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To: Dwight Taylor who wrote (16313)	8/22/1998 2:57:00 PM
From: Alex	Respond to of 116795

WANTED BY WASHINGTON A Saudi recluse is the prime bombings suspect By Anthony Davis ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ONLY A FEW YEARS ago, some Americans in government and beyond looked on the Taliban as crusading traditionalists. Their simple faith and moral rectitude might, it was argued, purge Afghanistan of a militant Muslim "International Brigade" camped in the hills since the anti-Soviet war. At the same time, the Taliban vowed a crackdown on narcotics cultivation and trafficking. Now those fond hopes lie in ruins. Across southern Afghanistan the poppy blooms while the Taliban government winks at and taxes the opium trade. And Osama bin Laden, Saudi millionaire-turned-grandmaster of global terror is comfortably installed in the country as the Taliban's most celebrated guest. Almost as soon as the dust cleared over the U.S. embassy carnage in East Africa, bin Laden was close to the top of Washington's list of suspects. Described by the U.S. State Department as "one of the most significant financial sponsors of extremist [Muslim] activities in the world today," bin Laden is already suspected of involvement in two bombings in Saudi Arabia, which claimed the lives of 24 American soldiers (he is wanted by Saudi authorities too). One of around 20 sons of Saudi construction magnate Mohamed bin Laden, Osama went to Afghanistan shortly after the 1979 Soviet invasion to join the mujahideen holy war against communism. Noted for his personal courage on the battlefield, he rose to prominence as a central figure in sponsoring and training thousands of devout Muslim youths from across the Arab world who came to Afghanistan for jihad. With the Soviet pullout from Afghanistan in 1989, bin Laden returned to work in his father's Jeddah-based business but remained active in radical Muslim circles. He moved to Sudan in 1991 where he set up several profitable business ventures in collaboration with leading figures in the country's Islamist regime. In mid-1996, as U.S. pressure on Khartoum mounted, he moved his base to Afghanistan and was soon close to the leadership of the Taliban. Washington's attempts to have him extradited by the Taliban failed, though leaders of the Muslim militia did say they would ask their guest to refrain from political or terrorist activity. If bin Laden, 42, made any such undertaking, then he appears to have reneged on it. Mounting evidence about a connection between him and the Aug. 7 embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam has put the anti-American firebrand and his Afghan-based cohorts in a spotlight that is proving embarrassing for his hosts. The very same day as the bombings, immigration officials in Karachi picked up Mohamed Sadik Howaida, a Palestinian traveling on a false passport, who had flown in from Nairobi. He was extradited to Kenya. On Aug. 19 a Nairobi newspaper reported that Howaida had confessed to having masterminded the bombings with bin Laden's financial backing and provided details. In Pakistan, speculation is swirling about the possibility of some form of military strike against bin Laden by American special forces, possibly in conjunction with their Pakistani counterparts. But more sober analysts are dismissing that scenario for several compelling reasons. Any military strike would need at least the acquiesence of bin Laden's Taliban hosts. That will not be forthcoming, not least because bin Laden is a big contributor to the Taliban's war chest. On Aug. 19 the Taliban foreign minister said bin Laden would not be handed over even if it were proven that he was involved in the bombings. Instead, he would then be punished within Afghanistan. Any military move against bin Laden would also require the close cooperation of Islamabad and its military intelligence wing, the ISI, which has an encyclopedic knowledge of the physical and political terrain of southern Afghanistan. But the ISI and in particular its Pushtun-dominated Afghan Bureau have been deeply involved in supporting Taliban leaders for some years now. Murkier, but also a factor, is the ISI's own relationship with bin Laden. Afghan sources told Asiaweek one senior ISI officer liaising with the Taliban - codenamed Col. "Sultan" - attended a meeting in Kabul earlier this year at which bin Laden was present. More generally, Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif's embattled government would gain no domestic political mileage by cooperating with the U.S. against a man admired as an Islamist hero by many on Pakistan's religious right. When the ISI worked with the FBI last year in snatching Mir Aimal Kansi, accused of gunning down two CIA staffers outside the agency's headquarters, and shipping him to the U.S., a storm of protest arose. Today, Islamabad has already distanced itself from any talk over participating in an operation inside Afghanistan. "To say that since we recognize the Taliban government, we should be responsible for their giving refuge to Osama is absolutely wrong," said one official quoted by the local press. In any event, bin Laden is elusive. Surrounded by over 100 well-armed Arab and Afghan followers, he lives near the airport of Kandahar, the Taliban headquarters. But he has often moved. In May, without the permission of his hosts, he gave a press conference in the southeast along with the head of Egypt's outlawed Islamic Jihad group. At the conference, attended by Pakistani journalists, he declared war on American interests in the Gulf. Finally, bin Laden's networks and sympathizers are known to be significant inside Pakistan, where they could easily strike at "soft" American targets. The unprecedented evacuation of some 200 non-essential diplomatic staff and dependents from the Islamabad embassy highlights this very real worry. In the wake of his Monica Lewinsky confession, U.S. President Bill Clinton could well benefit politically from some martial derring-do and a swift response to the latest anti-American terrorist outrage. At the very least, Washington will be tracking bin Laden's movements closely. And the day may come when he finally drops his guard. pathfinder.com