Ho Hum.....
Bin Laden Nearly Caught in Afghanistan, French General Says
By ALAN RIDING
Published: March 15, 2004
Bin Laden Nearly Caught in Afghanistan, French General Says
By ALAN RIDING
Published: March 15, 2004
PARIS, March 15 — France's senior military officer said today that Osama bin Laden had on several occasions narrowly escaped capture by French troops working alongside American forces in Afghanistan, although he conceded that Mr. bin Laden's capture would not in itself suffice to dismantle Al Qaeda.
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"It will change nothing directly," Gen. Henri Bentégeat, the chief of staff of the French armed forces, said in an interview with France's Europe-1 radio station. He said that Al Qaeda is "a hydra, so if you catch one head, there will be others." But he added that Mr. bin Laden's capture was indispensable "on principle, for justice and for the innumerable victims of these monstrous attacks."
He said that 200 French special forces troops were participating alongside American forces in Afghanistan in the hunt for Mr. bin Laden. "Our men have not been far," he said. "On several occasions, I even think he slipped out of a net that was well closed."
"In Afghanistan, the terrain is extremely favorable to escapes," he added. "There are underground networks everywhere."
General Bentégeat did not say when or where these near-captures took place. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense refused to provide additional details.
The French military chief also said that he considered Al Qaeda "very probably" responsible for the coordinated bomb attacks in the Spanish capital last week because of their detailed preparation. "It was the same on Sept. 11, the same today in Iraq, where the choice of targets, the choice of methods, the complexity of the operation point to Al Qaeda," he said.
General Bentégeat said that while France "is certainly not the most threatened," all European countries were more or less threatened by Al Qaeda. "I don't think one should be overworried, but one simply should remain very vigilant," he said, noting that French, European and American intelligence services were working in close cooperation against international terrorism.
He also expressed concern that over the past two years heroin production had doubled in Afghanistan, where, he added, "organized crime finances international terrorism through drug trafficking." He said that terror groups were also trying to take advantage of countries that were "adrift," notably in sub-Saharan Africa, such as Ivory Coast and the Central African Republic.
Asked about French security measures, he said that French fighters were permanently on the ready and could scramble within two minutes in face of any threat. "Not a day goes by without planes taking off to check on a plane that has veered off its path or does not respond by radio," he said.
PARIS, March 15 — France's senior military officer said today that Osama bin Laden had on several occasions narrowly escaped capture by French troops working alongside American forces in Afghanistan, although he conceded that Mr. bin Laden's capture would not in itself suffice to dismantle Al Qaeda.
Advertisement
"It will change nothing directly," Gen. Henri Bentégeat, the chief of staff of the French armed forces, said in an interview with France's Europe-1 radio station. He said that Al Qaeda is "a hydra, so if you catch one head, there will be others." But he added that Mr. bin Laden's capture was indispensable "on principle, for justice and for the innumerable victims of these monstrous attacks."
He said that 200 French special forces troops were participating alongside American forces in Afghanistan in the hunt for Mr. bin Laden. "Our men have not been far," he said. "On several occasions, I even think he slipped out of a net that was well closed."
"In Afghanistan, the terrain is extremely favorable to escapes," he added. "There are underground networks everywhere."
General Bentégeat did not say when or where these near-captures took place. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense refused to provide additional details.
The French military chief also said that he considered Al Qaeda "very probably" responsible for the coordinated bomb attacks in the Spanish capital last week because of their detailed preparation. "It was the same on Sept. 11, the same today in Iraq, where the choice of targets, the choice of methods, the complexity of the operation point to Al Qaeda," he said.
General Bentégeat said that while France "is certainly not the most threatened," all European countries were more or less threatened by Al Qaeda. "I don't think one should be overworried, but one simply should remain very vigilant," he said, noting that French, European and American intelligence services were working in close cooperation against international terrorism.
He also expressed concern that over the past two years heroin production had doubled in Afghanistan, where, he added, "organized crime finances international terrorism through drug trafficking." He said that terror groups were also trying to take advantage of countries that were "adrift," notably in sub-Saharan Africa, such as Ivory Coast and the Central African Republic.
Asked about French security measures, he said that French fighters were permanently on the ready and could scramble within two minutes in face of any threat. "Not a day goes by without planes taking off to check on a plane that has veered off its path or does not respond by radio," he said. |
