There's something odd about the recent deaths in the UAE ruling family!

[FormerRepublican]

There's something a little odd in the power succession recently:

First, the ruler - Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan - dies Nov 2, 2004.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6390296

Then, the ruler - Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum - dies under mysterious circumstances in Australia April 1, 2006.
http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/193319

He is replaced by his brother - Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum - who just happens to be the man with the tidy relationship with Bin Laden:

"After the Taliban takes control of the area around Kandahar, Afghanistan, in September 1994, prominent Persian Gulf state officials and businessmen, including high-ranking United Arab Emirates and Saudi government ministers, such as Saudi intelligence minister Prince Turki al-Faisal, frequently secretly fly into Kandahar on state and private jets for hunting expeditions. General Wayne Downing, Bush's former national director for combating terrorism, says: “They would go out and see Osama, spend some time with him, talk with him, you know, live out in the tents, eat the simple food, engage in falconing, some other pursuits, ride horses. One noted visitor is Sheik Mohammed ibn Rashid al Maktum, United Arab Emirates Defense Minister and Crown Prince for the emirate of Dubai.” While there, some develop ties to the Taliban and al-Qaeda and give them money. Both bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar sometimes participate in these hunting trips. Former US and Afghan officials suspect that the dignitaries' outbound jets may also have smuggled out al-Qaeda and Taliban personnel. On one occasion, the US will decide not to attack bin Laden with a missile because he's falconing with important members of the United Arab Emirates' royal family (see February 1999)."

http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entity.jsp?id=1521846767-531

Now the question is - did the pal of Bin Laden recently put the hit on his brother to assume the rule of the UAE at conveniently the same time Bush was busy approving the sale of our ports to the UAE state run company?

The more I dig into this, the more questions there are!

Edit to add: I'm trying to make sense of this, and it would appear that the rulers who have died are the President and the Prime Minister. What's odd is that they both died within 2 years of each other. The power structure in the UAE is a bit confusing...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_bin_Rashid_Al_Maktoum

[Ecumenist]

1. April1 2006???

Are you sure the date wasn't for the demise of Sheikh Maktoum bin Rahid Al Maktoum isn't April 1, 2005? On the other hand, strange and rahter advantageous deaths seem to cluster around this bunch.

[FormerRepublican]

2. Check the link. I double checked it myself just now, and it's definately

... April 1, 2006.

[FormerRepublican]

7. Duh - bang my head on my keyboard for being stupid.

This would have to be from 2005, since 4/1/2006 isn't here yet. But the link definately says 2006, so I have some excuse for being stupid.

:blush:

[Ecumenist]

10. LOL!! No problem, been there done that....got the t-shirt &brochure

:pals:

[FormerRepublican]

12. I've got the dates reversed - the Europeans do it backwards from us.

The death was January 4, 2006. (Whew - was losing my mind on that one.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maktoum_bin_Rashid_Al_Maktoum

[FreedomAngel82]

14. Oh whew

I thought so too.

[lapfog_1]

17. It says 04-01-2006

which, in the rest of the world, means Jan 4, 2006. I'm guessing that this is the source of your confusion.

[FormerRepublican]

18. Yes. In the US, 4-1-2006 is April 1, 2006.

[Ecumenist]

9. Umm, it's not even march 2006....

So, unless this is some sort of joke,(it is dated on April Fool's Day), That's impossible.

[SpiralHawk]

4. Or are you foolin?

Always remember:

The future is coming -- The past is over

[IronLionZion]

37. 4/1/2006 = January 4th 2006 in the Eastern World.nt

[Stephanie]

3. how much "former" of a republican ARE you?

because you are on the steep learning curve here baby

good job! how did you find this?

[FormerRepublican]

5. I was searching the web for ties between UAE and Bin Laden.

Found this in my travels and it looked really weird. Heads of state just DON'T die off that often!

[Emit]

6. I saw this last night and I have a question about something quoted in

that passage at cooperative research.

This part here where Downing is quoted:

Downing, Bush's former national director for combating terrorism, says: “They would go out and see Osama, spend some time with him, talk with him, you know, live out in the tents, eat the simple food, engage in falconing, some other pursuits, ride horses. One noted visitor is Sheik Mohammed ibn Rashid al Maktum, United Arab Emirates Defense Minister and Crown Prince for the emirate of Dubai.”

At cooperative research, that quote is directly followed by an imbedded link to this article, implying that that quote is in that MSNBC article:
MSNBC, 9/5/03:
http://www.emjournal.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/sept030.html

But, in the article, this is the entire quote, with no mention of Sheik Mohammed ibn Rashid al Maktum:

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Wayne Downing was President Bush’s national director for combating terrorism and is now an NBC News analyst. “They would go out and see Osama, spend some time with him, talk with him, you know, live out in the tents, eat the simple food, engage in falconing, some other pursuits, ride horses. And then be able to go back home and kind of have the insider secret knowledge, that yes, we saw Osama, and we talked to him,” Downing says.

I did a quick google search last night, as I, too, was reading up about this guy. But, cooperative research is the only hit I get with this phrase, and there is scarcely else that I recall making this connection.

So, either MSNBC took that part out, or cooperative research has an error, or might need to link to a supportive doc there. Notice that? I will email them and ask.

[Stephanie]

8. there is a lot of post-posting editng that goes on

that's why I wonder if Nexis-Lexis offers a definitive archive, or if online revisions are more or less permanent

[Emit]

11. I can check Lexis-Nexis later. n/t

[FormerRepublican]

20. Here's another link that talks about this, but doesn't name names:

"The Desert Camp, February 1999
During the winter of 1998-99, intelligence reported that Bin Ladin frequently visited a camp in the desert adjacent to a larger hunting camp in Helmand province of Afghanistan, used by visitors from a Gulf state. Public sources have stated that these visitors were from the United Arab Emirates. At the beginning of February, Bin Ladin was reportedly located there, and apparently remained for more than a week. This was not in an urban area, so the risk of collateral damage was minimal. Intelligence provided a detailed description of the camps. National technical intelligence confirmed the description of the larger camp and showed the nearby presence of an official aircraft of the UAE. The CIA received reports that Bin Ladin regularly went from his adjacent camp to the larger camp where he visited with Emiratis. The location of this larger camp was confirmed by February 9, but the location of Bin Ladin’s quarters could not be pinned down so precisely. Preparations were made for a possible strike at least against the larger camp, perhaps to target Bin Ladin during one of his visits. No strike was launched.

According to CIA officials, policymakers were concerned about the danger that a strike might kill an Emirati prince or other senior officials who might be with Bin Ladin or close by. The lead CIA official in the field felt the intelligence reporting in this case was very reliable; the UBL unit chief at the time agrees. The field official believes today that this was a lost opportunity to kill Bin Ladin before 9/11.

Clarke told us the strike was called off because the intelligence was dubious, and it seemed to him as if the CIA was presenting an option to attack America’s best counterterrorism ally in the Gulf. Documentary evidence at the time shows that on February 10 Clarke detailed to Deputy National Security Adviser Donald Kerrick the intelligence placing UBL in the camp, informed him that DOD might be in position to fire the next morning, and added that General Shelton was looking at other options that might be ready the following week.

Clarke had just returned from a visit to the UAE, working on counterterrorism cooperation and following up on a May 1998 UAE agreement to buy F-16 aircraft from the United States. On February 10, Clarke reported that a top UAE official had vehemently denied that high-level UAE officials were in Afghanistan. Evidence subsequently confirmed that high-level UAE officials had been hunting there.

By February 12 Bin Ladin had apparently moved on and the immediate strike plans became moot. In March the entire camp complex was hurriedly disassembled. We are still examining several aspects of this episode."

http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/2004/independentcommissionreport032404b.html

And here are some more links to the story:

http://files.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/911comm-ss6.pdf

"The most tantalizing case was in February 1999, when bin Laden spent a week at a remote hunting camp in Afghanistan's Helmand province. But senior officials from the United Arab Emirates, a purported American ally, were also at the camp. The strike was called off because, as CIA Director George J. Tenet testified last week, "You might have wiped out half the royal family in the UAE in the process." CIA officers in the field would later describe it as a major missed opportunity to kill bin Laden."

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/032904/pol_20040329065.shtml

And a bit more in depth, although not much:

http://www.insightful.com/products/infact/911/page/432/21.html

My guess is that reports have been sanitized to prevent the naming of specific UAE names.

[FreedomAngel82]

13. Uh how can someone die when it hasn't even hit that day yet?

It's not April of 2006 yet.

[FormerRepublican]

16. The date is backwards, European style. It's Jan 4, 2006. My boo boo.

[Emit]

15. One other thing I found is that Neil Bush has been in Dubai recently

promoting his business "Ignite!" and has rubbed shoulders with Sheik Mohammed ibn Rashid al Maktum. Wayne Madsen wrote that Sheik Mohammed ibn Rashid al Maktum helped to fund Bush's business, although no other sources stated this directly. Other sources I read said money for his business came from Saudi funding, or something. I don't have the links any more.

edited spelling

[FormerRepublican]

21. Here's a gotcha:

"1991 July - Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) collapses. Abu Dhabi's ruling family owns a 77.4 % share."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/828687.stm

Remember that Poppy Bush was neck deep in BCCI. Here's some more info:

"BCCI became the focus in 1991 of the world's worst financial scandal and what was called a "$20-billion-plus heist" (Beaty & Gwynne 1993). It was found by regulators in the United States and United Kingdom to be involved in money laundering, bribery, support of terrorism, arms trafficking, the sale of nuclear technologies, the commission and facilitation of tax evasion, smuggling, illegal immigration, and the illicit purchases of banks and real estate. The bank was found to be worthless, with at least $13 billion unaccounted for.

Investigators in the U.S. and UK revealed that BCCI had been organized to avoid centralized regulatory review and to commit fraud on a massive scale, with its own intelligence network, diplomatic corps, and shipping and commodities trading companies.

The liquidators, Deloitte & Touche, filed a lawsuit against Price Waterhouse and Ernst & Young, the bank's auditors, which was settled for $175 million in 1998. A further lawsuit against the emir of Abu Dhabi, a major shareholder, was launched in 1999 for around $400 million. BCCI creditors also instituted a $1 billion suit against the Bank of England as a regulatory body. After a nine-year struggle due to the Bank's statutory immunity, the case went to trial in January 2004. However in November 2005 liquidators Deloitte dropped any action against the Bank of England as it was no longer considered in the best interests of the creditors after a High Court ruling."

and

"BCCI's founder, Agha Hasan Abedi, started the bank in Pakistan in 1972. Abedi had previously set up the United Bank of Pakistan in 1959. Following the nationalization of United Bank in 1971 he sought to create a new supranational banking entity. BCCI was created with capital from Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan, emir of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the Bank of America (25%) and, allegedly, the CIA. It is claimed that the CIA were seeking a funding route for the mujahideen, similar to the Investors Overseas Service and the Nugen Hand Bank in the 1960s. However, the vast majority of BCCI's assets were initially from Abu Dhabi."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Credit_and_Commerce_International

Check out the names of the former Directors down at the bottom - notice the name James R. Bath, who happens to have handled Salem Bin Laden's financial interests in the US, and also bought out Shrub's debacle Arbusto?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Bath



And more:

"Arbusto Energy (Arbusto Oil) was a petroleum and energy corporation formed in Midland, Texas, in 1977, by George W. Bush. The word arbusto is Spanish for "bush".

Investors in the company included Dorothy Bush, Lewis Lehrman, William Henry Draper III, Bill Gammell, and James R. Bath. At the time that Bath made an investment of $50,000 he was representing Salem bin Laden's interests in Texas. When Salem bin Laden died in 1988, his interest in Arbusto (along with other bin Laden Group assets) passed to Khalid bin Mahfouz."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbusto_Energy

And note some details on Bush pal Mahfouz:

"Bin Mahfouz was the director of BCCI, a huge financial conglomerate later convicted of money laundering, bribery, support of terrorism, arms trafficking, and many other crimes.<3> Bin Mahfouz personally owned a 20% stake in BCCI. He was not convicted of any crimes in relation to BCCI scandal; however, as Forbes Magazine reports,

A New York state grand jury indicted Khalid for fraud, and the U.S. Federal Reserve alleged that he breached banking regulations. He denied any wrongdoing. The charges were dropped in 1993, but only after Khalid agreed to pay $225 million, including $37 million in lieu of fines. Khalid together with NCB was also involved in a separate $253 million deal to settle claims with BCCI's creditors.

Donations to Osama bin Laden in 1988
Craig Unger's book House of Bush, House of Saud claims that bin Mahfouz donated over $270,000 to Osama bin Laden's Islamist organization at the request of Osama's brother Salem bin Laden. Bin Mahfouz does not deny this, but his lawyer stated: "This donation was to assist the US-sponsored resistance to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and was never intended nor, to the best of Sheikh Khalid's knowledge, ever used to fund any 'extension' of that resistance movement in other countries.""

and

"Khalid bin Mahfouz has denied that NCB, his bank, was involved in funding an al-Qaeda group. According to reports, high-placed Saudi businessmen transferred millions of dollars through NCB to charities operating as fronts for al-Qaeda. Bin Mahfouz states that he could not have been aware of every wire transfer moving through the bank, and that he would not have allowed such transactions had he known they were taking place. There is no evidence that bin Mahfouz was personally involved in any of these transactions."

and

"Khalid bin Mahfouz inherited many assets from the Saudi Binladen Group when the group's director, Salem bin Laden, died in a plane crash in 1988. Among these was an interest in Arbusto Energy, a Houston oil firm founded by George W. Bush. Bin Mahfouz's holdings were managed by James R. Bath, a close friend to Bush and the former manager of Salem bin Laden's US assets.

After Arbusto merged into Harken Energy, bin Mahfouz continued to be tangentially involved in the company's affairs through BCCI representatives. Bush, Harken's CEO at the time, denies any knowledge of bin Mahfouz's involvement. According to the Modern History Project bin Mahfouz was the owner of Harken energy."

So Shrub is CEO and doesn't know who owns the company.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_bin_Mahfouz

And a bit more:

"Khalid bin Mahfouz has been under scrutiny ever since the U.S. Treasury Department named the Muwaffaq charity as an al Qaeda front in October. His eldest son, Abdulrahman, had been a board member of the charity, though a family spokesman denies any wrongdoing. Mahfouz, reportedly very ill, recently received treatment in a military hospital in the sleepy Saudi town of Taif. In the meantime, Abdulrahman manages the family's business interests."

Link

Looks like UAE owned 78% of BCCI, and Mahfouz owned 20%. So that's pretty much the entire BCCI bank, and both have heavy ties to Bush.

[bobbieinok]

31. whatever happened to the BCCI trial that was supposed to take

place before selection 2004 and was supposed to contain 'earthshaking' revelations?????

and many at DU emphasized that Kerry was the only congress person who kept pushing the investigation into BCCI......some DUers claimed that's why it was vital that he not win b/c he'd be in a position to set up more investigations

and Bushes were heavily involved in BCCI, right??????

[donsu]

36. where ever Neil goes it's to do something corrupt that makes money

and he's a bag man and a contract signer

[progressivebydesign]

19. I'm kicking and nominating this thread for the home page.

There is much to be gleaned from your info. Perhaps others can extrapolate on this... I think it's very interesting stuff. You know, the whole Bush tie to all those people really makes me wonder about the Bin Laden thing, and how he pops up at just the right times for Bush. Not be be a tin foily type or anything.. it's just curious. Too many unanswered questions.

[AntiFascist]

23. It might help to understand the history of the Bush family....

involvement with the Saudi Royals and the Bin Ladins. This interview, which you will probably never see in the U.S. media, provides a very good summary, starting with how B*sh Sr. became involved in setting up Saudi Intelligence and training the Palace Guard to protect the Saudi Royals from a fundamentalist revolution.

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/conspiracytheories/white.pdf

What is interesting is the extent to which W. tried to keep much of this information secret.

If you check around the web you may find that Al Qaeda seems to be even more of a threat to Saudi Royals, where a large number of AQ members have already been hunted down within Saudi Arabia.

This book seems to indicate that, at one point, Saudis were paying Al Qaeda in order not to attack them, and presumably to focus on the U.S. instead. How convenient that one of the Bin Ladins, originally trained as a CIA asset, happens to be the spiritual figurehead:

http://www.forbiddentruth.net/

In the FORBIDDEN TRUTH, the authors reveal how many of the criminals involved in the BCCI banking scandal (which involved long-time presidential advisor, Clark Clifford) are still active, providing a front for terrorists in Europe and the United States. As Brisard and Dasquié explain,"The bald truth, ugly but undeniable, in the Arabic peninsula that is home to the main supply of oil reserves consumed by the industrialized nations, is that the power rests in the hands of reliable and easily corruptible middlemen - these emirs and kings who keep their people in a permanent state of submission and fear have always held up the Koran to legitimize their position, and have always been prepared to compromise with the most radical clerics to ensure that no one dislodges them from their palaces. Here they are now, acting shocked and surprised to learn that one of the faithful soldiers of one of these mullahs, Osama bin Laden, is behind the New World Disorder that so vexes their rich Western partners."

[greyl]

27. I seriously doubt it will end up on the home page. nt

[Twist_U_Up]

22. Heres an interesting article

http://www.gulfnews.com/profile/shaikhmaktoum/more_stories/10010003.html


Sharjah: The death of Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum came as a shock to young and old alike across the country.

"He was so young, I did not expect to see his death in my lifetime," said an elderly resident of an old people's home.

No one can better remember the life of Shaikh Maktoum than the elder community, who remember his succession to the throne and his achievements.
more.....

[PassingThrough]

24. One was 86 and one was 62 with heart problems. Even the rich can not

cheat death.

[greyl]

26. But they died within 2 years of each other!

That can't possibly be attributed to chance!
It's odd with a capital 0!

[PassingThrough]

28. Your joking right?

[greyl]

29. Ahh, you know I am. :) nt

[file83]

25. Nice sequence of events you outlined. Excellent digging! n/t

[passy]

30. Sounds a bit like Syriana don't you think

"Now the question is - did the pal of Bin Laden recently put the hit on his brother to assume the rule of the UAE at conveniently the same time Bush was busy approving the sale of our ports to the UAE state run company?"

I guess you haven't watched the film yet. You will see strange parrallels.

[canichelouis]

32. My thoughts exactly

[IronLionZion]

39. I've suspected Syriana is about the UAE

Emiratis don't work. About half the country is made up of foreign workers. Many of them are abused and angry at the world and hate life. Ripe for terrorist recruitment.

[populistdriven]

33. so this means there is 1-2 degrees of separation between Bush & bin Laden?

[Virginian]

34. At least once, probably multiple times.

Salem bin Laden was an investor in Arbusto, Bush's failed oil company.
Salem bin Laden is the brother of Osama.
Salem died in a small plane crash in Texas. I think I remember it was an ultralight.

[populistdriven]

35. Yep, I had forgotten about that! So If bin laden was paying Bush

How much money would a photocopy of the cancelled check be worth to the media?

[JCMach1]

38. Sheikh Zayed was old and very sick

Shk. Maktoum died while seeking cancer treatment.

===================================================================

Power is shared here through the 'Ruling Council'

These deaths meant few changes-- with one exception. They waited until Shk. Zayed died to begin the Democratization process. Locals did (and still) think of Zayed as the George Washington of the UAE. The did not want to begin the process out of respect for his position.

It was no conspiracy as far as I know.

It was also common knowlege here that Shk Mohd. of Dubai ran virtually all of the day to day operations of Dubai. Shk. Maktoum was largely a figurehead in recent years.

[robbedvoter]

40. Even if W's partners are sane, they can be topled in minutes by OBL

and the likes. And that's what someone needs to explain slowly to those who say "UAU is our friend"
We might as well entrust our security to quick sand.

[Wordie]

41. You forget, ObL was once considered an ally of the United States!

He played an important part in the U.S.-backed jihad against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan during the 1980s. The fighting didn't end until 1989. He did have objections to the US bases being established on Saudi territory during the first Gulf War, but who knows what sort of information the UAE might have had about this in 1994. I sure don't, do you? Was he really considered such a serious threat way back then, years before 9/11? And even if our own country considered him a threat, can we know whether they fully inform the UAE? PLEASE consider that all this occurred BEFORE 9/11!

He didn't issue his fatwah against the West until 1998! How can we blame the UAE for being unable to predict the future, if we ourselves were unable to do so???

And again, the issue of the dates of the rulers' deaths is really reaching way too far for me.

We seem to have forgotten a lot of our own relationship with bin Laden:

The Soviets were driven from Afghanistan and handed a major defeat. However, the war also brought together, armed, trained, and strengthened anti-Western Islamist forces across the region. Among them was Osama bin Laden, who came from a wealthy Saudi family closely connected to the Saudi royal family. The defeat of the Soviets emboldened these fundamentalist forces. But at the same time, they found they were no longer needed by the U.S. Events soon led to bin Laden’s transformation from a CIA asset to a U.S. enemy.

When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, bin Laden offered to organize new groups of Islamic fighters against Saddam Hussein’s secular regime. This bitter animosity between bin Laden and Hussein is ignored by U.S. officials, who instead have continually tried to claim some Iraq/al-Qaida “link” to justify another war against Saddam.

http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Dec2002/everestprint1202.htm