Rumsfeld: U.S. Will Go After Nations Harboring Terror

Reuters Wire Service ^ | September 16, 2001 09:51 AM ET

[~Vor~]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Sunday the "terrorist network" responsible for the attacks on America is "bigger than one person" and the United States will go after countries that harbor "terrorists" and their organizations.

"We have no choice," Rumsfeld said on the "Fox News Sunday" program. "Either the United States acquiesces to the terrorists and becomes isolationist, turns inward, gives up our freedom ... We can't do that."

Echoing comments from other senior officials, the U.S. defense chief said "there is no question" Saudi-born militant leader Osama bin Laden was involved in Tuesday's attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon.

Bin Laden, believed to be living in Afghanistan, has denied involvement.

In acknowledging the difficulty of finding and bringing bin Laden to justice, and of retaliating against such individuals who have few hard assets to attack, Rumsfeld said the United States will pursue the perpetrators in a variety of ways.

"(Bin Laden) is a prime suspect.... (in a) large, multi-headed effort that probably spans 60 countries, including the United States. It is much bigger than one person, the problem is much broader," Rumsfeld said.

"If you do not have an army to go after or a navy to go after, you have to go after the network. And you have to then also go after the countries that are harboring," Rumsfeld said.

"Some of the countries that are harboring terrorist networks do in fact have high-value targets, they do have capitals, they do have armies," he added. "What we need to do is go to the countries that we have knowledge and tell then that it has to stop and if it does not stop, we have to help stop it."

He did not specify which countries the United States suspects of harboring its enemies.

Posted for educational and discussion purposes only. Not for commercial use.

[twntaipan]

Remember the Clancy book Rainbox Six? It was about a multinational quick strike force that was basically "turned loose" on terrorists? Maybe that's what is needed--for after we finish off Saddam and the Taliban.

[jlogajan]

Some of the countries that are harboring terrorist networks do in fact have high-value targets

Yeah, places like Afghanistan are actually the hardest nut to crack. If Afghanistan caves, a whole series of countries could cave without a shot being fired. I don't give it a high probability, but it is a possibility.