TERROR LINKED TO BIN LADEN
1992: Three bombings in Yemen targeting U.S. troops.
1993: World Trade Center truck bombing, killing six and injuring 1,000.
1993: 18 U.S. soldiers killed, their bodies dragged through the streets.* Mogadishu, Somalia.
1994: Plot to kill Pope John Paul II in the Philippines.
1994: Conspiracy to bomb 12 U.S. jets simultaneously over the Pacific Ocean.
1995: Bombing of U.S. training mission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing five Americans.
1995: Attempted assassination of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
1995: Plot to kill President Clinton during his visit to Phillipines.
1996: Truck bombing at U.S. base in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia kills 19 soldiers.
1998: Attacks on U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania kill at least 301 and injure more than 5,000.
1999: Plot to attack U.S. and Israeli tourists in Jordan for millennium celebrations.
2000: Suicide bomb attack on the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen, killing 17 American sailors and injuring 39.
INFOBOX (2)
What drives terrorists?
A fundamental belief that the Muslim world is being desecrated by governments of the U.S. and Israel, and even Muslim states such as Egypt and Jordan. While the roots can be traced to perceived slights dating to the 12th century, resolve was solidified by events of the 1970s: growing Western economic influence in the Mideast; Israeli military triumphs, and U.S. pro-Israeli support; and the Russian invasion of Afghanistan.
Terrorist leader Osama bin Laden is particularly incensed by the presence of American troops in Saudia Arabia, a Muslim holy place and the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad.
An all-consuming goal to establish a pan-Islamic religious movement and to expel from Muslim areas Westerners, non-Muslims and Muslim leaders believed to have deviated from fundamental Muslim beliefs.
A religious fervor that supercedes all concerns, including political. Many terrorists come from villages torn by religious violence. Retribution provides a cause that gives clarity and purpose, according to international experts.
We'll do the Bloodhound thing again once we can rustle up a link to Osama, I guess.