Osama bin Dead... since 2001, says Angelo Codevilla.

Angelo Codevilla writes in The American Spectator that "All the evidence suggests Elvis Presley is more alive today than Osama bin Laden. But tell that to the CIA and all the other misconceptualizers of the War on Terror."

He argues very strongly that the Osama and al Qaeda were not responsible for the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Africa or September 11. Why then do the US government and CIA focus on al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden as the center of terrorism? Codevilla contends that doing so allows them to pretend that "terrorism is the work of 'rogue individuals and groups' that operate despite state authority."

He says that "insisting on Osama's supposed mastery of al Qaeda, and on equating terrorism with al Qaeda, is official U.S. policy because it forecloses questions about the role of states, and makes it possible to indict as warmongers whoever raises such questions."

In support of his thesis, Codevilla points out that Osama and al Qaeda do not have the resources to finance the Afghan insurgency. The large sums of money needed "can come only from the super wealthy of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. The equipment can come only through dealers who work at the sufferance of states, and can reach the front only through Pakistan by leave of Pakistani authorities."

If Codevilla is correct in his analysis, the USA would have to make substantial changes to its foreign policy. It would have to recognize that its "allies," the Saudis, UAE and Pakistan are funding and facilitating the Afghan insurgency and perhaps much of terrorism in general.

These are certainly thought provoking and challenging ideas that deserve careful analysis and discussion.