Seven Generational Ruminations

An "alternative intelligence" unit operating at the Pentagon in the run-up to the war on Iraq was dedicated to establishing a link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida, even though the CIA was unconvinced of such a connection, the US Senate was told yesterday.

..."The office of the under-secretary of defence for policy developed, produced and then disseminated alternative intelligence assessments on the Iraq and al-Qaida relationship, which included some conclusions that were inconsistent with the consensus of the intelligence community, to senior decision-makers," the report says.

Last week Bill Clinton was interviewed by Chris Matthews in what Clinton took as an attack. Now, the Clintons are famous for the lines about the vast Right Wing Conspiracy, and while we do know there is such a conspiracy, perhaps the Clintons are a little sensitive to that. Who is that Conspiracy? Well, it's the Neocons for one, the people who have become the leaders in the U.S. Administration. It was they who, in the 1990's, dogged the Clintons with overly hyped allegations, some of them false.

It's the friday before the U.S. presidential election. Osama bin Laden makes a very interesting statement, for the first time claiming responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attack, and making a general warning against the U.S.

Excerpts from bin Laden tape

Fri 29 October, 2004 22:59 (Reuters UK)

Excerpts: Bin Laden video
(BBC - a transcript of excerpts broadcast on al Jazeera)