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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (51325)	10/11/2002 9:59:12 PM
From: epsteinbd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

How strange that it took a full week for the Yemen evidence to come out. How strange that no one interviewed the priests, girlfriends, buddies etc of the two bus throat slicers of the Greyhound buses. How strange that the name yesterday's truck driver that slammed into one of the four buses convoy has not been released (as of yesterday). How strange that possibly two crazies would meet in MD to start their shooting spree... How strange that one of the killers handwriting isn't shown on TV for someone to possibly see some resemblance. Is it because of the message itself ?

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (51325)	10/11/2002 10:14:18 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Yes, the reports are that France did have a terrorism attack on their oil tanker. But, it was one of the "small" incidents I was referring to.....We in the US had several of those, until FINALLY we woke up on 9/11....Maybe the French will "get" it sooner than we did.....But looking at history, and the current news, probably not. Nor will most of Europe until it happens to them on a scale like Pearl Harbor or 9/11.....So many Europeans and others just can't see what has changed....Perhaps when (not if...I personally think that's a given) it happens to their country, they will understand. And who knows, perhaps even support the effort....if it's not too late.

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (51325)	10/12/2002 12:49:37 AM
From: KLP	Respond to of 281500

Update from 6 hours ago....Terror Linked to French Tanker Blast Investigators See Terrorism As Likely Cause of French Oil Tanker Blast The Associated Press AL MUKALLA, Yemen Oct. 11 — A terrorist cell sympathetic to the al-Qaida network may have carried out the attack on a French oil tanker in the Arabian Sea, investigators said Friday. French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie cast off any lingering theories of Sunday's explosion and fire being an accident, saying "parts of a small boat and traces of TNT were found inside the tanker." "France will not be intimidated," said Catherine Colonna, the spokeswoman for French President Jacques Chirac. "If this does involve an attack, the president of the republic expects Yemeni authorities to do all they can to identify and punish those responsible." Specialists from France, Yemen and the United States have been trying to determine what caused the blast and fire that killed one crew member on the tanker Limburg and loosed 90,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Aden. The damaged vessel was towed into port here Friday. Yemen initially tried to dismiss reports the blast was deliberate. Friday's disclosure that TNT traces were found on the vessel was the strongest indication yet of an attack similar to that on the USS Cole by an explosive-laden boat in October 2000. That attack killed 17 American sailors and has been blamed on al-Qaida. A U.S. defense official has said several factors pointed to an attack: the hole in the ship is at sea level, which is consistent with it being struck by a boat, and the Limburg is relatively new, making it unlikely a malfunction caused the blast. The Limburg's captain has said a crew member saw a fishing boat approaching shortly before the blast. Sources close to the investigation said Friday that officials are questioning five suspected Muslim militants. Some 20 fishermen who were on vessels in the tanker's vicinity Sunday were questioned and released. Terror experts and Islamic militant sources, meanwhile, said Sunday's blast was most likely the work of freelance al-Qaida supporters who may have never been active members of the terror network. "Al-Qaida is a decentralized organization," said Alex Standish, editor of Jane's Intelligence Digest. "It's like the merchant bank of terrorism, providing financial and logistical support for projects brought to it by small groups or individuals." An estimated 50,000-60,000 Muslim men are thought to have undergone training at al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan in the 1990s. While most returned home to normal lives, some became sleeper agents. "It cannot be ruled out that whoever carried out the tanker attack received help from al-Qaida," said Yasser el-Sirri, head of the London-based Islamic Observation Center, a reliable source of information on Muslim militants. The pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat said Thursday that the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army, a militant group with suspected al-Qaida links, claimed responsibility for the explosion in a statement sent to the paper. The group said the attack was to avenge the execution of one of its leaders for the 1998 kidnapping of 16 Western tourists. Abu Hamza Al-Masri, a London-based Muslim militant with suspected links to the Aden-Abyan group, said Friday he had also received the statement. "The operation might have been carried out by individuals who acted independently but secured membership in an organization just before the attack," he said. "Some al-Qaida elements may also be involved." The Aden-Abyan Islamic Army was formed by Yemeni and other Arab fighters who, like bin Laden, helped Afghans oust Soviet invaders with U.S. help in the 1980s. U.S. counterterrorism officials were skeptical of its claim of responsibility. An intelligence official in Washington said U.S. experts believe the attack was done by other, unspecified al-Qaida-linked operatives.