"The current trial of Usama Bin Laden and others for the August 7, 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar al-Salaam, Tanzania, has shed new light on the efforts of Bin Laden and his terrorist organization, Al-Qa’ida (“The Base”), to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Prosecution witness Jamal Ahmad al-Fadl detailed his efforts to assist Bin Laden in an attempt to acquire uranium, presumably for the development of nuclear weapons, from a source in Khartoum, Sudan, in late 1993 or early 1994. Although Bin Laden has made statements in the past regarding his interest in acquiring weapons of mass destruction for a jihad (holy war) against the West, Al-Fadl’s testimony—if it proves to be credible and accurate—provides important evidence of his actions to do so.
Although the information that Al-Fadl revealed in the trial has probably been known for some time by the U.S. government, it adds important new information to the public domain on the efforts of Bin Laden and Al-Qa’ida to acquire nuclear weapons, including specific names and places. CIA Director George Tenet, addressing the U.S. Congress on February 7, 2001, referred to Bin Laden as one of the leading threats to U.S. national security at home and abroad. It is therefore important to understand this threat in a realistic and accurate manner."
CLINTON DECLARES HIS WAR ON OSAMA BIN LADEN
Bin Laden’s New Threats
"Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security David Carpenter on Wednesday briefed reporters on threats to U.S. facilities, highlighting the threat bin Laden and his organization pose. Here are excerpts of his prepared remarks:
“From August 1998 to the end of January 1999, U.S. diplomatic facilities received over 650 threats related to the Osama bin Laden organization (UBLO) and the east African bombings, and these threats were received on every continent. We emphasize that this figure does not include threats from indigenous terrorist groups, state sponsors of terrorism, or threats generated from U.S. foreign policy or military actions such as those involving Serbia and Iraq …
“The UBLO has been the primary generator of threat information against U.S. diplomatic facilities overseas. As I mentioned, over 650 threats have been linked to this organization or to the east African bombings since 1998. Our analysts believe that about 33 percent of these threats are ‘viable’ threats, that is, they are either logical, consistent with previous reporting of UBLO tendencies, or based on credible intelligence reports or walk-ins.
“Currently, the UBLO appears to be the most dangerous terrorist threat to U.S. diplomatic facilities and personnel overseas. This organization reportedly has a presence in over 25 countries and its tentacles may spread to many more. It is dangerous because it has a potentially global reach, it appears well-financed, it has the protection of one and possibly two states, it has a dedicated cadre, it engages in suicide attacks, it has an avowedly anti-American ideology, and it appears to have plugged into or provides support to over a half-dozen indigenous terrorist groups around the world.”
In Africa, diamond profits are forever
U.S. support for official Angola terror
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