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| Terror Networks |
| Binny no longer running al-Qaeda? |
| 2002-06-05 |
| Osama bin Laden has ceased actively directing al-Qaeda operations, despite evidence that the terrorist network continues to function around the world, American intelligence agents believe. Bin Laden may have stopped communicating directly with al-Qaeda cells for fear of being tracked down by allied forces, Pentagon officials said. Alternatively, he could be seriously ill. Probably both. If he's in end-stage kidney failure, he's a deader unless he can come up with a transplant. Judging from the last video but one, if it was made between January and March, he should be approaching his last legs about now... The officialsâ comments echoed remarks made by Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, to The Washington Post on the eve of his arrival in London this morning. Mr Rumsfeld will hold talks with Tony Blair and Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, and the Kashmir stand-off will be top of the agenda. But an American Embassy official in London said that Mr Rumsfeld would also be talking about future plans for eliminating the al-Qaeda network around the world and would discuss the latest views on how to deal with Iraq. From London Mr Rumsfeld flies to Brussels for a Nato defence ministersâ meeting in Brussels tomorrow and the first meeting of the NatoRussia Council. Then he will travel on to India and Pakistan to reinforce international efforts to avert a war in South Asia. Pretty grueling schedule. I always like to try and get a night's sleep when I travel, so I can stay awake during meetings. American officials said that intelligence agents continue to intercept so-called âchatterâ from known al-Qaeda cells, indicating that the organisation is intact. The United States is seeking other senior members of the group whom, they believe, are running it on Bin Ladenâs behalf. Mr Rumsfeld said: "If he were active we would know it. We would have some visible sense of it, which we havenât seemed to have had." That's because he's going downhill... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |