Posted on 09/13/2001 12:48:56 PM PDT by Sockdolager
Thursday, 30 August 2001 9:58 (ET)
Taliban slammed over bin Laden appointment
MOSCOW, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Russia's Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned the appointment of Saudi terrorism suspect Osama bin Laden as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban regime, the official RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Bin Laden's appointment confirmed that a center of international terrorism is being set up in Taliban-controlled territory, the ministry said in a statement.
"Pseudo-religious values are being used as a cover to prepare a bridgehead for expansion of militant extremism and separatism far beyond the region's borders," added the statement.
This month, Russian media quoted Pakistan's Nation daily as saying that the Taliban had named bin Laden commander of their troops. Afghanistan's civil war concerns the Kremlin as hundreds of Russian border guards monitor the Afghan-Tajik border and a potential spill of violence could plunge the whole region into chaos.
Moreover, the Taliban's aim to build an orthodox Islamic state has given rise to many Islamic extremist movements in the former Soviet republics in Central Asia. In recent years, Islamic insurgents from Afghanistan launched raids on Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
The Taliban's ongoing clashes with the Northern Alliance movement backing ousted President Burhanuddin Rabbani -- the leader of the government general recognized by international organizations -- have alerted Russia and its partners as arms smuggling, drug trafficking, kidnapping and other crimes have flourished along the Afghan-Tajik border.
On Thursday, Moscow also condemned the appointment of Juma Namangani as bin Laden's deputy. Namangani, an ethnic Uzbek, was liked to a number of raids on Kyrgyzstan's Batken district over the last three years. Namangani advocates creation of an Islamic state run by a regime similar to the Taliban's and spreading over Central Asia.
"Incorporation of the international terrorists' leaders into the ruling structures of the Taliban shows the need to take decisive measures to collectively counter global challenges that are put forward from the Taliban-controlled territory," said the statement.
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Add him to the list.
PS: This article is two weeks old, but highly relevant today.
I do not swear, but I can't tell you how close I'm coming to doing it. These COWARDS! I thought they were willing to DIE for their cause! What are they hiding for? They train up their people to give their lives and then they hide when their own lives are in danger!?! They ought to all come out from hiding and line themselves up so we can send them all to their beloved ALLAH! I'm so ripped right now!
The most important aspect of the retaliation is the target, IMO. Terrorists are hard to target, but this act of war was performed by a government, the Taliban of Afganistan.
These guys are the type of slime-balls who would use the cudgel of the Jihad and Shari'a against a few little Christians talking about God to Muslims. The heat is on and they scatter like the rats they are.
Thursday September 13 4:18 PM ET
Radio: Taliban Could Hand Over Bin Laden
LONDON (Reuters) - An Afghan Taliban radio station, monitored by the BBC, said on Thursday the Taliban authorities had said they were ready to hand over Osama bin Laden TO AN ISLAMIC COURT IF the United States could prove his guilt in the terror attacks on the U.S.
The British Broadcasting Corp said the report was picked up from Radio Voice of Shari'ah of Balkh Province, Mazar-e Sharif.
It quoted the radio as saying: ``The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (news - web sites) (IEA) has honestly asked America to give clear and substantial evidence for what it considers Osama to be responsible for, and the IEA will hand him over to one of the Islamic courts of the world in order to be tried.''
Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said on Thursday Saudi-born dissident bin Laden was a suspect in the attacks on New York and Washington in which thousands of people were feared dead.
The BBC also quoted the radio as saying: ``The IEA condemns the (terror) act once again and expresses its sympathy for the American people....''
It said Afghanistan did not expect the United States to ''resort to irreparable measures before discovering the facts.'' The Taliban have consistently said they did not believe bin Laden was involved in the attacks.
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