They are vulnerable because they are gullible

They are gullible because they are ignorant

They are ignorant because they are deliberately misinformed.

When Obama announced OBL dead, it was established as a fact - the truth. Where truth is concerned, it clearly matters where you were born - or else the truth does not matter.

In a 2007 interview, a former Pakistani born president (twice) and a leading opposition candidate favored to win the 2008 general Pakistani elections, Benazir Bhutto, claimed that Omar Sheikh had murdered OBL in an extraordinary interview,  she did not get [re] elected -- she was assassinated. Her allegations were buried by the mainstream media along with her. Without a doubt, the American-born US President's announcement of OBL's death will extend Barak Obama's occupancy of the White House for another four years. Neither Bhutto nor Obama produced a corpse to back their claim, yet it appears that nationality has its privileges -- that of establishing the truth.

A pertinent question arises:  Why would the U.S. put an expiration stamp on the Osama card when it had served the empire so well?

Inarguably, OBL had proven his value.   Even in his 'death', he continues to serve the American Empire. We have been duly warned that "U.S. intelligence officials believe Osama bin Laden made a propaganda recording shortly before his death and expect that tape to surface soon." The possibility of a future tape, puts the Obama administration in the comfortable fall-back position and enable false flag operations when necessary. What dedication. Is it any wonder that OBL was granted his dearest wish --  to die in battle (and not murdered by a fellow Moslem, or sickness, or ..)?

Although OBL was with our consciousness well before 2001,  the events of September 11 gave him a new prominence - and for years thereon,  he knew when to be silent and when to speak out (apparently the trend will continue after his death). Admittedly, this inordinate ability to speak or be silent took some training - or persuasion.

For three years after 9/11, OBL denied being behind the attacks stating: "Following the latest explosions in the United States, some Americans are pointing the finger at me, but I deny that because I have not done it. The United States has always accused me of these incidents, which have been caused by its enemies. Reiterating once again, I say that I have not done it, and the perpetrators have carried this out because of their own interest," (CIA FBIS: Usama bin Laden Statements 1994-2004, Wikileaks, September 14, 2008).    Perhaps the pounding of Afghanistan and Iraq deafened him into submission - or substitution.

In October 2004, a videotape of OBL is broadcast in which he assumes responsibility for 9/11.   (The still photo from the 2004 video is worthy of scrutiny.  It closely resembles the still image presented alongside Obama on today's C-Span.   Although the hair coloring varies, there are two consistencies:  the same wide and uncharacteristic nose and the same exact outfit see link - minute 5:25). After three years of only audio messages, in 2007 (after his first publicly announced death), a new videotape of OBL emerged -with a dyed and trimmed beard to please his global audience (see link). This picture is an exact duplicate of the two above mentioned pictures. It was this incredible image of OBL that prompted me to write my first article about the man. I could not fathom a man devoted to a vigorous practice of fundamental Islam defying the Islamic ideology pertaining to vanity - especially while living in his snug cave.   His black trimmed beard was unorthodox. Although he sported a shorter beard, he had set his sight far -- he was analyzing and criticizing the US Democratic Party's moves.

On January 6, 2008, I wrote a second and brief article questioning OBL's absence in the face of Israel's massacre in Gaza. I should have been more patient. Eight days after my article was posted on various sites, a recording accompanied by a still photo of Bin Laden superimposed over the al-Aqsa mosque was delivered. It was heartwarming to know that Gaza had not been forgotten. OBL's audiotapes continued to surface. The man truly kept abreast of current events.  In 2010, OBL even asked for the boycott of American goods for not addressing climate change. Way to go OBL!

Contrary to the latest revelations about OBL's living conditions in luxury and probably with the knowledge of Pakistanis, it had always been thought that OBL sent audio messages because he was in a cave or on the run.   Now at least, with his demise, we are shown pictures of his corpse.

Regrettably, it has been brought to light by The Guardian that the picture of the corpse presented as proof of his demise seems to be old, recycled pictures. Notwithstanding this shortsightedness, we have been deprived of further photo opportunities in an attempt to respect Islamic rituals. US intelligence tell us that OBL's body was dumped into sea in accordance with Islamic burial demands of a 24 hour burial time frame. It is always refreshing to hear that Islam is respected after the many wars against Islamic countries.

So back to the main question:  Why did the United States decide to expire Osama bin Laden at this juncture?

It would be naive to think that the logic behind the expiration stamp is restricted to promoting the incumbent president and uniting a dissatisfied nation (two thirds dissatisfied or angry with the government see link) and rally the people around the flag. It is equally naive to think that the world needed to be distracted from the reality that an attempted assassination of a foreign leader which led to the murder of his family  members was a factor. Nor can one attribute this event to the justification of the illegal and immoral CIA-drone killings in Pakistan. There must be more than meets the eye!

Perhaps for the time being, America is so confident in its latest lethal weapon - the pro-democracy cyber dissidents, that it decided to trade the 'war on terror'' with humanitarian imperialism brought about with the help of its cyber dissidents. Such grand gestures of 'humanitarian intervention' to promote democracy require the public consensus. Write OBL's death certificate  and the 'good' against evil fight is back on - confident that 'good' will prevail.

Cyber warriors and the call for 'humanitarian intervention imperialism':

The World Movement for Democracy was initiated by George W. Bush in  which he told CIA front National Endowment for Democracy (NED) that his administration's democratization initiative [America must approve the outcome of elections] would focus first on the Middle East - starting with Iraq.  This movement has been zealously followed by Obama. Lest we should be inclined to hold Bush to account for all the changes, we  ought to be reminded that in 1999,  the 'dovish' Jimmy Carter and neocon Paul Wolfowitz penned an article  ("Don't Take Democracy for Granted", WSJ, July 21, 1999) praising Ronal Reagan's establishment of NED to spearhead America's ''nongovernmental" (covert psyops) efforts to 'assist' democratic movements around the word.

More importantly, we must revisit the historical aspects of "democracy" and what it means to America.

President Theodore Roosevelt claimed: "Democracy has justified itself by keeping for the white race the best portion's of the earth's surface."   The need to justify 'democracy' further, led to capture of more of earth's surface,  which no doubt explains the remarks by General Arthur MacArthur, (father of Douglas) when he said:  "America's wonderful thrust into Asia was the destiny of the magnificent Aryan people." After the brutal takeover of the Philippines, Senator Beveridge claimed: " [J]ust beyond the Philippines are China's illimitable markets. God has not been preparing the English-speaking and Teutonic peoples for a thousand years for nothing but vain and idle self-admiration. No, he has made us the master organizers of the world...that we may administer government among savages and senile peoples...the Philippines are ours forever...and just beyond the Philippines lie China's illimitable markets...We will not renounce our part in the mission of our race, trustee under God, of the civilization of the world...China is our natural customer. The Philippines give us a base at the door of the East.. it has been  charged that our conduct of the war has been cruel. Senators, it has been the reverse. Senators, remember that we are not dealing with Americans or Europeans. We are dealing with Orientals." (source: http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/155/25996.html).

No doubt the renewed thrust of the empire into the Middle East to justify democracy, assassinate, and plunder is not new; but the method is novel - democracy's cyber warriors.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28027.htm

Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrichhas a Master's degree in Public Diplomacy from USC Annenberg for Communication and USC School of International Relations.  She is an independent researcher and writer with a focus on U.S. foreign policy and the role of lobby groups in influencing US foreign policy.  She is a peace activist, essayist and public speaker.

May 4, 2011