Author: Editorial
Publication: The Hindu
Date: October 6, 2001
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.
