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Bin Laden & Al Qaeda Sought to Exploit Racial Tensions in US
By
Christopher Robbins
Published May 7, 2011
Modified May 7, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published May 7, 2011
Modified May 7, 2011
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Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden sought to harm the US by "attempting to inflame race and class tensions in hopes of tearing down the country from the inside out," sources who have seen the evidence recovered from Bin Laden's compound have told ABC News. In addition to traditional terrorist attacks, Bin Laden wished to "create a divisiveness that would cause more damage than al Qaeda could ever do on their own." This included recruiting blacks in the US, "to capitalize on them to further the jihadi cause."
The Rev. Al Sharpton is quoted in the story as saying that the such tactics "would be the most cynical abuse of African-Americans and America in general," while a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations calls the idea of a race war a "fantasy" and a "fundamental misunderstanding of American society." However it is worth noting that the Ground Zero Mosque controversy was a boon for the Taliban, providing them with "more recruits, donations, and popular support."
As more details of the lead-up to the raid in Abbottabad materialize, Bob Woodward of the Washington Post recounts how a phone call made to the compound last year tipped off the CIA that there was a high probability that Bin Laden was hiding there. His main courier, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti told a friend that he was "back with the people I was before," and one US official is quoted as saying "This is where you start the movie about the hunt for bin Laden."
Analyzing the intelligence leading up to the raid, the US is attempting to pinpoint what officials in Pakistan knew about Bin Laden's whereabouts and whether or not they were knowingly hiding him, the Times reports. One senior administration member says that he doubts Pakistan's leaders knew his exact location, but "there are degrees of knowing, and it wouldn't surprise me to find out that someone close to [Pakistan's Army Chief] knew." Still, "the administration sees its relationship with Pakistan as too crucial to risk a wholesale break."
Tagged
al-qaeda
al sharpton
Bob Woodward
ground zero mosque
Osama bin Laden
Pakistan
park51
president obama
rev al sharpton
terrorism
war on terror
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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