Stop Osama Bin Ladin

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http://www.mercola.com/2001/sep/19/stop_funding_terrorism.htm

Want to Stop Funding Usama Bin Laden? Stop Drinking Soda

By Bentham

Every time a soft drink is sold in the world, there is a chilling possibility that Usama Bin Laden's wealth increases - and with it the power of his terrorist network to wage war on the West.

Most drinks contain gum Arabic, a substance that prevents particles settling in the bottom of a can or bottle. Much of it is produced in Sudan by the Gum Arabic Company, in which Bin Laden has owned a large slice.

Although it is unclear precisely how much involvement he now has in the gum Arabic trade, he has already earned tens of millions of dollars from the soft-drinks industry - providing years of finance for his Islamic terrorists.

"It is possible that every time someone buys an American soft drink, they are helping to fill Usama Bin Laden's coffers," said Simon Reeve, the author of The New Jackals, a recent book on the Saudi dissident's network.

Bin Laden's earnings from gum Arabic, which is also used in other foodstuffs and cosmetics, comprise only a part of his fortune.

The exact extent of his fortune can only be guessed at. The most authoritative estimates indicate that he is worth up to £300 million.

He was born in Riyadh, in 1957 - one of more than 50 children of Mohammed Bin Laden, the founder of a construction firm with a vast turnover. When his father died, he used his share of the wealth to enjoy a playboy life in Beirut in the early 1970s. Soon, however, he married and trained in management and civil engineering.

After the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, he funded Islamic resistance fighters. Money flowed in to help him - notably from the CIA - but also, it is thought, from other governments.

When the Red Army pulled out in the late 1980s, Bin Laden concentrated on expanding his al'Qaeda organization - also known as The Base - which had been set up during the Afghan war. It began supporting the worldwide "Islamic struggle" through terrorist actions against those deemed to be oppressing Muslims.

Wilkinson, of the center for the study of terrorism and political violence at St s University, in Scotland, said al'Qaeda's various components were used to move money, information and people around the world. This allowed Bin Laden to act as a "super facilitator" for terrorists - some linked to other groups such as Islamic Jihad.

"His is a hydra-headed organization," said Prof Wilkinson. "Its trans-national nature makes it very difficult to stem the flow of funds."

A rare glimpse of al-Qaeda's inner workings came at the New York trial of four Bin Laden-sponsored terrorists, convicted in July for their role in two US embassy bombings in Africa in 1998 that killed 224 people.

Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl, who says he was once the group's paymaster, told the court of a global web of bank accounts. One, he claimed, was at Barclays Bank in London. The terrorist group was highly organized, he said, with its own finance committee.

Mr al-Fadl fled al-Qaeda in 1996 after he was caught taking illicit commissions from its international trading business. He turned himself over to American investigators.

Barclays Bank said yesterday that there was no record of any of its accounts being linked to Bin Laden. A spokesman said: "We have carried out extensive checks to ensure that we are adhering to the legal guidelines."

Telegraph.co.uk September 16, 2001

DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT:

What a wonderful opportunity to stay healthy and stop terrorism at the same time.

Drinking soda is one of the worst things you can possibly do to your health. We all need about one quart of pure clean water for every 50 pounds of body weight.

Soda pop consumption is an absolute epidemic in the US

They account for more than a quarter of all drinks consumed in the United States.

More than 15 billion gallons were sold in 2000.

That works out to at least one 12-ounce can per day for every man, woman and child.

The amount of sugar, or even worse Nutrasweet, is enough to cause chronic degenerative processes to your health.

If the US goes to war the last thing you will need to do be damaging your health and help finance terrorism by consuming soda.

If you are committed to stopping soda but are struggling with the addiction component please review the article I wrote on using EFT for emotional stresses as EFT can also be very effective for food cravings.