Bin Laden

Geciteerd de tekst van de FBI 'Ten Most Wanted Fugitives' lijst:

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MURDER OF U.S. NATIONALS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES; CONSPIRACY TO MURDER U.S. NATIONALS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES; ATTACK ON A FEDERAL FACILITY RESULTING IN DEATH

USAMA BIN LADEN

Date of Photograph Unknown

Aliases: Usama Bin Muhammad Bin Ladin, Shaykh Usama Bin Ladin, the Prince, the Emir, Abu Abdallah, Mujahid Shaykh, Hajj, the Director

DESCRIPTION

Date of Birth: 1957
Hair: Brown
Place of Birth: Saudi Arabia
Eyes: Brown
Height: 6' 4" to 6' 6"
Complexion: Olive
Weight: Approximately 160 pounds
Sex: Male
Build: Thin
Nationality: Saudi Arabian
Occupations: Unknown
Remarks: Leader of a terrorist organization known as Al-Qaeda "The Base".
He walks with a cane.
Scars and Marks: None

CAUTION

USAMA BIN LADEN IS WANTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE AUGUST 7, 1998, BOMBINGS OF THE UNITED STATES EMBASSIES IN DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA AND NAIROBI, KENYA. THESE ATTACKS KILLED OVER 200 PEOPLE.

CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS PERSON, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FBI OFFICE OR THE NEAREST U.S. EMBASSY OR CONSULATE.

REWARD

The United States Government is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Usama Bin Laden.

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His Vow: To Kill Americans

An Exclusive Interview with the World's Most Wanted Terrorist

Aug. 20 - His fatwa was clear: Americans must die, the sooner the better.

The threat, two months ago, was taken seriously: the State Department reinforced U.S. military bases and warned all Americans traveling in the Mideast to be extremely cautious.
U.S. troops will leave Saudi Arabia when Islamic terrorists "send the bodies of American troops and civilians home in wooden boxes and coffins," Osama bin Laden vowed in an exclusive interview with ABCNEWS Correspondent John Miller.
"We don't differentiate between those dressed in military uniforms and civilians. They are all targets in this fatwa."
Today, the United States struck at what it said were terrorist bases linked to him.

He Organized a Terror Summit

bin Laden recently convened a meeting of fundamentalist extremists and sponsors of terrorism. More than 150 clerics named themselves the "International Islamic Front for the Jihad against Jews and Crusaders," and issued a variety of fatwas. But bin Laden's is the one that most concerns U.S. security analysts.
A multi-millionaire who runs a private terror network of Islamic extremists from a hideaway in the mountains of Afghanistan, bin Laden threatened to attack American women and children as well as soldiers if necessary. He said his people were well-equipped, with an arsenal that includes surface-to-air missiles, and would strike within the next few weeks. One possible date: June 20, the anniversary of the bombing in al Khobar that killed 19 U.S. servicemen.
"Osama bin Laden may be the most dangerous non-state terrorist in the world and we certainly have discussed that with the Saudis, who will take every precaution," National Security Advisor Sandy Berger told ABCNEWS.

He Has a Global Reach

No idle talk from a man who has become a folk hero--as well as a principal funder of terrorist activity--for a growing number of Muslim extremists. bin Laden has been linked to almost every Muslim extremist movement in the world in the last five years, according to Vince Cannistraro, who tracked extremists around the globe when he was the counter-terrorism chief at the Central Intelligence Agency.
"He is a role model for a lot of Islamic militants in the world today. I mean, his personal story is so compelling to them," says Cannistraro, an ABCNEWS consultant.
bin Laden, an exiled Saudi national who now enjoys the protection of Afghanistan's hard-line Taliban regime, says the Saudi royalty has committed a crime against Islam by allowing the U.S. military to occupy bases in Saudi Arabia. bin Laden has committed himself--and his considerable wealth--to expelling all Americans and Jews from Muslim holy lands, and to overthrowing the Saudi royal family along the way.

A Track Record of Terror

Why does the U.S. take bin Laden's threats so seriously? First, he has money. His family's construction business is worth $5 billion. Second, he has experienced troops who fought with him on the front lines against the Russians in the Afghan war. Third, he has a track record.
U.S. intelligence officials believe bin Laden supplied the troops and rocket launchers that shot down U.S. helicopters in Mogadishu, Somalia in October 1993, killing 18 servicemen. They also believe he is behind the November 1995 bombing of a Saudi base in Riyadh that killed six Americans.
And he has been linked to Ramzi Yousef, the convicted mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing. Yousef was living in a guest house in Pakistan paid for by bin Laden at the time of his capture--a connection that lead the FBI to investigate whether bin Laden was also the mysterious source of money behind the bombing. Yousef had access to money from several bank accounts that traced from Jersey City to Pakistan, and investigators are trying to tie bin Laden to those accounts.
When asked about the Riyadh bombing and other specific attacks, bin Laden refuses to answer directly. But he does praise the bombers: "We look at these young men as great heroes and martyrs who followed the steps of the prophet, peace be upon him. We called and they answered."

Training Terror's Next Generation
It is what bin Laden can do for the Ramzi Yousefs of tomorrow that worries American authorities. The FBI believes that bin Laden has set up what is in essence a foundation, where any terrorist can apply for what amounts to a grant.
"That's why this is a new phenomenon," says Cannistraro. "It's not a state putting unlimited resources at the disposal of a group that only does the state's bidding's...A group can con someone like bin Laden for funds to carry out an operation on an individual basis. And he will do it as long as he thinks it fits in with his religious objectives."
Meanwhile, ABCNEWS has learned the FBI has been secretly talking with someone who knows a lot about bin Laden's operations--Wali Khan. Khan, who was convicted with Ramzi Yousef of plotting to blow up U.S. airliners over the Pacific, has told the FBI he was a key organizer for bin Laden's terrorist operations, including a plot to kill President Clinton and the Pope on their visits to Manila.

Stopping Him Won't be Easy
Asked if Khan was doing his bidding, bin Laden replied: "Wali Khan is a Muslim youth. In Afghanistan he was nicknamed 'The Lion.' He is one of the best youths. We were good friends. We fought together in the same trench against the Russians."
In recent speeches, President Clinton has taken a tough stance on terrorism, promising swift retaliation for attacks on U.S. citizens. And the State Department has been zeroing in on its seach for evidence with which to prosecute bin Laden for his involvement in various plots.
But until the federal grand jury hears enough evidence to indict bin Laden, he won't have to hide. And if the U.S. does charge him, it will be faced with the challenge of extracting him from his enclave in the remote Afghan mountains, where he is surrounded by as many as 3,000 followers with guns and rocket launchers. The initiative would be the largest of its kind since the U.S. mounted a small war in order to oust Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega.
In the meantime, the United States is bracing for whatever bin Laden may have planned.

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[Dit bericht is gewijzigd door aa op 11-09-2001 20:25]

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Op dinsdag 11 september 2001 20:10 schreef PocketRocket het volgende:
Het schijnt dat ie een paar weken terug uitspraken gedaan heeft die nogal in de richting van enorme aanslagen op Amerika zouden duiden ....

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'Daders in kringen rond bin-Laden'

De daders van de aanslagen in de VS moeten gezocht worden in de kringen van de Saudische miljonair en terrorisme-verdachte Osama bin-Laden, heeft een anonieme VS-ambtenaar gezegd tegen persbureau Reuters.

De verantwoordelijkheid voor de aanslagen in de VS is nog niet opgeëist. De Afghaanse Taliban heeft in een persconferentie categorisch ontkend dat bin-Laden, die in Afghanistan huist, enige betrokkenheid heeft bij de aanslagen. Ook woordvoerders van extremistische Palestijnse groeperingen hebben ontkend iets met de aanslagen te maken te hebben.

In juni van dit jaar werden Amerikaanse burgers overal ter wereld nog gemaand tot voorzichtigheid, vanwege dreigementen die bin-Laden zou hebben geuit. Osama bin-Laden zou drie weken geleden nog gewaarschuwd hebben voor aanslagen. Dat zegt de Arabische journalist Abdel-Bari Atwan, die in Londen werkt voor de krant Al-Quds al-Arabi.

Hamas

De radicaal-islamitische Palestijnse organisatie Hamas heeft bij monde van woordvoerder Abdel Aziz Rantiz ontkent iets te maken te hebben met de aanslagen. "Wij weten niet wie achter deze aanslagen steekt. Maar ik geloof niet, dat een of andere Palestijnse organisatie erbij betrokken is. Wij Palestijnen strijden tegen Israël, niet tegen onschuldige burgers", aldus Aziz Rantiz.

DFLP

Het internationale persbureau Reuters meldde kort na de aanslag op het WTC dat de Palestijnse groepering DFLP (het democratisch front voor de bevrijding van Palestina) zei verantwoordelijk te zijn voor de aanslag. Reuters meldde dat op basis van een televisiezender in Abu Dhabi. Maar een officiële woordvoerder van de DFLP, Kari Abdel Karim, sprak dit bericht daarna tegen.

PFLP

Ook een woordvoerder van de Palestijnse organisatie PFLP, het Volksfront voor de bevrijding van Palestina, verklaarde niets te maken te hebben met de aanslagen. Na de moord op PFLP-leider Abu Ali Mustafa door het Israëlische leger zijn in de Arabische media verschillende oproepen geweest om aanslagen te plegen op de VS.

Arafat

De Palestijnse president Yasser Arafat heeft de aanslagen veroordeeld. "Mijn sympathie en de sympathie van de Palestijnse burgers gaat uit naar de Amerikaanse president Bush, zijn regering en de Amerikaanse bevolking. Dit is een vreselijke actie", zei Arafat tegen journalisten in de Gazastrook.

Palestijnen

In Libanon en Israël vierden Palestijnen feest. Ze hebben vreugdesalvo's afgeschoten met hun wapens.

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[Dit bericht is gewijzigd door aa op 11-09-2001 20:54]