mantra
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The invasion of Afghanistan was planned long before 9/11 and the grab for oil was in the form of the construction of the oil and gas pipelines the US desperately wanted. The Taliban stood in the way.
In regard to Iraq - it was all about the petro dollar -v- the petro euro. Iraq was in the process of changing its currency and this would have had devastating affects on the US economy as they traded in dollars not euros.
I doubt that this is of any interest to you Aussie2 and it is old news - but it is the US corporate greed which took us down this path. The current government can do little as we have signed up to aid in the completion of these pipelines and although they will be of little benefit to us - we are committed unfortunately.
The conquest of Afghanistan had been planned since at least 12 February 1998, and 9/11 happened just in time to secure public support for the attacks.
Where the hell is Bin Laden? It seems he was forgotten very quickly after we invaded Afghanistan.
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Warfare in Afghanistan prior to 9/11.
TIMELINE
3rd November 1998 - attacks stop US oil pipeline: Up to 80 cruise missiles were fired at Afghanistan and Sudan in August An American-funded training project in Afghanistan has closed down as a result of the US cruise missile attack on the country in August. The programme was funded by the American oil company, Unocal, which was once hoping to be involved in building a gas pipeline across the country from Turkmenistan to Pakistan.
BBC News, "US attack closes US project", 3 November 1998.
2nd January 1999 - US strikes targets in Afghanistan:
No sooner had the Taleban won a series of victories in the north, than the US launched an attack on camps in Afghanistan run by Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who had allegedly masterminded the bombing of US embassies in East Africa.
BBC News, "Afghanistan: Campaign of conflict", 2 January 1999.
15th March 2001 - allies invade Afghanistan:
India is believed to have joined Russia, the USA and Iran in a concerted front against Afghanistan's Taliban regime.
Military sources in Delhi, claim that the opposition Northern Alliance's capture of the strategic town of Bamiyan, was precipitated by the four countries' collaborative effort. Janes International Security News, "India joins anti-Taliban coalition", 15 March 2001.
3rd September 2001 - allies deploy huge task-force for “fictional” conflict:
The aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious has sailed from Portsmouth to lead the biggest Royal Navy and Royal Marine deployment since the Falklands.
HMS Illustrious is the flagship of three groups of warships travelling to the Middle East to take part in exercise "Saif Sareea 2".
More than 24 surface ships from Britain, plus two nuclear submarines, will be completing the 13,000 mile round trip. The operation, costing nearly £100m, will end with a major excercise before Christmas that will also involve the Army, Royal Air Force and Armed Forces of Oman. 16th March 2001 - Bush prepares America to wage war overseas:
“I want to remind the American people that the prime suspect's [Osama Bin Laden] organisation is in a lot of countries,” Mr Bush told reporters on the White House lawn.
BBC News, Carrier heads for the Middle East, 3 September 2001.
11th September 2001 - the war comes home to America:
*** 9/11 ***
BBC News, "America widens 'crusade' on terror", 16 September 2001.
18th September 2001 - diplomat reveals 9/11 “response” began before 9/11: A former Pakistani diplomat has told the BBC that the US was planning military action against Osama Bin Laden and the Taleban even before last week's attacks.
Niaz Naik, a former Pakistani Foreign Secretary, was told by senior American officials in[highlight] mid-July that military action against Afghanistan would go ahead by the middle of October.[/highlight] Mr Naik said US officials told him of the plan at a UN-sponsored international contact group on Afghanistan which took place in Berlin. ... The wider objective, according to Mr Naik, would be to topple the Taleban regime and install a transitional government of moderate Afghans in its place - possibly under the leadership of the former Afghan King Zahir Shah. Mr Naik was told that Washington would launch its operation from bases in Tajikistan, where American advisers were already in place.
He was told that Uzbekistan would also participate in the operation and that 17,000 Russian troops were on standby.
Mr Naik was told that if the military action went ahead it would take place before the snows started falling in Afghanistan, by the middle of October at the latest.
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