US SHOWS EVIDENCE
Investigation: Probe focuses on al Qaeda
October 2, 2001 Posted: 9:15 a.m. EDT (1315 GMT)
SUMMARY:
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said Tuesday the United States has presented "compelling and conclusive" evidence that the terror attacks on the U.S. were the work of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
The nation of Yemen, meanwhile, has "one of the most significant" al Qaeda organizational links "in the world," comprised mostly of Yemenis who received military training in Afghanistan, a U.S. official said.
President Bush signed a bill into law permanently establishing a special class of visas designed to help law enforcement attract informants and provide additional tools to federal authorities in the United States' campaign against terrorism.
UPDATE:
The United States presented its case both to NATO leaders and to Pakistan on Tuesday. NATO Secretary-General Robertson said the proof offered by the at a classified briefing Tuesday means that the NATO nations now fully consider the attack on the United States as an attack on them all. (Full story)
Robertson, who said the U.S. was still working on its response to the attacks, said: "It is clear that all roads lead to al Qaeda and pinpoint Osama bin Laden as having been involved in it." The military alliance has now invoked Article V of its self-defense charter as a result -- the first time in its 52 years history.
The hunt for suspects in the terrorist attacks has focused on al Qaeda. Diplomatic sources said thousands of al Qaeda members are living in Middle Eastern nation of Yemen and are capable of launching "uncoordinated or coordinated attacks." (Full story)
Al Qaeda is the group headed by Osama bin Laden -- living under Taliban protection in Afghanistan -- and has been linked by the United States to the September 11 attacks on the United States, the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya and the USS Cole attack last year in Yemen.
In the United States, a measure signed by Bush "allows for the temporary admission of individuals into the United States to aid in the investigation and prosecution of terrorist or other criminal organizations," Ari Fleischer, the president's spokesman, said in a statement. (Full story)
In September, the House unanimously passed the measure as an identical bill, sponsored by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, also passed in the Senate. The visas are known as "S" class visas. According to a Kennedy spokesman, the visas go to "a limited number of foreign nationals who have crucial information that is necessary for the successful investigation or prosecution of crimes or terrorist activities." Kennedy called the visas "a crucial crime-fighting tool." |
