http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030215-677323.htm
U.S. intelligence agencies say Osama bin Laden's oldest son, Sad, is in Iran
along with other senior al Qaeda terrorists, as Iranian military forces have
been placed on their highest state of alert in anticipation of a U.S. attack
on Iraq, according to intelligence officials
Sad bin Laden was spotted in Iran last month, according to officials
familiar with intelligence reports. Sad is believed to be a key leader of
the al Qaeda terrorist network since U.S. and allied forces ousted the
ruling Taliban militia in Afghanistan.
Officials said it is not clear what relationship Sad has with the
Tehran government, which on Thursday denied congressional testimony by CIA
Director George J. Tenet that al Qaeda terrorists are in Iran.
The new reports are the first time senior al Qaeda terrorists have been
identified in Iran. Earlier reports have indicated other al Qaeda fighters
have been granted refuge in Iran from neighboring Afghanistan.
The intelligence on bin Laden's son comes as the Bush administration
has released intelligence indicating Iraq is working with al Qaeda
terrorists, including a senior associate of Osama bin Laden who has been in
Baghdad since May.
A CIA spokesman declined to comment when asked about the intelligence
reports about Sad's whereabouts.
London's Arabic-language newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat, quoting a
diplomatic source, reported from Rome on Thursday that Sad was seen in Iran.
The newspaper said it is not clear whether other senior al Qaeda are in
Iran.
U.S. officials confirmed that Sad is among the senior al Qaeda believed
to be in Iran after the newspaper report appeared.
Sad, 23, is the oldest of Osama bin Laden's 27 children from several
wives. He lived with his father in Sudan and Afghanistan, and fled
Afghanistan in December 2001.
Meanwhile, Iranian military forces are on heightened alert and Tehran
leaders fear U.S. military forces will use operations against Iraq as a
steppingstone for invading Iran.
The Iranian military activities appear similar to Iran's response to
the 1991 Persian Gulf war, when Iranian military forces built up in large
numbers along the border with Iraq.
So far, the Iranian forces have not massed near the Iraqi border, but
are expected to do so if U.S. military operations against Iraq occur.
Mr. Tenet said at a Senate hearing Tuesday that "we see disturbing
signs that al Qaeda has established a presence in both Iran and Iraq."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said yesterday that
Mr. Tenet's claim was "baseless," state-run Tehran radio reported. "The
seriousness of Iran's fight against terrorism, and its expelling those
suspected of links to al Qaeda, has always been clear, sincere and
transparent," he said.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld also said in a Senate hearing in
September that the Iranian government is "currently harboring reasonably
large numbers of al Qaeda," while keeping the support for the terrorist
group from its people.
"The al Qaeda are functioning in that country, both transiting and
located, and operating," Mr. Rumsfeld told the Senate Armed Services
Committee.
Iran's government has denied repeatedly it has any links to al Qaeda.
The chief of Iran's armed forces, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Salimi, said in
Tehran on Monday that the Iranian army is "on full alert," according to the
official Islamic Republic News Agency.
Gen. Salimi said the armed forces are "on guard against any aggressive
move by enemies that would threaten the territorial integrity of Islamic
Iran."
Bush administration officials met privately last month in Europe with
Iranian officials to discuss Iraq and seek Tehran's help in supporting Sunni
Muslims in a post-Saddam Iraq. The meeting was first reported by The
Washington Post Feb. 8.
Officials said the initiative was put forth by Richard Haas, the State
Department's director of policy planning.
Intelligence officials said Iran's support for terrorists, including al
Qaeda, in the past was carried out by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence
and Security, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Qods Force.
The Defense Intelligence Agency in 2000 uncovered information linking
al Qaeda to Iran's government.
Intelligence from Malaysia showed that two of the September 11
hijackers, Khalid Almidhar and Nawaf Alhazmi, attended a key meeting of al
Qaeda terrorists in Malaysia that year. The two men were the suicide
hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77 that hit the Pentagon.
The 2000 intelligence showed they stayed at the Kuala Lumpur residence
of Iran's ambassador to Malaysia.
The disclosure about the Iran-al Qaeda ties comes as the United States
released intelligence indicating links between Baghdad and al Qaeda, and the
release of an audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden calling on Muslims
to defend Iraq.
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell told the United Nations last week
that Baghdad was harboring a network of more than two dozen al Qaeda
terrorists headed by Abu Musaab Zarqawi.
The White House said that Tuesday's audiotape broadcast of Osama bin
Laden, who called on al Qaeda to defend Iraq, shows Baghdad's link to the
group.
"If that is not an unholy partnership, I've not heard of one," White
House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. "This is the nightmare that people have
warned about, the linking up of Iraq with al Qaeda." Iran's connection to al
Qaeda was identified by Italian government authorities in October.
A Tunisian national, Nassim Saadi, was among six suspected al Qaeda
terrorists who were arrested at that time and he had been found to have
flown from Milan, Italy, to Tehran in January 2002.
Iran also backed Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who recently
returned to Afghanistan from Iran and has joined forces with the remnants of
the ousted Taliban militia and al Qaeda in opposing the government of Hamid
Karzai and U.S. troops.
xponent
Omnious Maru
rob
________________________________
You are a fluke of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
And whether you can hear it or not,
the universe is laughing behind your back.
_______________________________________________
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
