And the story said: Afghan-trained Islamic militants loyal to Osama bin Laden convened in the Balkans in 1992 ... it is safe to say that the birth of al-Qaeda as a force on the world stage can be traced directly back to 1992
Bush was President in 1992. And the author's premise about Al Qaeda and the Balkans is ridiculous. Al Qaeda was conceived in the Arabian shield countries of Saudi Arabia & Yemen, was born in Afghanistan, grew up in the Sudan, reached maturity back in Afghanistan again and is fed by Wahabbi propaganda and radicalized North Africans and Middle Easterners.
Bosnia attracted some mujahadeen a decade ago and some of them were certainly Al Qaeda, but they were radicalized already--that's why they went. And the Balkans wars of seccession from Yugoslavia/Serbia were the result of nationalist tensions that pre-existed bin Laden & Al Qaeda by centuries.
If you are interested in something more about Al Qaeda than Serb propaganda intended to either distract from or justify their own crimes, Chapter 2 will help.
Anything I've ever read about the origins of Al Qaeda is that it was started by OBL when he was fighting off the communists in Afghanistan.
Bosnia never entered into the picture.
Thank you for your response. I'm afraid that I must say it would appear your anti-Serb blinders cloud your thinking. You need to realize that we are fighting the war on terror, not re-fighting the Balkan wars.
Please re-read the september 11 Commission Report. Pay particular attention to Chapter 2, specifically look at Note 37. Notes.
You will see that the Commission references Al-Qaeda's Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network, the very book the author of the article references!
It would appear that you picked up on this line...
Therefore, it is safe to say that the birth of al-Qaeda as a force on the world stage can be traced directly back to 1992, when the Bosnian Muslim government of Alija Izetbegovic issued a passport in the Vienna embassy to Osama bin Laden.
I guess that line was too nuanced for you. the author is not claiming Al Qaeda was born in Bosnia, but rather that the Bosnian War provided the platform to "...establish a European domestic terrorist infrastructure in order to plot their violent strikes against the United States". Perhaps you think that doesn't qualify as the "world stage"!
Yes, Bush was President in 1992 and should be rightly condemned for his dealing with Bosnia. However, without clinton's support the Croats and Serbs may have prevented the cesspool from surviving.