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Al Jazeera on the Tape: A Bad Cut & Paste Job?

Al Jazeera on the Tape: A Bad Cut & Paste Job?

Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit

The Osama Show: Bad Disinformation, Poorly Produced [It is bizarre that this videotape -- real or fake -- is the best that the US Government can do after months of ignoring constant pleas from all over the world for their "compelling evidence" of bin Laden's guilt, all the while bombing innocent Afghans. After initially promising the world they would produce their so-called "evidence," they stonewalled and instead assigned the British Government to manufacture a long document that is short on facts but heavy on inneuendo. That is not "evidence." If this tape is "evidence," and it's the best they've got, then they have nothing. Far from compelling, it's not even very "credible."

On the same day they release this videotape, which we are supposed to believe was miraculously found by the CIA in a private home in Jalalabad, the US Government is refusing to release to the US Congress documents on all kinds of other criminal investigations -- unrelated to bin Laden-- which were subpoenaed by a bi-partisan group of Congressional representatives. Bush Junior has now stepped into the role of Nixon II, invoking "executive privilege" to deny the legislative branch of the Government information it requires to do its job. Rep. Dan Burton, a member of the illegitimate President's own party, has threatened to take Bush to court for contempt of Congress over this outrageous behavior.

If anyone cares to look at their piece of embarrassingly bad video disinformation, go see it at abcnews.com. Decide if you can hear it or, for that matter, if you can even identify the major player with any confidence as Osama bin Laden. -- NY Transfer] * Story from Al Jazeera; www.aljazeera.net/news/america/2001/12/12-13-3.htm English machine translation by Ajeeb.com edited by NY Transfer Thursday 28/9/1422 Hijri Thursday, 13 December 2001 18:39 GMT

Pentagon releases videotape of Bin Ladin about the attacks Tape marked by bad sound and picture

* The English translation of the tape attributes to Bin Laden his saying that he did not expect a complete collapse of the two trade center towers and that those who carried out the attacks did not know their mission until they were about to board the hijacked planes.

* A researcher in Islamic affairs tells Aljazeera that the tape is fabricated and that the words of congratulation on it come from the occasion of the marriage of Bin Laden's child.

* Christopher Ross, a US State Department consultant, admits the English translation is not accurate, confirming that he replayed the tape fifty times while working on the translation. The US Department of Defense has released a videotape "proving" that Osama bin Laden was involved in the September 11 attacks on the United States. According to the tape, which has very bad sound and picture quality, bin Laden says he expected that only three or four stories of the world trade centre towers in New York would be destroyed, not expecting the complete collapse of the two towers.

In the tape, which was broadcast with muffled sound accompanied by English translation, bin Laden said that he believed that the fire in the plane would result in the collapse of the iron infrastructure of the world trade center and consequently the part of the building above where the plane crashed would collapse.

bin Laden, who seems to be speaking to his assistants, added that he anticipated the number of "enemy" killed because of his field experience. According to the tape, he confirmed that those who carried out the September 11 attacks did not know the details of the operation until they were boarding the planes they hijacked, saying that Muhammad Atta was the one in charge of the group which carried out the attacks.

Bin Laden said in the tape that he told his associates when the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center in New York that they should be patient, revealing his knowledge of other hijacked planes. He said that he had been informed in advance of the operation's date and that after work, he listened to the radio with his assistants.

He said that it was half past five local time in Afghanistan when he heard news about the plane crashing into the World Trade Center tower and he began to listen to the broadcast where the crash was announced at the end of the bulletin.

Analysts Comment

Aljazeera hosted a number of analysts to comment on the content of the tape which the US navy found in Afghanistan, according to Washington. [Note: the "find" has been variously attributed to the US Army, the Navy, the "military" and of course to the CIA, which is operating in military drag in Afghanistan, and which is undoubtedly the true source of this Crusade Production.--NY Transfer.]

One specialist in Islamic affairs, Hani Al Sibaei, described the video tape as "fabricated and a scandal for the greatest democratic country in the world."

In a telephone call with AlJazeera from London, he noted the congratulatory wishes on the tape and bin Laden's happy expression, and said that this segment of the tape was taken from a tape of Osama bin Laden being congratulated on the marriage of his child to the child of Aiman Al-Zawaheri -- an event that took place four years ago.

The expert said that it boggles the mind that an organization like AlQaeda would create such simple-minded videotapes and then leave them behind in a private home. He added that bin Laden has twice denied involvement in the attacks and said that he had sworn to Mullah Mohamed Omar, leader of the Talban movement, that the AlQaeda organization pledged it would not plan attacks against other countries from inside Afghanistan.

In contrast, Christopher Ross -- a consultant hired by the US State Department -- says that the tape is genuine and not a fabrication. In a conversation with AlJazeera, he acknowledged he had to replay the tape tens of times in order to hear the conversation because the sound was so bad. He also indicated that in order to improve the translation, he then replayed the tape another 50 times with the translator. He confirmed that the translation is not literal, because of the poor quality of the original tape's sound. Ross said that he considered the tape "proof" that bin Laden had considerable knowledge of the details of the attacks on America, and that he was shocked when he saw bin Laden rejoicing over the attack on the buildings and the murder of people.

* Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive * From: NY-Transfer-News@tania.blythe-systems.com  * Subject: Al Jazeera on the Tape: A Bad Cut & Paste Job? * Date: 13 Dec 2001 18:03:52 -0600

source: Al Jazeera Channel + agencies 
... BernieW,12/17

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Bush's inexperience is showing

Dire threats emanating from Washington have horrified America's allies 
Crusades are messy, bloody affairs, and it's often hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys.

Exhibit A: Afghanistan, where the United States just suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the wily Russians. Happily for the White House, neither the media nor the American public understand what just happened. They continue to cheer on the president, who is mighty thankful he is leading a jolly little war against Muslims instead of having to explain to voters why the economy is nose-diving and hundreds of thousands are losing their jobs.

The Northern Alliance is not a merry band of pro-American freedom fighters battling the wicked Taliban, but a Russian front organization run by leaders of the revived Afghan Communist party. It has also reopened the heroin trade the Taliban had shut down.  Much more....
http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/margolis.html 
... libertyman, 12/08

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A New War

Bush Wants Iraq to Let Weapons Inspectors Back

A Just Cause, Not a Just War

I believe two moral judgments can be made about the present "war": The September 11 attack constitutes a crime against humanity and cannot be justified, and the bombing of Afghanistan is also a crime, which cannot be justified.

And yet, voices across the political spectrum, including many on the left, have described this as a "just war." One longtime advocate of peace, Richard Falk, wrote in The Nation that this is "the first truly just war since World War II." Robert Kuttner, another consistent supporter of social justice, declared in The American Prospect that only people on the extreme left could believe this is not a just war.

I have puzzled over this. How can a war be truly just when it involves the daily killing of civilians, when it causes hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children to leave their homes to escape the bombs, when it may not find those who planned the September 11 attacks, and when it will multiply the ranks of people who are angry enough at this country to become terrorists themselves?

This war amounts to a gross violation of human rights, and it will produce the exact opposite of what is wanted: It will not end terrorism; it will proliferate terrorism .... More
.... article by Howard Zinn in current Progressive, posted by Libertyman 11/25

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US VIOLATING INTERNATIONAL LAW, AGAIN

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War in Afghanistan- 47 questions and answers

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BUZZFLASH WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR OCTOBER 22. 2001

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10/10/01

IN THIS ISSUE: A fear that Afghanistan may revert to "warlord-ism" in an analysis of how the U.S. "endgame" needs to be fast as Ramadan and the winter sets in—also the "Powell doctrine" of overwhelming blitz is out and replaced by "no exit strategy" by Rumsfeld who equates this action with the Cold War—which last 50 years; Stratfor Forecast says flat out that fighting will continue after the Taliban is ousted and will hinder finding Bin Laden—predicts "costly, lengthy, and doomed" engagement; Family of exiled Afghan king is now warning Pakistan to forget about picking a leader in Afghanistan; Simmering opposition in Pakistan is gearing up for jihad and sending fighters into Afghanistan; An analysis of groups readying for jihad says they couldn’t overthrow the Pakistani government before the U.S. strikes against Afghanistan because moderate public opinion hadn’t been galvanized—now all bets are off…meanwhile, there are rumors of thousands in tribal areas being organized to fight a guerilla war and an "eerie silence" among militant wings of the religious parties; Pakistan and India are at each others throats to the point where the U.S. is concerned about their disrupting the coalition efforts.

************************************************************

The International News, Pakistan

October 9, 2001

AFGHANISTAN MAY REVERT TO WARLORDISM

News Analysis By Amir Mateen

WASHINGTON:…Many Afghanistan pundits worry that in the absence of international forces replacing the Taliban vacuum, there is a possibility of the country reverting back to 'warlord-ism' of pre-Taliban days. The latest military campaign is not necessarily going to be to a short, surgical operation as hoped by Pakistan and several other Muslim countries apprehending domestic resistance. It seems the Americans will not take chances of leaving any military resistance on ground that might increase their casualties during a possible ground operation.

At this stage, the Americans are keeping mum of what they want to do operationally. But it seems clear from Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's Monday statement that the much-vaunted Powell doctrine is out. The purest examples of the Powell doctrine were the 1989 invasion of Panama, when the United States military stormed the country in a several-day blitz and captured its leader, Manuel Noriega, and then restaged it 1991 war with Iraq.

Basically, what it says is that if American forces are to be used they should be overpowering and decisive. It should be like a thunderstorm, furious but brief and, preferably, with no entangling commitments. But if Rumsfeld's Monday interview is any guide, the first casualty of the 'fourth Afghan war' is the Powell doctrine.

"Unconventional approaches, obviously, are more likely and appropriate than the typical conventional approach," Rumsfeld said about Afghanistan. "There are not high- value targets. There aren't navies to attack. There are not lands to occupy and hold." More generally, Rumsfeld has likened the fight against terrorism to the strategy the United States had for containing Soviet power during the cold war.

In a most un-Powell- like statement, he warned that there was no clear exit strategy. "The cold war, it took 50 years, plus or minus," Rumsfeld said. "It did not involve major battles. It involved continuous pressure and cooperation by a host of nations. And when it ended, it ended not with a bang, but through internal collapse."

The very comparison of medieval-like Taliban forces with the mighty Soviet Union shows the American bent to kill the fly with a sledgehammer. Their best hope is that the combination of the psychological shock of the air strikes, bribes to anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan covertly supported by Washington and sheer opportunism will lead many of the Taliban's fighters to put down their arms and defect. But they are not willing to take any chances.

The difficult phase will involve hunting down Osama bin Laden and helping the anti-Taliban foes within Afghanistan install a new government. Even the most enthusiastic Defence expert on major TV networks agreed that the Americans cannot achieve their objective -- the destruction of the Taliban regime by proxy -- by air power alone. This can take weeks and months.

Despite wooing the Northern Alliance and dissident Taliban Commanders, arranging political accommodations, supplying weapons and money, somebody will ultimately need to go on ground. Since there are political consequences of long, sustained air strikes, particularly in the wake of wide-spread demonstrations in neighbouring Pakistan, the end-game needs to be fast.

With Ramadan and winter in Afghanistan both approaching in November, it has to between now and then, says pundits. Stratfor, an online intelligence service, opines that the fall of Kabul is not the key. Even the fall of Kandahar is not critical. This will disperse the Taliban over the countryside, making the operations to destroy their armed forces more difficult. A simultaneous ground assault by a broad coalition of Taliban enemies, coupled with the US air campaign, would

have been ideal.

In a sense it was a question of the chicken versus the egg. The chicken, a commitment by the Taliban opposition to fight under US guidance, and the egg, belief in Washington's genuine commitment, forced an early air assault, says Stratfor. Washington is now trying to alter the power equation in Afghanistan by covert assistance to their opposition and overt military attacks against the Taliban's military abilities.

These are relatively traditional missions. The test will be in tracking down Osama Bin Laden. According to the Rumsfeld doctrine, now in operation, force alone is not sufficient. The Bush administration's broader aims, he said, depend on obtaining good intelligence from allies in the region, cutting off money to the Taliban and winning support from anti- Taliban forces inside Afghanistan.

http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/oct2001-daily/09-10-2001/main/main12.htm

***The Stratfor Forecast site is flat out predicting continued fighting even after the Taliban are removed which could doom efforts to root out Bin Laden:

CONFLICT WILL FOLLOW TALIBAN’S FALL 1630 GMT, 011009

Summary

The United States has begun its military campaign in Afghanistan without first forging a post-Taliban regime. Although opposition forces will take advantage of U.S. air strikes to attempt to drive the Taliban from power, this will only usher in another round of fighting among the victors.

Because the United States needs a friendly and stable regime in Kabul to facilitate its primary mission of rooting out Osama bin Laden and his Afghan Arabs, it will find itself drawn into an attempt at nation-building in Afghanistan. This is an intractable problem that could draw the United States into a lengthy, costly and ultimately doomed engagement in Afghanistan at the expense of its primary mission.

(MORE)

http://www.stratfor.com/home/0110091630.htm

***As a further indication of the tensions involved in creating a stable government in Afghanistan, the ex-royal family is sending out warning signals about any involvement by Pakistan (as described in a prior WMW on October 5, Pakistan has been trying to find it’s own replacement for the Taliban ruler.)

The Kajheel Times out of Dubai, U.A.E, picks up this story from the Agence France Press network:

AFGHAN EX-ROYAL FAMILY WARNS PAKISTAN OF INTERFERENCE

ROME - Afghanistan's former royal family has warned neighbouring Pakistan not to try to play a kingmaker's role if the Afghan ruling Taliban regime collapses under internal and external pressure.

General Abdul Wali, a senior aide and son-in-law of the former Afghan monarch, Mohammed Zahir Shah, told AFP on Tuesday that the ex-king has however nominated a delegation to travel to Pakistan in a week's time. "Nobody has the right to interfere in our Afghan policy," he warned. The delegation will discuss the situation after the United States launched military strikes against the Taliban militia and prime terror suspect Osama bin Laden.

The move responds to a request from Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, who invited Zahir Shah to send a team to Islamabad to discuss a post-Taliban scenario….

…"The delegation will exchange views on the two countries' bilateral relations," Wali said. He also warned Pakistan not to interfere in Afghanistan's internal affairs by favouring one Afghan ethnic group against another. "Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Hazaras, Nooristanis and others constitute the Afghan people," he said.

"It is the job of the Afghan people and only the Afghan people to determine the future government of Afghanistan. We have no consultations with others," he said after attending a session of Zahir's associates and other exiled Afghan dignitaries here. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has warned that the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance would manipulate a vacuum likely to be created once the religious militia administration, controlling 90 percent of the country, starts crumbling under the US military thrust…

…Pakistan, which backed the Taliban as strategic partners until the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States, has also a Pashtoon minority living in its tribal belt on Afghanistan's borders. It is concerned that a government hostile to Islamabad will emerge if non-Pashtoon ethnic groups in Afghanistan came to power.

Wali, also a Pashtoon like the rest of the ex-royal family, rejected Pakistan's concerns, saying Afghanistan was a multi-ethnic society. "Pashtoons, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Hazaras, Nooristanis and others constitute the Afghan people," he said.

In a statement released after the first wave of US and British strikes in Afghanistan on Sunday night, Zahir Shah has called upon the United States to respect Afghanistan's integrity while retaliating against bin Laden and the Taliban positions…(MORE).

– AFP http://www.khaleejtimes.co.ae/subcont.htm - story11

***Meanwhile, The International News out of Pakistan is reporting on the opposition to that is simmering in the country, including many calls for "jihad":

ATTACKS TERMED AGGRESSION AGAINST AFGHANS

NASEERULLAH BABAR SAYS PAKISTAN’S 28-YEAR EFFORTS IN AFGHANISTAN WASHED AWAY By our correspondent

PESHAWAR: People from different walks of life throughout the NWFP Monday expressed deep resentment over the US and its allies' air attacks on Afghanistan and termed it as direct aggression on the poor Muslim country.

Chief of National Awami Party Pakistan (NAPP) Ajmal Khattak said the attacks would further devastate Afghanistan and asked for immediate halt to it. He said for restoration of lasting peace in the region a solution must be found according to the traditions and values of Afghan culture. Ajmal feared spill over of the war to the neighbouring countries and said that in order to resolve the issue a representative Jirga should be convened….

…Leader of Pakistan People's Party and former interior minister Maj Gen (retd) Naseerullah Babar expressed deep resentment over the US attacks on Afghanistan and condemned Pakistan government's support to them. He said it was very unfortunate that all efforts of Pakistan for the past 28 years were washed away by a decision of a "coward leader".

He said the support of Northern Alliance to the US and its allies has further triggered the chances of Afghanistan's disintegration. He said these attacks would cause colossal losses to human lives, who are already ravaged by the continued decades long war…In Batkhela, Jamiat Ahle Hadith Nooristan leader Maulana Taj Muhammad Nooristani of Afghanistan said the US attacks on Afghanistan will further increase the anger against America in the Muslim world….

…A meeting held at Darul Uloom Zargari was attended by religious scholars from Orakzai, Kurram, Khyber, North Waziristan and South Waziristan agencies. It was decided that all ulema would work

under the leadership of Mualana Fazlur Rahman to prepare people for jihad in Afghanistan. Leader of Pakistan People's Party (Sherpao) Sikandar Hayat Sherpao expressed concern over the US attacks on Afghanistan but said these were inevitable due to the inflexible attitude of the Taliban regime. In a statement the younger Sherpao said the air strikes were aimed at targeting terrorist camps and their collaborators. He hoped the US-led coalition would adopt all precautionary measures and make the operation short and objective-oriented to ensure the safety of Afghan civilians. The PPP leader regretted the miseries of Afghan people, saying they should not be subjected to further sufferings. In Mingora, the Tehrik Nafaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi's central leader Maulana Sufi Muhammad termed the US attacks on Afghanistan as un-Islamic and said in these circumstances Jihad was mandatory on each and every Muslim….

…He said the TNSM has started preparations for sending youth for jihad to Afghanistan and was now registering names of volunteers. In Hangu, NWFP Amir of JUI Maulana Amanullah announced the waging of jihad against the US following its aggression on Afghanistan. He said the US aggression on Afghanistan has once again awakened the Muslims and there would be an open war against the US and its allies. Amanullah said President Musharraf was "the American puppet" and his decision has caused insecurity among the people…

http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/oct2001-daily/09-10-2001/national/n5.htm

***This analysis piece discusses the "eerie silence" that is surrounding the militant religious parties in Pakistan, the possible

The Asia Times October 8

THE ROVING EYE

MOMENT OF TRUTH FOR PAKISTAN’S JIHADIS

By Pepe Escobar

PESHAWAR - It's Saturday morning in Peshawar on the Pakistan-Afghan border and Maulana Fazlur Rahman is very angry. With his long white beard, orange-and-white turban and ultra-chic silk gold and brown robe over white shalwar kameez (tunic), the rotund leader of one of three factions of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) cuts a dashing and imposing figure.

Addressing a rally of at least 7,000 screaming Deobandi (school of thought) and pro-Taliban supporters, Rahman puts on an absolutely over-the-top performance. He lashes out at the US - "the biggest terrorist state of the world". He threatens to wage a jihad against America if

Afghanistan is attacked….

…Maybe the whole thing was a bit too much. A few hours later, the Musharraf government delivers its response: Fazlur Rahman is to be put under house arrest at his abode in Dera Ismail Khan, in the tribal areas, to become the first prominent pro-Taliban supporter to be detained in the country…

…But on the fringes, important clerics have only one question: what does Islam say in the case where there is an attack on a Muslim country by a non-Muslim power? One of the important clerics at the madrassa is none other than Rahman's brother, Maulana Atta-ur-Rahman…Maulana Atta agrees that the crackdown was expected - and that it will be countered with "dozens of demonstrations all over the NWFP and in Peshawar". He emphasizes that "we are friends of the Taliban. If the Pakistani government takes any steps against the Taliban, we will resist. We can do anything for them, even sacrifice our lives". In answer to the query, is there going to be a jihad?, Maulana Atta answers, "Yes, but against America only." He stresses that "politics is part of the jihad". For him, the "majority of the NWFP and the whole of Pakistan is against Musharraf's policies: in the event of an attack on Afghanistan, all Pakistanis will resist Musharraf also".

In his opinion, "the rulers of all Islamic countries are under pressure from America, acting as slaves for any kind of reason. But the common people totally disagree with these rulers." Regarding what were then the imminent US attacks, he said that should they occur, "the world will see what we will do". In other words, a jihad against America appears inevitable…

…A few hours later, after many a fiery speech inside the Madani mosque criticizing the Musharraf government and urging Muslims to fulfill their obligation and wage a jihad once America attacks Afghanistan, the rally finally paralyzes one of Peshawar's traditional bazaars. There seem to be as many foreign TV crews as participants. There are the inevitable bin Laden posters, denouncements of Musharraf, cries of jihad. These images of less than a thousand screaming diehards are now replaying non-stop all over the world. The impression is that these people are about to topple the government. Could they? Not really.

The militant wings of Pakistan's religious parties are, at least for the moment, eerily silent. For many moderate commentators, everything about them is nothing but a storm in a teacup. But their silence could mean the lull before the storm. The army in the past has seemed reluctant to face them head-on, but now apparently the gloves are off. And now is the moment of truth: Sunday night's American attacks are supposed to be met with a jihad. Interviews with Afghan immigrants or refugees in the tribal areas, and with the local NWFP Pashtun population, reveal that a jihad is the only solution. Some echo the JUI call that if the Pakistani government helps the Americans, the jihad will be directed against it as well.

There have been widespread reports for days in the tribal areas of thousands being mobilized and armed to fight alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan, in what certainly will develop into a bloody guerrilla warfare. Hardcore religious militants number several thousand. They know how to deal with light and heavy weapons, and explosives. Their suicide squads are supposed to be extremely dangerous. There is also a substantial faction of religious militants inside the Pakistani army which could cause havoc with Musharraf's plan of silencing the religious parties.

So far the pro-Taliban position of the different factions of the JUI has failed to galvanize moderate Pakistani public opinion. But all bets are off now with the first attacks already having taken place, and depending on the scale and ferocity of further attacks on the Taliban, and above all, Pashtun Afghanistan.

http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CJ06Df02.html

***While Pakistan deals with internal dissent, it is also involved in a situation of rising tension with India and the U.S. has taken notice:

October 9 Pioneer News Service/New Delhi

PERVEZ BREAKS ICE WITH ATAL

In a day of fast-moving developments, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf began by verbally assaulting India at a news conference in Islamabad and ended with a longish telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. For most of the day, the Pakistani establishment battled rioters on the streets of Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi who turned out in large numbers to agitate against President Musharraf's support for the US-led military action in Afghanistan.

In a surprise move, President Musharraf called Mr Vajpayee Monday evening within 24 hours of the first US-led attack on Afghanistan only to be told that if Kashmir is Pakistan's single-point agenda, there cannot be much progress in India-Pakistan bilateral relations.

Ever since Mr Vajpayee sent a rather terse note to US President George Bush last week warning the US, and by extension, Pakistan, that India's patience was not infinite, there has been apprehension in Western quarters that India could act on the cross-border terrorism issue. President Musharraf's call to the Indian Prime Minister apparently comes under pressure from Washington, with the US President telling the Pakistani leadership not to attempt anything that would rock the Washington-led coalition in Afghanistan…

…Mr Vajpayee, in categorical terms, told the Pakistani President that in the perpetration of terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir, particularly in the context of the Srinagar car bomb blast last week, "your Government has done nothing." President Musharraf attempted to assuage Mr Vajpayee by saying that his Government was inquiring into the incident. President Musharraf is also understood to have told Mr Vajpayee that the resurrected bilateral dialogue process between the two countries ought to continue. At this point he was reminded by Mr Vajpayee that Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism in J&K was not conducive to a progressive relationship. Clearly, the Indian leadership has conveyed to Islamabad that terrorism and diplomacy cannot go hand in hand. http://www.dailypioneer.com/secon2.asp?cat=\story1&d=FRONT_PAGE

http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CJ06Df02.html

BUZZFLASH WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR OCTOBER 8, 2001

The latest news from the DEBKAfile at www.debka.com…Again, information from this site may not be 100% accurate, but we are providing these stories because, in the past, reports from this site have often been borne out…

TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS DEPLOYED

6 October: DEBKAfile's military and intelligence sources report that Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin, in a single 70-minute conversation on September 23, eleven days after the terrorist assaults in New York and Washington, agreed on the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons. This is an epic shift in the global balance of strength.

 Putin gave the nod for US forces poised in Central Asia to jump into Afghanistan to be armed with tactical nuclear weapons, such as small neutron bombs, which emit strong radiation, nuclear mines, shells, and other nuclear ammunition suited to commando warfare in mountainous terrain.

In return, Bush assented to Russia deploying tactical nuclear weapons units around Chechnya after Moscow’s ultimatum to the rebels, some of whom are backed by Osama Bin Laden, to surrender, went by without response. (More)

Over the last week, I’ve been wondering why things were very quiet in the Chinese press. Today, I again searched around several Chinese sites and found no reports of Chinese involvement (the biggest story was China’s gaining its first World Cup berth). However, Debkafile is reporting this story:

CHINIA MOVES FORCES INTO AFGHANISTAN

October: Before even the launching of the major US military offensive in Afghanistan, long Chinese convoys were carrying armed Chinese Muslim servicemen through northwest China into Afghanistan, according to DEBKAfile’s intelligence experts.

 They were sent in to fight alongside the ruling Taliban and Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda.  Their number is estimated roughly between 5000 and 15,000. Our sources report another three convoys are behind the first 3000, who crossed the frontier Friday, October 5.

 They are entering Afghanistan along the ancient Krakoram Road to the Afghan-Pakistani border, through the Kulik Pass of Little Pamir, which is situated in one of the highest and most remote regions of the world. Beijing is deploying this force in two places:

 A.  Whakyir, the Kirgyz tribal encampment near the Little Pamir-Tadjik frontier, opposite the swelling concentration of US and Russian Special Forces and air strength. (More)

 B. Jalalabad in north Afghanistan, at the foot of the Hindu Kush range. DEBKAfile’s Chinese sources reveal that, immediately after the terrorist strikes in the United States on September 11, the Chinese intelligence service, MSS, handed in to the defense ministry in Beijing their estimation that the United States would go to war to overthrow the Taliban regime, for the sake of which it would sign a pact with Russia. The Chinese leadership viewed this eventuality as the most significant shift in the global balance since the 1962 Chinese-Russian feud, with dangerous implications for China’s world standing and its interests in Central and Southwest Asia. They decided it must be counteracted.

 The only satisfactory outcome of the Bin Laden crisis in Chinese eyes is the redeployment of Japanese-based US troops to the Persian Gulf, when the Kitty Hawk carrier moved the 3^rd Marines Division out of Okinawa last week.

 Chinese intelligence did not miss the absence of fighters and reconnaissance craft on her decks. The planes stayed behind, but the very fact that the Kitty Hawk is no longer within operational range of the Straits of Taiwan leaves the disputed island with diminished protection.

 Beijing also took note of additional US military movements, including the Army’s 10^th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, New York and that of another formerly Pacific-based unit, the 25^th Infantry Division, out of Hawaii to the Persian Gulf.

 According to DEBKAfile ’s Far East experts, the removal of substantial US military strength from the Pacific Rim opened the way for Chinese intervention in Afghanistan and its effort to slow down the US-Russian advance.

 NOTE: We reported the departure of U.S. Navy amphibious units from Japan in a previous World Media Watch.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Just before attacks on Afghanistan begin, The Observer reports the FBI still warning about widespread military strikes. Why?

 Because if after bombing Afghanistan into smithereens we still don’t catch Bin Laden, then "it would be like kicking open a hornet’s nest."

Meanwhile, the Afghan News Network reports via Reuters that Bin Laden could have as many as 4 "doubles" roaming the countryside; In the previous WMW we reported on the efforts to re-install the former king of Afghanistan in a new government—but the former number 2 official in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Terrence Burke, says the king was surrounded by people involved in the drug trade and the Northern Alliance as well as Bin Laden also profit from heroin trafficking; how the war on terrorism will tie in with the war on drugs—a Stratfor Intelligence report details the Bin Laden connection to East Africa—drug arrests made September 29 in Uganda may be tied to Bin Laden; finally, a terrible example of how bad U.S. security was before the

WTC—how Mohammed Atta boarded one of the planes with a passport from the "Republic of Conch."

**************************

**The Observer (London) reports that the FBI wary of strikes right up to just before they started:

KILL BIN LADEN OR RISK CATASTROPHE, SAYS FBI

War on Terrorism: Observer special

Ed Vulliamy in New York Sunday October 7, 2001 The Observer Investigators tracking Osama bin Laden have emerged as a cogent voice of caution over widespread United States military strikes against Afghanistan.

There is pressure in America for action to match the rhetoric of President George Bush and others during the first weeks of the crisis, but one official from the security services said: 'This is not a war that will be won by impatience.'

But those charged with the most onerous task of all - killing or catching the world's most wanted man - acknowledge that widespread military action might crush the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which protects their target.

But, say sources in the intelligence community, the FBI and those preparing the legal case against bin Laden at the Justice Department, if such act