Osama Bin Laden is hiding in Chinese territory near the Pakistan border, British journalist Gordon Thomas wrote in Spanish newspaper El Mundo on October 13. Thomas wrote that Bin Laden made an agreement with Chinese authorities to stop guerrilla war by Chinese Muslims against the government. Thomas said that on the final stretch of the US presidential race, Bin Laden could become the ace in President George Bush's sleeve. Washington is currently negotiating a top-secret agreement with Beijing to remove Bin Laden from the turbulent Chinese Muslim provinces, he said.More than five million people, many of them fanatical followers of Bin Laden, live in these provinces, considered one of the most volatile regions on Earth. The past summer, Bin Laden was given asylum by Beijing in exchange for his guarantee that guerrilla action against the establishment would cease, Thomas said. He wrote that the region had been relatively calm since Bin Laden's arrival, but a deal between Beijing and Washington could spell trouble for the Al Qaeda leader. Bin Laden's capture would virtually guarantee President's Bush's re-election in the upcoming presidential elections.
"The new Bush administration would present Beijing as its latest ally in the war against terrorism. China would enjoy the status of one of Washington's most favoured nations and the deal would probably lead to vastly improved economic ties. China's human rights record would be wiped clean," Thomas quoted a Pentagon employee. The employee reportedly said only a "handful of high ranking members of the Bush Administration" were aware of the plan "to take Bin Laden in exchange for special relations with China".
| Right. It's the Secret Plan. Don't tell anyone, ok? |
Thomas said the anonymous Pentagon source provided details of the plan to capture Bin Laden. He said this was not the first time a US administration had resorted to similar tactics during an election campaign. Thomas said Bin Laden's refuge had been spotted by a US satellite and was near a lake on the Pakistan-China border. He said a detachment of Pakistani and US special forces were lying in wait on the Pakistani side, hoping to capture Bin Laden in flight towards Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Zhang Qiyue, China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, sharply denied on Tuesday that Osama Bin Laden was hiding in Chinese territory. United Press International reported. At a press briefing, Zhang said she had not read Thomas's article. "I do not know what he has based the story upon, but it is irresponsible. I can say in clear terms that Bin Laden is not in China." Osama Bin Laden is alive and operating from the western reaches of Pakistan or perhaps going back and forth across the border, said US State Secretary Colin Powell. He said he was pleased with Pakistan's efforts to capture Bin Laden in the tribal areas, adds the news agency Online.
In an interview with The Chicago Tribune, Powell said, "Bin Laden is still out there, and we think he is alive. We are working closely with the Pakistanis to capture him. President Bush is briefed on it regularly so he has not taken his eye off the Bin Laden ball. After all, this is the guy responsible for 9/11."
Acknowledging Pakistan's role in the war against terrorism Powell said, "I spend a lot of time with the Pakistanis. I regularly talk with President General Pervez Musharraf who briefs me on his plans. We have got the Pakistanis doing more in those tribal areas than they've ever done there before to put down Taliban militants and to put down Al Qaeda. They don't want them there either."
Reiterating that the US helped prevent an Indo-Pak war two years ago, Powell said, "We stopped the Indians and the Pakistanis from going to war, we at least helped them stop themselves from going to war two years ago". Powell said that even though the US has had some tough times with some of its allies and friends, "with most of our allies and friends, we are doing well. Our relations with China are the best we have had in 30 years."
China is a force of 1.3 billion people. India has 1.1 billion people. That gives us close to half the world's population that are on good solid ground with us".