Posted on 03/11/2003 7:23:47 AM PST by dead
Pakistan has hinted that it is closing in on Osama bin Laden, with its ambassador to the United States saying "some bigger fish" may be captured soon.
Speaking at an anti-terrorism forum in Washington on the recent arrest of al-Qaeda's right-hand man, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi said: "There is reason to believe that hopefully in the future we might even have some bigger fish captured and we will get on top of this problem of terrorism as such."
Mr Qazi's comments were unusually frank and follow statements by Pakistani intelligence officials that an al-Qaeda suspect arrested last week in Peshawar had been in contact with bin Laden. The suspect, known only as Masood, was reported to be either Afghan or Egyptian.
The Pakistani officials also said on Monday that Mohammed had told interrogators he met bin Laden in December, but refused to say where. They said Mohammed was suffering from a high fever during three days of interrogation by a joint US-Pakistani team before being transferred to US custody at an undisclosed location.
During the first two days Mohammed was unco-operative but on the third day he "started divulging information on his contacts inside and outside Pakistan", including a meeting with bin Laden in December, one of the officials said.
One official said that on the basis of the interrogation and other evidence, investigators believed bin Laden was alive.
Since Mohammed's arrest a series of raids have netted 10 more suspects. Mohammed is believed by US intelligence to be the chief planner of the September 11 attacks and al-Qaeda's military commander. He also had close links to al-Qaeda's South-East Asian cells.
Pakistan has been anxious to claim credit for the arrests after US reports portrayed Mohammed's capture as a joint US-Pakistani operation.
Mr Qazi told the forum at George Washington University that Pakistan had taken "the major role in tracking down and arresting and detaining and handing over large numbers of suspects". He said a total of 500 arrests had been made.
Twice he said Pakistan hoped to catch "bigger fish", adding: "If there are such bigger fish in the pond within the area in which we operate they will certainly be captured because Pakistan is not a safe place, not a safe haven for any al-Qaeda or any terrorists."
Documents and computers seized at the time of Mohammed's arrest also produced leads, as did two other suspects who were taken into custody at the time.
US Special Forces have reportedly joined the hunt for bin Laden on the Pakistani-Afghan border and are working closely with the Pakistan military. But given bin Laden's success at eluding capture, US officials have been anxious to play down reports that he is close to being caught.
The US President, George Bush, has been intensely frustrated by the failure to capture bin Laden and no longer refers to him. White House officials were quick to deny reports last week that bin Laden's sons had been captured.
And worth every penny!
Pakistan stops protecting bin Laden in exchange for no invasion of Iraq.
What would be your decision?
There are only hours to decide.
$30 milion for OBL would be real cheap, especially if he is taken alive.
Then again, maybe we can take care of both at once!! Wouldn't that be somethin'!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.