Chris Wattie and Jan Cienski National Post
Somewhere in the dusty Afghan hills tonight, a small group of commandos will almost certainly be slipping through the darkness, hunting for the hideouts of the terrorists who attacked New York and Washington last week. "I've got no doubt they're deployed right now," says Alan Bell, a former soldier in the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS). "They're up in some rocks somewhere, keeping their heads down and watching."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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Dawn M. Ismail Khan
Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden has gone into hiding in Afghanistan's southwestern Uruzgan along with scores of his supporters, highly competent sources in Afghanistan said. "Bin Laden has also moved his family of three wives and several children from his house in Kandahar to Uruzgan - native province of Taliban supreme leader Mullah Muhammad Omar," the sources said, quoting latest reports.
Osama, whom the United States believes is a prime suspect in the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in Washington and New York, lived near the Afghan Airforce Colony in Kandahar Airport but vacated his abode to escape possible retaliatory attacks, the sources said. "The place was protected by an anti-aircraft gun," the sources said. These sources described Bin Laden as "a security-minded man who does not stay at one place for more than two nights". The sources said he decided to move out of Kandahar last week as Washington threatened to launch reprisal attacks on Afghanistan for providing a sanctuary to him and the alleged terrorist training camps.
"He has been moving between Uruzgan and Helmand provinces," the sources said. Previously, the Saudi dissident would move around between Khajkai dam in Helmand, Zarang in Nemroz, Mass-e-Ainak in Logar, Darunta and Tora Bora in Nangarhar, Tahkhtabeg Fort in Khost and Bacha Kuroona in Bagh-i-Bala in Kabul.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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(CNN)
U.S. government sources indicate to CNN that the unmanned spy plane downed by the Taliban on Saturday was providing intelligence for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Both the CIA and the Pentagon are refusing any comment.
Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia claims its forces shot down an unmanned spy plane in Samangan and a helicopter in areas where opposition fighters had launched an attack. The Taliban said the plane contained computerized equipment and the wreckage will be brought to Kandahar.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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(CNN)
If the United States attacks Afghanistan's ruling Taliban as part of its new war on terrorism, Afghanistan's major opposition group is volunteering to help. The Northern Alliance -- the remnants of Afghanistan's pre-Taliban government -- controls less than 10 percent of the country, and it is reeling from the assassination of its military commander, Ahmed Shah Massoud. But Haron Amin, the Northern Alliance's representative to the United Nations, said the group can be a valuable ally against the Taliban. "We know the terrain. We know the turf. We speak the language," Amin told CNN. "We can be of maximum use in Afghanistan. And I think that's something the international community really needs to look at, needs to capitalize on that. We can do a lot of the groundwork."
This article starring:
Ahmed Shah Massoud
Haron Amin
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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New York Post, by RICHARD JOHNSON
Scandal of a 'WTC benefit' JOAN Rivers is boycotting the all-star re-recording of "We Are Family" today after finding out that the profits of the project won't go to the victims of the World Trade Center terror attacks. Instead, legendary music producer Nile Rodgers, who wrote the song for Sister Sledge 20 years ago, has earmarked the proceeds to educate Americans about racial intolerance. "I'm just in shock. It's a bait and switch, and no one knows it," Rivers told PAGE SIX yesterday.
This article starring:
JOAN Rivers
Nile Rodgers
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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Las Vegas Sun
The Pentagon rolled out workhorse B-52 bombers and activated an additional 5,172 National Guard and reserve troops Saturday in preparation for the first military strikes in the new U.S. campaign against terrorism.
Military officials declined to comment on reports that Taliban forces shot down an unmanned spy plane in northern Afghanistan on Saturday. But they welcomed word that Turkey would join the ranks of nations that will help U.S. armed forces in the fight against prime suspect Osama bin Laden. He is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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(Reuters)
Actress Julia Roberts donated $2 million on Friday to aid victims and survivors of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon that left more than 6,500 people dead or missing, her publicist said. "Like all Americans, Julia was profoundly affected by this horrific tragedy," publicist Marcy Engelman said. "She sends her deepest sympathies and prayers to everyone who has suffered such an unspeakable loss."
This article starring:
Julia Roberts
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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Chicago Sun Times ANA MENDIETA
The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Friday expressed concern over the U.S. government's ultimatums as it tries to bring other nations into the fight against terrorism, and he cautioned against establishing diplomatic relations just to gain support for a military action. "My concern is that, as we fight global terrorism, we need a global coalition, which requires global diplomatic relations and a global set of intelligence, and sensitivity to global economic policy as it affects the poor nations with whom we want to build relations as allies,'' Jackson said. "With Iran and Pakistan and other nations that we wish to form this fragile coalition with, we don't have diplomatic relations, we don't share intelligence, and we have economic sanctions against them. We can't just say to them, 'Unless you are an ally with us, you are on the bad list and we are going to bomb you, too.'"
The United States also should produce evidence against Osama bin Laden before attacking Afghanistan, Jackson said. "The Taliban clergy put forth a democratic proposition: 'Show us the evidence, and we will respond,' '' Jackson said. "Whether we believe it or not is another question, but even for the allies, it is important that we establish evidence. Evidence must precede our attacks to maintain our coalition.''
This article starring:
Jesse Jackson
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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(Reuters)
U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leader Richard Gephardt promised revenge and preached tolerance on Saturday in the wake of last week's attacks on the United States. Gephardt said that while the nation would retaliate for the air strikes on U.S. landmarks that left more than 6,800 people dead or missing, Americans must not lash out against Muslims who had nothing to do with it.
This article starring:
Richard Gephardt
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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(CNN)
The body of John P. O'Neill, a former assistant director of the FBI and an expert on terrorism, was recovered Friday from the rubble of the World Trade Center. O'Neill had recently retired from the FBI and had just taken over security for the World Trade Center, said New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. "That Tuesday was his first or second day on the job," Kerik said Friday in an interview with CNN's Larry King Live. . "He was going to go into One World Trade, the tower one, and when the strike came he went into the second tower in an attempt to help people get out of the building and he died there. We found his body today."
O'Neill, 50, was the chief of international terrorism operations for the FBI. He supervised on-site investigations of the bombing by terrorists of the USS Cole in Yemen last year, and the 1998 attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
This article starring:
Bernard Kerik
John P. O'Neill
Larry King
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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John Diamond, Chicago Tribune
President Bush on Friday rejected the Taliban regime's demand for proof that Osama bin Laden ordered last week's terrorist attacks as the United States prepared military options that would make locating and neutralizing the Saudi terrorist and his associates the first priority.
Use of military force, beyond the immediate bin Laden standoff, will likely be slow in coming, limited in objective and could well come only after the administration secured support and approval from the international community, senior administration officials said. Speaking one day after Bush's direct threat that unless Afghanistan's Taliban regime handed over bin Laden and his associates the government would "share their fate," White House officials emphasized that their main objective was the radical Saudi millionaire, his network and terrorism, not the overthrow of any government. "The president's goal is not the removal of anyone from power; the president's goal is the cessation of terrorism," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. "This is not a question of who occupies what slot in any one regime or government. This is a question of how to protect the free world and freedom from the terrorist threat."
This article starring:
Ari Fleischer
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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AFP
A Taliban official said Saturday there was "so far" no indication that Saudi Arabia would follow the UAE's lead and sever ties with Afghanistan's Islamist ruling militia. "The office (embassy) is still open and we have not received any instructions (to leave) so far," the Taliban's acting charge d'affaires in Riyadh, Sayyed Mutiullah Khalwati, told AFP. The United Arab Emirates on Saturday snapped diplomatic ties with the Taliban for refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden, Washington's prime suspect in the September 11 jetliner suicide bombings in New York and Washington. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are the only three countries in the world to have established diplomatic ties with the Taliban, and Islamabad said Saturday it would maintain those links.
This article starring:
SAIYED MUTIULLAH KHALWATI
Taliban
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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Slate Papers
Finally, the LAT off-leads a list of terrorist attacks that have taken place since Sept. 11, showing that "most of the world's terror is local" and beyond the reach of the president's campaign. A suicide bombing in Turkey is described, as well as an assault on civilians by a paramilitary squad in Colombia. The article comes in response to that "every terrorist group of global reach" line from Thursday's speech. Last year, the State Department counted 138 "significant terrorist incidents" in 29 countries, committed by 43 armed groups.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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By Jane Taber National Post
OTTAWA - There has been much talk this week of the spirit of bi-partisanship in the House of Commons, in the wake of the terrorist attacks.
Hardly. This is what happened yesterday afternoon in a near-empty chamber: Pat Martin, an NDP MP from Manitoba, caused an uproar among Alliance MPs when he talked about Canada marching in "goose step" with the Americans. "We are hearing now from frustrated Americans that if Canada does not fall into a goose step with the United States in its current exercises they will re-consider allowing plants to continue manufacturing in Canada," said Mr. Martin.
"This stuff about Nazis, they're just sensitive because I call them Nazis all the time."
Several Alliance MPs -- Scott Reid, John Duncan and James Moore -- demanded that he retract the word "goose step" for its obvious Nazi connotations. Mr. Martin refused. "Complete goose step means mirroring them [the Americans]. This stuff about Nazis, they're just sensitive because I call them [the Alliance] Nazis all the time," said Mr. Martin. He said the Liberals were not upset by his remarks. So, why did he use that term? "Well to fall into complete goose step doesn't invoke brownshirts to me or jackboots," said Mr. Martin. "You look up goose step in the dictionary and it can mean dance steps."
This article starring:
James Moore
John Duncan
Pat Martin
Scott Reid
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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Alexander Rose National Post
While Saudi Arabia told Mr. Bush on Thursday it would do everything in its power to fight terrorism, it -- and the rest of the Arab League -- are refusing to combat any of the groups, such as Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Hezbollah, terrorizing Israel.
To take a few more instances, the South Koreans have pledged co-operation "in the spirit" of mutual defence; China is stipulating "any military action against terrorism" must be based on "irrefutable evidence" that Osama bin Laden did it; the Philippines says it will allow U.S. forces to use their former bases but will not contribute troops, and Iran has, citing Muslim solidarity, declared that no U.S. aircraft may fly in its airspace to attack Afghanistan. (Though this mysterious "Muslim solidarity" never stopped Tehran from not only trading blows with the Taliban but backing the opposition Northern Alliance before the attacks).
Mr. Bush seems to be suffering few illusions that rhetoric is infrequently matched by action. "This is a campaign in which nations will contribute in a variety of ways," he said, "Some nations will be willing to join in a very overt way. Other nations will be willing to join by sharing information."
This article starring:
Hamas
Hezbollah
Islamic Jihad
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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(AFP)
US warplanes have landed in the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan as Russian President Vladimir Putin, after an extended silence, voiced readiness to cooperate with US plans to strike Afghanistan -- but only after they are approved by the UN Security Council.
Uzbek military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP on Saturday that the US jets were stationed just outside the Uzbek capital Tashkent and were equipped with surveillance devices, presumably aimed at Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia just to the south.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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CHRISTOPHER FRANCESCANI NY Post
An Egyptian man arrested at Kennedy Airport this week was carrying a pilot's uniform, a bogus passport, forged FAA papers and a phony certificate from a Florida flight school where terror hijackers trained, it was revealed yesterday. Wael Abdel Rahman Kishk, 21, was arraigned in an open Brooklyn federal courtroom yesterday on a charge of forging documents. U.S. District Judge Robert Levy ordered him jailed.
This article starring:
Robert Levy
Wael Abdel Rahman Kishk
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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Fox News
Arrests in Belgium and England are the latest resulting from an intense terrorist investigation throughout America and Europe in the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon Sept. 11. In addition, authorities discovered box-cutting tools on other airplanes shortly after the terror attacks, according to Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller. The find suggests that other planes and sites could have been targeted. "We don't know how many of the hijackers that actually died were pilots, but there was suspicion that a lot more planes were going to be hit," said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association.
In England, a 27-year-old man, his 24-year-old wife, and a man in his 40s remain under arrest. A fourth man, 29, was arrested and released. Authorities say the three who remain in custody have "direct connections" to the suspected terrorists. The 27-year-old man took flying lessons at the same school, and at the same time, as one of the terrorists in the Pentagon attack, according to a police source.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
09/22/2001 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
