Latest news: U.S. strikes back at terrorism
EDGARTOWN, Mass. - President Clinton Thursday ordered U.S.
military strikes against terrorist facilities in Afghanistan and Sudan after
linking them to the embassy bombings in Africa.
The attacks were carried out at 1:30 p.m. EDT, the Pentagon said.
Less than an hour later, the operations had been completed.
Clinton and defense officials said the facilities
were linked to Osama bin Laden, a Saudi
millionaire whom U.S. officials call a major
sponsor of terrorism.
Clinton said the United States had
"compelling information they were planning
additional terrorist acts."
"Today we have struck back," the president declared, breaking off his
vacation on Martha's Vineyard to return to Washington.
Clinton planned to make a nationally televised address from the Oval
Office shortly after his return, aides said.
The president said the U.S. targets were a terrorist base in Afghanistan
and a chemical weapons facility in Sudan.
Cohen said the Pentagon would not immediately provide details on the
specific forces or weapons involved in the attack, saying, "We are
engaged in a difficult confrontation with the forces of international
terrorism."
He said the strike was "designed to attack his
(bin Laden's) infrastructure and that's
precisely what we have done." The
whereabouts of bin Laden himself were
unknown.
"Those who attack our people will find no
safe place, no refuge from the long arm of
justice," Cohen declared.
Clinton said the United States had "convincing evidence these groups
played the key role in the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
Terrorists must have no doubt that in the face of their threat, America
will protect its citizens."
Bombs exploded Aug. 7 at the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 247 people in Kenya and 10 in
Tanzania. More than 5,500 people were injured, mostly Kenyans.
Cohen said the action was taken to "reduce the ability of these terrorist
organizations to train and equip their misguided followers."
Gen. Henry Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called it "a
concerted effort to defend U.S. citizens and our interests around the
globe against a very real and a very deadly threat."
Cohen and Shelton said the U.S. strikes were not ordered simply in
retaliation for the embassy attacks but to stave off impending terrorist
threats. Cohen said the Pentagon had been planning the operation for
several days.
Shelton said the embassy bombings were "by no means the first time
bin Laden has been connected to terrorist attacks."
The targets were six sites in an alleged terrorist training camp in eastern
Afghanistan, a remote hilly area about one mile from the border with
Pakistan.
They included a base, support camp and four training facilities,
according to the Pentagon. Intelligence showed as many as 600 people
training there at a time, Cohen said.
In Sudan, the strike hit the Shifa Pharmaceutical Plant in Khartoum, an
alleged site of chemical weapons making, according to Defense
Department officials.
State-run Sudan Television announced that American warplanes had
struck "strategic targets" in the country but gave no indication of how
extensive the damage was or whether there were casualties.
Sudanese Interior Minister Abdul Rahim Mohammed Hussein,
interviewed on CNN, said U.S. warplanes had struck a private medical
facility. "We have no chemical weapons plants in our country," he said.
Clinton called congressional leaders in advance of the attack to notify
them of the pending action.
Cohen said the attack was not influenced by Clinton's political troubles
at home. "The only motivation driving this action today was our
absolute obligation to protect the American people from terrorist
activities.
"That was the sole motivation," he said. "No other consideration has
been involved."
But a Republican senator was skeptical. "The timing is certainly
suspect," said Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana.
Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said the U.S. attacks were "entirely
warranted" because of the terrorist role in the recent bombings in Africa
and "continued threats to citizens of the United States."
A senior administration official said the "convincing evidence" to which
Clinton referred was intelligence data about bin Laden and his group
rather than any confessions from suspects. U.S. intelligence is said to
have detected abnormal activity around his Afghan camp before the
embassy bombings in East Africa.
On the other hand, one suspect in custody in Nairobi, Mohammed
Saddiq Odeh, apparently still has not repeated for U.S. and Kenyan
agents the confession that Pakistani authorities say he gave earlier
implicating bin Laden and his group.
Clinton said the Afghan base was "operated by groups affiliated with
Osama bin Laden, a network not sponsored by any state, but as
dangerous as any we face."
Pakistani journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai, who was called by bin Laden
Thursday evening before the bombing, quoted bin Laden as saying: "I
have nothing to do with the bombing of American embassies in Africa,
but I urge the Muslims all over the world to continue their jihad against
the Americans and Jews."
A group reportedly founded by bin Laden - the World Islamic Front
for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders - issued a warning Wednesday in
the London-based Arabic newspaper al-Hayat saying that "strikes will
continue from everywhere" against the United States.
FBI Director Louis Freeh was in Africa with agents investigating the
bombings.
The United States recognizes no government in Afghanistan and is a
member of an international effort aimed at forging a peace agreement
between warring factions in that country.
The United States, citing security concerns, closed down its embassy in
Sudan in January 1996. But U.S. envoys occasionally visit Sudan for
talks with government officials. Sudan is one of seven countries on the
State Department list of countries which sponsor international terrorism.
Clinton called House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senate Majority
Leader Trent Lott in advance of the attack to notify them of the pending
action, according to a spokesman for the House leader.
A senior administration official said the "convincing evidence" to which
Clinton referred was intelligence data about bin Laden and his group
rather than any confessions from suspects. U.S. intelligence is said to
have detected abornmal activity around his Afghan camp before the
embassy bombings in East Africa.
On the other hand, one suspect in custody in Nairobi, Mohammed
Saddiq Odeh, apparently still has not repeated for U.S. and Kenyan
agents the confession that Pakistani authorities say he gave earlier
implicating bin Laden and his group.
The president planned to return to Martha's Vineyard tonight or Friday
morning, aides said.
Clinton laid out the reasons for the U.S. attack:
"These groups have executed terrorist attacks against Americans
in the past."
"We have compelling information that they were planning
additional terrorist attacks against our citizens and others."
"They are seeking to acquire chemical weapons and other
dangerous weapons."
Clinton said the Afghan base was "operated by groups affiliated with
Osama bin Laden, a network not sponsored by any state, but as
dangerous as any we face."
A group reportedly founded by bin Laden - the World Islamic Front
for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders - issued a warning Wednesday in
the London-based Arabic newspaper al-Hayat saying that "strikes will
continue from everywhere" against the United States.
FBI Director Louis Freeh was in Africa with agents investigating the
bombings.
By The Associated Press |
