Osama Bin Laden is dead since December 26, 2001. Translation of Funeral Article in Egyptian Paper al-Wafd

[mmiichael]

I'm quite sympathetic to Iran. They tried to make overtures to the US when they went into Afghanistan - and were rebuffed.

Confused people and abused. The Russians know how to milk them, selling their outdated equipment that is often disfunctional.

The mullahs are a bunch of fruitcakes, but sincere. The Shiite vs Sunni thing is very much a class war in the ME. The Shiites are starting to emerge
in places like Lebanon. The Saudi rulers are terrified, and this accounts for a lot of the conflict and politics in the region.

Israel is largely a sideshow. A deflection from the many problems in Muslim countries where leadership is
totally self-serving and corrupt, economies stagnant, and prospects for millions are dim.

The constant state of chaos is used as leverage to keep oil prices higher than market demand.

A Middle East Revolution would be a good thing. In their own weird way that's what Iran is trying to pull off. But there is yet no ground swell of a people's movement. Iran is the closest thing at hand.



Mike F