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| Terror Networks |
| Bin Laden's ties |
| 2001-09-15 |
He is rich and sneaky, but not invulnerable. An enemy to be reckoned with, but hardly a Hitler. His army is tiny, but it is willing to die - and its ranks could bulge if the United States in fact launches a World War III against international terror. He is Osama bin Laden, the 17th of 52 children sired by Muhammad bin Laden of Saudi Arabia, a billionaire construction magnate, and the 44-year-old mastermind of a ``holy war'' against America. ``The United States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors,'' he said in 1998 in declaring war on the United States. ``It is our duty to make jihad to drive Americans from all Muslim countries.'' On Thursday, the United States issued its own fatwah against bin Laden and his ilk, declaring that the people behind atrocities like those committed Tuesday must be rooted out and brought to heel. By most informed accounts, he has cells and operatives in more than 40 countries; a range of shell companies that allow him to circulate and launder money in the Middle East and Central Asia; supporters quietly seeking to purchase airplanes, stinger missiles and even uranium; and a multitude of fast-moving encampments where suicide bombers and other terrorists learn the ins and outs of explosives, piloting, creating false IDs and furtive communications. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |