Author: AFP
Publication: Hindustan Times
Date: October 9, 2001
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan,
Oman and other. Muslim nations secretly demanded that the US-led war against
terrorism would not be abandoned until Osama bin Laden was dead and his
al-Qaeda network finished off, The Miami Herald reported on Monday.
While Arab and Muslim leaders publicly
warned of the dangers of US strikes, they privately sought assurances that
US President George W Bush would not stop the war prematurely, the way
his father ended the campaign against Iraq a decade ago, according to the
report, which quoted two unnamed senior administration officials.
"While they were complaining in
public about the West attacking other Muslims, in private they wanted to
know if this time we were going to finish the job," the paper quoted one
senior official as saying.
"They did not want to cooperate
with us and then have Bin Laden coming after them," the official said.
"Basically, they told us they want Bin Laden dead."
As a result, one of the tasks before
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last week, when he visited Egypt, Saudi
Arabia, Oman and Uzbekistan, was to reassure leaders in those nations that
this time, the United States was not "short of breath," the Herald reported.
Some Arab and other alliance leaders
were worried that because Vice President Richard Cheney, Secretary of State
Colin Powell and other senior officials in the current administration played
prominent roles in the Gulf War, the outcome could be the same, the report
said.
The senior President Bush decided
against going after Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein at the end of the Gulf
War, which was waged to eject -an Iraqi occupation force from Kuwait.
Arab and Muslim leaders also believe
the war against terrorism will be protracted and difficult, and are worried
about US resolve after watching America retreat from Lebanon and Somalia
after suffering only limited casualties, the Herald reported.
Saudi foreign minister Prince Sand
al Faisal said Saudi Arabia believes there was enough evidence that bin
laden orchestrated the September 11 attacks, according to an interview
published by Time magazine.
"It is necessary to pursue with
vigor and tenacity the criminals who created this tragedy. The US has the
support of the international community
"The people must be identified,
pursued, brought to justice, and all of the world is willing to join in
this struggle," the minister said.
"I can't be more specific than that,"
said the foreign minister.
AFP
