Posted on 12/27/2003 3:23:06 PM PST by Pan_Yans Wife
US seeks bin Laden here, there and everywhere
By Mark Huband and Mohsen Asgari Published: December 26 2003 18:43 | Last Updated: December 26 2003 18:43
Much of the story behind Saddam Hussein's eight months on the run has yet to be made public. But US military and intelligence officials say the Iraqi dictator never wandered far from the banks of the Tigris. Remaining within the Sunni heartland, he scrambled from one farmhouse to the next, sometimes by car or van, sometimes by boat.
By contrast, Osama bin Laden, leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist group, appears to have become far more adept at evading the manhunt.
The US is unshaken in its will to find its other most-wanted fugitive. Last week, General Richard Myers, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, vowed that Mr bin Laden "will be captured some day, just like we captured Saddam Hussein".
But Gen. Myers went on to say that the al-Qaeda leader was likely to be hiding "where he has some support, where he can buy support, and probably in very difficult terrain".
The common belief is that this terrain lies somewhere on the 1,500 mile (2,400km) wild and sparsely populated frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mr bin Laden and a handful of loyal followers could be anywhere in the high mountain passes or the tribal lands where the writ of neither Islamabad nor Kabul counts for much.
But sporadic and unconfirmed sightings of Mr bin Laden have also begun to crop up further afield. These include sightings in Kashmir, Pakistan's tribal areas and Baluchistan on the border with Iran.
Even if these do not amount to a reliable guide to his whereabouts, they are a tribute to his elusiveness. In one recent account, a man with links to Iran's intelligence services and hard-line Revolutionary Guard Corps (RGC) has told the Financial Times that he saw the al-Qaeda leader in Iran two months ago. He saw him arrive at an RGC guest house close to the small town of Najmabad, west of Tehran, on 23 October.
The al-Qaeda leader, accompanied by Ayman al-Zawahiri, his deputy, was being driven by RGC officers when they arrived at the guest house, a 90 minute drive from Tehran.
A meeting taking place in the building was suddenly halted to allow the two men to use it. The witness said both had subtly changed their appearances, with trimmed beards hair cut short. Neither was wearing their traditional turbans, he said, and both were dressed in Pakistani-style clothes and carrying long shawls across their shoulders.
Senior Iranian security officials strenuously deny the claims. The country is holding an unknown number of al-Qaeda activists, and has provided a list of names to the United Nations. But it has denied that any senior al-Qaeda figures are among those being held, and says those in the country are under house arrest. Hamid Reza Asefi, foreign ministry spokesman, said: "It is a baseless allegation and is not true at all. It is a fictitious interview with an unknown eyewitness. It is like a fantasy. Any group with any sort of interest does not back bin Laden in Iran, and he has no room in Iran."
The vehemence of the Iranian denial is a reflection of how serious the country - which George W. Bush, US president, defined as a part of an "axis of evil" - views any accusation that could make it a target of US action. Officials within the reformist government of President Mohamed Khatami also deny that Mr bin Laden has ever been in Iran. Mr Khatami's strong suspicion of al-Qaeda's Sunni fundamentalism has fed fears that Iran could itself become a target for Mr bin Laden's organisation.
The ewitness to the sighting near Najmabad did not think the government knew about the alleged visit, and said rogue hardliners in the RGC may have organised it independently.
But a senior Iranian security official said: "There have been so many similarly false stories that said bin Laden has been in Tabriz or Qazvin, but they were rumours. People tantalised by the $25m ) [offered by the US as a reward] have created these myths."
But western intelligence officials are less sure. One said the main focus of the search remained the Pakistani-Afghan border region but "it is not out of the question that he is in Iran, as we know he has been able to move around".
Those chasing Mr Hussein struggled to find him in the Sunni triangle, north of Baghdad. Those pursuing Mr bin Laden do not have the luxury of restricting their search to one district - or even to one country.
Ballgame.
Send in the 101st.
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