A Pertinent Reminder: Bin Laden's War on the West was not because of Israel

When news of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers broke someone immediately exclaimed to me: "Now the world will see what Israel has had to put up with for all these years!"

"I'm not so sure," I replied at once.  "I suspect that Israel will be blamed - it'll be said that American support for Israel provoked the attack."

And of course, blaming Israel is exactly what did occur in many quarters, with the West being urged by appeasers of militant Islamism and Israel-haters alike (needless to say, those two categories are by no means mutually exclusive) to dilute its support for Israel if not abandon it altogether.

In the wake of the death of the architect of 9/11 it's as well to be reminded that Bin Laden's principal gripe, like those of the fomenters of the recent Arab Uprisings, lay not with the little Jewish State.

To quote an article by the organisation CAMERA, entitled "Why Did Bin Laden Hate America? Was It Because of Israel?":

"Now that Osama bin Laden has been killed in Pakistan by US forces, it is important for the media and the general public to remember just what triggered his anti-American obsession – hint, it wasn't Israel.

In fact, as bin Laden made abundantly clear in his writings and statements, his primary grievance was with Saudi Arabia, the Islamic holy land, and the presence and influence there of infidels, namely the armed forces of the United States.

What really sent bin Laden over the edge was the Saudi decision to invite in U.S. troops to protect the Kingdom right after Saddam had invaded Kuwait. Bin Laden urged against what he saw as a deep sacrilege and betrayal – Saudi Arabia is the holy land of the Muslims, and non-Muslims are not even allowed to set foot in Mecca and Medina.

Rather than accept US troops, he implored Saudi leaders to depend on his Afghan mujahadin instead. But Secretary of State James Baker and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Colin Powell visited the Kingdom and convinced Saudi rulers to turn him down and allow in the American army. For inviting in the infidels, the “Crusaders,” as bin Laden put it, the Saudi rulers would never be forgiven.

Indeed, in bin Laden’s famous Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places, August 23, 1996, the Israelis are given only a few mentions, while the Americans and the Saudis are the primary villains ...."

Read the rest: http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=11&x_article=2032