Two quick snips on the terrorism front.

• An op-ed in the Concord Journal that is in line with my thinking on the motivation of bin Laden et al. Though this opinion carries more weight, in my eyes, than mine since Dr. El-Baz is an expert on the region.


• Stratfor on the possible connections between the terrorist networks and the Afghan drug traffick. An interesting issue in terms of money and gathering of resources. The drug trade is among the most lucrative and hunted industries in the world. While a chasm of ideology would seem to separate drug lords and fundamentalists, the Taliban's use of opium to finance itself shows that the leaders see no problem in dealing with narcotics to further their interests.

Finally, it seems the Israel/US situation is getting heated with Sharon not wanting to be left out in the cold. Hard to blame him when he sees the Rumsfeld meeting each of Israel's fiercest opponents on a grand tour, with no stop in Israel. My suspicion is that Sharon has been waiting for the strikes to start so he can attack the PLO and the terrorist organizations in his country without remorse. This will be a difficult story to follow in the US media, but hopefully other sources will report on it.
- posted by levinson @ 10/05/2001 04:08:00 PM