Video Watch
Bin Laden: Rumsfeld Responsible For Vietnam War
"In the Vietnam War, the leaders of the White House claimed at the time that it was a necessary and crucial war, and during it, Rumsfeld and his aides murdered two million villagers. And when Kennedy took over the presidency and deviated from the general line of policy drawn up for the White House and wanted to stop this unjust war, that angered the owners of the major corporations who were benefiting from its continuation. And so Kennedy was killed." -- Osama bin Laden, video, September 2007
The Facts
Donald Rumsfeld has been accused of many things, but this may be the first time that he has been accused of murdering "two million villagers" during the Vietnam War, albeit with the assistance of unnamed "aides." The most cursory look at the former defense secretary's biography is sufficient to demonstrate the ludicrousness of the claim. After serving in the U.S. Navy between 1954 and 1957, Rumsfeld became a congressional staffer. He worked as an investment banker between 1960 and 1962 when Kennedy began sending U.S. troops to Vietnam under the guise of civilian advisers. He was elected to congress in 1962. After seven years in Congress, he joined the Nixon administration in 1969, but worked on domestic issues, rather than foreign policy issues. Could bin Laden be confusing Rumsfeld with Robert McNamara, defense secretary under both Kennedy and Johnson?
Bin Laden gives too much credit to Kennedy for trying to stop the "unjust war" in Vietnam. After all, it was Kennedy who sent the first U.S. combat troops to Vietnam in the first place. For full transcript of Bin Laden's speech, click here.
The Al-Qaeda leader also distorts the contents of a British film documentary quoting an American soldier in Iraq whom he referred to as "Joshua." According to bin Laden, Joshua "wipes the tears from his eyes and describes American politicians in the sharpest terms." While it is true that the soldier in question accused members of Congress of having "the brains of a two-year-old," video footage of the interview shows that he did not wipe tears from his eyes. According to the filmmaker, Sean Smith, there were no tears. The soldier merely wiped the perspiration off his forehead.
The Pinocchio Test
Osama Bin Laden could not be reached for comment. We award him four Pinocchios. (About our rating scale.)
Posted on September 19, 2007 at 6:00 AM ET
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Posted by: C. Pettibone | September 19, 2007 11:18 AM
Good lord. Why even fact check the rantings of a homicidal maniac? Use your electrons to fact check things worth fact checking.
Posted by: VAR | September 19, 2007 03:05 PM
far as I know,
US was all pro bin laden when he was helping fight Soviet Union.
Seems Dick Cheney was over doin' some arms dealing the the 90's- sold the SAud's 54 f-16 fighter jets, then ? came back to bush's father and said - I can sell em some more, so bush's father uncapped the 54 limit and Dick sold up oh, 70+ - I forget the final count.
TWO WEEKS AFTER that sale - US plants a group of troops in Saudi Arabia to seed 'Operation Desert Shield'
It was then, as far as I know that the world ever HEARD from Bin Laden - and I DO recall the message 'Get the F off our holy lands'
Ya know? can you blame him ?
the entire 'terror' sell was carved up by mr. Di Rita - the official pentagon spokesperson under Rumsfeld. Funny how - guess what he does now ? You know that company Bank of America ? who is buying out CountryWide ? you know, the ones who will be collecting on 2 million US home mortgages that are up to be lost ( ok ok bush DID install that depression era federal insurance for those with a FICO score of 800 HA ) ? that company ? Here Di Rita is NOW their official spokesperson - go figger that.
Tommy Franks ? Where'd HE cut and run to ? why discovered he was a banker too after all like Don's early days as noted above as an investment banker (that's slang for greed baron in MY book)- Tommy Franks joined the board of directors for the company that - thanks to people living like there was no tomorrow cause - Big Laden's terrists gonna get YOU and your kids - so spend spend spend - pay high fuel prices, pay high grocery prices, extend that home equity loan till you got nothing left - and then ?
America looks back to Neal Bush to say -shouldn't we have been a little more cautious that George Bush was after not the savings and loan, but the entire g'dmn US mortgage sector ?
Well done bush, well done rumzy, well done Franks, and Di Rita ? You oughta be ashamed to promote 'Live in Fear of Terror Forever' to the kids.
I don't blame Bin Laden for saying - F you Dick Cheney - for selling king saud 70 high powered air craft that can cause too much blood shed. I think King Saud looks back, I KNOW he does, I heard him say recently "Gee, just 60 years ago, we were a happier people living in the desert- and now ? what is all this bloodshed for what ? why do we divide ourselves"
Boy, imagine if Fox News had a middle eastern version of the station, I bet they could get those people REALLY divided and killin themselves for nothing.
bottom line ? Bin Laden is TOTALLY justified to say - get the F off our holy lands... really, US had no business provoking these people.
NOW, I don't justify Shock and Awe by that, I mean, Shock and Awe was a crime, and no one should use force like that to make a political statement, everyone agree?
Posted by: bushes_worst_nightmare | September 19, 2007 03:50 PM
Kennedy sent the first combat troops to Vietnam????? Every source that I have seen says that happened on March 8-9, 1965 under LBJ. Where do you get your information? Do you correct your own inaccuracies?
The first combat deaths occurred when two advisers were killed in 1959, but even then it would have been under Eisenhower, not Kennedy.
Posted by: Check the Fact Check | September 20, 2007 11:43 AM
Im a muslim hailing from Pakistan, not ur extremist type at all, i have in the past despised osama bin laden for whatever he has done and the troubles he has created for once as a 15 year old then i applauded the afghanistan invasion and i still do. Then came Iraq and we all know that was a fallacy, look at the crime rate under saddam's time and under the current regime, give me a day when there is not a single death out of the result of this new war? i wonder if Saddam really killed as many people, he wasnt a angel but niether is bush for sowing what he has.
Fast forward this is the first transcript i have heard from Osama and after reading i have realized he's really doing what our religion says, defend yourselves. The american war machine will always have reasons to get anything and everything related to oil we cant really let u do that now can we?
about Islam osama forgot one thing...The Holy Quran's contents have remained exactly same as they were when it was first revealed..its been promised by Allah and it remains unbroken...several sects in Islam but the book remains the same not a single alphabet and letter changed i know our book has been the same since 1400 years and even back then i think a verse will strike to u which stands true even today....
' When it is said to them "Make not mischief on the earth" they say "why we only want to make peace" '
In another translation
' And when it is said unto them: Make not mischief in the earth, They say: We are peacemakers only.'
im sure ull guess who da mischief maker and the peacemaker is today :)
Posted by: Faiz | September 26, 2007 06:47 PM
"Good lord. Why even fact check the rantings of a homicidal maniac? Use your electrons to fact check things worth fact checking.
Posted by: VAR | September 19, 2007 03:05 PM"
Well, because homicidal maniacs' rantings often tend to get significant traction if unrefuted -- cf. Cheney, et al. claims of Saddam-9/11 linkage.
And this only deserves one Pinocchio, since the difference between Rumsfeld and McNamara is essentially nil, and you should cut a non-American living in a cave a break for confusing the two.
Posted by: Nie Wieder | November 7, 2007 10:15 AM
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Which Kennedy is bin Laden referring to: John, Robert or Ted? Robert Kennedy wanted to stop the war but he was killed by an Palestinian. Maybe you should give him four Pinocchios.