I think the most bizarre story of the last week has to be the release of the titles of the books found in Osama bin Laden’s compound.  Many of these are U.S.-based, and they deal with political and economic issues.

I have a hard time to believe anything the U.S. government puts out in the way of information, particularly if it is coming from anything related to the FBI or CIA or “intelligence”.  In many cases, we later discover that not only was the information wrong that was put out there, but it was the opposite of correct.

I have always had my doubts about the story of Osama bin Laden’s killing.  I give it a better than 50/50 chance that he was actually killed that day, but the contradictory versions of the story make you wonder how things really went down.

In the case of this book information, I find it hard to believe that anyone could actually make this stuff up.  It is so bizarre that I’m not sure high level U.S. officials could make it up, but I could be wrong on that point.

Assuming that the information about the book list is true, it just shows some of the motivations and interests of Osama bin Laden.  I have not personally read any of the books on the list, but I have heard of a few of them.  And for most of the books, the titles alone can give you a pretty good idea of the topic at hand.

Was bin Laden really reading “Secrets of the Federal Reserve”?  Was he reading “Obama’s Wars”?

How about “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man”?  If the official stories are true, or at least somewhat close to true, then bin Laden is an economic hit man.  He sparked the war on terror, which has done more damage economically (not to speak of other liberty issues) than anything else.  The U.S. government has spent trillions of dollars on a war against a tactic.  For how much terrorism that actually exists, the war on terror is statistically insane.

Again, assuming the bin Laden reading list is true, it shows how much of a deep interest he had in political and economic matters.  He was a student of U.S. foreign policy.  It is more politics than religion.  It shows that his support for terrorist acts did not stem from religious fanaticism, rather of revenge.  As Ron Paul has said numerous times, it is a case of blowback.

If bin Laden was reading these books, he must have understood that some Americans do not support U.S. foreign policy.  If he understood this, would it have changed his position in attacking innocent people?

Osama bin Laden was an evil man, but there is also little question that he was well educated.  He came from a rich family.  He had a much greater understanding of foreign policy than any recent U.S. president.

Do you think Obama or George W. Bush had or has any kind of reading list like this?  Obama is not stupid, but I can bet that he is not that well educated, particularly in foreign policy.  If he is, then he is just as evil as bin Laden.

Bush is just stupid.  I know he became president, which means he could give a speech, although just barely.  He managed to get by, although just barely.  I can’t imagine Bush having read anything on bin Laden’s book shelf.

This is just a really bizarre story and I am not sure of what to make of it.  I am hoping to find more on this story as time goes on, perhaps from people who have read many of these books.