America at War   — 11/25/01

Business is busy at Kabul barbershops as beards hit the floor.

Update on our Actions and Options

Sun. Nov. 25th - As the anti-taliban forces complete their victory over the Taliban and al-Qaeda, business returns to normal in Afghanistan with fighting between warlords being the everyday job of most male workers.

Wed. Nov. 14th - A hastily deserted al-Qaeda safe house in Kabul has been discovered to hold detailed plans for nuclear and chemical bomb devices. Click here for more information.

Tues. Nov. 13th - The Northern Alliance's speedy victory over the Taliban has surprised everyone. Read this UPI report that speculates the capture of bin Laden may be close at hand.

Sun. Nov. 11th - Here is the latest interview with Osama bin Laden in his mountain hide-out. This interview was conducted prior to the lose of Mazar-e-Sharif. The interviewer was taken blindfolded on a long jeep ride to a place "that was very cold and you could hear anti-aircraft fire in the background".

In a previously undisclosed video which has been circulating for 14 days among his supporters, Osama bin Laden admits the group carried out the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. Click here to read it before it is made public by the Bush administration.

Sun. Nov. 4th - America has been justifiably humbled in the eyes of much of the world. The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center make a compelling movie for foreigners who have long resented what they see as American bullying and meddling. Like movie-goers the world over, these people also love American movies of destruction and mayhem. This link shows that there is high demand for the Humbling of America in China and throughout much of Asia.

Fri. Nov 2nd - An insightful Op-Ed piece by Salaman Rushdie, Yes, This is about Islam. This outspoken Anglo-Indian novelist talks about the new paranoid form of Islam... "This paranoid Islam, which blames outsiders, 'infidels,' for all the ills of Muslim societies, and whose proposed remedy is the closing of those societies to the rival project of modernity, is presently the fastest growing version of Islam in the world." Great analysis from a powerful thinker who understands the deep and unhealthy currents at work in a large part of the world.

Sat. Oct 27th - Thousands of Pashtun fighters stream across the Pakistan border into Afghanistan to help support the Taliban. ``I am an old man. I consider myself lucky to go - and to face the death of a martyr,'' said Shah Wazir, 70, a retired Pakistani army officer. In his hands Saturday morning, he carried a French rifle from about 1920. Click HERE for full article.

This war is quickly becoming an ethnic based conflict. Pashtuns are heading into Afghanistan at the same time as Tajik and Uzbek fighters are deserting the Taliban and joining the Northern Alliance.

Thurs. Oct 25th - This Guardian (UK) article shows how bombing people breeds support and resistance for the attacked from neighbors who would otherwise have remained neutral. This is why wars always last longer than expected and why generals are "surprised" at the resistance they encounter from the enemy.

Wed. Oct 24th - Taliban forces in Kabul are hiding in the homes of local residents and stashing their tanks and trucks under trees in mosques and school yards. Many Tajik refugees have gone north to escape the city and they report many more Arab and Pakistani supporters of the Taliban have shown up in the last two weeks, possibly with the aim of waging a last-ditch fight for the capital. Click HERE for the full Washington Post article.

Sat Oct 20th - Many of America's old "bad guys" don't look so dark anymore. Read this condemnation of bio-terrorism from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Sat. Oct 20th - Your tax dollars at work! During attacks on Bin Laden's camps in August of 1998, the US fired 75 missiles into Afghanistan. Apparently 40 were found unexploded. This Guardian (UK) report quotes from european wire taps of high-level al-Qaida conversations. According to this report, the missiles were studied and later sold to the Chinese for a reported $10 million - much of that money sent to rebels in Chechnya.

Mon. Oct 15th - Read this fascinating interview with Abdullah, 18 one of Bin Laden's 42 children.

Fri Oct 12th - The major ground offensive involving US and British troops may be postponed until Spring. Second thoughts on spending the winter in Afghanistan seem to have prevailed.

Sun. Oct 7th - And so it begins... US launches strikes in Afghanistan.

Sat. Oct 6th - U.S. launches new digital imaging satellite capable of seeing people moving on the ground. Expected to be used to monitor the Afghanistan region.

Sept. 30th: Read this astonishing interview with Mullah Omar's former bodyguard who escaped the Taliban and is now in Pakistan. He had been forced to work for the secret police as a torture expert. This interview gives great insight into the fear-mongering workings of the Taliban.

Sat. Sept. 29th - The operational plan of attack on Taliban and al-Qaeda sites. (The Observer, UK)

From the Times of London: How Predator unmanned surveillance aircraft will be "smoking out" Taliban terrorists. (One of these craft appears to have been shot down.) This article also includes an interesting review of U.S. and U.K. special forces. These are likely to be used extensively in the antiterroist effort.

Are you concerned about the potential for abuse with all the new security measures and emergency powers being granted to spies, police and government agents? Do you remember reading 1984?

Plans for a 10 year war to win hearts and minds. From the Times of London. No nukes, but lots of carrots. Sept. 25th - Another take on similar information about a British and U.S. plan for Bombs and Bread. Feed the Afghans and bomb the Taliban.

Sept. 26th - Iranian and Malaysian muslims seem to be passing on the opportunity to distance themselves from the darker side of terrorism. New cries of jihad and "Death to American" are being heard after a one-week lull. This is not good news coming as it is BEFORE any U.S. guns have been fired.

New names to learn: Lebanese Imad Mughniyeh, head of the special overseas operations for Hizbullah, and the Egyptian Dr. Ayman Al Zawahiri, senior member of Al-Qaeda and possible successor to ailing Osama Bin Laden. Click HERE for an alternative theory on the WTC bombing from Israel’s military intelligence service.

Ready for a little HUMOR? You need Flash installed on your computer to see this great animated cartoon: How smart does a Smart Bomb have to be?

What are the possible changes coming for American life? Big changes will come only if there is another dramatic attack with high loss of life. If this comes to pass, then...

  1. We could see people become very reluctant to congregate at mass events. This means reduced sport and convention attendance, theaters, etc.
  2. High profile soft targets such as high rise buildings may bring an end to prestige building projects and the skyscraper era.
  3. Cocooning up — Travel down.
  4. Decentralization of the population. City life will be seen as much more dangerous.

Background on Osama bin Laden and the Taliban

Osama's To Do List:

Pakistan nukes vulnerable to a Taliban grab. A worst-case scenario.

Are the 19 suicide terrorists who we think they are? Not only are there several names that are aliases, but many of these people may have been living stolen identities gleaned from young men murdered intentionally for this purpose in 1990. Click HERE for the London Times article.

Sept. 24th: Text of message from bin Laden to fighters in Pakistan. Understanding the words and appeal of his religious jihad.

Understanding  Afghanistan

Click HERE for a good map of Afghanistan and related areas.

Can we liberate the Afghan people and go after the terrorists at the same time? Can a military effort in Afghanistan succeed? Perhaps, if we learn to understand the many diverse peoples of that country and why most of them have no love for bin Laden or the Taliban. Click HERE for a quick summary of the country and its people. (IHT)

Advice from the folks who lost the last war in Afghanistan. "Have courage.... have the courage NOT to bomb!" Click HERE for an L.A. Times interview with Russian vets.

The situation for women in Afghanistan is particularly oppressive. The Taliban would have the Islamic world return to a 7th century view of women as sexual property. Visit this excellent site RAWA - (Revolutionary Association for Women of Afghanistan). The organization has smuggled small video cameras into members so they can secretly document atrocities. The site has a chilling library of video clips.

For a longer-view perspective consider this interesting spiritual insight:

David Spangler,
Message from the Inner Realms
on the Attack on America

Over the past few days since the tragic destruction of the WTC, several folks have asked me to comment on the inner side of this event or wondered if I had any particular insights into what has been happening on the inner realms.

The truth is that for all of Tuesday and Wednesday, I was simply too caught up in the enormity of the tragedy to be able to tune in properly. I needed to process my own feelings.

Late Wednesday afternoon, however, I was contacted by a being with whom I have had prior contacts and who appears to me to be one of many beings whose function is to nourish the ongoing evolution and well-being of this nation. I suppose I think of this being as an agent of the "Soul of America".

As most of you know, information received using intuitive skills from the inner worlds or from inner beings is not to be given any greater authority or weight than you would give to any other information, particularly when it comes from an ordinary, human source. It is still one person's (or one being's) perspective, and you must receive it and evaluate it using the integrity and independence of your own thinking and feeling and the guideline of your own soul and spirit.

What this being said and showed me could be translated in this way (understand that it takes me more words to express it than it did the being to communicate with me!):

"What has taken place is an act of sacrifice and a gift given by the Soul of America to the world at large. To understand this, you must know two things. The first is that whenever a death occurs, for whatever reason, whether peacefully or in violence, an energy of spirit is released. An incarnational portal is opened, just as it is at birth. This energy is neutral or perhaps I should say, unformed. It is a gift that flows between the worlds. What is shaped from this gift is up to those who receive it, as well as by the one whose death has released it. Think of this energy the way your biologists and doctors think of a stem cell: it is capable of being shaped and particularized in many ways.

When a death occurs peacefully or as an act of courage and sacrifice, or when the one dying does so in a loving or blessingful way, then this energy is given a spin in a certain direction and can be a source of blessing for others. It lends itself to being shaped in positive ways. If the death is violent and hateful, a different spin is given, and this energy can more readily be shaped in hateful ways. However, this is not a rule, and even hateful and violent deaths can generate an energy that will ultimately be shaped in loving, healing, or transformative ways.

Think of this energy as a kind of inheritance. It is a gift from the dead, a gift from the dying. It is a gift to life, even, you may say, a gift of life that can add to and bless the lives of those who remain physically embodied. Not all inheritances are spent wisely or well, not all gifts are used with grace and blessing, but the gift itself is there nonetheless.

The giving of this gift is an act of soul and is automatic. It is really an act inherent in the boundary between your world and ours, a result of crossing that boundary. To release this energy and to give this gift is not a conscious decision on the part of the one who has crossed the portal, but someone who dies in a mindful and loving way will greatly add to this gift and turn it from an unconscious energy into a consciously positive one. Also, if love is present in the last moments of physical life, even if the death is violent or as a result of hateful acts, this gift can emerge untainted by the hate that may have caused the killing. Many of those who died in this event did so with thoughts of love and courage. We can see this, and the importance of this cannot be underestimated. They have left a powerful gift of energy.

That is one matter. As you know, there is a resevoir of fear and pain, suffering and anger, hatred and separation in your world. Why this is so is not of concern at this moment; suffice to say it is ancient in origin and that all peoples contribute to it and have therefore a responsibility towards it. All people suffer from it, whatever nation they belong to. It is a human problem, not a national or tribal one.

In this event, the soul of America has acted in a sacrificial way to take on a portion of this energy and hopefully transmute it. It has been doing this for some time, and in this event, some of that sacrificial activity has manifested itself into the physical. There are energies of hatred and violence circling your world, so to speak, looking to land, and all nations, including your own, are contributing to this simply because people contribute to it in millions of small and mindless ways. That this particular energy landed in your nation in this way was partly a matter of consequences returning for certain patterns and actions you have set into motion. You cannot avoid paying a price for your own acts of violence in the world.

But in spite of what many may say about America's responsibility, this action was not primarily one of retribution or of paying a price. It was an act of sacrifice, a deliberate taking on of a portion of the world's hatred and suffering because the soul of America has the capacity to receive this hatred and transmute it. This is not a test of whether or not you can do so; you have already done so. An energy of violence needed to be grounded and was going to land somewhere. The soul of this country took it on, knowing it could absorb this blow. An energy of love and courage has been released into the world. There will be changes and there will be blessings.

This has happened whatever the immediate response of your people and your government may be. If your reponse is one that recycles the hatred in acts of revenge, this does not mean you have failed a test, only that you have not yet achieved a place of inner confidence and courage in which you can trust in a spirit of love and healing. But you will reach that place eventually.

You must understand this. The Soul of America is far more than its government or any one group of people. Even if your government or members of your citizenry react with hatred and seek simple revenge, this does not mean that everyone reacts that way nor does it mean that a deepening of spirit has not taken place. For those whose desire to love, to forgive, to be peacemakers has been quickened by this event, let them extend this inclusionary, embracing spirit to their fellows, even to those who, in their own anger and pain, now seek revenge. The gift of this sacrifice can be received in many ways by people. For those who can receive it in a way that takes them into the deepest places of love and the celebration of the common spirit of humanity, and whose hearts can be opened to forgive, let them be grateful, but they should not condemn those who will receive this gift in different ways. If your heart is broken and opened to love, this is a grace for you to embody, not a club for you to hold over your brother's or sister's heart.

The energy behind this event needed to be received by humanity, much as the energy in a storm needs to be discharged by lightning. It could have been much worse; its effects were greatly mitigated, in no small measure by the fact that it was taken on by this country. It is also true that even worse acts of violence have been and are being contemplated. It is the hope of the Soul of America and of all of us who serve that great Being and serve this country from the realms of spirit that by taking on this event and the release of the energy behind it, as well as the release of the transformative power of the sacrificial act, will greatly lessen or dissolve the potential of these worse acts.

Has America lost its protection from spirit? No. You are greatly protected. Bolts have formed that have never struck you and were diverted. This protection will not cease. But you are all in a stormy world. The charges of hatred and fear are strong in all countries, and these attract and form the bolts of violence that strike your world. If a bolt gets through, it is unfortunate, but you must think of all the bolts that did not.

I have spoken of this as a sacrificial act made by the Soul of America. Did those who were killed have any choice in the matter? What we see is that many of those who perished had indeed made an agreement at a soul level to participate in this sacrificial act, to make it their portal for entry into our world; others did not but were drawn into the event for a great many reasons personal to them and their destinies. They could not have avoided it.

But many had not chosen this way to die nor were bound to the event by chains of attraction or consequence, and they were not touched, sometimes for miraculous reasons but mostly because of how the event actually unfolded in time and space. In any event, all who died were immediately embraced by the love that led the Soul of America to offer itself in this way, and their entry into our world was graced and blessed by this spirit.

But as I have described, all who died gave the gift of energy released by their dying. And in the opening of the portal so powerfully by the deaths of so many, this gift of life from death, even though initiated by the hatred of a few, became a channel for an outpouring of the love that is at the heart of America. It is, I know, a painful gift, but it is a gift nonetheless. It is for you who remain to take that gift and reshape your world with it. It is a precious thing, and it can remake your world. I bless you."

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