TIME Magazine
Former President of Bosnia Alija Izetbegovic talks to TIME about about allegations of terrorist links in the Balkans
BY ANDREW PURVIS/SARAJEVO
October 31, 2001
Reports have long circulated - actively fuelled by Izetbegovic's former enemies in Belgrade and the Serb Republic of Bosnia - that he met with bin Laden and openly courted potential terrorists during the war. TIME met with him last week and asked him about those allegations. Excerpts:
TIME: According to several reports, you met with Osama bin Laden or his chief deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri during the war. Is that true?
Izetbegovic: During and after the war I met with thousands of people coming from the Islamic world but I can remember the faces and names of only a few. Neither of the two you mentioned are among them. And if, by some chance, I have met them, then they could not have talked with me about terrorism.
TIME: Do you believe there is an al-Qaeda cell in Bosnia?
Izetbegovic: There are suspicions but no proof. Personally I do not believe that al-Qaeda has cells in Bosnia.
How Clintonesque. Of course they don't have any cells. You don't need "cells" to operate in a country where you are welcomed to train and breed terrorism. You only need "cells" when you need to hide from the government of the country you are in. And of course, the good journalist failed to ask if they had terroist training in Bosnia.
Someone should send the b**ch DelPonte to Saudi Arabia for a year to work as a live in maid.