Maybe we should learn from history?

[mistwalker 0]

Thought you might be interested in this forgotten bit of information..........

It was 1987! At a lecture the other day they were playing an old news video of Lt.Col. Oliver North testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan Administration.

 

There was Ollie in front of God and country getting the third degree, but what he said was stunning!

 

He was being drilled by a senator; "Did you not recently spend close to $60,000 for a home security system?"

 

O llie replied, "Yes, I did, Sir."

 

The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience, "Isn't that just a little excessive?"

 

"No, sir," continued Ollie.

 

"No? And why not?" the senator asked.

 

"Because the lives of my family and I were threatened, sir."

 

"Threatened? By whom?" the senator questioned.

 

"By a terrorist, sir" Ollie answered.

 

"Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you that much?"

 

"His name is Osama bin Laden, sir" Ollie replied.

 

At this point the senator tried to repeat the name, but couldn't pronounce it, which most people back then probably couldn't. A couple of people laughed at the attempt. Then the senator continued. Why are you so afraid of this man?" the senator asked.

 

"Because, sir, he is the most evil person alive that I know of", Ollie answered.

 

"And what do you recommend we do about him?" asked the senator.

 

"Well, sir, if it was up to me, I would recommend that an assassin team be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth."

 

The senator disagreed with this approach, and that was all that was shown of the clip.

 

 

By the way, that senator was Al Gore!

 

Also:

 

Terrorist pilot Mohammad Atta blew up a bus in Israel in 1986. The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him. As part of the Oslo agreement with the Palestinians in 1993, Israel had to agree to release so-called "political prisoners."

 

However, the Israelis would not release any with blood on their hands, The American President at the time, Bill Clinton, and his Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, "insisted" that all prisoners be released.

 

Thus Mohammad Atta was freed and eventually thanked the US by flying an airplane into Tower One of the World Trade Center. This was reported by many of the American TV networks at the time that the terrorists were first identified.

It was censored in the US from all later reports.

 

Hands up if ya reckon Ollie had the right idea?

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

At a lecture the other day they were playing an old news video of Lt.Col. Oliver North testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan Administration.

 

 

Just what sort of lectures do you attend, mate?

[ChrisJones 7,975]

Is this the same Osama Bin Laden that the Regan administration funded to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan?

[nelson 0]

:ph34r: Wake up Chris,the yanks had to stop the Russians getting to the oil fields of Iraq didn't they and they just happened to know a fruitcake to do it ,easy,problem solved.........that is until said fruitcake decides that your as bad as the other bloke and you want to exploit him and his religion, then he goes off on one

[barraboy 28]

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Urban Legends and Folklore

We Should Have Listened to Ollie North

Netlore Archive: Email rumor claims a video clip of Oliver North's testimony during the Iran-Contra hearings of the 1980s shows him warning against the terrorist Osama bin Laden

 

Description: Email rumor

Status: False

Circulating since: October 2001

Analysis: See below

 

Email text contributed by Japheth C., 5 November 2001:

 

Subject: We should have listened to Ollie

 

We should have listened to Ollie

 

You know, it's funny. I remember very vividly the Oliver North hearings, but did not recall the name of Osama bin Laden as the terrorist that North was threatened by. Has this slimeball been around that long? It's pretty evident, in hindsight that we should have listened to OLLIE!

 

In a lecture at UNC the other day where they played a video of Oliver North during the Iran-Contra deals during the Reagan administration. In this particular clip. There was Olie in front of God and Country getting the third degree. But what he said was stunning, as he was being drilled by some senator, who asked him;

 

'Did you not recently spend close to $60,000 for a home security system?'

 

Oliver replied, 'Yes I did sir.'

 

The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience, 'Isn't this just a little excessive?'

 

'No sir,' continued Oliver.

 

'No. And why not?'

 

'Because the life of my family and I were threatened.'

 

'Threatened? By who.'

 

'By a terrorist, sir.'

 

'Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you that much?'

 

'His name is Osama bin Laden.'

 

At this point the senator tried to repeat the name, but couldn't pronounce it, which most people back then probably couldn't. A couple of people laughed at the attempt. Then the senator continued.

 

'Why are you so afraid of this man?'

 

'Because sir, he is the most evil person alive that I know of.'

 

'And what do you recommend we do about him?'

 

'If it were me I would recommend an assassin team be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth.'

 

The senator disagreed with this approach and that was all they showed of the clip.

 

It's scary when you think 15 years ago the government was aware of Osama bin Laden and his potential threat to the security of the world. I guess like all great tyrants they start small but if left untended spread like the virus they truly are.

 

 

Comments: Sorry, wrong terrorist. When Colonel Oliver North defended his government-purchased home security system before a Congressional committee in 1987, he cited threats on his life from Palestinian terrorist Abu Nidal, not Osama bin Laden. The latter was busy fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan at the time. Bin Laden's fervent hatred of the U.S. is said by most sources to date from 1990, when the U.S. stationed troops in his home country of Saudi Arabia in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

 

Update: A new variant of this message first sighted in December 2001 falsely names Al Gore as the senator who grilled Oliver North during his testimony in 1987. According to the U.S. Senate Web site, North was in fact questioned by committee counsel John Nields, not a senator.

 

Update: A new variant circulating since September 2002 contains an additional paragraph claiming that 9/11 terrorist Muhammad Atta was freed from prison in 1993 in an agreement signed by then-President Bill Clinton. As I have noted elsewhere, this too is false.

 

history teaches us that the truth has many voices, it depends which you choose to believe.

Edited September 1, 2006 by barraboy