Is the DFLP responsible?

September 11, 2001 4:36 PM

Is the DFLP responsible? The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attacks on the World Trade Center. This report, from a television station in Abu Dhabi, is unconfirmed. The attacks differ significantly from the DFLP's previous methods of operation. Likewise, the resources and infrastructure necessary for such attacks are far beyond the group's traditional means. Either the DFLP's claims are spurious, or it has joined forces with other groups.
posted by Davezilla (18 comments total)

I have posted on my blog (Bushwacker) a piece from Janes Intelligence, a highly respected military intelligence source, their assement as to possible culprits and what they believe is necessary for the terrorists to have and to do in order to bring about the chaos that took place today. They rank Ben Ladin as number one suspect, but their reasoning ought to be read in full.
posted by Postroad at 4:51 PM on September 11, 2001

more jane's links:
one, two
posted by mkn at 5:00 PM on September 11, 2001

just heard on NBC (via ITV) that due to new info they now put bin Laden at 90% likely
posted by Mossy at 5:12 PM on September 11, 2001

I found the Taliban's claim that "this sort of work" was beyond their and Osama bin Laden's capacity very telling. Not because of the claim itself but because of the sinister choice of noun - "work".
I also feel that we in the West are so arrogant and naive we refuse to believe that millions of people around the world not only hate our guts but feel the responsibility to deliver us from our evil ways.
On the West Bank candy was distributed; in Egypt taxi-drivers cheered. My point is that these are human beings like us; not extremists. What separates them from us is a fundamental religious and cultural divide. The West has always been singularly evil towards the Arabs. There is more than a millenium of resentment.
Instead of wishing for a Bennetton-like happy planet we should recognise that there is an Us and Them. Islamic fundamentalism and liberal democracy are mutually exclusive. Whoever can deny Western glee over the bombing of Baghdad may also argue that Islamic extremists - and the substantial populations who support them - are as heartbroken as we are over the terrible tragedy in New York and Washington.
Like it or not, there are irreconcilable religious differences that are bound to be violently expressed. For instance, Islam's dignification of martyrdom is unacceptable both to Judaism's and Christianity's focus on the primacy of life on this earth.
Trying to pin the blame on one man(President Bush mentioned, in the telling singular, "a faceless coward")or on a handful of small terrorist groups is just stupid.
There IS a cultural war. The sooner we face up to what Samuel Huntington called the "clash of civilizations" the easier it will be to prevent an even more violent and tragic future.
Or are we now incapable of such honesty - and bravery?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 5:14 PM on September 11, 2001

The BBC reported it thus:

* anonymous call to Abu Dhabi TV claiming responsibility on behalf of the DFLP;
* BBC tracks down DFLP reps in West Bank, who deny it. utterly.

Also, the BBC people on the ground are unenthusiastic about the reports, which is usually worth something. Their reasoning was that it simply lacks the resources to mount such a campaign outside its power base in the region.
posted by holgate at 5:26 PM on September 11, 2001

War fucking begets war. This is nothing for anyone to celebrate regardless of their cultural strife. Nobody laughs at the death and destruction of another.

I never imagined I'd feel such anger on America's behalf. The ardent true believer has spoken and has murdered en masse. True believing ignorance must be purged--no matter how untenable the reality of that is.
posted by crasspastor at 5:26 PM on September 11, 2001

There's no way that this attack was launched by any of the Palestinians. They've spent the last couple of years trying to drive a wedge between the US and Israel, and if one of them made this attack the result would not only be to cement the two together, but to make the US an active belligerent in the conflict. That is absolutely the last thing any of the Palestinian groups want.

Terrorism is not aimless violence, it's a form of warfare where violence serves identifiable goals. This particular violent act does not serve the Palestinian cause.

I believe that Osama bin Laden was responsible. Keep in mind that his organization has already made two previous attempts on the WTC.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 5:53 PM on September 11, 2001

Saying war begets war is both untrue and dangerous. There are just wars and there are unjust ones. Fake-moral equivalence much be rejected.
posted by ParisParamus at 5:56 PM on September 11, 2001

must
posted by ParisParamus at 5:56 PM on September 11, 2001

I believe that Osama bin Laden was responsible. Keep in mind that his organization has already made two previous attempts on the WTC.
be rejected.

I thought that was Sheik R.....n, no?
posted by ParisParamus at 5:57 PM on September 11, 2001

. That is absolutely the last thing any of the Palestinian groups want.

I haven't a clue who is responsible. But thinking that suicide bombing will lead to a Palestininan state is already sufficiently delusional that..."last things" cannot be known.
posted by ParisParamus at 6:01 PM on September 11, 2001

How about war-like actions beget more war-like actions? Will that do?
posted by crasspastor at 6:03 PM on September 11, 2001

My point is that these are human beings like us; not extremists. What separates them from us is a fundamental religious and cultural divide. The West has always been singularly evil towards the Arabs. There is more than a millenium of resentment.
Instead of wishing for a Bennetton-like happy planet we should recognise that there is an Us and Them. Islamic fundamentalism and liberal democracy are mutually exclusive.

I didn't think that someone could post something with which I agree less. Yes, there is a fundamental religious and cultural divide, however, that doesn't give them the right to destroy us. There are many fundamentalist Muslamic Arabs right here in the U.S.. Apparently they get along just fine. The people who did this are extremists and are not the mainstream. I simply refuse to have that little faith in humanity.

Can you point me to a source that says that the West has not always been "singularly evil" wrt the Arabs. This is simply false. Secondly, you say that there is more than a milennium of resentment. That would take us back to pre-1000 years, when there was absolutely no concept of "the West". There was Rome, Greece and a fledgling bunch of fiefdoms called Britannia, but is that the extent of it.

As far as wishing for something that you derogatorily call a "Bennetton-like happy planet", what in the hell is wrong with that? No wait, I know. Wishing would infer that we are all sitting here with our fingers crossed and our heads in the sand. I'm doing something about it every single day as are many of my friends. I don't see how making the world a better, more tolerant and more peaceful place is such a bad goal to have.

As far as the Islamic fundamentalism and liberal democracy being mutually exclusive, I disagree, but others surely have more educated things to say on that point than I.
posted by fooljay at 6:06 PM on September 11, 2001

Here here fooljay.


Slightly OT:

I cannot explain with enough emphasis how unexcited I am to spend the next week arguing with my Mother In Law about how we should 'deport all of those people'..

Ugh.
posted by glenwood at 6:21 PM on September 11, 2001

Please, please, never use the word Muslamic again!
posted by jnthnjng at 10:25 PM on September 11, 2001

Oops, you're right. Mistype. I've been up for far too long. Should have been Islamic...

I assume from your reaction that that is some sort of un-PC thing to do? *sigh*
posted by fooljay at 1:26 AM on September 12, 2001

MiguelCardoso: Islam's dignification of martyrdom is unacceptable both to Judaism's and Christianity's focus on the primacy of life on this earth.
Errr, never heard of the crusades, christian martyrs and the million of "natives" killed by christians for not being really human?
As for Palestinian responsibility over this, there is no Palestinian organization that would have the means and resources to pull off this sort of attack inside the US. Bin Laden maybe... But need I remind you that everyone was blaming the Arabs for the Oklahoma bombing before they got McVeigh?
Oh and to dispel any preconceived notions about how "Palestinians" in general reacted to this horror: A Greek TV channel's correspondent in Amman, Jordan, reported last night that in Amman (where at least half of the population is Palestinian) no one was celebrating and people were terrified and frozen.
posted by talos at 3:17 AM on September 12, 2001

I think MiguelCardoso's comment about a milennium of western aggression toward the arabs is correct -- after all, that was the time of the crusades, where cruelty on both sides was legendary. The Westerners, who were French, German, Italian (though in those days the countries were comprised of many smaller nations) were the invading force though, and did start it -- in fact, when they couldnt find any arabs to fight they would just fight each other. I highly recommend The Crusades through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf on the subject (a great book, real pageturner)
posted by fellorwaspushed at 7:24 AM on September 12, 2001