Military

DATE=10/03/01

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

NUMBER=5-50250

TITLE=THE BIN LADEN HUNT

DATELINE=ISLAMABAD

BYLINE=JIM TEEPLE

VOICED AT=

CONTENT=

INTRO: For several years U-S officials have been trying to locate and capture Osama bin Laden -- who is wanted in the United States for his alleged role in the September 11th terror attacks and several other deadly terrorist incidents. V-O-A's Jim Teeple reports from Islamabad, experts in the region say even a large military force will have difficulty when it comes to capturing or killing Mr. bin Laden and his key lieutenants.

TEXT: In 1996 the U-S Central Intelligence agency reportedly established a special office dedicated exclusively to tracking down Osama bin Laden and members of his al-Qaida organization. Two years later, following the bombings of the U-S Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, U-S Navy warships launched Tomahawk missile strikes against targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. The strikes were launched in a bid to eliminate the threat posed by the bin Laden organization. In 1999, according to a report in The Washington Post, the C-I-A recruited and trained a special unit of commandos in Pakistan

whose task was to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. The State Department has also offered a multi-million dollar reward for his capture.

All of those efforts to end the threat posed by Mr. bin Laden's alleged terrorist network appear to have failed. Now, following the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the U-S military is finalizing preparations for what could be another strike on Mr. bin Laden and his Taleban allies in Afghanistan.

Hamid Mir, is the editor of the Daily Ausuf, an Urdu-language newspaper

in Islamabad. Mr. Mir is one of the few journalists to interview Osama

bin Laden. He says he believes the Saudi fugitive is ready for any

attack.

/// MIR ACTUALITY ///

He is not afraid to die. If he was afraid he would not adopt this kind

of life. He would love to be killed while fighting against the United

States of America that is his dream.

/// END ACTUALITY ///

Taleban officials say the Saudi Fugitive is under their control and is

being hidden for his own protection inside Afghanistan, actions that have brought the threat of U-S military attack.

/// OPT ///

Hamid Mir says Osama bin Laden and some of his Taleban hosts have long believed they would some day be attacked by the United States. That belief, he says, helps to explain the Taleban's refusal to surrender Osama bin Laden.

/// MIR ACTUALITY ///

I think they have been preparing for this for the last three years. For

the last three years Osama bin Laden established a lot of hideouts. He

was planning where he should go if there is an attack in the north

what would he do or what he would do if the attack came from the south.

And they were also aware there may be revolts against the Taleban in

different parts of Afghanistan and there were some revolts in different

parts of the country, which were I think controlled successfully by the

Taleban. So they were preparing for a war before the 11th of

September. That is why you can see there is no elasticity in their

attitude.

/// END ACTUALITY /// /// END OPT ///

Talat Masood is a retired Pakistani General who now writes a newspaper column on security issues. He says a military strike aimed at Mr. bin Laden's al-Qaida organization will be difficult, and will require some sort of infrastructure

inside Afghanistan.

/// MASOOD ACTUALITY ///

Well it will be very difficult because they will go into hiding, and to

pinpoint exactly where they are hiding will be difficult. But at the

same time when the pressure will be applied they will be on the run. If

the coalition forces go in an establish certain land bases at vantage

points like Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif, and then stay there for

a certain duration of time, while at the same time the northern alliance

is also along with other forces who oppose the Taleban, then it is

possible they may be located. So they may give a fight or be killed.

/// END ACTUALITY ///

There are conflicting reports as to how many fighters belong to al-Qaida

with estimates running from more than 10-thousand to less than one

thousand. Hamid Mir, says al-Qaida has suffered huge losses in recent

years fighting for the Taleban.

/// MIR ACTUALITY ///

Most of his fighters were killed in the last three years while fighting

against the northern alliance. I do not think he has more than two to

three thousand fighters.

/// END ACTUALITY ///

But Hamid Mir says the fighters that remain loyal to Osama bin Laden are

experienced. Many, he says command Taleban troops, and many, he says

fought Soviet troops in Afghanistan's mountains 20 years ago. He says

they will be a formidable adversary for any force trying to catch the man that has become the focus of world attention. (Signed)

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