Osama and the deeds of mass terror

A FORCEFUL CASE has been presented by the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, against Osama bin Laden, the suspected evil genius behind the atrocities of mass terror that stunned the world on September 11. The British refrain is that some significantly credible links have been established between Osama bin Laden and those crimes against humanity. Now, the United Kingdom is certainly privy to much of the sensitive intelligence that the United States is said to be mobilising in this connection. The U.K. is a prime ally of the U.S. in its current diplomatic ``campaign'' against all forms of terrorism with a clear impact on the conscience of the entire global community. Yet, Mr. Blair clarified in the House of Commons on Thursday that the strands of intelligence inputs which he unveiled should not be routinely weighed against the legal touchstone of an ``evidentiary'' case. The reason is plain enough. As suitably stated by him, delicate is the need to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigative process in the U.S. and Britain as also elsewhere. This singular consideration has prevented him from disclosing ``other intelligence'' of ``an even more direct nature''. Washington and London appear to have shared the more valuable information with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which has already identified itself with the security interests of a prime member such as the U.S., and with the British opposition leaders as the case might be. On the whole, therefore, Mr. Blair has outlined a virtual first information report on the worldwide suspicions about Osama bin Laden's hideous role in the mini-holocaust that occurred in America on September 11.

Mr. Blair's latest parliamentary statement on this issue of global concern centres on several important ``intelligence'' findings. One of the closest lieutenants of Osama bin Laden is said to have ``admitted the involvement of (their) Al-Qaeda organisation''. At least three of the plane hijackers who carried out the suicidal raids on September 11 have been ``positively identified as (the) known associates'' of the suspected mastermind himself. The intelligence sleuths have reportedly traced the criminal trail of a terrorist, who died in the latest suicidal attacks, to the earlier bombings of an American naval vessel, in one instance, and two U.S. embassies in Africa in the other case. Reinforcing the investigative `lead' of this kind is the circumstantial `evidence' now unearthed by the American secret services and others, that Osama bin Laden had told his associates prior to September 11 itself that he ``had a major operation against America under preparation'' and that they should return to their secure bases in the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan before that date. Another major dimension of Mr. Blair's case reveals a symbiotic relationship between the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda.

Objectively, there is no need to discount Mr. Blair's version on the specious ground that the U.S. rather than the U.K., America's closest ally, should have been the first to take the world into confidence in this manner. The truth simply is that the U.K. and many other countries, including India, have lost their citizens in the terrorist carnage that has outraged the civilised world as never before. India, a victim of externally-sponsored terrorism, as also Pakistan are among those being kept informed by the U.S. about the progress of its probe against Al-Qaeda. Given the Taliban's original links with Pakistan in this specific context, it is of utmost investigative salience that Islamabad should have reckoned the evidence adduced by the U.S. as an adequate basis for a possible indictment in a court of law. For the Taliban, a coded diplomatic message from Pakistan cannot be more forthright. With the international community closing in on the Taliban's diplomatic flanks, such as they exist, the regime in Kabul should at least now think of allowing Osama bin Laden to face the due process of law.

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