Bob Geldof vs Osama bin Laden

I have been listening to the radio a bit lately and as it nears Christmas time, there's no need to be afraid - because there is always the obligatory playing of the Band Aid classic from 1985 "Do they know it's Christmas". Probably not, as my mother used to say, as they are mostly Muslim. The song spawned an even bigger Bob Geldof' contribution to solving the problem of the Ethiopian famine, the mega event of 1985 known as "Live Aid". The US contributed too, with a flakey "We are the world" single by "USA for Africa" but the big man about town at the time was Sir Bob.

Now all this stirred a spark of pride and hope in humanity and gave the West a nice feeling that $70 million could be raised to help the porr starving Africans.

So what happens when there another "similar" situation just a couple of years later (1992- 1994) in neighbouring Somalia, the US launches Operation Restore Hope. Surely a debacle of Clintonesque proportions beeing played out on the world stage. Inspired by visions of starving Africans and in support of a lame-duck UN effort, the US goes at it hammer and tongs and gets a shellacking for its efforts. Nothing like seeing the bodies of your troopies being dragged around downtown Mogadishu to keep the home fires burning. See Blackhawk Down to find out what I mean. The US leaves, tail firmly between legs, mission unaccomplished. And apparently RPG rockets fired by the Somalis were supplied by none other than Osama bin Laden.

Quote:

"It cleared from Muslim minds the myth of superpowers," Osama bin Laden said of Somalia in his interview with ABC News journalist John Miller in May 1998.
"The youth were surprised at the low morale of the American soldiers and
realized more than before that the American soldier was a paper tiger and after
a few blows ran in defeat."

http://www.nationalreview.com/lowry/lowry200311041024.asp

So... Bob Geldof inspires Live Aid for the relief of Ethiopia...inspires the UN/US relief of Somalia...inspires Osama to go the full Monty and attack the "paper tiger" that is the US. September 11, here we come. Next stop, Iraq.

And this is ignoring the UN "hands free" approach to Rwanda in between times.

When will rock stars learn to pull their heads in and save us all from their whiney, needful pleas to save the starving? If it wasn't for Bob Geldof, we wouldn't be in this mess we're in now. Bob, it's time to pull on the old rocker t-shirt and get up on stage one last time. This time, it's "Dead Aid". Conspiracy theory? You bet!