Posted on 05/05/2003 4:17:24 PM PDT by blam
Al-Qa'ida has moved its base to Asia, G8 leaders say
By Andrew Grice, Political Editor
06 May 2003
The al-Qa'ida terrorist network is believed to have moved its operational base to central Asia, home affairs ministers from the G8 industrial nations said yesterday.
After a meeting in Paris, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French Interior Minister, said the organisation, headed by Osama bin Laden, still posed a real threat. He said al-Qa'ida, formerly based in Afganistan, had apparently set up new bases in the former Soviet republics of Chechnya and Georgia.
"We don't expect to lower our guard for a long time," he said. "All the G8 countries have a similar analysis. The terrorist threat is real, it's still present."
Mr Sarkozy denied that the divisions among G8 members over Iraq would hamper the group's fight against terrorism. John Ashcroft, the US Attorney General, attended yesterday's meeting, becoming one of the most senior American officials to visit Paris since tensions erupted over Iraq.
Mr Sarkozy said: "French-American co-operation never stopped, because it concerns the security of our citizens. Those disagreements [on Iraq] are real but that does not necessitate discord on the fight against terrorism."
David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, said the terrorist threat had not lessened. "Whilst we've ... damaged the morale of those who were able to draw on the tacit support of the regime, the network out there remains a problem."
The G8 ministers endorsed a call by Britain for their nations to use biometric data – such as fingerprints and iris scanning – to prevent the forgery of travel documents and passports. A working group will draw up proposals by the end of the year to ensure that systems used by different countries are compatible.
The ministers also agreed to set up a database containing 150,000 images of child pornography and pictures of alleged paedophiles in an attempt to improve intelligence-sharing.
Scott Ritter would KILL to have the job of database administrator.
HOWEVER...the idea of a FRENCHMAN, informing the world that al Qaeda is in CHECHNYA....well, DUH! No kiddin'!! A Binny video was shot in Chechnya years ago!! WE KNOW THIS, DUDE!!
Russia is perfectly capable of handling terrorism in former Soviet Bloc states. The former SOVIET UNION, however, would still rather gas hostages and then cover it up. Putin's been whining aobut how he needs American support to get rid of Chechan terrorists....unfortunately, Russian officials aren't exactly trustworthy and the Russian regime is no more capable of solving problems than was the old Soviet government they used to work for.
Need anyone be reminded of Russia's complicity in the Axis of Weasels, it's providing the RG with night vision goggles and GPS jammers and former Soviet generals advising Saddam's military?
SURE, the night vision goggles didn't work all that well, the GPS jammers were a failure and those Soviet generals lost the Cold War all over again to the SAME COUNTRY THEY LOST IT TO THE LAST TIME....which I believe makes my point about how much we can trust the Russian government today.
LOL, I'm sure he would! Russia's like the Mecca of kiddie porn!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.