When one looks back at the stated goals of Osama bin Laden, one might conclude that much of what he sought has come to pass. As bin Laden is reported to have said in 2004, “We are continuing this policy of bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah.”
According to Patrik Etschmayer of Switzerland’s Nachrichten newspaper, in a decade that included two wars that bin Laden had much to do with and that began and ended with massive economic bubbles, the terrorist leader has a few people to thank for this apparent success: George W. Bush and Alan Greenspan.
Once again, for Switzerland’s Nachrichten, Etschmayer writes in part:
“Al-Qaeda in its original form has been destroyed and most of those responsible for the 9/11 attacks have been either captured, killed, or are on the run. And yet these people are the not-so-secret victors of the last decade, in fact having managed to greatly weaken the U.S. superpower and the entire capitalist system. However, this wasn’t achieved through actual deeds. The damage may have been vast, but it wasn’t of the gravity that could have permanently harmed the United States.
It was the reaction of the Bush Administration that handed al-Qaeda a triumph that will resonate in the years to come, even if hardly anyone sees a direct connection. According to large numbers of analysts, the U.S. budget deficit is a threat to further economic development, and many of the decisions that have led to the gaping hole in America’s federal treasury, directly or indirectly, were made in the wake of the World Trade Tower attacks.
By Patrik Etschmayer
Translated By Patrik Etschmayer
December 15, 2009
Switzerland – Nachrichten – Original Article (German)
Okay, okay! The decade isn’t officially over at the end of the year. That won’t be the case until 2011. But the zero-years are over and the tens loom just around the corner. If, after this year, there aren’t people who long for a new beginning, they must have missed most of what occurred in recent months.
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