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Usama
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By virtue of his unwavering support for the Afghan mujahideen during their protracted, devastating war against the Soviet Union, for more than a decade Usama bin Laden was an ally of the United States. It was during those years his own countrymen, and Arabs in general, thought of bin Laden as a philanthropist and noble hero of the fight against the atheist communists. The Making of a Legend More recently, in the aftermath of two terrorist incidents in Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam, governments across four continents—specifically: the US, England, India, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and several former Soviet republics—have gone public with their concern that bin Laden is the most dangerous person in the world. Some terrorism experts recognize that he has stolen the spotlight from Carlos, the Venezuelan terrorist of global repute who eluded capture for more than 20 years, so cunning in fact that many world-class agencies which tracked him did not know his face. Milton Beardon, an American official who for six years directed support operations for the Afghans from inside in the late 80’s, says of bin Laden: "It all started when Usama bin Laden began to spend more time in Pakistan than in Saudi Arabia, going between the homeless refugees and the fighters. At that time he built refugee camps for the widows and children of the Afghan mujahideen. His Initiation in the Afghan War In a 1996 interview with Robert Fisk for British tabloid The Independent, bin Laden stated: When the invasion of Afghanistan started, I was enraged and went there immediately—I arrived within days of the outbreak, before the end of 1979. In fact, Laden went quickly from building refugee camps, clinics and schools for the children of the camps, to financing the mujahideen and outfitting them for the fight. He then began to assemble his own fighters, known as the Afghan Arabs, for which he recruited thousands of men—mainly from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf. He even paid for their passage to Afghanistan and set up the main guerrilla camp where they received military training—bin Laden style. Bin Laden often visited Peshawar, a Pushto-speaking city carved roughly into the Himalayan foothills which, for centuries, has been home to Pathans of the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan, a grassroots, hilly outpost which supports its own culture, tradition and language. Peshawar was a pivotal point for the Afghan freedom fighters through which the majority of money, weapons, and medicines were funneled from the outside world—and from all over the world—from clandestine government concerns as well as private efforts that endeavored to crush the Russian onslaught. From Philanthropy to Active Combat And so it was that bin Laden became a familiar sight in Peshawar, where he received reports of how his money had been spent, in addition to meeting regularly with his Arab legions. But these meetings inspired in him less desire to merely fund the charitable and military operations and more desire to actually direct the fight. It was then bin Laden began to concentrate everything he had—his resources, his mind, his heart—into the actual combat operations in Afghanistan. It was a decision that reshaped him and which, perhaps, was the greatest passage on his journey into the Usama bin Laden persona we know today. Time magazine's Scott Mcleod, who visited bin Laden in 1996, says of his early days in actual combat, He designed and constructed defensive tunnels and ditches along the Pakistani border, driving a bulldozer and exposing himself to strafing from Soviet helicopter gunships. Before long, he had taken up a Kalashnikov and was going into battle. In 1986 he and a few dozen Arab defenders fought off a Soviet onslaught in a town called Jaji, not far from the Pakistani borderÉ A year later, bin Laden led an offensive against Soviet troops in the battle of Sha`ban. Vicious hand-to-hand fighting claimed heavy mujahideen casualties, but his men succeeded in pushing the Soviets out of the area. The report quotes Hamza Mohammed, a Palestinian volunteer fighter, He was a hero to us because he was always on the front line, always moving ahead of everybody else. He continues, He not only gave his money, but he also gave himself. He came down from his palace to live with the Afghan peasants and Arab fighters. He cooked with them, ate with them, dug trenches with them. That was bin Laden's way. Battlefield Defeat of a Superpower Bin Laden became popular after the famous Ali Khal operation, reports Paris-based Al-Watan al-`Arabi. a popular Arabic-language monthly news magazine. Bin Laden and his Afghan Arabs, with only light weapons, no artillery and minimal military training, were far outgunned by a huge Soviet army contingent supported by massive airpower. Bin Laden and his ragtag troops defeated the Soviets and took back the area. About this battle, bin Laden is quoted as saying, [Ali Khal] destroyed the myth that a superpower cannot be defeated. It was after this operation that bin Laden’s fame spread far and wide, through a myriad of channels. Mercennaries and volunteers alike began to flow in from Arab states to join him. He paid them generously, supported their training and supplied them with arms. In a matter of months the ranks of his fighters had swelled to 10,000. His personal experiences on the battlefield were the stuff of legends. When interviewed by British reporter Robert Fisk, bin Laden said, I was never afraid of death. As Muslims, we believe that when we die, we go to heaven. Before a battle, God sends us sakina—tranquillity. Once I was only thirty meters from the Russians and they were trying to capture me. I was under bombardment, but I was so peaceful in my heart that I fell asleep....I saw a 120mm mortar shell land in front of me, but it did not blow up. Four more bombs were dropped from a Russian plane on our headquarters but they did not explode. Armed by the US The CIA reportedly began to funnel weapons to bin Laden as an ally against the Soviets, reports MSNBC—a report bin Laden strongly denies. Issam Daraz, who interviewed bin Laden in 1989 in the last months of the war, brought back photos and videos of bin Laden and his Afghan Arabs, armed with Stinger missiles supplied by the Reagan Administration. Family Background Usama bin Laden is one of 57 children of construction magnate Muhammad Awad bin Laden, a Saudi national of Yemeni origin. Reportedly the only child from his father's marriage to a Palestinian woman, one of ten wives, He has no full brothers or sisters, which is rare in the bin Laden clan, a senior US intelligence official said. He was not held in high standing in the family even before the allegations of terrorism arose. Even today the bin Laden family—whose businesses thrive throughout the Muslim world, particularly in Saudi Arabia and throughout the Middle East, Europe and America—has many children studying in the US. Usama labored in his family's construction business until shortly after the January 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet troops. Of his first trip to Afghanistan as a 20-year-old, bin Laden only knew it was a Muslim country and that ‘it had great horses,’ says Issam Daraz. Flight to Sudan When the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, bin Laden returned to work in the family’s Jeddah-based construction business, to discovere that he’d become a celebrity. But his star appeal swiftly faded when he began denouncing the Saudi regime. When he continued to affiliate with and support the militant Islamic groups he’d known in Afghanistan, less than five years after his return the Saudi government seized his passport. Bin Laden then fled to Sudan, embraced by Hassan al-Turabi, Sudan’s president. It is alleged that he thereafter financed as many as three terrorist training camps in Sudan over the course of his three-year stay. In his words, he voluntarily left for Pakistan in May 1996, afraid his presence was harming Sudan’s image in international circles. Some sources, however, say bin Laden was expelled. Declaration of War on US Having tasted success in his support of the Afghans against the Soviets, bin Laden turned his military focus towards defeating the last remaining superpower the US. His tactic: kill as many Americans as possible, wherever they are in the world. "You [Americans] will leave when the youth send you wooden boxes and coffins, and you will carry in them the bodies of American troops and civilians, vowed bin Laden in an exclusive interview with ABC News correspondent John Miller in June of this year. Allah ordered us in this religion to purify Muslim land of all non-believers, and especially the Arabian Peninsula where the Ka’aba is, which he went on to proclaim can only be cleansed through jihad." [Read link to Usama
bin Laden's formal declaration of war] Proposed Formation of Terrorist Network Four months ago, bin Laden announced the formation of an umbrella organization to support extremist groups which have sprung up around the world, many of which share a rigid adherence to a literal understanding of Islam—one which rejects mainstream Muslim beliefs and invokes on them judgements of heresy, apostasy and unbelief. All these groups share the teaching that existing moderate Islamic governments are outside Islam and must be toppled by force. In the same ABC News interview, bin Laden eerily addressed his own government. We predict that the Riyadh leader and those with him that stood with the Jews and Christians and forfeited Al-Haramayn—the two holy shrines—to Jews and Christians with American identities or others, will disintegrate. They have left the Muslim nation. We predict [their] destruction and dispersal. These groups concur that America is the Great Satan responsible for the failure of Muslims. They see American hands behind every misfortune that afflicts the Muslim world. In line with this, bin Laden and his troops have their sights squarely set on the US and its global interests. In the same ABC News interview, bin Laden implied that the fight would soon come to American soil. The continuation of the tyranny will bring the fighting to America, like [through] Ramzi Yousef and others. This is my message to the American people. [Ramsi Yousef is the convicted World Trade Center bomber sentenced in absentia and captured last year in Pakistan.] Several months before the US Embassy blasts last August, Usama bin Laden held a press conference announcing the formation of an umbrella organization, The International Front against Jews and Crusaders. Al-Wasat al-`Arabi reports that at his side was the leader of Egypt’s notorious Jihad Movement, Dr. Ayman Rabi'a al-Zawahari. Al-Wasat reports that bin Laden’s network has in effect aligned an array of rebel groups from different nations who joined the Afghan fighters, including Egyptians (primarily comprised of members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Group and the Jihad Movement) Saudis, Palestinians, Jordanians, Algerians, Gulf Arabs, Pakistanis, Afghans, Sudanese, Somalians, and a scattering from other nations. Even American-Muslim converts are reported among them. His trained killers work zealously in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Yemen, Ethiopia, Somalia and in Europe, where their headquarters are located in Holland. While bin Laden did not appear publicly after the American retaliatory attacks on Sudan and Afghanistan, the Jihad Movement's leader, Dr. al-Zawahari, telephoned international media sources from Afghanistan, voicing threats to America and declaring war against its interests, wherever they are. He told journalists, bin Laden is alive and well, sitting right beside me. Anonymous American officials have revealed that al-Zawahiri was with bin Laden when the American attacks took place—miraculously they were both unharmed. New Friend – New Ideology According to al-Wasat, the story of the friendship between these two men goes back to their first meeting in the summer of 1989 during one of bin Laden’s visits to Peshawar. Sources say they have never separated since. Of the same generation, bin Laden now 40 years old and al-Zawahiri 47, an al-Wasat source says the pair were satisfied with the role the other played: the affluent Saudi using his millions stashed in the US and Switzerland to support the jihad in Afghanistan; and the Egyptian ideologue, the guiding intellect behind the strategems of war. Al-Wasat states that al-Zawahiri is the one who indoctrinated Usama bin Laden into following a rigid ideology: applying a restrictive reading of Shari`ah (Islamic Law), condemning mainstream Muslim governments, and implementing jihad against them. Furthermore, he persuaded Usama to move from charitable to militant work. Usama, who began to spend more and more time with Al-Zawahiri, came to accept his simplistic Egyptian Jihad Model. Originating within the cauldron of Egypt’s many movements, this methodology contends that militant work must precede propagation (da`wah) work. Al-Zawahiri's thinking reflects this. Edicts such as the Islamic Group's The Decisive Word, argue that Muslims must stand and fight existing governments and overthrow them. Through clever twisting of source texts interspersed with snippets from juristic rulings of later scholars, they build an apparently convincing justification for the Islamic nature of their cause. Enthusiastic Arab youth, uneducated and often unemployed, entirely disillusioned with the state of the Muslim community, easily fall for such adrenalin-soaked solutions, perhaps motivated by the sheer militancy of it all. Al-Wasat's sources state that bin Laden drank deeply from the fount of ideology and information provided by al-Zawahiri, absorbing his anti-government, anti-America doctrine. In fact, bin Laden's statement to ABC News echoes his total indoctrination by Al-Zawahiri. We don't differentiate between those dressed in military uniforms and civilians. They are all targets in this fatwa. Despite Islam's clear injunctions against harming civilians in war, particularly women and children, the Jihad Movement explicitly condones the use of terrorism, citing the Shari`ah's allowance for collateral killing of hostages if an attack is directed at a group of combatants. We must use such punishment to keep your evil away from Muslims, Muslim children and women, said bin Laden. To justify such violence in the name of Islam he cites American history. Americans, he retorted, does not distinguish between civilians and military, and not even women and children. They are the ones who used the bombs against Nagasaki. Other Influential Associates Another influence on Usama was Al-Zawahiri's friend Ali Rashidi, a former Egyptian police officer, expelled from the force after being accused of establishing the Jihad Movement to topple the government, reports that facilitated his migration to Afghanistan. While al-Zawahiri swayed bin Laden's mind, Al-Wasat says, al-Rashidi captured his heart; a potent combination that resulted in bin Laden becoming more extreme than the extremists. Other friends from Egypt included Muhammad Shawki al-Islambouli, brother of Anwar Sadat's assassin, and Muhammad Hamza, accused of attempting to assassinate President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa. Both were initial organizers of the Jihad Movement. Disarming Contenders for Power Al-Zawahiri's self-serving political agenda surfaced years before meeting bin Laden, when he issued the infamous Fatwa of Leadership in Egypt. In this edict, he defined those eligible to lead the Islamic revolution and those who are not. Through this fatwa, al-Zawahiri was able to eliminate the chance for Shaykh Umar Abdur Rahman to lead the ultra-radical Jihad Movement, prior to his emigration to the US. In it he stated: There can be no leadership for a blind person. Al-Zawahiri derived this from the medieval scholar al-Mawardi's Conditions of Leading the Muslim Nation, which prescribes sound senses of hearing, sight and speech. Al-Zawahiri further declared, A prisoner cannot be a leader, thereby ruling out another contender, the Jihad Movement’s founder Aboud az-Zumar, imprisoned for the assassination of Sadat. This edict opened a deep rift between al-Zawhiri and az-Zumar whic split the group in two. By the time the Jihad Movement began sending volunteers to Peshawar, Umar Abdur Rahman had lost the chance to take its lead, and Usama bin Laden's loyalty had already been captured by al-Zawahiri. The Islamic Group was too late to assert its influence on bin Laden's heart and he declined to attach himself to their movement. Despite this, he continued to fund them, and left them to fight on their own, aligning himself with the Jihad Movement, over which al-Zawahiri exacted total command. Nonetheless, Umar Abdur Rahman is clearly someone whom bin Laden holds in esteem. He told ABC News , We also hold them [America] responsible for its attacks on Islamic symbols [such as] Shaykh Abdur Rahman, who is considered one of the most prominent Islamic scholars whom Allah gave the courage to speak the truth. However, the Islamic Group continued to regard bin Laden as simply a wealthy Arab sponsor while regarding themselves as the warriors and callers-to-religion, in effect giving him no credit for his own jihad work. In spite of this, an Egyptian source reveals, bin Laden helped the Islamic Group establish their own military base, al-Murabitoun, while he simultaneously established one for the Jihad Movement, named al-Khilafah. According to a member of the Afghan Arabs, bin Laden tried many times to get the Islamic Group and al-Zawahiri’s Jihad Movement to compromise. Each time the Islamic Group accused him of siding with al-Zawahiri. In fact, he supports them both. As Head of His International Family Bin Laden often sponsored large groups of mujahideen—their travel, food, financial needs, accommodations and weapons—and he brought them to the frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan to train. Mr. Isawi Bassiouni Muhammad Tahrouj, one of bin Laden's Afghan Arabs, stated before the Egyptian court in 1992: Bin Laden was responsible for everything. As soon as I arrived at the safehouse in Egypt, a man met me, named Abu Abdullah, who used to work in the safehouse owned by bin Laden. Abu Abdullah got me a visa to Pakistan and reserved a plane ticket. I flew alone. He told me there would be people waiting for me at Islamabad International Airport. In the plane I saw many Egyptians that I had known before, going for the same purpose. When we arrived in Pakistan we went to bin Laden’s ‘Ansar House’, where I stayed with the rest for two days. I moved to the ‘Martyr's House’, also owned by bin Laden. Finally we went to the Baari military base, commanded by Abu Turkiyya from Libya. I stayed there 50 days, where I was trained in all types of weapons and artillery. Then I was sent to the front to fight in an area called Tarin Mar, about 100 miles from the Pakistani frontier. There I was introduced to the Jihad Movement. They asked me to join them, and I accepted. They gave me the unit name of Abu `Ubaidah al-`Abbasi. Then they transferred me to the military base 'Khilafah,' which is a training base. There I saw many military bases and homes which they said were financed, built and supported by bin Laden, but I never saw bin Laden. Another Egyptian fighter, Ashraf Ahmed Yusuf al-Badawi, 20 years of age, made the following statement: While bin Laden was sending people to Afghanistan, he was also sending people to Bosnia, with an Egyptian representative named Anwar Sha`ban, who ran the Islamic Center of Rome. He was able to fly many volunteer fighters to Bosnia. When Anwar Sha`ban died in 1994, one of the Gulf fighters became the leader of the Islamic Center. Bin Laden used to sponsor all the mujahideen from their homes to their bases and give each one 1000 Saudi riyals, (about $250) as pocket money. Terrorist Training Bases According to visits by an occasional reporter, the Arab Afghans built their military bases in the steep mountainsides near the Pakistani border. This hilly area is surrounded by forests, and each hillock contains a complete, self-contained military base, developed for the intensive preparation of fighters. A fighter's life consists of constant physical and military training: climbing mountains, passing through barricades and doing clandestine advanced weapons training. Experts believe these bases provide the most arduous military training in the world, the most dangerous of which takes place at a base named ‘Kamikaze’, Japanese for human suicide mission. The Ultimate Training Ground The story of the ‘Kamikaze’ base is both strange and frightening indeed. Al-Watan reports that more than 5,000 youth ranging in age from 16 to 25 train there at any given time, coming from all parts of the world. The kamikazes, or suicide bombers are proud of their title. Their main objective is to fight on an international scale, wherever they are needed and whenever they are called, even if on a moment’s notice. According to al-Watan, the base is surrounded by signs and fiery slogans such as Jihad - Istishaad - Jannah (Holy War–Martyrdom–Paradise) and Kamikaze Islami (Islamic Suicide Bomber). This is not simple graffitti—surprisingly, one soon finds each sign has been lovingly carved, not only on walls, stones and wooden signs, but in the hearts of these young fighters. The base itself is enormous, containing several hundred divisions, set in an area that is nearly impossible to reach. It is biting cold in winter, scorched by the desert sun in summer—no one stays there but the toughest of men. The intense security which guards all approaches to the camp resembles that of an industrialized nation's intelligence service. The arsenal arrayed here is like a buffet of steel from the depths of hell: from a variety of light, medium and heavy weapons to tanks, howitzers, heavy artillery, anti-aircraft guns, RPG's, Stingers, Dushkas and other types of missiles, and even aircraft. According to al-Watan, what is more frightening even than this warmonger's candystore are its training techniques. Its drill instructors are markedly fierce and harsh. Mostly hired mercenaries with extensive experience in combat, the majority of trainers are from Egypt and are highly respected throughout the camps. The base is composed of multiple levels, each housing its own school. The first level consists of intensive physical training, religious indoctrination seminars and workshops. Each group has a religious teacher responsible for initiating the youth in the highly restrictive doctrine that becomes the fuel for these young militants’ jihad. Using labels like idolatry, unbelief and fiery rhetoric, the teacher is a master of mind-manipulation. Through misapplication of verses of Qur’an and hadith, the teacher mentally brands idealistic and hotblooded youth with his ideology. In this view, everything ideologically different must be violently opposed and destroyed. This teaching is in fact more important than any weapons training they receive. Al-Watan reports, the period of indoctrination begins with initiation. The religious teacher secludes himself with small groups of youth, called `usar, meaning family. His teaching is built on the belief that anything not found in their ideology must be rejected—even if it is derived through established principles of Islamic jurisprudence. Therefore, the one performing any such act is an unbeliever, who must then repent and renew his or her testimony of faith or be killed. The followers of this ideology are trained to condemn and fight the majority of mainstream Muslims who comprise 97% of Islam's followers, and alihgning themselves with the 3% minority who adhere to their beliefs. This minority belief demands that all Muslims adopt their severe ideology—one created by Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab who appeared in the 18th century under the guise of reforming and purifying Islam. Abdul Wahhab was sponsored by the British as a means of dividing the Arabs against the Ottoman caliphate. This ideology was suppressed for several decades, then sprang forth with a vengeance among newly-created Arab nations at the turn of the twentieth century. The religious trainer instills in the youth a most ungodly motto: The goal—martyrdom; the method—killing. They are taught they must cleanse Muslim regimes of infidelity. Ironically, those nations that presently stand condemned by this doctrine are those which launched them not long ago. Levels of Terrorist Training
The Making of a Killing Machine Only the most advanced fighters graduate to the fifth level, training in techniques of suicide bombing. In this final stage, hand-selected, readied troops become familiar with methods of self-destruction using bombs strapped to their backs or chests. Instructors in kamikaze training are extremely specialized in this art. Distinguished from other instructors in their day-to-day conduct, in their character and demeanor, they command the highest respect within the camps. The distinguishable navy-blue uniforms mark kamikaze trainees from the standard white issue of lower-ranking fighters. They speak to no one, return no greetings and behave robot-like, as if existing to achieve one thing: becoming martyrs in the way of God. This level of fighter is trained to be ready at a moment's notice, to go wherever ordered. They have mastered time-tested strategies of evading secret services, immigration, intelligence services and police anywhere in the world and under any circumstance. The graduate suicide-bombers then remain waiting in the mountains for their final orders. It is reported as high as 9% of the inductees successfully complete this last stage of intensive physical and psychological training, a statistic which is unverifiable. Kamikazes are sponsored by movements and organizations around the world, each with its unique political agenda and inclination, far removed from mainstream Islamic teachings of moderation, peace and goodwill. Joining the Network It is said that bin Laden operates as a venture capitalist for terror: groups apply for support and, if approved, are given a deposit account, and steady long-term financing begins. As these groups take on more radical overtones, reports al-Watan, they issue fatwas endorsing the destruction of Muslim governments and their infrastructure. Ordinary civilians who do not accept this rendition of Islam are deemed deviants, targeted for correction. The report states these groups have begun to send their indoctrinated and battle-trained youth all around the world, instigating confusion and political instability in nations where the central government is weak. The republics of the former Soviet Union and war-torn nations of the Balkans are currently affected by this devious brand of warfare. Nations already reporting attacks by outside groups include Azerbaijan, Chechnya, Daghestan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhastan, Turkmenistan, Bosnia, Kosova and Albania. In these countries kidnappings, car bombings and assassinations have become commonplace, carried out under the auspices of bin Laden’s web of violence. Interference in Affairs of State In Chechnya, where Muslim soldiers and civilians valiantly fought massive Russian army divisions for years to honor their Muslim ancestry and proclaim an Islamic republic, imported groups are now trying to overthrow the government established by the Chechen people themselves. After one battle between Chechen national troops and over 1,000 outside mercenaries, President Aslan Maskhadov said, "We are building a Chechen Islamic state, we shall have the Shari`ah courts [but] all Arabs, Tajiks, Pakistanis and others who came to Chechnya—not to establish the law of Allah, but to split Chechen society—will be ousted from the territory of Chechnya. President Maskhadov accused one Arab nation of trying to force its ideology, foreign to true Islam, on the whole Muslim world. These groups especially target Muslims who have good relations or interests in the West. Ironically, one of bin Laden's associates revealed to ABC News that his money is scattered among secret financial and commercial agencies in Europe and the Arab world. The movement, it appears, operates on the Marxist principle that the ends justifies the means. America's Greatest Fears Al-Watan cites evidence gathered by several Arab nations stating that America's greatest fear is not bin Laden's terrorist agenda or his plans to attack American interests, rather it is his political agenda. The information, gathered by various secret services, details plans by groups supported by bun Laden to attack the entire Gulf Area—whose governments and citizens they consider renegades from true Islam. The reports show that plans are to first take over Kuwait and establish a government based on the deviant ideology. Kuwait is targeted because it has many internal problems and because many wealthy Kuwaitis support the notion. The first stage of their mission is to force America to reduce its military presence in Kuwait. A Western investigator who specializes in the problems of the Gulf explained to al-Watan that information was gathered over a long time by tapping satellite conversations of Kuwaiti extremists. He claims that America’s concern for Kuwait's future intensified after well-known Gulf and Yemeni personalities assisted in the Dar Es-Salaam and Nairobi bombings. Intelligence analysts around the world have studied the political situation in Kuwait extensively. Analyses showed that after its takeover, the extremists would use Kuwait as a base for continued expansion into the remaining Gulf countries. Al-Watan reports that American intelligence has identified many radical organizations operating in Kuwait as genuine charities. These charities secretly assist the political and military agenda of the extremists, donating millions of dollars to groups that oppose the government and the West. Furthermore, the US has increased its preparedness in the Gulf and enhanced security around civil and military bases. US soldiers have been urged to remain in their barracks and to be heavily armed if they emerge, for fear of kidnapping or assassination. The seven principal
Kuwaiti charities assisting the spread of extremist movements:
[source: al-Watan] Funding
Sources Worry US Officials Americans also worry, states
al-Watan al-`Arabi, about the financial organizations and institutions
under the influence of extremists. One such institution, Kuwaiti Finance
House, collects charity and sends it under the name Islamic Partnership
Work to groups in many countries. According to one source, a two-year
investigation into bank accounts and wire transfers showed these institutions
poured huge sums of money into movements involved in terrorist actions
all over the world. According to al-Wasat, bin
Laden's support for HAMAS, established many years ago, has been continuous
and plentiful. Funds go through the intelligence service of HAMAS, Majd
whose office is in the al-Amaraat District of Khartoum. Bin Laden had
also woven a relationship between himself, the Lebanese Hizbullah and
al-Zawahiri which has proven of benefit to all parties. Tracking Down bin Laden Al-Watan's US sources say that
the two attacks by 79 Tomahawk missiles represent the beginning of a new
kind of war against terrorist movements, and particularly bin Laden. A
US intelligence service revealed that Clinton's apparently quick decision
to launch missiles against Afghanistan and Sudan had in fact been decided
and prepared long before the embassy bombings. The strategy to fight global
terrorism and the steps to implement it had been put in place for some
time. US officials revealed that most of intelligence gathered about bin
Laden's terrorist network was through clandestine electronic monitoring
by US spy satellites and ground facilities, with the assistance of Pakistan's
Inter-Service Intelligence Service. One intelligence official stated
to MSNBC, I was amazed to find how easy it was to make the connection
[to the East Africa bombings], noting the trace had been much harder to
make after the bombings in Riyadh and Khobar in 1996, also attributed
by the US to bin Laden's network. The ease was due to the US's bugging
and surveillance of bin Laden’s network over the past few years since
the Riyadh bombings which killed US troops. The official revealed that
the US looked at it for a long timeÉand this time, it was easier to make
the connection. The East Africa bombings provided us with the opportunity.
Further he said the information was obtained in the first few days after
the August 7th explosions. He said the United States has been targeting
the terrorist complex with spy satellites for some time and had long since
prepared plans for attacking bin Laden, awaiting President Clinton’s
order. US Plan to Eliminate bin Laden Official sources interviewed
in Europe and the US told Al-Watan that the two American attacks might
bring a halt to the terrorist actions for a time, but it will not be a
permanent solution. For that reason, the American military have defined
several options for eliminating bin Laden. Military
action This could lead to an attack,
through bombing or missile attacks on terrorist bases, wherever they are
located, in Afghanistan or other places, targeting bin Laden's dwelling.
Such action might include commando raids by helicopter. This requires
the assistance of a neighboring friendly country, which would have to
be Pakistan. This is no longer possible, as most of the people of Pakistan
like the Afghans, love bin Laden. Striking a Deal
With the Taliban The other option, which Al-Watan’s
sources consider more acceptable to the US, is for Taliban and the US
to make a deal to eliminate bin Laden. Inside speculation indicates the
scheme most favored by US high-level officials would be to negotiate America’s
recognition of the Taliban government and end US condemnation of alleged
human rights violations as the price to eliminate bin Laden. These sources
told Al-Watan that such an agreement has nearly been finalized and the
term elimination has been mentioned in the proposed agreement many times.
Some of Al-Watan’s sources imply that America does not want to kidnap
or extradite bin Laden in order to put him on trial, as the US and other
nations know it might uncover new information linking bin Laden with governments
friendly to America and possibly with the US itself. This in turn would
cause a serious problem at the highest diplomatic levels and would damage
America's credibility as a champion of the fight against terrorism. The
Pakistan Connection Al-Watan’s sources say
that kidnapping bin Laden would require extensive collaboration with the
Pakistanis, whose secret service supports the concept of the US and Taliban
striking a deal. Sources in Islamabad told Al-Watan that a series of meetings
are taking place between the US and Taliban, after the Taliban's recent
victories in the north of Afghanistan gave them control of more than 90%
of Afghan territory. A high official at USAID in Islamabad said that even
after the two bomb blasts at the American embassies, the secret meetings
are going forward in an area near the frontier tightly monitored by Pakistan's
Inter-Intelligence Service. In these meetings, according to the same source,
the US hopes to designate Taliban to represent American interests in the
area, establishing a new government in Afghanistan allied with Washington. Inciting
the Muslims to Fight Each Other One aspect of any deal Washington
hopes to make with Taliban is that they will stand against Iran in support
of the US Another is that Taliban will incite strife within Russia's many
interests in the Caspian region. Pakistani sources told Al-Watan that
by supporting Taliban, Washington hopes to keep Iran in an incessant state
of war, exhausting them in the region. Such bloodshed might last a very
long time, as each nation—considered by America as fanatic in their
own schools of thought—seeks to defeat the other. The same sources
say that Washington predicts that Taliban's demands on the US will be
minimal: to grant official recognition to their government and to drop
the issues of civil and women's rights. The main complication in the
deal, Al-Watan’s sources claim, is bin Laden himself. They state
that Taliban is concerned about their money purportedly managed by bin
Laden. Mullah Umar Mohammad, leader of the Taliban, is also alleged to
be a close friend of Usama. Furthermore, it is believed Taliban is worried
about stirring up an open fight with extremist Arab movements. Al-Watan
states that US security experts say the deal with Taliban would specify
that they attempt to set up an internal power struggle among bin Laden's
own fighters. Alternatively, they would set up a fight between some of
Taliban's fighters and the bodyguards of bin Laden—resulting in bin
Laden being killed. The US of course hopes all these plans remain secret.
Meanwhile, Afghan sources claim the US is encouraging the Afghan opposition
commander Ahmed Shah Massoud, currently fighting Taliban outside Kabul,
to attempt a covert mission to capture bin Laden. These sources state
that much of Massoud’s support comes now from Iran. Iran’s currently
improving relationship with America on one hand and the US’s alleged
attempts to use Taliban to fight Iran’s interests in the region on
the other make Afghans worry that the US may be playing a double game
whose only result will be more fighting. Tracing bin Laden's Money Al-Watan reports another American
plan currently under examination is to trace bin Laden logistically. The
most complex aspect of this for the US administration is identifying his
financial holdings and then paralyzing this huge financial behemoth. His
is an extremely sophisticated network, with account holders and money
transfers being a closely-guarded secret. These experts say that bin Laden’s
financial infrastructure involves many banks and paper companies with
no employees. All transactions of these institutions are legal and executed
by businessmen who often have a minimal relationship with bin Laden. This
makes tracing the flow of money extremely difficult. According to Al-Watan,
Michael O'Hanlon, an expert on terrorism at the Brookings Institute in
Washington DC, reported, Washington has advanced and perfected its ability
to trace this group of people, their information and their money, and
it is now able to acquire extremely detailed information in a very short
time. Al-Watan also states US experts
have information that a Luxembourg corporation moves bin Laden’s
money without his name appearing. All profits of bin Laden's deals and
transactions go to a secret account used to finance the Arab Afghans and
their allies. Moreover, the American administration possesses information
about European accounts (most set up in Amsterdam) under many names and
corporate identities from different nations, many of which have nothing
to do with Muslims. All the money in these accounts belongs to bin Laden
and is used to finance bin Laden's Arab group in Europe. Freezing bin
Laden’s Assets These experts say that Washington is ready to confiscate
bin Laden's money, alleged to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars,
believed the source of his great success in having kept thousands of fighters
heavily armed and for many governments to have covered his trail. The
report from Washington, according to Al-Watan, states that America has
begun its operation against bin Laden’s financial machine and has
put many of its diplomatic officers and internationally-based resources
to work to identify how to achieve this. At the time of this writing,
Germany had just arrested Mr. Mamduh Mahmud Salim on charges of handling
most of bin Laden’s foreign investments and coordinating the logistics
that support his violent campaigns against the US and other perceived
enemies of Islam. Sources close to him claim bin Laden owns many factories,
plantations and businesses in Sudan—all under others’ names.
Salim is also alleged to be tied to the pharmaceutical plant struck by
US cruise missiles in Sudan. Salim admits to knowing bin Laden, but denies
any involvement in his guerrilla activities. The above-mentioned source
says that in tracing back some of this money, it was found that bin Laden
has deposited $500 million in his own name in the Central Bank of Khartoum.
In addition to his own money, bin Laden manages funds deposited by many
charity organizations, especially from the Gulf. The US administration
believes that bin Laden also manages vast amounts of money for Taliban,
amounting to no less than $8 billion, with derived profits going to the
movement, reported in excess of $1 billion. Money From Drugs? Al-Watan quotes American sources
alleging that some of the money bin Laden invests comes from the business
of selling Afghan-grown narcotics, particularly opium. However, Taliban
vehemently denies these allegations and points to its record of destroying
opium crops as evidence to the contrary. Recent reports in the New York
Times support Taliban’s contention, showing that total tonnage of
opium entering Europe has decreased significantly since Taliban took control
of Afghanistan. Taliban has in turn requested that the West provide support
for farmers, who, in destroying opium crops, often lose their sole source
of income. Al-Watan’s sources say the Arab Afghans and other extremist
organizations based in Europe are responsible for moving these drugs to
the international market. Al-Watan alleges the benefit of selling drugs
accrues to these organizations, including many well-known and established
Muslim organizations. The money goes into complexed accounts through unlisted
bank transfers. Charters of the banks involved prevent anyone tracing
either incoming or outgoing masters, making tracking the source of funds
extremely difficult for intelligence organizations. The money for these
deals finally reaches bin Laden's account. The US is mustering all the
resources it can command to stop this flow of money, hoping to paralyze
the Arab Afghans in their guerrilla war. The question yet to be answered
is: will that stop terrorism? Predicting Future Strikes Sources say American satellite
data on bin Laden and movement of his network obtained after the attack
on his bases in Afghanistan gives rise to major concerns. What the US
fears most are retaliatory operations in unexpected places. Other information
indicates that movement among covert extremist groups in Latin America
has suddenly increased, and they fear attacks on US interests and personnel
in Latin America, where security is lax. The American sources and reports
say that the network has spread around the world like a huge octopus.
And like an octopus, it is able to take aggressive action with its many
tentacles despite attacks against its head. These sources say the system
the Arab Afghans are using is highly specialized and perfected through
years of trial-and-error. Similar to grapes on a branch, the movement
is organized into small groups or cells spread around the world, and including
the US. The grapes or cells which make up this huge cluster are completely
independent from one another, none knowing the flavor of the other, but
each receiving its nourishment from the same vine. American analysts, expecting
a revenge surprise attack from the Arab Afghans anywhere in the world,
sometimes describe the Tomahawk attacks against Sudan and Afghanistan
as putting our hand in the wasp's nest, just waiting for the next sting
to come. Thus arises a terrifying question before tolerant and peace-loving,
moderate, mainstream Muslims and the Western nations: are we facing a
third world-war between the military prowess of the West and the terrorists? Al-Wasat reports many Arab
organizations have established their bases in the West, some of which
have political leanings and some of which have extremist inclinations,
believing in militant action as the only means of government reform. Other
movements reject militant action, instead calling for a peaceful approach
to change. Such Islamic movements represent the moderate viewpoint of
the vast majority of Muslims. The minority who see militancy as the means
for change, consist of less than 3% of all Muslims. Mainstream Muslims
in the West often accuse these minority elements of giving an ugly image
to Islam. Al-Wasat
says that according to one source, the following extremist organizations
and movements have offices in England: The Muslim
Brotherhood (Ikhwan al-muslimoon)
represented by Mr. Kamal al-Halbawi. This movement, though no longer
as militant as it once was, has spun-off many groups, many of which
tend to be highly extreme. The Jihad
Movement, active under the other name International Committee for
defending Egyptian Citizens lead by Mr. Adel Abdul-Majeed Abdul-Bari
who had been sentenced to death in Egypt for his role in a machine-gun
attack in the Khan al-Khalili District. The Egyptian government accused
him of being a member of The Jihad Movement, under the leadership
of al-Zawahiri. Another activist from The Jihad Movement, is Mr. Yasser
al-Sirri, sentenced to death in 1994 for trying to assassinate former
Egyptian Prime Minister, Dr. Atef Sudqi. He also runs an office under
the name Islamic Media which Egypt considers a front for the Islamic
Conquest, a division of the Jihad Movement. The Islamic Group
is one of the largest militant movements in Egypt opposing the government.
It is not known if they have representatives in London or the US.
What is known is that they have connection to a movement that has
many branches in the West: the Islamic League for Adherence to
the Quran and Sunna led by Mr. Mustafa bin Mukhtar al-Muqri`. Armed Islamic Group
(GIA) and Algerian activist movement, This group allegedly consider
the majority of citizens of Algeria to be unbelievers. It is led by
Mr. Mustafa Kamil Abu Hamza. The Islamic Front for
Salvation another Algerian activist group, led by Ja`afar al-Hawari.
This group has split into many subgroups. Al-Hawari has been criticized
by his own organization because he seeks a peaceful settlement with
the Algerian government. His biggest opponent is Abdullah al-Mashi,
who prefers militancy to peaceful methods. The National Front to
Save Libya, which has a presence in London. The Middle East
Movement. One of its main officers is Mr. Omar Bakri Muhammad,
a Syrian citizen once active in the Hizb al-Tahrir movement. Hizb al-Tahrir —a
rival to Ikhwan, this movement considers anyone other than themselves
unbelivers to be fought. It was established in the 50's by the Palestinian
Shaykh Taqi al-Din an-Nabahani. The Emigrants (al-Muhajiroun)
—Omar Bakri, mentioned above was criticized by Hizb al-Tahrir
from within, and therefore established this new movement during the
90's. HAMAS, which publishes
a magazine called Palestine the Bequeathed. Committee for Defense
of Legitimate Rights led by Dr. Muhammad al-Mass`ari. Committee for Advice
and Reform, led by Sa`ad Al-Faqih of Saudi Arabia, recently
named a Saudi, Mr. Khaled Abdul-Rahman Hamad al-Fawaz, a relative
of bin Laden, as his spokesmen in the West. Al-Watan reports that the story
behind the divisions in Ikhwan al-Muslimoon is not something new. Ali
Ashmawy, one of the leaders of Ikhwan said in his biography, The Muslim
Brotherhood made a big mistake: they regard whoever doesn’t accept
their ideology as either allied to a foreign government, allied to the
local government, secular or communist. They harm him without thinking.
They took this stand against some of the most respected former members
of Ikhwan. They classified them in the same league as someone addicted
to alcohol (i.e. fasiq). I say without fear, and without being considered
by them a traitor, that they took this decision and they denounced first-rate
shaykhs of Islam who work for the [Egyptian] government - a government
considered infidel in their eyes. They include Dr. Mohammed al-Ghazali,
Sayyid Sabiq, Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Shaykh Mutawalli Sha'rawi, Dr.
Kamal Abu Majd, Ahmad Faraj, some of whom were expelled and some of whom
resigned. In this way many of the Muslim Brotherhood leaders have been
expelled from the movement. Shaykh Ahmad Hassan al-Bakouri was also expelled
from the movement when he accepted to become Minister of Islamic Affairs. [Note: The Muslim Magazine
intends to report in full on the Ikhwan al-Muslimoon in a future issue]. Activities
of Omar Bakri's al-Muhajiroun focus primarily on the Pakistani Muslim
community. His positions are so radical, that even other extremists say
Bakri's ultra-tough approach gives Islam and Muslims a very bad image
in the West. A recent al-Muhajiroun statement regarding the bombings in
Nairobi and Dar Es-Salaam, is typical: Al-Muhajiroun views this incident
as an expression of outrage against the dictatorial regimes in the Muslim
world and the US, UK, France, Russia, etc. that support these tyrannical
and oppressive governments. The Muslim Ummah is in a constant
state of defensive Jihad. We view such incidents as the beginning of much
more bloodshed and deaths, should the US continue to occupy Muslim land
and to oppress Muslims in the Gulf and elsewhere. Al-Muhajiroun appeals
to the Muslims all over the world to join us in an intellectual/ideological/political/
struggle. By denouncing those who gave
him a free podium from which to speak many Muslims consider Bakri to be
abusing the English government's hospitality. The British administration
is now considering exiling him after his ostentatious efforts to collect
money to support Usama bin Laden. Nations’ Attempts
to Counteract Terrorism As England has sought to limit
terrorist activities, it has focused on such groups and their individual
members, particularly after the embassy bombings. Recently Scotland Yard
made a number of arrests under the new Prevention of Terrorism Act, implicating
a number of extremist group leaders as collaborating with terrorists.
Among those arrested are: Mr. Adel Abdul-Majeed Abdul-Bari, an Egyptian
who is head of the Committee for Defending Egyptian Citizens; Mr. Khaled
Abdul-Rahman Hamad Al-Fawaz, the Saudi head of the Committee for Advice
and Reform, who represents bin Laden in the West and who closed his London
offices one day prior to his arrest following the rejection of his application
for asylum; and Mr. Abdul-Majeed Fahmi, Egyptian head of the Islamic Information
Centre. The US has enacted a similar
Terrorist Prevention Act and, using similar extensive powers, has arrested
and impounded bank accounts and assets of persons accused of involvement
in the financing terrorist networks abroad through innocuous-seeming Islamic
organizations. Among those so far affected are Salah Mohammad, a Bridgeview,
Illinois resident. Accused of channeling funds from the Quranic Literacy
Institute (QLI) to the terrorist arm of HAMAS, all of QLI's assets and
accounts have been frozen by US authorities and are presently being subjected
to intense scrutiny.
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