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Strategies & Market Trends : Mu Gamma Lambda -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jorj X Mckie who wrote (7288)	9/18/2001 12:24:01 AM
From: HG	Respond to of 10077

Tuesday, September 18, 2001 TALIBAN'S D-DAY Religious chiefs will decide today on bin Laden TERROR chief Osama bin Laden's fate will be decided today by a small group of Afghan chiefs. After a day of crisis talks, Taliban ruler Mullah Mohammed Omar refused to hand the world's most wanted man to America. Instead, he called a meeting of 20 Islamic religious leaders for this morning after Pakistani diplomats delivered an ultimatum to Afghanistan's Taliban government. The Taliban were given a stark choice - give up bin Laden - or be bombed. And Omar was warned: "A strike could occur as early as the weekend." But as bin Laden's fate was being discussed, the Afghan government sent up to 25,000 troops armed with Soviet-made Scud missiles to menace the border with Pakistan. These have a range of 185 miles, bringing them within striking distance of the Pakistani capital Islamabad. The Afghanis also closed their airspace and threatened to shoot down any planes caught flying overhead. As the Scud missiles arrived at the Khyber Pass, Pakistan responded by strengthening its own forces along the 870-mile long frontier. The Taliban have also warned they will attack Pakistan if it allows American troops to use its bases to launch air strikes. The fundamentalists also threatened to declare a jihad, or holy war, against any country which helps the US against Afghanistan. Amid their posturing and the escalating crisis, tens of thousands of terrified Afghanis fled their homes. But their hopes of finding safety swiftly were dashed when Pakistan sealed its border with its mountainous neighbour. The refugees' only hope now is to head for Iran, or make a dangerous and difficult trek through some of the highest peaks in the world. Among those fleeing was reported to be bin Laden himself. He has left his main headquarters near Kandahar and moved with a large number of supporters to a remote mountain hideout. His four wives and many children are believed to be also hiding elsewhere in the countryside. So far, he seems to have the full support of the Taliban who have been sheltering him since 1996. The US had given the Taliban regime three days to hand over bin Laden. But the senior Pakistani officials who flew to Kandahar yesterday reported that their talks with Omar had ended in deadlock after three hours. Despite the setback, the delegation decided to stay on and make another attempt to defuse the looming violence. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar warned that time was running out for the Taliban to avoid retribution from America over the New York and Washington attacks. He said: "Time is of the essence. There is no ultimatum, but time is definitely running out." But his own government is in great difficulty as well. Millions of Pakistanis support the Taliban and are opposed to helping America attack them. When the US assault starts, there will be a massive backlash which could plunge the country into civil war. As tensions escalated yesterday, President George Bush sneered at bin Laden's attempts to remain free in the mountains of Afghanistan. He said: "We will not allow ourselves to be terrorised by somebody who think they can hit and hide in some cave somewhere." America's planned military reaction - codenamed Operation Noble Eagle - is now taking shape and 35,000 reservists have been called up. And the White House has confirmed a 25-year-old directive banning the US government from engaging in assassination does not prevent Washington from acting in "self defence". White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the directive remains in effect, but noted, "It does not limit the United States' ability to act in its self defence.'' Defence sources said it looks increasingly likely that the US is considering a "hit 'em high - hit 'em low" strategy with both air and ground attacks. Speaking after touring the Pentagon President Bush said he was determined to defend freedom "at any cost". Once again, he warned countries sympathetic to bin Laden that they must make it abundantly clear whether they are with or against the US. He pledged: "We're going to find those evil-doers, those barbaric people who attacked our country and we're going to hold them accountable. And we're going to hold the people who house them accountable." But he warned the world that this would be a lengthy battle and to expect casualties. "We will win the war and there will be costs. This is a fight for freedom." Meanwhile, the leaders of the world's most powerful industrialised countries, the G8, are preparing to fly to the US to meet Bush. G8 chairman Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, met Tony Blair in Downing Street yesterday. They have told Bush they will come over if he wants to meet, and confirmed that the European Union's leaders will hold crisis talks on Friday, probably in Brussels. Blair repeated his support for the US, saying: "In ordinary, everyday terms we are at war with the people who have committed this terrible act." Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the world faced its greatest danger since the Cuban missile crisis brought it to the brink of nuclear war in 1962. Straw said: "For many people of my generation or older this is perhaps potentially the most frightening situation since the Cuban missile crisis in the early 1960s." But he also backed the Americans is insisting that bin Laden must be handed over. Straw said: "Six days after this terrible catastrophe in New York it is now clear from our own intelligence assessment that Osama bin Laden and his organisation are plainly the prime suspects for complicity and involvement in this catastrophe." New York, Americans took President Bush's advice and went back to work. But when the money markets opened for the first time since last Tuesday, share prices plummeted. In New York, six per cent was wiped off the value of American companies on the Dow Jones Index. Britain's biggest firms have now seen pounds 45 billion wiped off their shares since the crisis began.