Looking Beyond Osama
Chitra Iyengar
The WTC and
the Pentagon were struck by a co-ordinated terrorist attack on that fateful morning of 11
Sept 2001. The Americans now call it “Black Tuesday”. All fingers point in one
direction – Afghanistan –Taliban – Osama Bin Laden. Whether Osama was the
mastermind behind this tragedy is still being looked into by the US investigating
agencies, even as giant C-130 Hercules aircraft are disgorging their SEALS and ODAs at
Chaklala air base in Pakistan, as discreetly close to Osama’s hideout as any one can
get.
This
operation, which includes ascertaining the ‘whodunit’ aspect, and thereafter the
actions to be taken at every possible level, has now riveted the attention of the entire
world. The Americans prefer to call this operation - “PENTTBOM” – short for
‘Pentagon and Twin Towers Bombings’.
With no hard feelings, and with no soft-corners
for Osama either, the Americans are well advised to look a little beyond what is obvious.
It is unlikely that Osama acted on his own, especially given the fact that his infamous
and feared terrorist organization “Al Qaeda” is also beset with problems of
inner strife, betrayal and greed, and at times a reputation for being a very
slip–shod group. An operation of this magnitude needs the backing of a state, a state
like the one which America is bitterly at war with: Iraq. So let’s see how the story
connects…
If
we were to go back to the 1998 American Embassy bombing episode in East Africa, one of the
findings of the trial that was conducted was that Bin Laden had desired to acquire a pilot
and an airplane for Al Qaeda. An Egyptian by the name of Essam Rida - previously involved
in the Afghanistan conflict as a pilot, but settled in the U.S. thereafter - was drafted
to purchase a plane and fly it out to Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. So in 1993, Rida
purchased a jet, suitably modified it, flew it to Khartoum and then returned home. A few
months later, Al Qaeda recalled him to fly the same jet to Nairobi with a few passengers
aboard. Apparently, no pilot was available with Al Qaeda to fly that plane. Rida once
again obliged. After about a year, Rida was called again to maintain and test-fly the
plane as it’s condition had deteriorated due to non-use. During the test-flight, the
brakes failed and Rida managed to bring the airplane to a halt in the sands beyond the
runway. This fact reveals that the Al Qaeda did not have the wherewithal to even look
after a single aircraft.
The
above journeys into Khartoum also reveal that Al Qaeda had close ties with the Sudanese
intelligence agency. Unfortunately, the focus at the trial was centered on the wrongdoers
rather than the Al Qaeda-Sudanese nexus (another lesson in the need to look beyond the
obvious). This gave Osama, a “stateless” identity. It was always presumed that
Osama acted alone and in isolation, little realizing that, states have a far greater
capability for terrorist action than individuals. States can maintain embassies abroad,
they can transfer illegal material in diplomatic pouches with impunity and they are able
to work their intelligence agencies in the guise of diplomats or through agents.
So
where does Iraq fit in? Well, recall that Sudan was one of the very few nations that
supported Iraq during the Gulf War. Being strategically located, Iraq established an
intelligence set-up in Khartoum. A man called Abd al Samad al Ta’ish, a highly placed
Iraqi intelligence official who presented his credentials as the Ambassador of Iraq,
headed the mission. Al Ta’ish arrived in Khartoum in July 1991 along with 35
intelligence officers and established his base.
It
is likely that Al Qaeda came in contact with Iraqi intelligence in Khartoum, when Rida was
flying out his passengers from Khartoum to Nairobi. This can be easily inferred from the
developments that were taking place in the months preceding the Aug 1998 embassy bombings.
Right since 1997, Saddam was campaigning to drive out the UN weapons inspectors (known to
all as UNSCOM) out of Iraq, claiming that the WMDs were destroyed and demanding that the
sanctions against Iraq be lifted. Osama joined in the fray by issuing threats to the
Americans about their so-called high-handedness and an unwillingness to concede to
Iraq’s demands.
It
was on 03 Aug 1998 that the UNSCOM Chairman Richard Butler arrived at Baghdad with his
team of Inspectors. Saddam demanded that Butler declare that Iraq had complied with UN
resolutions or leave immediately. Richard Butler left Iraq on 04 Aug 1988.
On
07 Aug 1998, the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed simultaneously in a
co-ordinated action not dissimilar from the WTC/Pentagon attacks.
The
entire media speculation was on Iraq being the culprit here, but for the apprehension of
one Muhammad Sadek Odeh by the Pakistani authorities. He had the misfortune of being
detained at the airport for flying on a passport with a photograph that bore no
resemblance to his appearance. Further interrogation revealed his links with Al Qaeda, and
the confirmation that he was directly involved with the Embassy bombings. US authorities
had critical evidence linking Bin Laden to the bombings, but had overlooked the fact that
Iraq may also have been involved as it’s threats during the UNSCOM crisis, at around
the same time, seemed to suggest. The Clinton administration was probably not interested
in pursuing the Iraqi involvement theory at this juncture, although legitimate questions
were raised about Bin Laden’s capability to bomb two US targets, single-handed and
simultaneously.
One
of the single most important reasons why US Intelligence agencies believe that Bin Laden
is the greatest terrorist threat to America – and therefore, quite possibly behind
the ‘Black Tuesday’ attacks is the wealth of signals intelligence (sigint) they
pick up about Al Qaeda’s plotting. That sort of intelligence leads to repeated alerts
about possible attacks on US targets, including the one last June, which mobilized US
forces in the Persian Gulf and Jordan. It is rather surprising that the US was able to
pick up so much information about Bin Laden, but missed out totally on the ‘Black
Tuesday’ attacks!
Does
that tell us something about deception? Was the US meant to pick up only those signals
that reinforced the belief that terrorism is being carried out by Al Qaeda, and not by an
enemy state? Frankly, it does not make any sense to attribute all acts of terrorism to
only one man. We need to take a new look at the major terrorist attacks on the US in their
entire perspective.
Recent
reports have now started confirming the Iraqi hand in this gruesome attack. It so happens
that an Iraqi intelligence officer, Salah Suleiman, was arrested by Pakistani authorities
near the border with Afghanistan in October last year. This officer revealed two important
facts:
(a)
Iraqi
Intelligence officers have frequently shuttled between Baghdad and Afghanistan over the
last two years.
(b)
The
head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service (SSO) is none other than Qusay Hussein, son of
Saddam Hussein.
The
Israelis detailed their operatives to confirm the accuracy of these statements and to
ferret out more information. The information that the Israeli Military Intelligence Agency
(Aman) has come up with is startling. They have confirmed the following facts:
(a)
Two
of the world’s foremost terrorist masterminds have directed this operation. They are:
a Lebanese named Imad Mughniyeh, head of the Special Overseas Operations for the
Hezbollah; and an Egyptian named Dr. Ayman al Zawahiri, a senior member of the Al Qaeda
network with direct access to Bin Laden.
(b)
The
Iraqis had already established strong ties with Mughniyeh. (Incidentally, Mughniyeh, a
confirmed psychopath, was responsible for the kidnapping, brutal torture and killing of
CIA’s Intelligence chief in Beirut, William Buckley, in 1984).
(c)
The
Iraqi intelligence officers’ frequent trips to Afghanistan were with an intention of
meeting Zawahiri.
In
launching ‘’Infinite Justice‘’ (now perhaps to be renamed to
accommodate Muslim sensitivities), Bush is well advised to increase the number of his
‘’Wanted: Dead or Alive‘’ posters to a minimum of five, and not merely
restrict it to just one.
Bibliography
‘’Study
of Revenge: Saddam Hussein’s Unfinished War Against America’’ – Laurie
Mylroie.
‘’TIME’’
Magazine – Aug 98
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