[NYC-L] Fw: Security Watch: Thursday, 12 September 2001

[Xhuliana Agolli]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Security Watch" <isn-daily-news at sipo.gess.ethz.ch>
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Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2001 1:44 AM
Subject: Security Watch: Thursday, 12 September 2001


> ISN Security Watch - Your daily security check on the 
> Partnership for Peace region. For our full news service 
> visit our website, http://www.isn.ethz.ch 
> _________________________________________________________ 
> 
> -Suicide bomber kills Afghan resistance chief  
> -UN pulls out of Afghanistan  
> -US troops in Gulf on alert  
> -EU holds emergency meeting  
> -Germany suspects bin Laden  
> -US must focus on terrorism, not NMD - Russia  
> -Kursk bow cut in salvage program  
> _________________________________________________________ 
>   
>   
> Suicide bomber kills Afghan resistance chief
>  
> The guerrilla leader of Afghanistan's opposition force 
> appears to have been killed in a suicide bombing that 
> senior US officials said Monday could lead to the demise 
> of the last movement fighting the Taliban regime. 
> Ironically however, the terrorist attacks against the US 
> on Tuesday will likely be the salvation of Masoud's 
> Northern Alliance, as US opinion hardens against Islamic 
> extremism. Ahmed Shah Masoud, a guerilla leader who beat 
> back seven Soviet incursions into his home region in the 
> 1980s, was the victim of a bomb hidden in a television 
> camera or on the body of a man posing as a journalist. The 
> bomb went off at the remote base of the Northern Alliance 
> in Khodja Bahauddin, according to Masoud's aides. They 
> insisted on Monday that he had survived the attack, 
> possibly in an attempt to prevent the Taliban military 
> assault that could easily have been a knockout blow for 
> the fragile coalition. Senior US officials reported on 
> Monday that Masoud had died shortly after the explosion. 
> They said the movement appeared to be trying to buy time 
> and mobilize its limited military force in case the 
> Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime attempted to take 
> advantage of the charismatic leader's death. Opposition 
> leaders immediately accused the Taliban of being 
> responsible for the attack. The style of the bombing led 
> several US officials to suspect the organization of Osama 
> bin Laden, a Saudi militant and Taliban ally who is also 
> suspected of involvement in the attack on the US. Bin Laden 
> is on the FBI's most wanted list, with a US$5 million 
> reward, and has taken refuge in Afghanistan, where he 
> finances camps and training for Muslim militants, many from 
> Arab nations. If bin Laden's forces were responsible for 
> killing Masoud, the Taliban would be indebted to him, but 
> if the US believes he is behind the terrorist attacks on 
> New York and Washington, then it is likely Taliban will 
> hand him over to avoid massive retaliation. Nonetheless, 
> the loss of Masoud would be a devastating blow to the 
> already shaky Northern Alliance of Burhanuddin Rabbani, who 
> claims to be president of Afghanistan even though he and 
> his allies control only about five per cent of the country 
> along the Tajik border. Masoud's death could also trigger a 
> power struggle among the diverse factions in the Alliance. 
> On Monday US officials said the assassination could, in 
> effect, finish off the alliance as a significant military 
> force, but if the tide of US opinion turns decisively 
> against bin Laden, the Taliban and Islamic extremism in 
> general, the Northern Alliance will be a primary 
> beneficiary. (LA Times)
>  
>         
>  
> UN pulls out of Afghanistan
>  
> The UN envoy for Afghanistan said on Wednesday he had 
> ordered a temporary pullout of UN staff from the country 
> because of fears of US retaliatory strikes there in response 
> to the attacks in America. In an interview with Reuters, 
> Francesc Vendrell stressed the evacuation of 80 expatriate 
> staff was a precautionary measure and he had no information 
> that Washington was preparing to strike at the war-ravaged 
> country ruled by Taliban authorities. The United States has 
> not accused any group of hijacking commercial planes on 
> Tuesday to carry out the deadly attacks on the World Trade 
> Center in New York and Pentagon in Washington. But US 
> officials have said their suspicions focus on Saudi 
> militant exile Osama bin Laden, being sheltered in 
> Afghanistan. "The United States government had made it 
> clear in the last three months at least to both me and 
> directly to the Taliban authorities that should any 
> terrorist incident occur of the kind that took place in 
> Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1998, or in terms of the US 
> ship Cole, that this time there would be no hesitation in 
> carrying out some retaliatory measures," Vendrell said. "I 
> want to make it clear that we don't have any inside 
> information that the United States government or anybody 
> else is planning anything at the moment in terms of 
> Afghanistan, this is just a logical precaution," he said. 
> Vendrell, a Spaniard who became Afghan envoy 18 months ago, 
> was speaking at the UN European headquarters in Geneva 
> after holding private talks with the son and grandson of 
> the former Afghan king, Mohammad Zahir Shah, who lives in 
> Rome. (Reuters)
>  
>        
>  
> US troops in Gulf on alert
>  
> The US sealed off its military bases in the Gulf area on 
> Wednesday and security steps for US civilians were swiftly 
> introduced after massive attacks on buildings in New York 
> and Washington rocked the superpower. But Western defence 
> sources said that although all US forces overseas had been 
> put on top alert, the measures might not directly affect 
> US-British air patrols over Gulf War foe Iraq to enforce a 
> no-fly zone from bases in the region. The British have not 
> raised their level to top alert but because they share 
> regional bases with US forces, they are conforming with 
> American security measures. US troops guarding the perimeter 
> of Camp Doha on the outskirts of Kuwait City have all 
> pulled back into the compound, which has been sealed off to 
> minimise any threat. The camp houses hundreds of US 
> ground forces who train in the desert state near the Iraqi 
> border almost all year round, as well as heavy military 
> hardware pre-positioned for immediate deployment in case of 
> a crisis. Elsewhere in the small Gulf Arab state bases 
> hosting US forces and aircraft were also put on top alert 
> and extra security measures introduced. Similar measures 
> were taken across the Gulf region, where the US has some 
> 15'000-25'000 military personnel. In Qatar, witnesses said 
> local authorities blocked access roads to US military 
> facilities, including two bases for storing heavy military 
> hardware. Strict security measures already in force at US 
> military facilities in the region were upgraded after 
> Tuesday's attacks, including at the headquarters of the US 
> Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and in Saudi Arabia where Washington 
> has warplanes deployed. (Reuters)
>  
>        
>  
> EU holds emergency meeting
>  
> EU foreign ministers opened an emergency meeting on 
> Wednesday, attended exceptionally by NATO's secretary-
> general, to discuss a joint response to Tuesday's 
> terrorist attacks in the United States. British Foreign 
> Secretary Jack Straw told reporters the ministers would 
> express solidarity with the American people and discuss 
> measures to strengthen security at airports, public 
> buildings and on airlines in the 15-nation bloc. "It was 
> an attack on all of us - an attack on freedom and 
> democracy, on civilisation and on humanity," Straw said. 
> He refused to comment on the possibility of US retaliation. 
> NATO Secretary-General George Robertson told reporters: 
> "We stand together. We are two organisations with one 
> voice, one strong voice, that we will not stand for this 
> terrorism." A draft declaration pledged full cooperation 
> in combating terrorism, tracking down the perpetrators of 
> the US attacks and helping in search and rescue operations, 
> if needed. Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh said 
> everyone must help find those guilty of the devastating 
> attacks on the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon 
> in Washington, but she cautioned against hasty retaliation. 
> (Reuters)
>  
>        
>  
> Germany suspects bin Laden
>  
> Germany said on Wednesday that its intelligence agencies 
> agreed, with those in France, Britain, and Israel, that 
> Saudi militant Osama bin Laden was probably behind the 
> attacks on the United States, but they did not have hard 
> evidence. Chancellery Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier 
> told a news conference that Germany's intelligence agencies 
> had consulted their counterparts in Israel, France, and 
> Britain. He said they agreed that the attacks bore the 
> hallmarks of bin Laden, a Saudi-born dissident who now 
> lives in Afghanistan. Steinmeier, responsible for German 
> intelligence operations, said the type of attack, the 
> highly professional nature of the preparations, and the 
> ample financial resources apparently made available lead 
> the agencies to suspect bin Laden of involvement. Bin 
> Laden, a 44-year-old multi-millionaire is blamed for 
> bombing two US embassies in East Africa in 1998, killing 
> 224 people and injuring 4'000, and other anti-US attacks. 
> The US has also branded bin Laden the prime suspect in 
> bombings that killed 24 US service personnel in the Saudi 
> cities of Riyadh and Khobar in 1995 and 1996. Steinmeier 
> said that Germany's Bundesnachrichtendienst intelligence 
> agency had not yet been able to consult with its 
> counterparts in the US but that they hoped to within the 
> next few days. "After yesterday's attacks in Washington and 
> New York it is clear that we are facing a new level of 
> international terrorism," he said. US officials said on 
> Tuesday that people who conducted the attacks may have had 
> links to bin Laden or his organisation. Names of people 
> with possible ties to bin Laden's organisation were 
> found on the passenger rosters of the hijacked planes. 
> German Interior Minister Otto Schily reiterated that he was 
> in contact with his European Union counterparts and that 
> they were discussing holding an emergency meeting of EU 
> interior ministers to review security measures. 
> (Reuters)
>  
>        
>  
> US must focus on terrorism, not NMD - Russia
>  
> Russian officials urged the United States on Wednesday to 
> join a global fight against terrorism instead of focusing 
> on a missile defence shield that could not have stopped 
> Tuesday's devastating airliner attacks. Although the 
> attacks sparked genuine sympathy in Russia, officials said 
> the devastation caused by hijacked planes plunging into 
> the World Trade Center and the Pentagon showed that 
> Washington should change the emphasis of its defence 
> strategy. "It is becoming clear that the US side have been 
> seeking answers to the wrong questions," Dmitry Rogozin, 
> head of the parliamentary committee on international 
> affairs, said. "This is a strong argument that the United 
> States is building a system against non-existent threats," 
> analyst Alexander Golts said. The dramatic attacks in the 
> heartland of the US struck a raw nerve in Russia, its 
> traditional big-power rival, which, with a sprawling 
> territory and huge borders, identifies with Washington's 
> security fears. Russia is opposed to a US missile defence 
> program aimed at defending the US against strikes from 
> "rogue states" and which will run up against the landmark 
> 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between the two powers. 
> After Tuesday's tragedy Russian experts said Washington 
> had to recognise that its defence strategy was going the 
> wrong way. Former head of the Federal State Security 
> Service Nikolai Kovalyov said the US shift from a doctrine 
> of global security to one of purely national security was 
> a strategic error. Building a national missile shield would 
> only push extremists to look for new ways of operating, 
> including with chemical weapons. He said the US special 
> services had clearly failed to pick up the threat of an 
> attack because of lack of information. (Reuter)
>  
>         
>  
> Kursk bow cut in salvage program
>  
> An international team cut the bow off the sunken nuclear 
> Russian submarine Kursk on Wednesday bringing salvagers a 
> step closer to raising the wreck from the bed of the Barents 
> Sea later this month. Salvagers plan to raise the Kursk, 
> which sank after explosions ripped through its bow last 
> August, killing all 118 men aboard, and bring it to dock in 
> Roslyakovo on Russia's northern coast by 27-28 September. 
> "The bow has now been cut off," said Lars Walder, spokesman 
> for the Dutch Mammoet-Smit team aboard the Giant 4 barge, 
> docked off Kirkenes in northern Norway. The barge will hoist 
> the wreck to the surface using 26 mammoth cranes. Divers 
> have been working for more than a week in icy waters 100m 
> deep to slice off the bow using robot cutting gear. Russian 
> President Vladimir Putin has vowed to raise the Kursk 
> before winter storms and darkness make work too hazardous. 
> Putin has said he wants to find out the cause of the 
> disaster, recover the Kursk's nuclear reactor from the 
> seabed and give crew members a proper burial. But experts 
> say the mangled torpedo bay in the bow holds the key to the 
> sinking. Some Russian navy officials have said the Kursk 
> may have collided with a Western submarine, while many 
> other experts say an onboard torpedo explosion caused the 
> disaster. Either way, Walder said the 25-metre bow had to 
> come off in order to salvage the rest of the submarine. 
> "The problem is that the bow is completely damaged," he 
> said. Otherwise, in the worst case, it might have fallen 
> off during the salvage. Walder said the most critical stage 
> of the rescue operation would be to loosen the Kursk from 
> the seabed, when rescuers drag a giant steel wire under 
> the submarine. The cranes will lift the Kursk by attaching 
> other wires to 26 pre-bored holes.
> 
> _________________________________________________________   
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