Anniversaries

On February 26, 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed by terrorist Ramzi Yousef (who now claims to be a Christian) and several others in what amounted to the first unofficial sortie by Islamic terrorists on US soil. At least one of the bomb-makers remains at large (and not even mentioned in the 9/11 Commission Report).

There was no national commission to investigate the attack so the public is left to wonder in perpetuity about the players involved. The presumption was al Qaeda, but it was just a presumption.

Two years earlier on the same date then Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ordered his invasion forces to retreat from Kuwait City, marking the end of occupation and the Gulf War. Kuwait is celebrating the 20 year anniversary this year. Unlike the royal wedding in Britain, Obama was formally invited to attend but apparently declined; Admiral Mullen and Colin Powell were there.

Today is also the first anniversary of another weird Obama conspiracy--the death of a woman named Holiyah "Lia" Soetoro, who claimed to be a step-sister and caretaker of the president when he lived as Barry Soetoro in Indonesia. One might think a story about a long-lost and previously unnamed step-sister would make national news, if nothing else in a puff piece, but beyond WND this one only made news on the blogs:

“Lia, a nickname. She lived at the family home of Lolo Soetoro for 15 years. And four years of which she spent in the company of a black kid who came from Hawaii.

Obama's half-sister Maya reportedly called this woman a fraud--she may well be--yet it would seem rather easy for a mainstream journalist to confirm or deny. Obama just recently visited Indonesia on November 9, 2010 and reporters mentioned his history as such:

Obama's stop here, the second country on his 10-day Asia trip, is a homecoming for the president. He spent four years in Indonesia as a boy after his mother married an Indonesian man, and his return was highly anticipated. "Much has been made of the fact that this marks my return to where I lived as a young boy," the president said. "I will tell you, though, that I barely recognize it."

Nothing about the mysterious Lia, though. The visit was cut short, reportedly due to volcanic ash from Mt. Merapi. Obama's earlier planned visit to his boyhood homeland was to have taken place in March 2010 but was canceled by the health care debates, then later in June, canceled that time by the BP oil spill. If Lia was indeed a childhood step-sister to Obama she would have missed them all anyway. But like the first World Trade Center bombing this one appears destined to remain just another unexplored mystery.