OSAMA BIN LADEN SAID TO HAVE NUKES - Terrorists With Suitcases

WorldnetDaily ^ | April 28, 2001 | By Jon Dougherty

[Uncle Bill]

Bin Laden Said To Have Nukes

Report: Extent of fugitive leader's arsenal 'no longer a doubt'

WorldnetDaily
By Jon Dougherty
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com
April 28, 2001

Fugitive Saudi terrorist-sponsor Osama bin Laden is now known to have nuclear weapons, putting to rest previous speculation that left the possibility open, according to a weekly intelligence newsletter.

A report published in this week’s Geostrategy-Direct.com newsletter, edited in part by Washington Times staffers Bill Gertz and Robert Morton, indicated that bin Laden's possession of nuclear devices "is no longer a doubt."

"Saudi billionaire fugitive Osama bin Laden has nuclear weapons. The question is how many," the report said.

Gertz told WND he didn't write the assessment, but that the newsletter's primary editor, Morton, had a stringer in the Mideast who verified the information. Morton was out of his office and could not be reached for comment.

"Russian intelligence sources who are fighting bin Laden members in Chechnya believe [he] has a handful of tactical nuclear weapons," said the report. "Arab intelligence sources say the Al Qaida head has as many as 20 weapons."

Al Qaida is the name of the terrorist group bin Laden leads.

The report says "both sides agree" that the Saudi terrorist managed to acquire his weapons by supporting the Chechen cause with money and volunteers, in exchange for nuclear materials and technology.

Bin Laden "received [it] from Chechen insurgents who raided [Russian] nuclear installations for fuel and components around the former Soviet Union," the report said.

"With that came the recruits from among scientists from the former Soviet Union. The rest was easy," said Geostrategy-Direct.com.

The report said the actual location of the weapons is unknown, but "the assessment by both Arab and Russian sources is that bin Laden has managed to sneak at least some of the components to his lair in Afghanistan."

Bin Laden is one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. He is wanted in connection with the Aug. 7, 1998, bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa -- one in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the other in Nairobi, Kenya. Over 200 were killed in the attacks.

He is believed to have a connection to the Oct. 12 bombing of the destroyer USS Cole as it refueled in Yemen, WND reported Oct 26.

The State Department had no comment on the report, but other intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told WND that any reports dealing with bin Laden are taken seriously.

"Reports regarding bin Laden are always taken seriously and investigated," the official said. "He clearly poses a threat to U.S. interests around the world, so you can't dismiss every rumor out of hand. It wouldn't be prudent to do that."

In January, the New York Times -- quoting U.S. officials -- said bin Laden's organization was making attempts to manufacture chemical weapons and "buy enriched uranium," one of the main components of a nuclear device.

But as far back as August 1999, counter-terrorism experts said bin Laden may have acquired "up to 20 nuclear devices."

"Yosef Bodansky, a researcher of the House Task Force for Counter-terrorism and author of a new book on bin Laden, told a news conference on Friday that bin Laden has been seeking to follow up on his bombings of two U.S. embassies in east Africa one year ago. Echoing U.S. officials, Bodansky said bin Laden was thwarted in plans to blow up the U.S. embassy and two consulates in India last December and January," WorldTribune.com reported.

"It was also reported that bin Laden has biological, chemical and nuclear weapons and has received technical help from Iraq, Bodansky said. The nuclear weapons include suitcase bombs acquired through Chechen rebels," the paper said.

"The Russians believe that he has a handful [of nuclear weapons]. The Saudi intelligence services are very conservative. ... They are friendly to the United States [and] believe that he has in the neighborhood of 20," Bodansky said, as quoted by the Internet paper.

Bin Laden reportedly obtained and purchased the suitcase bombs from multiple sources, he said. He has a "collection of individuals knowledgeable in activating the bombs" and "is recruiting former Soviet special forces [to learn] how to operate the bombs behind enemy lines," Bodansky said.

He noted that, according to his research, most of the weapons had been transferred through Pakistan.

Related stories:

Bin Laden Joins Arafat

Oklahoma City Blast Linked To Bin Laden

Suspect Pegged In Cole Bombing

Bin Laden Calls For War Against U.S.

U.S. Covert Bin Laden Mission

Is Bin Laden A Nuclear Power?

Suitcase Terrorism

"More than three months ago Bodansky reported that Osama bin Laden may have acquired up to 20 suitcase nuclear bombs from Russia, smuggled to him by Chechen rebels. Also according to Bodansky, bin Laden was looking to hire former Russian spetsnaz commandos who knew how to operate suitcase nuclear bombs."

FBI Admits That Russian Nuclear Suitcases Hidden In Secret Locations In U.S.

Are Suitcase Nukes on the Loose?

FRONTLINE: Atomic Suitcase Bombs

Former Soviet spy: Small nuclear devices planted in U.S.
"A hooded, former Soviet spy with tales of threats to U.S. security was the star witness at a congressional hearing this week in California. The one-time military intelligence colonel testified that suitcase-sized nuclear devices are hidden on U.S. soil. "

Saudi Money Aiding Terrorist bin Laden

USA TODAY
By Jack Kelley
10/28/99- Updated 11:12 PM ET

WASHINGTON - More than a year after the U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa, prominent businessmen in Saudi Arabia continue to transfer tens of millions of dollars to bank accounts linked to indicted terrorist Osama bin Laden, senior U.S. intelligence officials told USA TODAY.

The money transfers, which began more than five years ago, have been used to finance several terrorist acts by bin Laden, including the attempted assassination in 1995 of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Ethiopia, the officials said.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is expected to raise the issue with Prince Sultan, the Saudi defense minister, during his visit to Washington next week. Saudi Arabia, the main U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf, has pledged to fight terrorism.

According to a Saudi government audit acquired by U.S. intelligence, five of Saudi Arabia's top businessmen ordered the National Commercial Bank (NCB), the kingdom's largest, to transfer personal funds, along with $3 million diverted from a Saudi pension fund, to New York and London banks.

The money was deposited into the accounts of Islamic charities, including Islamic Relief and Blessed Relief, that serve as fronts for bin Laden.

The businessmen, who are worth more than $5 billion, are paying bin Laden "protection money" to stave off attacks on their businesses in Saudi Arabia, intelligence officials said. Bin Laden, whose family runs the largest Saudi construction firm, has called for the overthrow of the Saudi government.

The money transfers were discovered in April after the royal family ordered an audit of NCB and its founder and former chairman, Khalid bin Mahfouz, U.S. officials say. Mahfouz is now under "house arrest" at a military hospital in the Saudi city of Taif, intelligence officials said.

His successor, Mohammad Hussein Al-Amoudi, also heads the Capital Trust Bank in New York and London, which U.S. and British officials are investigating for allegedly transferring money to bin Laden. Amoudi's Washington lawyer, Vernon Jordan, could not be reached for comment.

Mahfouz's son, Abdul Rahman Mahfouz, is on the board of Blessed Relief in Sudan. Suspects in the Mubarak attack are linked to the charity.

Bin Laden faces U.S. criminal charges for allegedly masterminding the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people. Bin Laden, who is in Afghanistan, denies the charges.

Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan declined to comment on the reports.
[End of Transcript]

Bin Laden Funneled Money Through UAE Bank

Bin Laden Getting Financial Support - Links

Osama Bin Laden - Links

Osama Bin Laden’s International Terror Network

THE BCCI AFFAIR

Orrin Hatch Was BCCI’s Mouthpiece

Gold Depositories Buried Beneath Trade Center Rubble

....

[Naspino]

Its time for a greater Earth. One without Islamic terrorists.

[Let's Roll]

If he had'em, he woulda used 'em.

[Let's Roll]

If he had'em, he woulda used 'em.

[virgil]

You know I think its been too easy to find this trail of evidence. Could Osama have something else up his sleeve? Maybe mass suicide? Damn, I wanted to kill the son of a bitch.

[CJ Wolf]

I thought of that too. But maybe that is what was planned. I have questions, I can't help but notice this was so carefully planned and had many facets. We know that things went wrong for them, it was not a full success. I was scared that the last plane that went down may have had a nuke for it's true target. A cell phone caller said they had a bomb and were not going to let them do it. Maybe that is why they evacuated the whitehouse like that. I wasn't clear on something else, was airforce one under attack in Florida, perhaps this is where all the Florida focus comes in, Was a smaller plane trying to take off from the pilot school to hit bush as he scrambled after the final hit? The ultimate shock more devestating then yesterdays events would have been a nuke in dc at the end of this four pronged terror event and a dead president to boot.

I am still in shock but I think we need understand the full scope of the plan and then remove any possibilty of this ever happening again and quick for the sake of humanity and the future.

[537 Votes]

Crawl away on your belly! Go back to your Islamic friends and wait for your doom.

Yes, yes, I'm a coward because I don't want to die for Israel. Isn't that the sole reason America exists, to be sacrificed for Israel? What better and more noble purpose could an American have, but to die for Israel?

Men, women, children -- all Americans -- line up and give your life for Israel! If it takes one hundred million of you, two hundred million of you -- who cares if it takes every single American? Israel will prevail! Horay, hurrah!

One thing I know about Muslims is, they're willing to die for their cause, and that is not cowardice. In contrast, some (I retain the hope that it is not all) Israelis seem eager to have American lives sacrificed to their cause, while they sit back and make snide remarks like, "Join the Club." And that is the most craven cowardice I can imagine.

[the808bass]

You know, I like WorldNetDaily and all - most of the time - but come on. If Oswami Ben Leaden had nukes he would have used them instead of going to all the trouble to get pilots trained, airliners simultaneously hijacked, and the having them crash into structures with pinpoint precision.

My first thought as well. If they got em, wouldn't they use them. It's not like they love human life too much to do it.

[the808bass]

Which side are you on?

It's a tricky question isn't it. And you?

One thing I know about Muslims is, they're willing to die for their cause, and that is not cowardice.

Willingness to die does not necessarily indicate a lack of cowardice. It could indicate a lack of understanding of the gift of life, especially when that death is for the purpose of killing thousands of innocents.

"Join the Club."

I have not spoken to any Israelis in regards to this tragedy. However, judging from the international reaction, the Muslims seem to be doing quite a bit more of the "join the club" bit than the Israelis, IMO.

while they sit back and make snide remarks

Ah, but we do that as well on Free Republic. So are we any different?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Thats fine. We can think all we want.

[The KG9 Kid]

"... If he had'em, he woulda used 'em."

I thought about this today before you posted here, and came to the conclusion that position may be 180-degrees incorrect.

Perhaps Usama bin Laden wouldn't have done this if he weren't already armed with nuclear weapons of some sort. Being precious to his cause, he wouldn't risk losing one without being sure to set it off no matter what cost. He's isn't a villain who's afraid of expending assets, you understand.

The safest position might be to use it against US troops sent to respond to an undeniable act of war and use it against them on his own turf. He's got no real love for Afghanistan, he just hangs his turban there. He's a Saudi, and he's from where the holiest site in Islam is found. What significance has Afghanistan got? By the time the US troops arrive, he'd already have left the country after seeing to it that the plan was staged perfectly.

Maybe he'd even be able to use Afghanistani military assets as part of the attack, if the stories about bin Laden being a supreme force commander of the Taliban militia are correct. His men aren't just soldiers, they're fanatics.

Who seriously believes the Taliban claim that they've detained bin Laden under 'house arrest' are true? It's just buying time as many see it.

Was the attack yesterday the execution of his grandest plan, or is it a preliminary set-up?

The shortest question to ask yourself is this: 'Would Osama Bin Laden have acted in such a spectacular manner on 9-11-2001 if he didn't have an ace up his sleeve?'.

He set out to destroy the White House, Air Force One, the Pentagon, and the biggest foreign symbol of Western finance -- the World Trade Center.

Was that the limit of his scheme? What could he possibly do for an encore? He knows this means inviting cataclysm.

It's either that, or you subscribe to the notion that bin Laden's has come to the conclusion that his efforts to secure and deliver a nuke will never see the light of day as long as he's alive (and dying of cancer supposedly), so he might as well just to send the terror pilots out now to execute their insidious plans.

Which makes more sense?

[Darheel]

Jesus was a Jew.

'What better and more noble purpose could an American have, but to die for Israel?' Sounds absolutely glorious to me.

[constitution]

Sorry, but I've been off on an Afgani site [nothing to report]. Any radioactive material can be detected by a scintillator at some distance. To shield it requires a lot of lead, or similar material. Also there has to be some 'trigger' to compress the radioactive material into a 'critical mass'. Not likely to be easy to hide.

[Uncle Bill]

Nuclear Smuggling From The Former Soviet Union: Threats And Responses
"A 1998 U.S. federal indictment charges that Osama bin Laden and his associates have tried to buy bomb-making components "at various times" since 1992."

Finding Russia's Lost Radioactive Luggage
"According to Curt Weldon, a Republican congressman, the former Soviet Union produced 132 10-kiloton suitcase nukes. Today, Russia can account for only 48. Where are the other 84? The Clinton-Gore administration doesn't know and, outrageously, doesn't seem to care.

...They said that to prepare for possible hostilities with the United States, the KGB pre-deployed nuclear suitcases somewhere near Brainerd, Minnesota, in Montana, beside a Texas oil pipeline and adjacent to harbours in California and New York City."

Bin Laden has several Nuclear Suitcases

Bin Laden has 20 nuclear bombs

Terrorist Leader Osama Bin Laden Reportedly has Nuclear Weapons - Michael Reagan

Did Bill Clinton Smooth the Way for Bin Laden to Become the World's Most Successful Terrorist?
"Bin Laden's camp was- a spot we really knew how to find, inasmuch as we, through the CIA, built it while helping the Afghans fight the Russians.

In December 1993, Independent News' journalist Robert Fisk met and interviewed Osama bin Laden in Almatig, Sudan. Fisk mentioned that bin Laden "was greeting Sudanese villagers who were lined up to thank."

Suitcase Size Nukes Were Transferred by USSR to US

U.S.: Bin Laden Case Latest Example Of Terrorism On Trial
"A U.S. government witness, Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl, at hearings last week, told of how suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden organized his al Qaeda group after declaring a religious war against the United States in the early 1990s. Al-Fadl testified that bin Laden set up training sites to instruct operatives how to use explosives. He mentioned at least one attempt to purchase uranium, which is used to make nuclear weapons."

Sharing Efforts in Weapons?

Adminstration: No Ultimatum on bin Laden
"A U.S. government counterrorism expert told UPI that Bin Laden has also spent some $5 million trying to purchase a nuclear suitcase bomb from Russian renegades in Kazakhstan."

"we are safer today from the threat of massive nuclear war than at any point since the dawn of the atomic age, we are more vulnerable now to the suitcase bomb.." - Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld

[The Shootist]

No way Bin Laden is behind this alone. Making him the boogie man for our need for vengence is a short sighted mistake. Remember the millennium bombs? Whoa, what terror, his infrastructure was for shit -- [the FBI] caught everybody. The guy ran. I mean, who brings explosives across the border in the trunk of a car -- past Customs? To quote Bob Baer ex CIA operative, "The Islamic Jihad in Lebanon are the pros, they fight 24 hours a day. They did the (Lebanese) civil war, they've fought everywhere else. They did (a terrorist bombing in) Buenos Aires, they did (a hijacking in) Bangkok, they can operate overseas ... they are pros, veteran Muslim fighters trained by Iranian instructors." Bin Laden is a dilatant. No way he pulled this off alone.

I agree with you completely about the number of people involved. Bin Laden might not even be "in charge" of this. He may just be a contractor, so to speak.

From the accounts I've read and listened to the entire terrorist network is like a spider's web. Loose communication, many organizations, some more disciplined than others, more professional, some less so.

As far as the bomber. I see one possibility. The bomber was a lone wolf. A Zealot. Not too bright.

Islamic Jihad? As I understand it the groups "sell" each other resources. Men from one group perform tasks for others. I think Bin Laden is more than a dilatant. I think he is a financeer, weaponeer and engineer. This doesn't rule out involvement by many different groups.

[chuckles]

We have had nukes that fit in a 105 Howitzer for 40 years. I always wondered how you could shoot one far enough not to do yourself in. There are pictures in my 1960's World Book. 105mm is about as wide as a cigarette is long. If we can do it, somebody else can too.........after an illegal campaign contribution, and a date with his sister, you can have whatever you want.

[Uncle Bill]

Hatch was BCCI's mouthpiece

Reply 46 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8752655 posted on 09/11/2001 13:56:40 PDT

ALERT NY JEWS! HILLARY CLINTON COVERS UP $$$ & SUPPORT from PRO-ARAB TERRORIST GROUPS

Reply 16 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8752581 posted on 09/11/2001 13:51:40 PDT

ARAFAT GAVE 12G IN GEMS TO CLINTONS

Reply 30 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8752543 posted on 09/11/2001 13:49:28 PDT

Saddam Hussein's Iraq & Osama Bin Laden linked to USS Cole bomb attack

Reply 20 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8752502 posted on 09/11/2001 13:45:02 PDT

Clinton/Gore Links to Middle East Terrorists

Reply 99 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8752387 posted on 09/11/2001 13:36:01 PDT

The US National Emergency

Reply 112 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8751774 posted on 09/11/2001 12:55:33 PDT

"How Dare You Defame Islam"

Reply 119 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8751661 posted on 09/11/2001 12:49:20 PDT

JUSTICE DEPT. ADMITS FALSE TESTIMONY

Reply 29 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8751572 posted on 09/11/2001 12:44:16 PDT

Preparing for the Terrorist Threat

Reply 20 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8751091 posted on 09/11/2001 12:21:12 PDT

Gore and Clinton and Some of Their Associates Linked to Terrorist Groups?

Reply 174 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8751072 posted on 09/11/2001 12:20:03 PDT

FRANK KEATING - Crimes Committed By FBI Officials and Agents During National Security Operations?

Reply 195 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8756651 posted on 09/11/2001 18:17:44 PDT

Deceiving your allies [The USA, NATO and the Bosnian War and how the USA prolonged the war]

Reply 25 to Askel5, Black Jade, Boyd, Joe Montana, robbinsj, Wallaby by Hamiltonian
8756309 posted on 09/11/2001 17:54:10 PDT

Al Gore's Arab Moneyman

Reply 12 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8753765 posted on 09/11/2001 14:58:29 PDT

Expert testifies Islamic terrorists flocking to U.S.

Reply 3 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8753682 posted on 09/11/2001 14:54:00 PDT

George W. Bush's Dubious Friends

Reply 77 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8753562 posted on 09/11/2001 14:48:13 PDT

Dallas Police Forged Secret Link with FBI

Reply 42 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8753382 posted on 09/11/2001 14:37:53 PDT

FBI Operative Ali Mohammed Writes Bin Laden Terrorist Manual

Reply 8 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8753254 posted on 09/11/2001 14:31:04 PDT

BIN LADEN PLOTS BUSH HIT

Reply 26 to Askel5 by Uncle Bill
8753204 posted on 09/11/2001 14:28:40 PDT

The CIA, Osama Bin Laden and His American Business Partners

[Uncle Bill]

From Here:
"According to a 1976 trust agreement, drawn shortly after Bush was appointed director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Saudi Sheik Salem M. Bin laden appointed Bath as his business representative in Houston. Bin laden, along with his brothers, owns Bin laden Brothers Construction, one of the largest construction companies in the Middle East. According to White, Bath told him that he had assisted the CIA in a liaison role with Saudi Arabia since 1976. Bath has previously denied having worked for the CIA . . . Bath received a 5 percent interest in the companies that own and operate Houston Gulf Airport after purchasing it on behalf of Binladen in 1977.

...PBS FRONTLINE: [From a French source] The Saudi authorities' decision to issue an arrest warrant for Osama bin Laden on 16 May 1993 does not threaten to affect the relationship between the bin Ladens and the royal family. Osama, one of Mohammed's youngest son, has been known for years for his fundamentalist activities . . . King Fahd's two closest friends were: Prince Mohammed Ben Abdullah (son of Abdul Aziz' youngest brother), who died in the early '80s and whose brother, Khaled Ben Abdullah (an associate of Suleiman Olayan), still has free access to the king; and Salem bin Laden, who died in 1988 . . . Like his father in 1968, Salem died in a 1988 air crash...in Texas. He was flying a BAC 1-11 which had been bought in July 1977 by Prince Mohammed Ben Fahd. The plane's flight plans had long been at the center of a number of investigations. According to one of the plane's American pilots, it had been used in October 1980 during secret Paris meetings between US and Iranian emissaries. Nothing was ever proven, but Salem bin Laden's accidental death revived some speculation that he might have been "eliminated" as an embarrassing witness. In fact, an inquiry was held to determine the exact circumstances of the accident. The conclusions were never divulged . . . There was also a political aspect to Salem bin Laden's financial activities . . . Salem bin Laden played a role in the US operations in the Middle East and Central America during the '80s."

[Timesink]

You know, I like WorldNetDaily and all - most of the time - but come on. If Oswami Ben Leaden had nukes he would have used them instead of going to all the trouble to get pilots trained, airliners simultaneously hijacked, and the having them crash into structures with pinpoint precision.

This is precisely what I'm thinking. In fact, it's the first thing I thought of yesterday: "Geez, this sucks, but if bin Laden's decided to go all-out like this, it must mean he doesn't have any nukes like everyone's feared."

Of course, if he does have them, and uses one anywhere on the planet, you can pretty much say goodbye to all Palestinians and radical Muslims. Everyone on the planet will instantly become vigilantes and kill every last one of them. And bin Laden knows this.

[Timesink]

I would be very worried, except that this comes from World Net Daily, which is sometimes very good, and sometimes worse than the stupidest tabloid.

Also note the article is from APRIL. Why "merely" take out the World Trade Center, wasting 15-20 perfectly good, expensively-trained terrorists in the process, when he could simply have one terrorist go to Times Square and let a suitcase nuke off? If he's going to risk a reprisal so strong it will likely destroy his entire operation anyway, why only go out with a comparative whimper?

[Liberal Classic]

Maybe he is building up to something big? Let's say we retailate in some way, he has an ace in the hole.

However, we are going to be on the alert now. Perhaps he is going to change methods, and detonate his bombs while we are looking for an attack from the air.

Maybe he is saving it for Israel.

On the other hand, if his goal was to hurt the U.S. as dramatically as possible, why tip his hand with a complicated plan, when a simple, single one would do so much more damage?