U.S.-U.K. operation within 48 hours?

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, SEPT. 30. A joint U.S.-British operation to flush out terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden is likely to be launched ``in the next 48 hours'' and ``devastating'' attacks on his bases were planned as part of a ``tightly focused military operation'' backed by Britain, according to media reports here.

The Observer led with the story, saying the operation was designed to ``kill'' Osama and it would begin with air and missile strikes to destroy Taliban's air and ground forces.

The newspaper gave technical details of what it described as the ``first phase'' to be launched from the U.S. and British warships in the Arabian Sea. It was the latest in a series of stories in recent weeks predicting anti-terrorist military strikes in ``days''.

The British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, however, gave no indication of an imminent attack and said the campaign to eradicate terrorism would take a considerable time. He said the action to hunt down Osama was not aimed at removing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Asked if he had seen the evidence against Osama, he said: ``Yes, I've seen absolutely powerful and incontrovertible evidence''to link Osama with the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. He warned that if the Taliban regime continued to be an ``obstacle'' in the way of getting to him then it would have to be ``disabled''.

Mr. Blair, who was speaking at BBC's ``Breakfast with Frost'' this morning, said it was yet to be decided how much of the evidence could be made public because ``we want to say to the people here is why we want him.''

Extradition issue

On his Government's move to make extradition of suspected terrorists easier, he said the existing procedures took ``years'' to extradite anyone. He indicated that the Government would come down heavily on those who tried to ``abuse'' the country's asylum system for their own ideological ends.

An early decision on introducing a ``fast track'' extradition procedure could have a bearing on the FBI's demand for the custody of an Algerian pilot, Lotfi Raissi, who has been arrested here in connection with the September 11 attacks. Pressure is mounting on the Blair Government to crack down on suspected terrorist groups many of which are believed to be still active despite a ban on them early this year.

The Sunday Times reported today that a London-based French- Moroccan student, Zacarias Moussaoui, is suspected to be a ``sleeper'' in Osama's Al-Qaeda network with a ``pivotal'' role in planning terrorist attacks. He is being questioned by the FBI on suspicion that he was training to join the 19 suicide hijackers behind the New York and Washington atrocities.

Meanwhile, even as behind-the-scenes attempts to project the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan as a post-Taliban dispensation continued, a senior Alliance leader here shrugged off suggestions today that it wanted to ``replace'' the Taliban regime. ``We want a government of national unity and reconciliation,'' Mr. Ahmad Wali Masood, brother of the assassinated Northern Alliance leader, Shah Masood, said in a TV interview.

The former Afghan King Zaheer Shah, who is in exile in Rome, however, continued to show interest in returning to his country at the head of a transitional government.

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