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Thread Six: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1109459/posts |
Posted on 03/12/2004 8:23:06 PM PST by thecabal
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- This week's deadly train bombings in Spain will not lead to a rise in the U.S. color-coded terror threat alert system, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said Friday.
"Based on the current intelligence, we have no specific indicators that terrorist groups are considering such an attack in the U.S. in the near term," said department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Fri Mar 19, 8:52 AM ET
By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA, Associated Press Writer
WARSAW, Poland - President Aleksander Kwasniewski told President Bush on Friday that Polish troops will stay in Iraq "as long as needed, plus one day longer," his national security adviser said.
The comments came one day after Kwasniewski said Polish troops might leave Iraq months earlier than planned and that Poland had been misled over Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction arsenal.
Kwasniewski pledged to keep the troops in Iraq in a phone call by Bush to mark the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the adviser, Marek Siwiec, told reporters.
Siwiec said Bush thanked Kwasniewki for Poland's military involvement in Iraq.
Poland commands a postwar multinational force of some 9,500 troops in south-central Iraq, including 2,400 of its own.
"President Kwasniewski confirmed our further involvement in the Iraqi mission and that we will be there as long as needed, plus one day longer," Siwiec said.
The White House moved quickly to underline Poland's commitment, distributing a statement from the Polish embassy in Washington which cited "misinterpretations" of Kwasniewski's earlier remarks.
"Poland will not withdraw from Iraq until the mission of stabilization is successfully accomplished and counts on effective cooperation with the United States, Great Britain, Spain and other NATO and UN members states," the embassy statement said.
It said Saddam Hussein had "misled the world in believing that he had had the weapons of mass destruction and might use them. This was the essential reason to take up the mission in Iraq with a common strategy of multinational coaltion in the war on terrorism."
The statement quoted Kwasniewski as saying that a decisive factor in fighting terrorism was for democratic states to maintain unity and solidarity.
"Demonstration of weakness in the face of terrorist attacks aims at the foundations of democracy and security of all nations and world peace," the embassy said.
sorry, just playin'
Friday, March 19, 2004
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistani forces continued Friday to hone in on who they believe to be Usama bin Laden's No. 2 man as fighting intensified to rout Al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives out of their hiding places.
Ayman al-Zawahri -- bin Laden's deputy and the man considered the brains behind the Al Qaeda terror network -- is believed to be cornered and perhaps wounded in a 3-square mile area of the tribal area of Pakistan near the rugged Afghan border.
There was no indication bin Laden was with the Egyptian-born al-Zawahri, but the Pakistani military estimates that about 400 militants -- a mix of foreigners and Pakistani tribesmen -- are cornered in the border battle.
"From the type of resistance we are getting ... the militants could be anything from 300 to 400," Army spokesman Gen. Shaukat Sultan told a news conference Friday.
"The type of resistance, the type of preparation of their defensive positions, the hardened fortresses they have made means we can assume that there could probably be some high-value target there."
He disputed claims by four senior Pakistani officials that captured militants had revealed that al-Zawahri was among them, and possibly injured.
"So far, whatever people we have apprehended, we have not got confirmation from them," he said, but added: "Even if we knew more, we couldn't tell you."
Meanwhile, Afghan authorities reported the arrests of midlevel terrorist leaders on their side of the border.
Fighting spread Friday to two more villages in South Waziristan, where hundreds of paramilitary forces began an operation against Al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives four days ago.
Townspeople said heavy guns fired through the night and they saw jet fighters in the area, although it wasn't clear if the aircraft had opened fire.
On Thursday, Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said a "high value" target was believed trapped, and three senior Pakistani officials said that intelligence indicated it was al-Zawahri.
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said Friday the siege was "narrowing down," and that the target could be identified as troops get closer. "They (the militants) are giving a tough contest. They have built bunkers in their homes," he said.
Pakistani troops sealed escape routes and used artillery and helicopter gunships to attack militants near the rugged Afghan border.
Residents reported seeing scores of military trucks, carrying troops and weapons, including light artillery and heavy machine-guns, and some armored vehicles. Army troops took up positions on rooftops of private homes to provide security for the convoy of troops moving from Wana to the target areas.
A Taliban spokesman, Abdul Samad, told the Associated Press that both al-Zawahri and bin Laden are alive and hiding inside Afghanistan.
"Muslims of the world -- don't worry about them, these two guests. They are fine," he said.
'Major Step Forward'
Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's national security adviser, told Fox News Friday that if al-Zawahri were captured, it would be "a major step forward" in the war on terrorism.
"It is always a good thing to capture a major Al Qaeda leader," she said. "It does damage to the organization ... but the capture of one man is not going to destroy Al Qaeda."
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, told Fox News that U.S. officials still don't have a clear picture of what's happening or who exactly is being targeted.
"I think we're still waiting for the situation to continue to unfold, still trying to learn exactly what's happening on the ground," Myers said. "We're just going to have to wait and see who they have, if they have anybody."
Calling Pakistan a "very good partner in this war on terrorism," Myers noted that the terrain in the tribal areas is difficult, the indigenous people aren't "particularly friendly" and the border isn't recognized.
Plus, "it's a difficult, difficult tactical situation," Myers added.
U.S. counterterrorism officials told Fox News that the United States military is providing surveillance assistance to the Pakistanis in the Waziristan operation. This likely includes unmanned predator drones, satellite technology and perhaps spy planes.
U.S. officials are urging caution, however, since they cannot say for sure the specific names of those resisting the Pakistani troops.
'They Are Not Coming Out'
Pakistani forces battled with hundreds of militants in five villages near South Waziristan's main town of Wana, pounding fortress-like mud-brick compounds as entrenched suspects fought back. An intelligence official said "dozens" were killed Thursday, and some of their hide-outs had been flattened.
At least 41 people -- 15 Pakistani soldiers and 26 suspected militants -- were killed earlier this week in fighting in the area.
This semiautonomous tribal region, which has resisted outside control for centuries, has long been considered a likely hiding place for the top two Al Qaeda leaders. Bin Laden and al-Zawahri -- who also serves as bin Laden's personal physician -- have traveled together in the past, and both appeared jointly in videotapes released shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
In a broadcast on Feb. 24, Al-Zawahri, 52, taunted Bush and threatened more attacks on the United States.
The United States has offered a $25 million reward for information leading to al-Zawahri's capture. On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives doubled the reward for bin Laden's capture to $50 million.
Under pressure from Washington, Pakistan has arrested more than 500 Al Qaeda suspects and has turned most over to the United States. The last major capture was that of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the former Al Qaeda No. 3, who was nabbed on March 1, 2003, near the capital. He is being held at an undisclosed U.S. location.
On Thursday, Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that Washington was bestowing the status of "major non-NATO ally" on Pakistan, and praised the country for its help in the war on terror.
Afghanistan Nabs Their Own Bad Guys
A spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said U.S. and Afghan troops have captured "semi-senior" terrorist leaders along the border with Pakistan, as they tightened security along the rugged frontier.
Presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin said it was unclear if those detained had fled the battle in Pakistan, and declined to give any details of who might be in custody.
"Some of the arrests have included semi-senior leadership within the terrorist elements on the Afghan side, possibly with strong links to Al Qaeda," he said.
U.S. officials say they are watching to see if the Pakistani actions send militants back into Afghanistan, where U.S. troops operate freely. A senior Afghan Defense Ministry official said Afghan and U.S. troops tightened their cordon along the frontier three days ago.
Some 250 extra Afghan troops left Kabul Thursday for the border province of Khost, just to the north, Gen. Atiqullah Ludin said.
"Al Qaeda cannot escape or enter Afghan soil," he said.
Fox News' Bret Baier, Mike Emanuel, Greg Kelly and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Chip Reed on MSNBC reporting now on MSNBC heard it but they don't know where and what it is.
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