Bin Laden denies committing US attacks (but says he supports it)

ZDNetAsia ^ | Wednesday September 12, 1:16 PM

[HAL9000]

Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who is accused of masterminding the 1998 bomb attack on the US embassy in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, has denied that he is behind Tuesday's attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Bin Laden contacted a Pakistani newspaper on Wednesday to say that he supported the attack, but was not involved, reported the BBC.

The denial will no doubt be welcomed by the Taliban government in Afghanistan, who have been sheltering bin Laden. They have denied that bin Laden is capable of launching such a complex operation.

However, US officials had said on Tuesday that the people who conducted attacks on New York and Washington that destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon may have had links to Saudi exile bin Laden or his organization.

Names of suspected "terrorists" with possible ties to bin Laden's organization were found on the passenger rosters of the hijacked planes, a government source had said. Throughout Tuesday, US officials have said the massive attacks by hijackers who crashed commercial airplanes into the buildings may be linked to bin Laden. An Arab journalist with access to bin Laden told Reuters in London that the Saudi exile had spoken of an "unprecedented attack" on US interests three weeks ago. US officials, however, said they had no knowledge such an attack was coming. "There was no advance warning of this," one unidentified official said.

Asked if he believed bin Laden was responsible, Senator Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican who is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: "A lot of things point to him."

"There are indications that people with links to bin Laden and the al Qaeda organization may have been responsible," an unnamed US official told Reuters. "There is reason to believe people with links to him may have been responsible for this."

US is still investigating whether the suicide bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen last year was tied to bin Laden.

But some intelligence analysts urged caution in making snap judgements about who was responsible for Tuesday's attacks, saying it could have been the work of other groups tied to the Middle East, angry over a perception that the United States supports Israel to the detriment of the Palestinians.

CNN reports that several groups, including Hamas, in the Middle East have denied responsibility.

President Bush, in the meanwhile, has said he would "make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them."

Reuters contributed to this report.

[Demidog]

On "them." Who them? Any them that wears a funny hat?

[the808bass]

Good point, but then it is also unusual for an act of terrorism to occur without anyone claiming responsibility for it.

As soon as reports were coming in, I thought that every Liberation front in the world would be running from this one. Why? Nobody wants to be the next parking lot. Not even Osama.

Tour Bus of Former Terrorist Camps
Guide: And on your right we have the stretch of pavement formely known as Camp Osama.

[AmericanCheeseFood]

22

New policy ...

Take their oil as well .

[AmericanCheeseFood]

We should turn countries that harbor any terrorist group into big pretty mirrors .

[exnavy]

death to Bin Laden and the Talisban.

[Mark17]

On "them." Who them? Any them that wears a funny hat?

Yes, that is correct. Nuc them till they glow.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

What We as Americans Can Do
1) Pray
2) Give blood and whatever else the Red Cross calls for.
3) Support our military and law enforcement.
4) Put aside political differences and UNITE,
no matter what we think of what President Bush
should or shouldn't do, say or not say.
4a)Save the political discussions until AFTER the crisis is handled.

HUNT DOWN AND
EXECUTE THOSE RESPONSIBLE!

UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL
God Bless America!

[stumpy]

Hey Osama, should I ever find myself in a "social" gathering that should include your son )(or even daughter in law, they DIE. I know how to do it.

[cgbg]

>why deny it.

You may be correct. That is something we should debate after we take out Bin Laden (for past deeds that have yet to be avenged). ;-)

[TwilightDog]

"Bin Laden denies committing US attacks (but says he supports it)"

Anyone effectively responsible for coordinating mass murder isn't going to morally scruple over lying.

I agree with the folks that are speculatively drawing a connection between this terrorist incident and China's designs on Taiwan and geo-political ascendancy. And if the Chinese are somehow not involved, it can serve their purposes anyway. Somehow I can picture Chinese pilot training for the terrorists.

[InterceptPoint]

It is UNHEARD OF to commit an act of terrorism and then deny involvement. On the contary. Usually after an attack, tons of terrorist organizations phone authorities to claim responsibility. The whole idea of terrorism is to draw attention to yourself and your cause. Why would you deny it?

That is the old model. In this case the mid-East roots of the terrorists will be established very quickly and that is apparently enough to send the message that they wanted to send. After that you just deny everything and live to fight another fight.

[Dan Day]

If someone could point to another case where the perpetrator of a terrorist attack denied involvement, I'm willing to learn.

Fox News listed about five such examples tonight.

All were Bin Laden's handiwork...

Committing terrorist acts and then not even telling anyone why he did it (or whether he did it) *IS* his M.O.

[jjbrouwer]

Kill the bastard.

[Jim Noble]

E=mc2