Posted on 10/14/2002 12:29:25 AM PDT by I_Love_My_Husband
13 Oct 2002 00:00 Outrage at Bali bombs, fingers pointed at al Qaeda By Dean Yates --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BALI, Indonesia, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Bomb blasts ripped through nightclubs on the resort island of Bali, killing at least 183 revellers, mostly foreign tourists, and triggering outraged calls for Indonesia to round up Muslim militants.
There were no publicised claims of responsibility or obvious clues to the identity of the perpetrators, more than 24 hours after the carnage. Fingers were pointed at Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, blamed for the September 11 attacks on the U.S.
"The world must confront this global menace, terrorism," U.S. President George W. Bush said. "And we must call this despicable act by its rightful name, murder." An FBI team was on its way to Bali to help in the blast investigation.
Overwhelmed hospitals in Bali struggled to care for hundreds of injured, many with horrific burns from the explosions near Kuta beach and the inferno that followed. There were shortages of medical supplies including pain-killers and saline solution.
Bodies of victims wrapped in white sheets filled the morgue of Bali's main hospital. Friends and relatives searched for missing loved ones in the wards.
Australia shuttled C-130 Hercules air force planes to Bali to evacuate injured nationals able to survive the trip. A group of more than 20 injured arrived in Darwin, northern Australia, some walking and others carried out on stretchers.
The most powerful of two blasts demolished the Sari Club, popular with young backpackers and surfers who flock to Kuta from all over the world, particularly Australia.
Asian neighbours have accused Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, of being reluctant to tackle Islamic extremists, despite evidence that the al Qaeda network has established a foothold in the sprawling archipelago.
"We would like to see a maximum effort on the part of the Indonesian government to deal with the terrorist problem within their own borders," Australian Prime Minister John Howard said after speaking to Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri by telephone.
"It's been a problem for a long time," he said.
FINGERS POINTED AT AL QAEDA
Analysts said the most likely perpetrator was a group linked to or inspired by bin Laden's al Qaeda.
"There are a number of reasons that you have to say that it might be them (al Qaeda), but we don't know that," a senior U.S. official said. "They've been in Indonesia... they're all running from Afghanistan. They've got to go some place."
Adding to pressure on Jakarta, the U.S. embassy said it was considering plans to start scaling back the American diplomatic presence in the country.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair was "horrified", a spokesman said. Britain offered to send an anti-terror team.
President Megawati, who flew to Bali after an emergency cabinet meeting, said the explosions were a warning that terrorism was a threat to national security. But she offered no clues on who authorities believed might be to blame.
"The Indonesian government will continue cooperation with the international community to overcome terrorism," she said.
Her chief security minister said troops had beefed up security around oil and gas facilities, some operated by foreign multinationals including Exxon Mobil, as well as mines for fear of further terrorist attacks.
Accompanied by several ministers, Megawati visited the smoking ruins of the Sari before stopping briefly at the 770-bed Sanglah Hospital, where she donned a surgical mask and visited burn victims.
Mark Donovan, a volunteer at a missing persons desk at the hospital, said the bulk of those unaccounted for were Australians. "But we have people from South Africa, Holland, Peru -- you name it," he said.
A noticeboard giving information on hospital admissions included a section called "Identity Unknown". One entry read: "Young girl in intensive care, 11-14 years old, face burned, in coma. Caucasian." Another read: "Girl in intensive care, about 5-½ years old, 130 cm, fair skin, caucasian with reddish brown hair. She has a purplish belly button ring."
YOUNG TOURISTS BURNED AND MAIMED
The explosions turned a throbbing strip of bars and discotheques near Kuta Beach into a scene of slaughter.
Badly burned youngsters in T-shirts and sandals stumbled dazed around streets scattered with bodies, severed limbs and the twisted wreckage of cars.
Another bomb went off 50 metres (yards) from the honorary U.S. consulate in Sanur, another tourist area about 30 minutes from Kuta. No one was hurt in that explosion.
Before dawn on Sunday, flames licked around the rubble of the Sari as tourists carried the injured away, many half-naked and moaning in pain.
Hospital staff said many dead were charred beyond recognition.
"It's nothing quite like anything I've ever seen -- there was more blood, the smell of burnt skin and the pain that they were in, you can't really put that into words," Melbourne tourist Martin Lyons told Australian television.
Police put the death toll at least 183 and said the victims included people from Australia, Britain, France, Germany and Sweden. At least 300 were injured.
Hanabeth Luke, a fair-haired 22-year-old from England, was mourning her boyfriend, a mechanic, killed as the two danced at the Sari.
"I was dancing to Eminem, enjoying the flow, when I heard the first bang. Many people stood still, then there was the second. It was an incredible force of wind and heat," she said.
"Somehow I managed to climb out through the roof. I was in the street in a complete daze, yelling out my boyfriend's name, but I had a strong feeling that he was dead," Luke said. Friends later told her his body had been found.
"I now have to ship my boyfriend home to England," she said.
Among those missing were members of rugby teams from Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia playing in an annual ten-a-side tournament.
MUSLIM CLERIC BLAMES U.S.
The blasts came on the second anniversary of the al-Qaeda linked attack against the USS Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen. They followed a bomb blast in Finland that killed seven people and wounded dozens.
The United States and Singapore, which has detained dozens of people in a crackdown on what it says is a Southeast Asian "terror" network, Jemaah Islamiah, have been pressing Indonesia to arrest Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir they describe as a pivotal player in the group.
At a news conference on Sunday, Bashir blamed the United States for the attacks.
"It would be impossible for Indonesians to do it," he said. "Indonesians don't have such powerful explosives."
"I think maybe the U.S. are behind the bombings because they always say Indonesia is part of a terrorist network." (Additional reporting by Joanne Collins, Telly Nathalia and Jerry Norton in Jakarta)
And how is it that a cleric (supposedly a man of God) knows what kind of explosives the Indonesians have in their possession.
And if he knows of Indonesians illegally in possession of explosives, isn’t it his duty to at the very least persuade them to turn in the explosives to the proper authorities.
After all Islam is a religion of peace.
The blasts came on the second anniversary of the al-Qaeda linked attack against the USS Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen. They followed a bomb blast in Finland that killed seven people and wounded dozens.
The United States and Singapore, which has detained dozens of people in a crackdown on what it says is a Southeast Asian "terror" network, Jemaah Islamiah, have been pressing Indonesia to arrest Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir they describe as a pivotal player in the group.
At a news conference on Sunday, Bashir blamed the United States for the attacks.
"It would be impossible for Indonesians to do it," he said. "Indonesians don't have such powerful explosives."
"I think maybe the U.S. are behind the bombings because they always say Indonesia is part of a terrorist network." (Additional reporting by Joanne Collins, Telly Nathalia and Jerry Norton in Jakarta)"
WorldNetDaily.com: "BIN LADEN'S BROTHER-IN-LAW TO BLAME FOR BALI?" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Did Osama bin Laden have anything to do with the weekend massacre in the Indonesian paradise of Bali? A report by DEBKAfile suggests bin Laden's brother-in-law, Mohammed Khalifa, was the mastermind.")(101402)
BBC NEWS: "IN PICTURES - HOLIDAY ISLAND HORROR" (NOTE: Photo Essay is regarding the bombings in Bali. Note 2: Various news reports are advising that as of today, at least 187 are dead (2 Americans included). Up to 300 people wounded, including 3 Americans.) (101302)
BBC NEWS: "FINLAND MALL BOMBER DIED IN BLAST" (ARTICLE NOTE: Up to 80 people injured, 7 dead. Many children were injured. ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The bomb, planted by a Helsinki University student, "was built to cause maximum damage", said a spokesman for Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen. The bomb contained 4lb (1.8kg) of explosive materials and a number of ball-bearings or similar materials which acted as shrapnel.") (101202)
JERUSALEM POST.com: "SUICIDE ATTACK AVERTED IN TEL AVIV" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The man, a Palestinian who was spotted by the security guards of the French embassy in Tel Aviv wearing an explosive belt, was stopped and stripped of the belt, the reports said.") (101102)
BBC NEWS: "INQUIRY LAUNCHED INTO YEMIN BLAST" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The owners of the tanker, Euronav, say they believe their vessel was deliberately rammed by a smaller boat. "In my opinion, this was a terrorist attack," Euronav director Jacques Moizan said. "The crew saw a high-speed vessel approaching on the starboard side. "An explosion followed with fire." All but one of the eight French and 17 Bulgarian crew members have been accounted for and many of them have been taken to hospital.") (100702)
YAHOO! NEWS - FULL COVERAGE: "EXPLOSION IGNITES FIRE ON FRENCH OIL TANKER OFF YEMEN" (AP SNIPPET: "(AP) - An explosion and fire engulfed a French oil tanker on Sunday off the coast of Yemen, and the tanker owner said a small boat struck the vessel in a "deliberate attack."...)(100602)
stepping back in time: OCTOBER 12, 2000: ATTACK ON THE USS COLE
GULF NEWS.com: "SONS OF YEMENI SPEAKER ARRESTED" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The press office of Yemeni Parliament Speaker, Sheikh Abdullah bin Hussein Al Ahmer, has confirmed that two of his sons are in custody for the shoot-out which took place near the British Embassy last Sunday. "Sheikh Abdullah regrets for what was circulated by media about the incident. Fallasies, exaggerations and lies have been circulated by some sick people," said a press release issued by the office.") (100302)
FOX NEWS.com: (AP): "YEMENI STUDENT SUSPECTED OF AIDING HIJACKERS SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS" (ARTICE NOTE: The Yemeni student is identified as Mohdar Abdullah, age 24, a former San Diego State University student. ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Abdullah, 24, acknowledged that he lied when he told an immigration officer that he entered the United States on Dec. 7, 1998, at New York on an Italian passport. In truth, he entered three days later from Canada on a Yemeni passport. The sentencing did not address the explosive allegations made in court documents that investigators suspect Abdullah helped three Sept. 11 hijackers who lived in San Diego in 2000.") (100202)
IDF.il Spokesperson's Unit: "PALESTINIAN ASSOCIATION: WE WILL PUNISH THOSE WHO PHOTOGRAPH ARMED CHILDREN" (082602)
A Closer Look at Terrorists..."PSYCHOTIC DEATH CULT PHOTO ALBUM"
YAHOO! News - Photo Gallery: "Suicide Bomber" (NOTE: Click on any of the numerous thumbnail photos to get THE BIG PICTURE.)
GOOGLE - Search Term: "HOMICIDE BOMBERS"
Discussion Forum - Topic: "Jihad in America"
"THE WEB OF TERROR: AN OVERVIEW OF TERRORISM"
FBI.gov: "MOST WANTED TERRORISTS"
ICT.org.il: "TERRORISM & COUNTER-TERRORISM"
IDF.il: News
ANANOVA.com: "TERRORISM"
ANANOVA.com: "WAR ON TERRORISM"
eFREEDOMnews.com: "WAR ON TERRORISM, AN AMERICA PERSPECTIVE"
PERSECUTION.org - INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN
PERSECUTION.com - VOICE OF THE MARTYRS
CAMPUS-WATCH.org
COLLEGE BRIEFING.org
One thing I would like to see people start doing is whenever they refer to Bin Laden or Hussein, do it like so- Osama bin Ladin (D-Saudi Arabia) or Saddam Hussein (D- Iraq) or Yassar Arafat (D- West Bank)- just like we do with their buddies- Daschle (D- S. Dakota) and Clinton (D- NY). I think it would be a good subtle message to send.
Prodigal Son (R- Scotland)
Amen and amen! You'll NEVER convince me it was the intent of the Founding Fathers to provide the death cult of Islam the same freedoms guaranteed other religions by the United States Constitution. What other religions call for the extermination of infidels? The Mormons? Jehovah's Witnesses? Catholics? Baptists? PUH-LEEZE! Islam is NOT a religion...it is a cult of death; nothing more, nothing less.
Of course he does...doesn't everyone these days? --even some half-brained Americans do!
It's the latest trend~
TWO outstanding posts in a row! Hanging labels on the opposition has LONG been a tactic of the G-dless, evil, socialist left, and it is HIGH time the tables were turned on them. I think the above strategy is certainly applicable, as it was reported that the Al'Qaeda boys in Lackawanna were registered democrats. If we took the time to do the research, we would probably find that Osama bin Laden voted for Gore; probably in several different states. Osama bin Laden (D - Saudi Arabia)...I love it. Hope other posters pick up on this. (What's with all these great minds active before sunrise, EST?)
Oops...Scotland. NEVER mind! :-)
Do we have covert agencies, or don't we!?
Start whacking these people! Come on! You can do it! And start with the ones in London.
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