perfectly clear to the average Arab and Islamic believer that Iraq is only the beginning of a grand imperial design for the region. To set up a Westernizing propaganda center and spread out. President Bush calls it spreading Democracy, but it is a thinly veiled attempt to westernize the Arab world and Islam, which will never, ever, happen.
Ed: I can see that. Tell me more.
Osama: Saddam loyalists all ran away to fight again another day, and they have a score to settle with America. There are a few million of them, they know Saddam yet lives and he also has some scores to settle. They no longer have a state to fight for but they still have a hated enemy to defeat. A conventional army would be useless, so they are organizing in Iraqi cells. When their fight is over in Iraq next year, they are willing to go wherever the enemy is, to continue the fight. We have people there, training and helping them, bringing them along on small operations. We have been holding them back some, but not for much longer.
Ed: Why do you think they will have won sometime next year?
Osama: American political winds. They began stirring with the last funding request. Iraqi resistance will ratchet up. American security efforts will be increasingly undermined and the rank and file Iraqis will turn on them too. Non Iraqi civilian contractors will die and retreat. American military casualties will double, and then triple, until the American people refuse to support their leadership in a losing proposition. If I am wrong in my understanding, we will attack America at home again, and that will be the straw that breaks the will of the people to sacrifice further for leadership goals. The American people will find new leaders who will talk to us as we are talking now. It is an election year, no?
Ed: Why are you so focused on terrorist tactics? Isn't there another way?
Osama: Of course there is! Dialogue. Which has been rejected by America since the beginning. With no dialogue, terrorism is the most effective way for the poor to fight the rich. We just as soon kill or cripple a soldier or a pilot before he is trained, whether he is four years old or twenty. We know we are in a war that lasts for generations. Why shouldn't we reduce the forces that will be fighting our children?
It is not the moral question America pretends it to be. A suicide bomber is just a military pilot without a plane. Rich countries put their terrorists in the latest multi- million dollar aircraft and terrorize the people on the ground anonymously, and fly mission after mission of terror. Martyrs use one bomb and look their victims in the eyes. They do not return to attack again a few hours later. They rest. They are more honorable than the sky terrorists.
Ed: I never thought of it that way.
Osama: Why would you? You have been taught all your life that the way of the rich is moral and the ways of the poor are immoral. In fact, you are secretly taught that all opposition to the rich is immoral or illegal, so the thought of resisting never crosses your minds.
In rich countries you are taught to live, fight and die for well concealed lies, in the name of patriotism and freedom. You wised up some during Vietnam and forgot most of your lessons when it was over. You have an expression that says; those who do not learn from their mistakes are destined to repeat them. Forgetting your lessons has become a cultural identifier in the West. We haven't forgotten ours and we don't repeat them. This gives us a tremendous advantage in fighting the rich. We can operate on shoestring budgets and prefer it. We are your proof that money isn't everything and you will ignore that proof, as you have been taught to do.
Ed: That is not necessarily true. Americans began to question authority back in the sixties. Some never stopped doing so and it is becoming fashionable among their children and grandchildren. This time there is no generation gap to take the edge off the truth. Whatever becomes of the old America, a new America is giving birth to the global consciousness that has been so lacking.
Osama: I will pray for this - that there will be no fighting among our grandchildren. I have enjoyed talking with a reasonable American. It is something I would like to do again, if you don't mind. I suspect you know enough to stay clear of our likely targets, so you can answer your phone.
Ed: Oh yes, I know where not to be for the foreseeable future and I am warning others, especially those in target zones.
Osama: Keep at it. It will save a few lives and you will be blessed. I'll call again when the desire strikes me. Should anything happen to me, a friend will call you.
Ed: I understand. If anything should happen to me, you will be talking to someone else. Thanks for calling. I look forward to next time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A freelance writer published on many websites and in newspapers.
edhowes@hotmail.com
justanotherview.com
