[Source: Afghanistan Today, March 1]

OSAMA WAS NOT OUR CREATION, CLAIMS RUMSFELD,
RESPONDING TO A QUESTION FROM AL JAZEERA.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
was charged with responsibility for Osama Bin Laden because of
the U.S. creation of the mujaheddin during the ``surrogate war''
against the Soviets in Afghanistan. There were many different
factions involved in the ``war of liberation'' in Afghanistan
against the Soviet Union, Rumsfeld said. That included Osama bin
Laden. But he flatly denied that Osama was a creation of the
United States to be used against the Soviet Union, an issue which
has undoubtedly been dogging him ever since the events of 911.

[Source: ``A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the
Realm,'' by Richard Perle, James Colbert, Charles Fairbanks,
Douglas Feith, Robert Loewenberg, Jonathan Torop, David Wurmser,
Meyrav Wurmser, IASPS, July 8, 1996.]

PERLE AND FEITH'S ``CLEAN BREAK'' DOCUMENT FROM 1996
SPELLED OUT CURRENT WAR SCHEMES IN MIDEAST.

The ``Clean Break'' strategy of Richard Perle, Doug Feith, et al.
have reached critical mass, with much of the leading press in the
English- and Arabic-speaking world exposing this IASPS (Institute
for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies) document as the
basis for the entire utopian/chickenhawk war drive in the Middle
East, coming from both within the Bush Administration and the
Sharon regime.

On July 8, 1996, Richard Perle
hand-delivered a copy of ``A Clean Break: A New Strategy for
Securing the Realm,'' to incoming Israeli Prime Minister and
rabid Jabotinskyite Benjamin Netanyahu.

Two days later, Netanyahu
dutifully delivered a speech before a joint session of the U.S.
Congress, drawn largely from the Perle-delivered text.

Several
excerpts from the six-page ``Clean Break'' memo serve as a useful
reminder of just how much this insane schema has driven Mideast
events since the Bush and Sharon inaugurations in 2001.

On the Israeli relationship with the Palestinian Authority:

``Israel can... Change the nature of its relations with the
Palestinians, including upholding the {right of hot pursuit} for
self defense into all Palestinian areas and nurturing
alternatives to Arafat's exclusive grip on Palestinian society...
Israel has no obligations under the Oslo agreements if the PLO
does not fulfill its obligations.''

And: ``Early adoption of a bold, new perspective on peace
and security is imperative for the new prime minister. While the
previous government, and many abroad, may emphasize `land for
peace'--which placed Israel in the position of cultural,
economic, political, diplomatic, and military retreat--the new
government can promote Western values and traditions. Such an
approach, which will be well received in the United States,
includes `peace for peace,' `peace through strength,' and self
reliance: {the balance of power}.''

On the priority to overthrow Saddam Hussein: ``Israel can
shape its strategic environment, in cooperation with Turkey and
Jordan, by weakening, containing, and even rolling back Syria.
This effort can focus on removing Saddam Hussein from power in
Iraq--an important Israeli strategic objective in its own
right--as a means of foiling Syria's regional ambitions. Jordan
has challenged Syria's regional ambitions recently by suggesting
the restoration of the Hashemites in Iraq.''

While the Perle gang's schemes to promote a conflict among
the Arab nations, by pushing a Hashemite versus House of Saud
rift, have hardly been a resounding success, the idea of hot
pursuit reinvasion of the Palestinian territories and the top
priority of overthrowing Saddam Hussein has certainly been the
cornerstone of the Sharon and chickenhawk policies.

(The full text of Clean Break and other related IASPS studies
can be found at www.israeleconomy.org)