US Government - Bin Laden and Iraq Agreed to Cooperate on Weapons Development

New York Times, Facts on File World News Digest | Novemeber 1998 | BENJAMIN WEISER

[tallhappy]

Breaking News from 1998. The US released an indictment on November 4, 1998 stating bin Laden and al Qaeda were working with the Saddam and the Iraqi regime to develop weapons of mass destruction.

What is all the pussyfooting about?

From New York Times and Facts on File -- articles from November 1998.

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Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company  
The New York Times
 View Related Topics 
November 5, 1998, Thursday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 1; Column 2; Foreign Desk 

LENGTH: 1093 words

HEADLINE: SAUDI IS INDICTED IN BOMB ATTACKS ON U.S. EMBASSIES

BYLINE:  By BENJAMIN WEISER 

BODY:
A Federal grand jury in Manhattan returned a 238-count indictment yesterday charging the Saudi exile Osama bin Laden in the bombings of two United States Embassies in Africa in August and with conspiring to commit other acts of terrorism against Americans abroad.

Government officials immediately announced that they were offering two rewards of $5 million each for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Mr. bin Laden and another man charged yesterday, Muhammad Atef, who was described as Mr. bin Laden's chief military commander.

Mr. bin Laden is believed to be living in Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalist movement that rules that country.

Mr. Atef's whereabouts are unknown.

It is uncertain whether Mr. bin Laden will ever stand trial in the United States. But if he does, prosecutors said, he could face life in prison or the death penalty if he is convicted.
Prosecutors also unsealed an earlier indictment, issued in June, that included similar but less detailed charges against Mr. bin Laden.

That indictment was returned before the embassy bombings and resulted from a two-year grand jury investigation of his activities in Somalia and Saudi Arabia, as well as reports that he had connections to a circle of Islamic militants in Brooklyn.

The new indictment, which supersedes the June action, accuses Mr. bin Laden of leading a vast terrorist conspiracy from 1989 to the present, in which he is said to have been working in concert with governments, including those of Sudan, Iraq and Iran, and terrorist groups to build weapons and attack American military installations. Excerpts, page A8.

But the indictment gives few details of Mr. bin Laden's alleged involvement in the embassy attacks. The indictment does not, for example, specify whether prosecutors have evidence that Mr. bin Laden gave direct orders to those who carried out the attacks.

Nothing in the document indicates why the original indictment was kept secret for months. But the secret charges were returned about the time that American officials were plotting a possible military attack into Afghanistan to arrest Mr. bin Laden.

Mary Jo White, the United States Attorney in Manhattan, said, "It's very common to have sealed indictments when you're trying to apprehend those who are indicted."

Both indictments offer new information about Mr. bin Laden's operations, including one deal he is said to have struck with Iraq to cooperate in the development of weapons in return for Mr. bin Laden's agreeing not to work against that country.

No details were given about whether the alleged deal with Iraq led to the development of actual weapons for Mr. bin Laden's group, which is called Al Qaeda.

The Government said yesterday that Mr. bin Laden's group had made use of private relief groups "as conduits for transmitting funds" for Al Qaeda.

The groups were not identified.

Prosecutors also said Mr. bin Laden's group had conducted internal investigations of its members and their associates, trying to detect who might be acting as informants, and had killed those who had been suspected of collaborating with enemies of the organization.

The Government indicated earlier that its knowledge of Mr. bin Laden's activities stemmed in part from the cooperation of one such informant, who it said yesterday had worked for Mr. bin Laden, transporting weapons to terrorists, helping to buy land for his training camps and assisting in running his finances.

The June indictment against Mr. bin Laden suggested that the Government had a considerable amount of knowledge of his dealings in the months before the attacks on the embassies, one in Tanzania and one in Kenya.

But the new charges are an indication of how quickly the Government has worked to solve the embassy attacks, which occurred just three months ago.

Ms. White said that Mr. bin Laden was charged with "plotting and carrying out the most heinous acts of international terrorism and murder."

Citing the more than 250 people killed in the embassy attacks and the more than 1,000 wounded, she added, "In a greater sense, all of the citizens of the world are also victims whenever and wherever the cruel and cowardly acts of international terrorism strike."

The investigation of Mr. bin Laden is continuing, said Ms. White and Lewis D. Schiliro, assistant director of the F.B.I. in New York, whose agents have fanned out around the world to investigate the embassy attacks.

"Our investigative strategy is clear," Mr. Schiliro said.

"We will identify, locate and prosecute all those responsible, right up the line, from those who constructed and delivered the bombs to those who paid for them and ordered it done."

In charging Mr. Atef, the Government reported new details about what it called his role as Mr. bin Laden's military commander, referring to his "principal responsibility for the training of Al Qaeda members."

Mr. Atef was a member of a committee under Mr. bin Laden that approved all terrorist actions by Al Qaeda, the indictment said, and he also played a major role in coordinating attacks on United States and United Nations troops in Somalia in October 1993.

In those attacks, 18 American soldiers and hundreds of Somalis were killed. Americans were shocked by the images of the body of one of the Americans being dragged through the streets, and the violence provoked a furor over the United States role in Somalia as part of the United Nations effort to pacify the country and supply food and medicine to the Somalis.

At the time, the battle was seen as one with Somali warlords. But yesterday's charges made clear that the Government now contends that Mr. bin Laden had a critical role in instigating the fighting.

In late 1992 and 1993, when Mr. bin Laden's group was based in Sudan, Mr. Atef went to Somalia to determine "how best to cause violence to the United States and United Nations military forces stationed there," and reported back to Mr. bin Laden at his headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan's capital, the indictment said.

Prosecutors said that in the spring of 1993, Mr. Atef and other members of Al Qaeda, including Haroun Fazil and Mohammed Saddiq Odeh, both of whom have been charged in the embassy attacks, traveled to Somalia and trained Somalis opposed to the United Nation's intervention.
On Oct. 3 and 4, 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, Somali soldiers trained by Al Qaeda took part in the attacks on the soldiers, according to the June 10 indictment that was unsealed yesterday.


GRAPHIC: Photos: Mary Jo White, a United States Attorney, at a news conference yesterday with a portrait of Osama bin Laden, a Saudi exile indicted on charges of conspiracy in the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. (Ruby Washington/The New York Times); Prosecutors say this photo shows Osama bin Laden, left, and Muhammad Atef, who were indicted yesterday on terrorism charges. (United States Attorney's Office)(pg. A8)

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Copyright 1998 Facts on File, Inc.  
Facts on File World News Digest
November 12, 1998
SECTION: UNITED STATES

PAGE: Pg. 810 E1

LENGTH: 1680 words

HEADLINE: Saudi Millionaire Indicted In African Embassy Blasts ;
 --Bin Laden Also Linked to Other Attacks; Other Developments.

BODY:
A federal grand jury in New York City November 4 issued a 238-count indictment against fugitive Saudi millionaire Osama bin Laden, charging him in the August bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The indictment also charged five members of bin Laden's alleged international terrorist group, Al-Qaeda, in the bombings. (See p. 710E1)

Federal prosecutors charged bin Laden and four Al-Qaeda members with murder for all of the more than 200 victims killed in the embassy bombings. Bin Laden allegedly had planned and financed the attacks, which were then carried out by his followers. Prosecutors also charged the suspects with conspiracy for their alleged roles in those attacks, as well as for their alleged participation in the killing of U.S. soldiers in Somalia. One of the Al-Qaeda members charged was Muhammed Atef, who was described as bin Laden's top military commander.

Federal prosecutors had brought conspiracy and murder charges against other Al-Qaeda members in September and October. As of the November 4 indictment, five Al-Qaeda members had been indicted in the U.S. on charges of murder and conspiracy in the embassy bombings, and four others had been charged with conspiracy. Four of the nine were in custody in New York. One suspect was to be extradited from Germany, and one from Britain. Three were fugitives. Bin Laden was thought to be hiding in Afghanistan. (See p. 666A1; 1993, p. 743B2)

Mary Jo White, the U.S. attorney for the Southern Distict of New York, at a November 4 news conference said that bin Laden was charged with "plotting and carrying out the most heinous acts of international terrorism and murder."

Accused of Terrorism Campaign-- The November 4 indictment charged bin Laden with leading an extensive terrorist conspiracy that started in 1989. Bin Laden allegedly worked in collusion with governments--including those of Sudan, Iraq and Iran--as well as with terrorist groups, to construct weapons and carry out attacks on American military installations.

The indictment also alleged that Al-Qaeda had tried to obtain nuclear and chemical weapons; supported extremists in more than 20 countries; trained Somalis who killed 18 American soldiers in Mogadishu in 1993 and carried out the two U.S. embassy bombings in Africa.

Federal presecutors November 4 also made public a sealed indictment that had been returned June 10--before the embassy blasts--naming bin Laden and members of Al-Qaeda in many of the broad conspiracy charges listed in the November document. The June indictment, which indicated that the U.S. government had known a considerable amount about bin Laden's activities before the embassy bombings, had been returned after a two-year grand jury investigation into the Saudi millionaire's activities in Saudi Arabia and Somalia, as well as into his reported connections to a New York group of Islamic militants. The grand jury was set up after 19 U.S. military personnel were killed in the 1996 bombing of a military complex in Saudi Arabia. (See p. 608B3)

The November 4 indictment incorporated and expanded upon charges made in June, which would be added to the current case. The later indictment did not explain why the June charges, which were returned at approximately the time that American officials were considering the use of military force to capture bin Laden in Afghanistan, had been kept a secret. The November indictment superceded the previous one.

The November indictment also alleged that bin Laden provided training camps and housing for members of Al-Qaeda, ran money and guns worldwide, recruited American citizens to work for him and established companies as fronts to allow Al-Qaeda to obtain arms and explosives.

The November 4 document named as co-conspirators, but did not indict, several Islamic extremists, including Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, a blind Egyptian cleric convicted in 1995 on conspiracy charges stemming from failed plots to bomb targets in New York City and to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. (Prosecutors had accused Abdel Rahman of masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, but he was not convicted on those charges.) The indictment did not specify the extremists' exact links to Al-Qaeda. In an attempt to link Al-Qaeda to the Alkifah Refugee Center in New York, a now-defunct mosque that Abdel Rahman and his followers dominated in the early 1990s, the indictment alleged that Alkifah was an "office" of an earlier incarnation of Al-Qaeda. The indictment gave no details about such an alleged link and did not mention the World Trade Center bombing. (See p. 237B3; 1996, p. 20F1; 1994, p. 376B2)

The November 4 indictment included new charges that Al-Qaeda had shipped weapons and explosives to the Arabian peninsula from Sudan in the mid-1990s during a period of attacks on Americans in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The indictment made no direct allegations, however, that bin Laden had played a role in attacks on American soldiers in those countries.

The indictment also charged that Al-Qaeda had reached an arrangement with President Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq whereby the group said that it would not work against Iraq, and the two parties agreed to cooperate in the development of weapons.

The indictment did not offer a precise description of bin Laden's alleged role as sponsor of global terrorism or give many details about bin Laden's alleged role in the embassy bombings. It did not indicate whether prosecutors had proof that the embassy attacks occurred on bin Laden's direct orders.

Al-Qaeda Accused of Conspiracy-- The November 4 indictment also charged that bin Laden and Al-Qaeda had played a crucial role in instigating fighting in Somalia during a 1992-93 United Nations relief mission. The indictment alleged that during that operation, at which time Al-Qaeda was allegedly based in Sudan, Atef had traveled to Somalia to determine how best to attack U.S. and U.N. forces there. According to prosecutors, in the spring of 1993, Atef and other members of Al-Qaeda, including Haroun Fazil and Mohammed Saddiq Odeh--both charged in the embassy attacks--traveled to Somalia and trained Somalis who opposed the intervention by the U.N. According to the June indictment, Al-Qaeda-trained Somali soldiers participated in the October attacks on U.S. and U.N. soldiers in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

The indictment disclosed new information about Atef's alleged role as bin Laden's top military commander. In addition to the key role he was said to have played in the Somalia attacks, he allegedly had "principal responsibility" in the training of members of Al-Qaeda.

U.S. Offers Record Reward-- The State Department November 4 announced rewards of $ 5 million each for information leading to the arrest or conviction of bin Laden and Atef. The reward was the largest sum of money the U.S. had ever offered for the capture of a terrorist.

Kenya Embassy Warning Confirmed-- U.S. intelligence officials had received a detailed warning about the Nairobi embassy attack nine months before it occurred, the New York Times reported October 23, citing unidentified U.S and Kenyan officials. In November 1997, Mustafa Mahmoud Said Ahmed, an Egyptian who stood accused of participating in the Dar es Salaam bombing, went to the Nairobi embassy and warned officials of a planned attack on the building. According to U.S. officials, Ahmed reportedly said that a group of Islamic radicals would detonate a truck filled with explosives inside the building's underground parking garage--which is what happened in the August bombing.

The Times article reported that in a separate interrogation by Kenyan intelligence officials, Ahmed had said that he had taken surveillance photographs of the embassy in preparation for the attack.

The U.S. State Department had officially denied since the bombings that it had received specific threats regarding the attacks. However, an unidentified official late October 22 said that the State Department had received from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) two reports about Ahmed, according to the Times article. The official said that the reports resulted in several weeks of heightened security at the embassy, but because there was no attack, the extra security precautions were removed.

Tanzanian officials had arrested Ahmed after the twin bombings, and local prosecutors September 21 charged him with the Dar es Salaam attack. The Times article said that the U.S. had not sought to extradite Ahmed, but that officials would not say why. It also said that U.S. officials believed Ahmed to be involved in both embassy bombings, although CIA analysts had not been able to link Ahmed to any terrorist group. (See p. 668G2)

The article said that, in its two warning reports to the State Department, CIA officials had said that they believed that Ahmed might have fabricated the threats. (The Washington Post October 31 quoted an unidentified U.S. diplomat in Nairobi as saying that Ahmed had a history of fabrication and that his warning was a generalized description of any terrorist attack.) The CIA, however, also said in the report that it had not ruled out that the threats might be serious, the Times reported. CIA officials had suggested that Ahmed's warning might have been a ploy by the terrorists to allow them to observe the defense measures the embassy would take in the event of a terrorist attack.

Ahmed denied involvement in the bombings. His lawyer, Abdul Mwengela, said that Ahmed had overheard details of the bomb plot in the lobby of a Nairobi hotel in 1997.

Bin Laden's Bomb Role Disputed-- Saudi Arabia's interior minister, Prince Nayef Bin Abdul-Aziz, said in an interview published October 4 in a Kuwaiti newspaper, Al-Siyassah, that bin Laden was not directly responsible for bombings in Saudi Arabia in 1995 and 1996 that had killed 24 U.S. military personnel and two Indian nationals. Nayef said it was, however, possible that the attacks were perpetrated by people who had "adopted [bin Laden's] ideas."

[tallhappy]

More. This is the original press release from the Clinton Justice Department.

It says Iran supported al Qaeda and Hezbollah worked with them. The press release leaves out Iraq -- despite it being in the indictment.

From State Department Web Site

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Following is the text of the press release issued November 4 by United States Attorney -- Southern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation:

(Begin Text)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NOVEMBER 4, 1998

MARY JO WHITE, the United States Attorney - for the Southern District of New York, and LEWIS D. SCHILIRO, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York FBI Office, announced that USAMA BIN LADEN and MUHAMMAD ATEF, a/k/a "Abu Hafs," were indicted today in Manhattan federal court for the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and for conspiring to kill American nationals outside of the United States.

The United States Department of State also announced today rewards of up to $5 million each for information leading to the arrest or conviction of BIN LADEN and ATEF.

The first count of the Indictment charges that BIN LADEN and ATEF, along with co-defendants WADIH EL HAGE, FAZUL ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, MOHAMED SADEEK ODEH, and MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD AL-' OWHALI, acted together with other members of "al Qaeda," a worldwide terrorist organization led by BIN LADEN, in a conspiracy to murder United States nationals. The objectives of this international terrorist conspiracy allegedly included: killing members of the American military stationed in Saudi Arabia and Somalia; killing United States nationals employed at the United States Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and concealing the activities of the co-conspirators by, among other things, establishing front companies, providing false identity and travel documents, engaging in coded correspondence and providing false information to the authorities in various countries.

BIN LADEN's organization al Qaeda allegedly functioned both on its own and through some of the terrorist organizations that operated under its umbrella, including the Al Jihad group based in Egypt, the Islamic Group (also known as "el Gamaa Islamia" or simply "Gamaa't"), led at one time by Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, and a number of jihad groups in other countries, including the Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia. Al Qaeda also allegedly maintained cells and personnel in a number of countries to facilitate it's activities, including in Kenya, Tanzania, the United Kingdom and the United States.

According to the Indictment, BIN LADEN and al Qaeda forged alliances with the National Islamic Front in the Sudan and with representatives of the government of Iran, and its associated terrorist group Hezballah, with the goal of working together against their perceived common enemies in the West, particularly the United States.

In order to further this international conspiracy to murder United States nationals, BIN LADEN and other co-conspirators are alleged to have committed the following acts: (1) providing training camps for use by al Qaeda and its affiliates; (2) recruiting United States citizens including the defendant EL HAGE to help facilitate the goals of al Qaeda; (3) purchasing weapons and explosives; and (4) establishing headquarters and businesses in the Sudan.

The Indictment also alleges that fatwahs were issued by BIN LADEN and a committee of al Qaeda members urging other members and associates of al Qaeda to kill Americans. According to the Indictment, several of these fatwahs, called for attacks on American troops stationed in Saudi Arabia and Somalia. The Indictment also alleges that American troops in Somalia were indeed attacked and killed by persons who received training from al Qaeda members or those trained by al Qaeda. The Indictment specifically charges that the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania as actions taken in furtherance of this conspiracy to kill American nationals.

BIN LADEN and ATEF, along with ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, ODEH, and AL-'OWHALI, are also charged with bombing the two embassies and causing the deaths of more than 200 persons and injuring more than 4,500 others. Those five defendants are also charged with murdering all of the civilians killed in the embassy bombings. The Indictment names all of the victims of the bombings and each victim is charged as a separate count of murder for a total of 224 counts of murder against BIN LADEN, ATEF, ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, ODEH and AL-OWHALI.

Ms. WHITE and Mr. SCHILIRO said the investigation of this case is being conducted by the Joint Terrorist Task Force composed of the FBI, the New York City Police Department, the United States Department of State, the United States Secret Service, the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Federal Aviation Administration, the United States Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the New York State Police and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Ms. WHITE and Mr. SCHILIRO praised the Governments of Kenya, Tanzania and the Comoros Islands for their cooperation in this investigation and praised all the investigative efforts and cooperation of the agencies involved in the case. They also said that the investigation is continuing.

United States Attorney General Janet Reno stated: "This is an important step forward in our fight against terrorism. It sends a message that no terrorist can flout our laws and murder innocent civilians."

Ms. WHITE stated: "Usama Bin Laden and his military commander Muhammad Atef are charged with the most heinous acts of violence ever committed against American diplomatic posts. These acts caused the deaths of hundreds of citizens of Kenya, Tanzania and the United States. All those responsible for these brutal and cowardly acts, from the leaders and organizers to all of those who had any role in these crimes in East Africa, will be brought to justice."

Mr. SCHILIRO stated: "This investigation has been given the highest priority. Our investigative strategy is clear: We will identify, locate and prosecute all those responsible right up the line, from those who constructed and delivered the bombs to those who paid for them and ordered it done. This has been an investigation which has involved the largest deployment of FBI agents abroad, including members of the Joint Terrorist Task Force. Working closely with the law enforcement authorities in Kenya and Tanzania, our investigators have made significant progress, yet much remains to be done."

BIN LADEN and ATEF, both of whom are fugitives, face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, or death.

Assistant United States Attorneys PATRICK J. FITZGERALD, KENNETH M. KARAS and MICHAEL J. GARCIA are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

(End text)

[tallhappy]

Yes. The libs play lying word games.

[cyncooper]

We knew it in 1998. Why don't "we" (i.e., the dems, some freepers, and others) know it now?

Not to mention the media, who surely must have access to more sophisticated search capabilites than Google.....unless they desire to shape the story rather than stick with the facts. (She says rhetorically)

[MizSterious]

Note which part of it lands in the soundbites. Frustrating. As far as I'm concerned, if he helped finance and train them, then he was involved. If two people go to rob a bank, and one of them stays in the getaway car, both are considered guilty. Hussein was essentially driving the getaway car in this one.

[tallhappy]

Indictment docket info here

[MizSterious]

I've about convinced myself that every word out of the media until after the election will be designed to elect a dem for president (and other dems for other offices). Forget about truth. Disgusting, but not sure what can be done about it.

[onedoug]

Good work, t.

And where is Michael Scott Speicher? He's one of my reasons for us having gone in.

[MizSterious]

FYI

[Angelus Errare]

Iraq/al-Qaeda ties as documented in 1998 from the house organ of the American left.

[tallhappy]

United States Information Agency


04 November 1998

BIN LADEN, ATEF INDICTED IN U.S. FEDERAL COURT FOR AFRICAN BOMBINGS

(Terrorists will be tracked down, officials say) (920)

By Judy Aita
USIA Staff Writer

New York -- Usama bin Laden and Muhammad Atef were indicted November 4 in Manhattan federal court for the August 7 bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and for conspiring to kill Americans outside the United States.

US Attorney Mary Jo White and Assistant director of the FBI office in New York Lewis Schiliro -- accompanied by a group of other federal, state and local officials involved in the investigation -- announced the indictments at a press conference. Ambassador David Carpenter of the US Department of State also announced rewards of up to $5 million each for information leading to the arrest or conviction of bin Laden and Atef.

"Usama bin Laden and his military commander Muhammad Atef are charged with plotting and carrying out the most heinous acts of international terrorism and murder," White said.

"Their alleged victims include the hundreds of African and American citizens who tragically lost their lives in the embassy bombings in east Africa on August 7, 1998, and the thousands more who were seriously injured. In a greater sense, all of the citizens of the world are also victims whenever and wherever the cruel and cowardly acts of international terrorism strike," she said. "It is up to the authorities of the world to respond vigorously and relentlessly to such terrorist attacks. This investigation is continuing worldwide and will continue until all of those responsible are brought to justice," White stressed.

Schiliro said that the indictment demonstrates the "resolve and determination of the entire law enforcement team to bring to justice all those who were responsible for the murder of innocent Americans, Kenyans, and Tanzanians on August 7."

"This investigation has been given the highest priority," the FBI official said. "Our investigative strategy is clear: We will identify, locate, and prosecute all those responsible right up the line from those who constructed and delivered the bombs to those who paid for them and ordered it done."

"Though far from complete, in three short months much has been accomplished due to the dedication and determination of the investigators and prosecutors and also because of the professionalism and total cooperation of the governments of Kenya, Tanzania, and the Comoros Islands," he said.

The investigation deployed the largest contingent of FBI agents abroad and included members of the multi-agency joint terrorist task force -- New York City Police Department detectives, US customs agents, US Secret Service, the New York State Police, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the US Immigration and Naturalization Service.

"The work they have done in recovering physical evidence at the crime scene and developing other leads that will assist in this investigation cannot be overstated," Schiliro said. "Their resolve and determination to identify all those involved should not be underestimated."

New York City Police Chief Howard Safir said that the indictment "sends a very clear message that terrorists will be held accountable no matter where they commit their acts."

Both White and Schiliro stressed that the investigation will not end with the current indictment and is continuing.

The 238-count indictment charges, among other things, that bin Laden and Atef along with co-defendants Wadih el Hage, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed Sadeek Odeh, and Mohamed Rashed Daoud al'Owhali, acted together with other members of "al Qaeda" -- the worldwide terrorist organization led by bin Laden -- to murder US nationals, including members of the American military stationed in Saudi Arabia following the Gulf War and in Somalia as part of UN Operation Restore Hope, as well as those employed at US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. They established front companies, provided false identity and travel documents, and provided false information to authorities in various countries.

Bin Laden's "al Qaeda" organization functioned both on its own and through other terrorist organizations, including the Al Jihad group based in Egypt, the Islamic Group also known as el Gamaa Islamia led at one time by Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, and a number of other jihad groups in countries such as Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia.

Bin Laden, White charged, engaged in business transactions on behalf of Al Qaeda, including purchasing warehouses for storage of explosives, transporting weapons, and establishing a series of companies in Sudan to provide income to al Qaeda and as a cover for the procurement of explosives, weapons, and chemicals, and for the travel of operatives.

According to the indictment, bin Laden and al Qaeda forged alliances with the National Islamic Front in Sudan and with representatives of the Government of Iran and its associated terrorist group Hezballah with the goal of working together against their common enemies in the West, particularly the United States.

"In addition, al Qaeda reached an understanding with the Government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq," the indictment said.

Beginning in 1992, bin Laden allegedly issued through his "fatwah" committees a series of escalating "fatwahs" against the United States, certain military personnel, and, eventually in February 1998, a "fatwah" stating that Muslims should kill Americans -- including civilians -- anywhere in the world they can be found.

Bin Laden and Atef, both of whom are fugitives, if convicted, face maximum sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole or death, White said.

Above from State Department.

[FairOpinion]

This is a phenomenal find!

Thanks.

Send it to Hannity and O'Reilly.

[tallhappy]

Indictment is at this link, pdf format United States of America vs Usama bin Laden.

[LayoutGuru2]

BTTT - Sweet!

They'll probably say that this guy was the source...

[tallhappy]

Send this link,

http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/98110402.htm

to anyone and everyone. That is the page at the State Department web site that states Iraq and al Qaeda working together.

[FairOpinion]

Thanks -- I think this should be spread as much as we can.

We had proof in 1998, now the Dems keep saying "where is the proof?"

And why didn't the Bush administration point this out?

[BurbankKarl]

I have been getting slammed in a hobby group...will use this to rebut.

[Angelus Errare]

Collin Powell did in his UN presentation, which is about the only time that the Bush administration let loose with everything it had. These meetings, the creation of a tactical alliance, and the joint work on WMDs ... it was all there.

Al-Qaeda's alliances with Iraq, Iran, and Sudan were unquestioned up until the point when Bush decided to go to war, at which point it became a political issue for the left and the Democrats quickly shouted down any dissenting arguments because to admit that Iraq was in cahoots with Osama bin Laden would be in of itself a casus belli to justify the war.

Somebody tell Bob Graham.

[Peach]

Some time ago there was an article that detailed the number of major news organizations that made the OBL/Iraq connection. Nearly all the articles were written in 1998 - right around the time Clinton signed the Iraqi Liberation Act.

[concerned about politics]

Active link please?
(need it for bookmark)
Thanks.

[concerned about politics]

BUMP