US ready to strike without UN mandate: Diplomacy European allies urge security council role to fight terrorism
The Guardian - United Kingdom; Sep 22, 2001
BY EWEN MACASKILL

The US is to defy growing international pressure by going ahead with its military strike inside Afghanistan without seeking a specific mandate from the UN.

Failure to secure the support of the 15-member UN security council risks opening up a debate similar to that during the Kosovo war, where Nato went ahead without UN approval.

According to sources close to the UN security council, US diplomats have made no approaches at UN headquarters in New York seeking such a resolution.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has called for the US to give the security council a key role. France and Germany have also raised the issue. Mr Putin and the French president, Jacques Chirac, agreed in a telephone conversation on Thursday that the security council should be at the centre of international efforts to battle terrorism, according to the Kremlin.

The prevailing view in Washington is that its planned action is sufficiently covered already by international law and does not need the added complication of going to the security council.

The US sees a strike against Afghanistan as covered by article 51 of the UN's founding charter that allows acts of self-defence: 'Nothing in the present charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a member of the United Nations, until the security council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the security council.'

The US will also point to a UN security council resolution passed within 80 minutes on the day after the New York and Washington attacks.

The security council expressed 'its readiness to take the necessary steps to respond to the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001 and to combat all forms of terrorism, in accordance with the charter of the UN.'

A senior Foreign Office source admitted this week: 'That is not the same as a mandate.' But the source added: 'It is very strong and provides a huge amount of moral authority.'

The source said bluntly that whether the US would seek a further resolution depended on whether a draft would meet with favour in the security council. He said member states were entitled to act in self-defence as long as the response was proportionate.

At UN headquarters, a diplomat close to the security council said the US did not appear to want to return to the security council because that might 'complicate' the international consensus being built up.

Although the Taliban has no supporters on the security council, the diplomat said there could be disagreement from some of the permanent security council members, either Russia or China or both.

There is a widespread feeling at UN headquarters and among west European foreign ministries that the world organisation, if it does not discuss the military action, can have a role at a later date in helping to coordinate an international effort in the fight against terrorism.

After meeting the UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, on Thursday the German foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, said: 'This will be a long-term campaign and we have to tackle the problem of international terrorism on all levels - financial, political, intelligence, police, immigration, and, of course, also military.

'I think for all of this, you need a broad coalition, and the United Nations, especially Kofi Annan . . . can play a very important role.'

He echoed Mr Chirac, who said on Wednesday after meeting Mr Annan that the long-term battle against terrorism must go beyond military action. It must strengthen the police, the judiciary and the military, target 'the dirty money that finances terrorism', improve telecommunications and civil aviation, and tackle the root causes of terrorism, including poverty, he said.

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A conflict like no other seen before: Strategy After the first strikes, fighting is likely to be mostly at night, at close quarters and by elite forces such as the SAS
The Guardian - United Kingdom; Sep 22, 2001
BY JULIAN BORGER IN WASHINGTON, IAN TRAYNOR IN DUSHANBE AND RICHARD NORTON-TAYLOR

The first day of the new war is likely to look familiar, with cruise missile strikes and bombing raids lighting up the Afghan sky - but, after that, the US-led campaign against Osama bin Laden and his Taliban supporters will be unlike any that has gone before.

Even by Pentagon standards, the US military has been tight-lipped about its options, but on the basis of information from US and British defence officials and rebel Northern Alliance sources, as well as analysis by former officers and military experts, it is possible to sketch out the future course of the conflict.

More than any previous war, it will be fought mostly at night and at close quarters by elite special forces - including SAS troops. Commandos equipped with global positioning systems may already be in Afghanistan.

Day one of the overt campaign will be marked by missile strikes and air raids on the Taliban's rudimentary air defences, mostly around Kabul, and its air force.

With the help of Pakistan, the Afghan militia has managed to maintain 20 Soviet-era MiG-21 and SU-22 fighters, as well as a handful of Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters. Until now, they have been kept at about a dozen airports and airbases around the country.

Their destruction would remove an obstacle to the next stage in the assault and represent a considerable boost to the embattled Northern Alliance fighters who have been a thorn in the side of the Taliban militia for the past seven years.

The mountain roads in a rugged country like Afghanistan are central to mobility and the two main north-south and east-west routes are also easy targets. 'Cut those roads and the Taliban are stranded, trapped,' a senior official in the Northern Alliance's 'foreign ministry' said.

The first strikes will be coordinated from the Prince Sultan airbase at Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, where a top US Air Force commander, Lt General Charles Wald, established a command post yesterday.

The strikes would be mounted principally from two navy battle groups assembled around the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and USS Carl Vinson, which are converging in the Arabian Sea.

Between them, the two groups can fire off 900 Tomahawk cruise missiles. They are supported by a British naval task force of 28 ships and 24,000 troops who were already in the region for military exercises in Oman. The Vinson is being moved out of the Gulf so that its F-14 and F-18 strike aircraft can reach Afghanistan without flying over Iran, and F-15 and F-16 fighter-bombers are being sent out to Gulf bases to take over the duty of patrolling the no-fly zones over Iraq.

B-52 and B-1 bombers also took off from bases across the US yesterday some bound for the airbase on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Support aircraft, including KC-135 fuel tankers, were deployed yesterday to provide an 'air bridge' for the deployment of combat planes.

In Iraq and the Balkans, ground troops were the last weapon to be deployed, in order to keep US casualties to a minimum.

This time it will be different. Special forces will be at the core of the operation. US Rangers and Green Berets are on the way from Fort Bragg in North Carolina. An SAS squadron of some 50 troops was already in Oman taking part in exercises.

The immediate problem is where to base the special troops so that they are at hand if and when intelligence comes in on where Bin Laden and his lieutenants are hiding. Off-limits

Some US troops will be deployed in the Central Asian Republics, most likely in Uzbekistan, where teams will be stationed ready to rescue any downed pilots. But Uzbekistan is probably too far from the Hindu Kush mountains, where Bin Laden is based. For internal political reasons, Pakistan is off-limits to troops. The preferred option may be to set up a base in Afghanistan itself.

'Afghanistan has got about a dozen airfields, so you pick one and parachute in. Intelligence is fleeting and you want your force to be located near the target,' John Pike, a Washington-based military analyst said.

The force most likely to be used to establish a foothold is the US 82nd Airborne, a rapid deployment assault unit. Special forces teams, like the Rangers and the SAS, would then be based there for sorties into the surrounding mountains.

Those specialised units would rely on intelligence gathered by satellites, U2 spy planes, and pilotless drones, as well tips picked up by agents working for Pakistani intelligence, Russia, or the Northern Alliance.

The special forces teams will go out mostly at night, flown to their target by helicopters piloted by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as Nightstalkers.

Most military officials and analysts believe this scenario is the Pentagon's 'minimum programme'. The open question is whether the proposed mission would expand to include direct support for the Northern Alliance and strikes on Iraq.

The CIA has been supplying the opposition with non-lethal aid like communications equipment, for the past three years. That assistance will almost certainly be upgraded to include munitions. But direct military involvement in the Northern Alliance's battle with the Taliban would be huge undertaking.

Anti-Taliban forces hold less than 10% of the national territory, but its Panjsher valley stronghold extends to Bagram just north of Kabul, where a large Soviet-built airbase is situated. It is out of use because the Taliban are on the hills overlooking it.

Northern Alliance sources say it could immediately field 15,000 men for an assault on the capital. With 'close air support' from US warplanes, the Taliban could be forced off the hills over Bagram, and the air base could be used. The opposition leaders say they could then advance on Kabul from the Shomali plain nearby.

A separate opposition-held pocket in the north is already attacking the Taliban stronghold of Mazar-i-Sharif, near the Uzbek border where US forces could be concentrated, leaving it locked in a pincer movement.

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Pride, dignity and grit ETH the real Afghans: Jason Elliot on 'one of the most maligned peoples on Earth' ETH who have been widowed, displaced and traumatised by 20 years of war
The Guardian - United Kingdom; Sep 22, 2001

'England, you say is that near Kabul? Take a look at this.' A luxuriantly bearded Pushtun fighter, nearly seven feet tall, was uncovering his battle wounds with all the glee of a schoolboy showing off a grazed knee. A rolled-up sleeve revealed an olive-shaped scar, still pink and yet to heal, from a Russian bullet. Another scar decorated his lower thigh. And a third, fresher still, which had passed cleanly through the waist of the man from whose spine-crunching embrace I was still catching my breath.

I asked whether he was afraid to go back to the fighting, and was dismissed with a benevolent roar of laughter, as though there were something I had failed to understand. A tough people, I thought to myself, with a sense of humour.

As if I didn't know. It was my third visit to Afghanistan, and I had long since been hooked by the place. This time I had slipped away from home in my final university year, unable to resist the inexplicable lure of a country and people whose true face was as hidden from outsiders then, during its occupation by Soviet forces, as it is now.

En route I visited a field hospital on the Afghan-Pakistani border. Soviet jets had bombed a village on the Afghan side a few days earlier and two Egyptian volunteer doctors were coping as best they could with the latest influx of wounded. 'I have lost my home,' said another farmer-turned fighter, displaying a bullet removed from the muscles of his bandaged back, 'but not my freedom.' A proud people, too, I thought. Then I was led into a further room where an anxious father stood smiling by the side of his son, a young man who lay on a rusty bed and whose owl-like eyes were filled with the strange light of imminent death. A hand reached feebly up to mine; in the other was cradled a withered rose.We made small talk, as much as one can with a dying man, until it was time to move on, when he drew me suddenly towards himself with a strength that took me by surprise.

'If I should die,' he whispered, 'please thank the doctors for everything they have done.' I had expected to be distressed and depressed at the sight of so many wounded and hopeless, but instead felt strangely uplifted by a man whose last wish was to thank the very people who had failed him.

Those who know Afghanistan will recognise how very Afghan such a gesture was. Those who do not can only have an inkling of the unfailing courtesy and dignity, even in the grip of death, of ordinary Afghans, who must surely comprise one of the most maligned and misrepresented people of the world. A people, like the dying man I find myself remembering today, who have been utterly failed by those to whom they once looked for help.

Virtually nowhere in recent accounts of Afghanistan and its peoples do I recognise the country I know from my own experience. I should perhaps not be surprised: news from Afghanistan has always been patchy and sensational. In the 1980s, the most popular documentary about the mojahedin depicted them as enjoying nothing more than skinning their captives alive and charging into battle in a state of drug-heightened abandon. It came as no surprise that the question froman editor, when offered my first story, was: 'How could you have lived with those barbarians?' And today I rather feel that not very much unless you count the million or so Afghans who have died in the meantime has changed.

There is a ruined street in Kabul, Afghanistan's long-suffering capital, where the shops and homes on either side were turned to mounds of rubble by fighting in the mid-90s. If you had never seen anything like it, this was impressive and dramatic. If you happened to live there, as I did at the time, it was just another ruined street. But to outsiders I mean those whose job it was to represent Afghanistan to the greater world it possessed a curious allure. Camera crews would ask to be taken there; photographers would position themselves at the end of the ruined avenue and wait diligently for a one-legged man to hobble into frame or, better yet, a woman beneath a full-length burqa.

In the neighbouring street, you might have seen schoolchildren, traffic, a wedding, people shopping ordinary things, in other words, in which ordinary people engage. But an image of destruction is more dramatic, and this is generally the one we will end up seeing. Afghanistan is dramatic: its people and landscape are dramatic, and so are the images we see and build up about the place.

Images, although they may be accurate, are seldom balanced. They should not diminish our ability to remember that the concerns of the vast majority of Afghans are not so different from anyone's, anywhere.

I write as a partisan, whose sympathy notwithstanding the horror of events in the US lies unashamedly with a nation which now braces itself for perhaps the cruellest in a triumvirate of unprovoked attacks by vastly superior foreign powers.

Cruellest, because since the occupation and dismemberment of Afghanistan by the British about a century ago, the country has never been more helpless. Its people widowed, orphaned, maimed, displaced, hungry and traumatised by more than 20 years of warfare sponsored from abroad are once again facing massive hostility.

Unprovoked, inasmuch as the majority of Afghans have for years looked to the United States as an ally rather than an adversary, and long held out the hope that American benevolence in supporting their decade-long fight against the Soviet Union would eventually be matched by American assistance in rebuilding their shattered country. It is tempting to speculate how today's budget for bombing Afghans might have been more productively allocated to more humane ends but we are already in fertile territory for ironies.

It is ironic that the world's most hunted man received his earliest training in the skills of covert warfare from American instructors; ironic that American troops, should they commit to the folly of entering Afghanistan, will face guns bought largely by their countrymen's tax dollars; ironic that one of the world's most hated regimes grew to power with Washington's blessing.

It is ordinary Afghans an impoverished, hospitable and deeply dignified people who are paying and will continue to pay the price of these ironies. And it is vital to distinguish them from their present overlords, and from the foreign terrorists who have hidden in their country. For years, the majority of Afghans have felt offended by their presence, but been too preoccupied with the simple business of survival to root them out. They should not now have to pay in further suffering.

But the global calumny now heaped upon Afghanistan fails largely to make such distinctions. These are lost in the reckless reductionism that always precedes conflict. My own hope is that the authentic face of the people of Afghanistan is not obscured in the process, and that their fate, when the latest round of destruction is complete, will receive the urgent and sympathic treatment it deserves. The world is too interconnected a place to ignore it. Jason Elliot 2001. His award-winning first book, An Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan, is published by Picador, pounds 6.99.

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Bin-Ladin still in Afghanistan - Russian intelligence agent
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Sep 21, 2001

Text of report in English by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS

Moscow, 21 September: International terrorist number one Usamah Bin-Ladin accused by the US of masterminding the horrible terrorist attacks on New York and Washington is staying in Afghanistan and is not going to leave, a ranking official in the Russian secret services told TASS on condition of anonymity when commenting on a number of reports in the Western media that Bin-Ladin had supposedly already moved to another country.

The expert said the terrorist with his numerous guard of Arab mercenaries could hardly be able to slip out of Afghanistan unnoticed. Moreover, Bin-Ladin is excellently aware that not a single government will agree to give him safehaven in the present situation. If he secretly enters the territory of any country, he will run an even greater risk of being detected by Americans who have offered one billion dollars to whoever helps spot one of the most dangerous criminals wanted.

So the expert dismisses as false sensations from journalists or deliberate misinformation by the Taleban movement the reports that Bin-Ladin surfaced in Indonesia, Chechnya, Turkmenistan or in the Philippines.

The expert believes that most probably the terrorist who has been hiding from the Americans in Afghanistan since August 1998 when he masterminded blasts at the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania will have to change more often his numerous and well concealed bases in the Taleban-controlled Afghan territory. According to the Russian secret services, he has several such sanctuaries near Kandahar and Jalalabad alone.

At the same time, the source did not preclude the possibility of Bin-Ladin's finding shelter, in case of emergency, in Pakistan's Northwestern districts that border on Afghanistan and are inhabited by Pashtuns. "The core of the Taleban forces consists of Pashtuns who follow their clan and tribal traditions and laws, so this possibility should not be discounted either," the expert said.

Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in English 1128 gmt 21 Sep 01

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.

Iran: Governor of eastern province describes situation on Afghan border
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Sep 21, 2001

In an interview with ISNA, the governor-general of Sistan va Baluchestan Province described the situation on the province's border with Afghanistan. He said: We are setting up two camps on the Afghan side of the border to hold a maximum of 20,000 Afghan families who may escape to Iran.

Mahmud Hoseyni said: The fact is that the Sistan va Baluchestan Province is suffering from extreme drought. In particular, in the Zabol region, which shares a border with Afghanistan, the Hirmand river has dried up, bringing agricultural work and economic and employment opportunities to a halt. Therefore, we have our own share of problems. Nevertheless we are trying to shelter this possible flood of refugees on their side of the border with help from the Red Crescent and other organizations.

Regarding the possibility of the Afghan refugees' arrival in Iran, he said: Once they reach our borders in Khorasan and Sistan va Baluchestan provinces, they may try to enter Iran and even spread throughout the country. Therefore, we have ordered the total closure of our eastern borders. Our border guards will not permit them to cross over to our side of the border.

He added: Of course, if we really want this to be realized, we must seriously increase the number of our border guards and facilities.

Hoseyni said: In normal circumstances, our border guards would be able to control the borders. But in the eventuality of facing a flood of refugees, we must seriously bolster the province's capability. To that end, the interior minister has ordered a speedy dispatch of additional forces to strengthen the regiments in Sistan va Baluchestan Province, particularly the Zabol region. This has started.

Regarding international relief for the temporary sheltering of Afghan refugees, the Sistan va Baluchestan governor-general said: The responsibility of running these camps has been given to the Islamic Republic of Iran's Red Crescent Society. The Red Crescent, for its part, in the capacity of a nongovernmental aid organization, has been in contact with other international aid agencies, such as the UNHCR and other NGOs, all of which have declared their readiness to help...

Hoseyni continued: At present, inside Afghanistan, cities like Kabul and Kandahar have been evacuated. But its residents have moved to the environs of these cities, and the conditions on our borders are currently not unusual.

In conclusion he said: The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns the recent incidents in America. But we are concerned that any attacks launched against Afghanistan would further add to the difficulties of these impoverished and tormented people. And undoubtedly, the heavy burden of these difficulties will fall on the shoulders of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the eventuality, international aid agencies must help. But, we hope this [attack] will not occur.

Source: ISNA web site, Tehran, in Persian 1430 gmt 21 Sep 01

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.

http://www.borba.co.yu/kosovo.html

Ethnic Albanian Terrorists Connected With Attacks On US - Coordinator President of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo Nebojsa Covic said Thursday that ethnic Albanian terrorists have direct ties with the terrorist attacks on the US last week, and that Yugoslavia is ready for exchanging information in the international fight against terrorism. They have direct ties with all terrorist acts and developments in this country, and even with those that were recently perpetrated in the US, Covic said at a press conference at the Bujanovac Press Center. Recalling the terrorist acts committed in Kosovo by the ethnic Albanian paramilitary group "black eagles", Covic said the group is headed by the former commander of the terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army Nuredin Ibishi. That group still exists, and requests will be addressed to KFor and UNMIK to arrest them as part of the overall anti-terrorist fight, he added. Besides that group, another paramilitary group called "cobra" exists and is commanded by a man code-named Kshcedra (dragon), Covic said. The Yugoslav authorities will exchange information with relevant international organizations in order to combat terrorism, and will not allow that evil to spread here, Covic said.   Kosovo Coordinator Condemns Arrest Of Serbs By UNMIK

Serbian deputy Prime Minister and President of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo Nebojsa Covic Thursday strongly condemned UNMIK for arresting Serbs Milorad Blagojevic and Sreten Sudimac at the Merdare checkpoint on Sep 17.

In a protest letter to UNMIK, Covic said that the arrests, made at the request of ethnic Albanians, constitutes a provocation by some ethnic Albanian extremist groups in this sensitive period when the relations between Yugoslavia and UNMIK have become constructive.

 

Large Number Of Forged Documents Found In Kosovo-Metohija

Members of a special unit of the multinational forces found a large number of forged personal documents in a house in the Kosovo-Metohija capital, Pristina, the KFOR information centre said on Thursday.

The 80 illegal documents include blank fake Yugoslav passports, UNMIK and Italian IDs, UN passports, Macedonian driving licenses and official seals.

During the search, one person was arrested, while four more are in custody as they were carrying forged documents, KFOR stated.

 

September 23, 2001--http://www.warsawvoice.pl/v674/News00.html

ATTACK ON AMERICA

A Day of Terror

At around 3 p.m. Sept. 11, radio and television stations in Poland announced a terrorist attack on the United States.

The flame of memory and sorrow: Candles at the U.S. Embassy

In the following minutes, the news became increasingly shocking and unreal. At first, few believed that the situation was especially dangerous. The news that followed from across the ocean made Poles freeze with fear. Over the next two hours brutal attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington became the main topic of conversations on buses, trams and the street. Everywhere more and more worrying radio commentaries were heard, while people started to consider the global consequences of such an attack. For many Poles, the tragedy in New York and Washington had a personal significance. The largest Polish community outside Poland lives in the United States-around 10 million people in total.

At The Warsaw Voice, where there are three American employees, someone accidentally heard the horrendous news from the United States. Everyone present at the publication started searching the Internet for confirmation of the seemingly unbelievable event, only to find that the terrorist attack was a fact.

Particular caution was observed in U.S. institutions in Warsaw over the next couple of hours. The Marriott Hotel asked all those who were not registered guests to leave the building, and then the hotel was closed.

"As of Sept. 11, life at the hotel became very difficult," said Róza, a guest of the Marriott. She compared this situation to a state of a siege. "You could feel a huge amount of tension and unrest in the air among both staff and guests. During the first hours following the attack, the fear was that similar attacks might be carried out at American companies and facilities worldwide."

Safety measures were taken at the American embassy, the Sheraton hotel, the American School of Warsaw and other American facilities throughout the city.

By the evening of Sept. 11 Poles had begun to gather outside the U.S. Embassy. They brought flowers and candles, in a desire to show their sympathy for the victims of this horror and their families. People came to show their solidarity with America in silence. Some cried, especially those with family members in New York. "My daughter is there, she went to work in New York over the vacation. I can't get a call through to her at the moment," said one woman in her fifties with tears in her eyes. Older people feared the tragedies in New York and Washington might mark the beginning of a new world war. Among the flowers were notes of sympathy that read "We are shocked" and "America, we are with you, we love you."

In the course of a couple of hours the situation in the United States became the main topic on all of Poland's television and radio stations. Pictures from the sites of the attacks awakened increasingly uncomfortable feelings.

Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, who had been admitted to hospital a few days earlier due to health problems, returned to his duties immediately. President Aleksander Kwasniewski was one of the first world leaders to send President George W. Bush a letter of condolence.

"Dear Mr. President, I am shaken by the enormity of the tragedy which has touched the American nation. The death and suffering of innocent people has awakened within me a deep sadness and, at the same time, disgust at the unbelievable barbarity of the executors of this disaster. Poland joins the whole of the civilized world in the reprobation of this crime. I believe that the organizers and executors of these actions will be found and punished, and the international community will undertake caution to ensure that similar terrorist attacks will not be repeated either in the United States or anywhere else in the world. Please pass on to the families and loved ones of the victims of the tragedy the sincerest condolences of the Polish nation and myself. I give you, Mr. President, my support and solidarity. I am sure that, as you said today, America will triumph in this difficult test."

Due to Poland's NATO membership, the government has declared absolute support for its American ally, which aims to uncover and punish those responsible for the tragedy. According to Article Five of the Washington Treaty, an attack on one NATO member is considered an attack on all members of the alliance, and binds all of its members to undertake protective or retaliatory measures.

The days of Sept. 13-15 were declared days of solidarity with the American nation. "We would like this to be a time of solidarity with those suffering the most and crying for the loss of their loved ones," said Buzek on the evening of Sept. 12. "During the coming three days, flags on state offices will fly at half mast. Action against the hideouts of terrorists may be necessary," he added.

At the precise time of the first attack, Sept.14-2:45 p.m. Warsaw time, 8:45 a.m. New York time, traffic was stopped for one minute, radio stations were silent and the sound of sirens was heard. The same day, employees of the U.S. Embassy made available a Book of Condolences at Królikarnia Palace, giving the general public a place to convey their sympathy for the whole American nation and the families of the victims.

Intergovernmental sympathy: U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill and Jerzy Buzek

Kwasniewski made the first entry, which ended with the words "America, you are not alone." The next condolences were entered by President of the Senate Alicja Grzeskowiak and Buzek. "In the name of the Polish government, all Poles and myself, I bow before the immensity of the tragedy which has touched the American nation," wrote Buzek. "Praying for the souls of the victims, I express my deep sympathies towards their families, and sympathize with their suffering. Together we must do everything to uncover the guilty, punish them ruthlessly and ensure that a similar barbarity is not repeated."

Churches around Poland held services for the victims of the tragedy and their families. A special mass took place Sept. 13 at the Polish Military Cathedral in Warsaw with the participation of Kwasniewski and U.S. Embassy employees and their families. In the diocese of Radom, the local bishop Jan Chrap declared Sept. 16 as a day of prayer for the victims of the terrorist attack.

On the evening of Sept. 14, in answer to the appeals of the Polish media and the pope, Poles lit candles in the windows of their homes. Public figures and ordinary people alike pinned yellow ribbons to their chests as a symbol of unity with the victims. That same day the United Way initiated its I Want to Tell You campaign, allowing anyone to send letters of sympathy to America by way of the foundation.

That same day, during ceremonies at the U.S. Embassy, Buzek stated: "We, citizens of free European countries and the whole world join together in sympathy for the families of the victims. Above all, we are announcing a determined fight against terrorism." Minister of Foreign Affairs Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, who was also present at the embassy, ensured the ambassador that Poland stood together with America.

So far, five Poles are missing in the explosion at the World Trade Center according to the Polish consulate in New York. Soon DNA tests will make it possible to identify the missing Poles. Telephone connections to the States are working again, initial emotions have calmed, and Poland is impatiently waiting with the rest of the world for further developments.

The brother of an employee here at The Warsaw Voice, who was a witness of the tragedy and then volunteered in life-saving efforts, wrote an e-mail to his sister. "My mouth goes dry when I think about what I saw two days ago at the end of the island. Single shoes, broken glasses, the fire fighters I took the last photos of. It's impossible to imagine the immensity of the damage, or picture the image of people smashing on the pavement."

As of closing this issue of the Voice, negotiations with the Taliban on handing over Osama bin Laden are underway in Afghanistan. Polish politicians, journalists, international relations specialists and ordinary people are engaged in a wide ranging public debate: what will Poland do, as a member of NATO, in a program of retaliation carried out by the United States? What you can be sure of at this uncertain moment, is that the world suddenly changed Sept. 11. New York, America and Poland, and indeed every other democratic nation in the world, will never be the same again. According to a survey by the Internet portal Wirtualna Polska, up to 72 percent of people believe that the conflict between the United States and the terrorists will end in a world war.

Iwona A. Czerwiñska

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September 23, 2001, (http://www.warsawvoice.pl/v674/News07.html)

PAPAL VISIT

The Forgotten Exiles

John Paul II's trip to Kazakhstan, his 95th apostolic visit, begs the following question: "Why is he going?"

A visit for the faithful: John Paul II

Kazakhstan, after all, is not a Christian country-its people are mostly Islamic. Starting Sept. 22, the pope will be visiting a Muslim country that, according to some observers, may be leaning toward Islamic fundamentalism.

To answer the above question, you should start by laying out a picture of Islam as it currently functions in Kazakhstan. Actually the reports about the threat of Islamic fundamentalism or the connected Kazakh nationalism emerging in the country don't seem to correlate to the facts presented. In the late 1990s, Dr. Marek Gawêcki, then Polish ambassador to Kazakhstan, ethnologist and specialist in Kazakh issues, said: "Kazakhs are Sunni, and honestly the Islamic consciousness there is being built from scratch. On the other hand, the Islam of the Kazakhs abounds in pre-Muslim elements very typical of nomadic communities; these are the elements of the shamanic traditions that have survived and assimilated as part of the local folk tradition of Islam on the steppes. Today the country's Muslims find it very difficult to break with these traditions. Here there is no ground for Islamic fundamentalism and religious extremism. The ideas of the fundamentalists, for example the rejection of one's ancestry, cannot be reconciled with Kazakhs' steppe traditions, whereas the cult of ancestry was always very strong. Personally I perceive no chance for Wahhabism or any other current fundamentalist sect to flourish here."

One element in the formation of the regional Islamic point of view are the mosques being built around Central Asia, also in Kazakhstan. But if you expect to see crowds of the faithful attending services in droves, you will be disappointed. In fact post-Soviet society, in which atheism and secularism was widely popularized up until 10 years ago, continues to treat religion only as an embellishment of communal life, not anchored in the spiritual needs of the people. This attitude generates a kind of state religion, or a holiday religion that manifests itself mainly in the form of large-scale celebrations supported by the central authorities, but totally absent from the day-to-day lives of individuals. Asked about his religion, the average Turkmen or Kazakh will not hesitate to say: "I am a Muslim," in-between bites of a pork sausage and sips of Russian vodka. This dichotomy is prevalent everywhere in Central Asia.

If asked about the model of Islam expected to prevail in the countries of Central Asia in the future, Muslim clergymen generally answer with embarrassment-in their opinion, it will be neither the Turkish nor the Iranian model, but a local one that has yet to be defined. Within this model advanced secularization will play an important role, facilitated by years of Soviet indoctrination. In spite of declarations about the need for Islam's presence in the community, the people in the region's post-Soviet states do not want to give up this secularized model of public life, either today or in the future.

The patriarch of the Catholic community in Kazakhstan, Bishop Jan Pawel Lenga, sees the possibility of Islamic fundamentalism growing in the other countries of Central Asia, but not in Kazakhstan. At present, he sees no imminent danger posed by Islamic fundamentalism in the country. "I've met priests from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan; from what they say, I conclude that the threat of fundamentalism cannot be excluded in these countries," said Lenga. "Those are lands that feature much greater ethnic and religious homogeneity than here in Kazakhstan. Obviously, mosques are being built in Kazakhstan, but so are churches. As Muslims here are in the majority, more mosques are being built. If there were more Catholics, or Catholic priests, more churches would be under construction."

For the political leaders of Central Asia-first and foremost, the presidents of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, but Kazakhstan as well-some form of Islam functioning as an official religion seems desirable, since Islam may turn out to be one of the only elements integrating the native societies, which are prone to conflicts due to their long standing internal tribal and ethnic rivalries. It's exactly these tribal prejudices that are a threat to the cohesion of these young nations. Tajikistan is a good example of the conflicts and problems of social integration. Contemporary Central Asian politicians sympathetically view the revival of Islam as an "ornament" for their young states, at the same time contributing to the integration of the societies under their rule.

However, this approval does not mean consenting to the spread of Islamic fundamentalism, which rejects this superficial function and seeks to permeate the life of the religious community. The presence of this kind of Islam in the societies of Central Asia would be a significant threat to the region's current rulers, whose communist roots would be unacceptable for Islamic fundamentalists.

It seems that Islamic fundamentalism doesn't stand a chance in Central Asia today, for two reasons. First of all, the profound secularization of the lives of individuals has made it nearly impossible for fundamentalist doctrines to take hold. Secondly, the sheer panic and fear of religious fundamentalism that the region's incumbent presidents feel sets the local authorities against the fundamentalists.

Clearly the pope is not visiting a country full of Muslim fanatics. So for whom is he going? Who are the Catholics living in Kazakhstan? Actually we should keep in mind that the pope will be going to Kazakhstan with a message of goodwill addressed to all people, irrespective of their religious affiliation. It's also worth noting that a majority of the Catholics in Kazakhstan are Poles and Germans. In the collective consciousness of Poles, Kazakhstan is known as a land of exiles, a part of Siberia that over the centuries has become the symbol of the deportation of Poles-both in the czarist times, when Poland's territory was a part of the empire of the Romanov dynasty, and during the communist regime, when thousands of Poles unwillingly became citizens of the Soviet state.

The fate of the Poles taken to Kazakhstan in recurring waves of deportations has been closely connected with the history of the Catholic faith and Church in those lands. Transported nearly to the very center of Asia, they brought with them their religious traditions from Poland and Ukraine. These traditions included the Roman Catholic and the Greek Catholic rites, since Greek Catholic Ukrainians also found themselves among the deportees. It is not without good reason that Kazakhstan today is often referred to as the tragic archipelago of exiles. The Soviet authorities deported not only Poles, but also Lithuanians, Latvians and Germans during World War II. It has been thanks to these deportees that Roman Catholicism has found its way to Central Asia and flourished in the hearts and minds of the faithful. John Paul II's visit to the Catholic community of these former exiles will be a touching symbol of overcoming that land's tragic past.

Krzysztof Renik

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War on Terrorism: Civil War - Uzbeks seek their own vengeance for killing of Massood
The Independent - United Kingdom; Sep 22, 2001
BY RAYMOND WHITAKER IN ISLAMABAD

FIERCE FIGHTING raged across northern Afghanistan yesterday as opposition forces took advantage of the threat of US strikes against the Talibaban to avenge the assassination of their leader.

The opposition Northern Alliance, headed by Burhanuddin Rabbani, reported the capture of several Taliban posts and dozens of villages in Samangan province.

Of far more potential significance, however, was news that the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek minority, General Abdul Rashid Dostum, had also joined the fray. The Uzbek warlord was said by his aides to have concentrated a "huge" force in the north, with the aim of capturing the main town in the region, Mazar-i-Sharif.

The fighting is in response to the killing of the opposition leader, Shah Ahmad Massood, who was fatally wounded by suicide bombers on 9 September - two days before the terror attacks on America.

Yesterday the Taliban, through the voice of their ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, rejected the US demands to hand over the Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who is wanted for his alleged role in the US attacks. At a packed press conference on the front lawn of the embassy - Pakistan is one of only three countries to recognise the Taliban government - Mr Zaeef dispelled any ambiguity about Afghanistan's position after a religious council in Kabul recommended that Mr bin Laden should leave the country. That, he said, was "a suggestion ... and not a decision by a judge".

Expectations of an early attack on Afghanistan were heightened further by the Taliban's defiance.

"We are not ready to hand over Osama bin Laden without evidence," Mr Zaeef said. His deputy, Suhail Shaheen, later said that extraditing him to the US would be "impossible" and "an insult to Islam".

Mr Zaeef said it was still possible that Mr bin Laden might voluntarily leave Afghanistan. The religious council's decision was that he should be "persuaded to leave".

The ambassador added that he had no information on Mr bin Laden's current whereabouts, although the Taliban leadership says it is able to keep in touch with him through radio communication with Taliban security personnel attached to him.

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TO NEW US AMBASSADOR

Revolution of Freedom Needs Revolution of Opportunity

On Thursday, 13 September, at Castel Gandolfo, the Holy Father received Mr James Nicholson, the new US Ambassador to the Holy See, who presented his letters of credence. The meeting, scheduled several weeks ago, came two days after the brutal attacks on New York and Washington. The Holy Father expressed his "profound participation in the grief of the American people" and his "heartfelt prayers for the president and the civil authorities, for all involved in the rescue operations and in helping the survivors, and, in a special way, for the victims and their families". John Paul II hopes that the United States' immense tragedy will stir the world's conscience:  "I pray that this inhuman act will awaken in the hearts of all the world's peoples a firm resolve to reject the ways of violence, to combat everything that sows hatred and division within the human family". He said that it should pave the way for a "new era of international cooperation". The new US Ambassador arrived in Castel Gandolfo accompanied by his wife, Suzanne, and one of his three children. During the meeting John Paul II said that the moral leadership of the United States in the world "depends on her fidelity to her founding principles". The Holy Father repeated his appeal for a revolution of opportunity:  "Here I would emphasize again what I said in my recent meeting with President Bush, that the revolution of freedom in the world must be completed by a "revolution of opportunity' which will enable all the members of the human family to enjoy a dignified existence and to share in the benefits of a truly global development". The Holy Father pointed out the basic importance of a strong respect for life policy. "In order to survive and prosper, democracy and its accompanying economic and political structures must be directed by a vision whose core is the God-given dignity and inalienable rights of every human being, from the moment of conception until natural death".
Mr Ambassador,
I am pleased to accept the Letters of Credence appointing you Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Holy See. You are beginning your mission at a moment of immense tragedy for your country. At this time of national mourning for the victims of the terrorist attacks on Washington and New York, I wish to assure you personally of my profound participation in the grief of the American people and of my heartfelt prayers for the President and the civil authorities, for all involved in the rescue operations and in helping the survivors, and in a special way for the victims and their families. I pray that this inhuman act will awaken in the hearts of all the world's peoples a firm resolve to reject the ways of violence, to combat everything that sows hatred and division within the human family, and to work for the dawn of a new era of international cooperation inspired by the highest ideals of solidarity, justice and peace.

Esteem for founding principles of the republic
In my recent meeting with President Bush I emphasized my deep esteem for the rich patrimony of human, religious and moral values which have historically shaped the American character. I expressed the conviction that America's continued moral leadership in the world depends on her fidelity to her founding principles. Underlying your nation's commitment to freedom, self-determination and equal opportunity are universal truths inherited from its religious roots. From these spring respect for the sanctity of life and the dignity of each human person made in the image and likeness of the Creator; shared responsibility for the common good; concern for the education of young people and for the future of society; and the need for wise stewardship of the natural resources so freely bestowed by a bounteous God. In facing the challenges of the future, America is called to cherish and live out the deepest values of her national heritage:  solidarity and cooperation between peoples; respect for human rights; the justice that is the indispensable condition for authentic freedom and lasting peace.

Revolution of freedom must mean a revolution of opportunity
In the century now opening before us, humanity has the opportunity to make great strides against some of its traditional enemies:  poverty, disease, violence. As I said at the United Nations in 1995, it is within our grasp to see that a century of tears, the 20th century, is followed in the 21st century by a "springtime of the human spirit". The possibilities before the human family are immense, although they are not always apparent in a world in which too many of our brothers and sisters are suffering from hunger, malnutrition and the lack of access to medical care and to education, or are burdened by unjust government, armed conflict, forced displacement and new forms of human bondage. In seizing the available opportunities, both vision and generosity are necessary, especially on the part of those who have been blessed with freedom, wealth and an abundance of resources. The urgent ethical issues raised by the division between those who benefit from the globalization of the world economy and those who are excluded from those benefits call for new and creative responses on the part of the whole international community. Here I would emphasize again what I said in my recent meeting with President Bush, that the revolution of freedom in the world must be completed by a "revolution of opportunity" which will enable all the members of the human family to enjoy a dignified existence and to share in the benefits of a truly global development.

Peace process in the Holy Land
In this context, I cannot but mention, among so many disturbing situations throughout the world, the tragic violence which continues to affect the Middle East and which seriously jeopardizes the peace process begun in Madrid. Thanks also to the commitment of the United States, that process had given rise to hope in the hearts of all those who look to the Holy Land as a unique place of encounter and prayer between peoples. I am certain that your country will not hesitate to promote a realistic dialogue which will enable the parties involved to achieve security, justice and peace, in full respect for human rights and international law.

Democracy to survive must have moral vision and resolve
Mr Ambassador, the vision and the moral strength which America is being challenged to exercise at the beginning of a new century and in a rapidly changing world call for an acknowledgement of the spiritual roots of the crisis which the Western democracies are experiencing, a crisis characterized by the advance of a materialistic, utilitarian and ultimately dehumanized world view which is tragically detached from the moral foundations of Western civilization. In order to survive and prosper, democracy and its accompanying economic and political structures must be directed by a vision whose core is the God-given dignity and inalienable rights of every human being, from the moment of conception until natural death. When some lives, including those of the unborn, are subjected to the personal choices of others, no other value or right will long be guaranteed, and society will inevitably be governed by special interests and convenience. Freedom cannot be sustained in a cultural climate that measures human dignity in strictly utilitarian terms. Never has it been more urgent to re-invigorate the moral vision and resolve essential to maintaining a just and free society.

Spiritual and moral education of young people
In this context my thoughts turn to America's young people, the hope of the nation. In my Pastoral Visits to the United States, and above all in my visit to Denver in 1993 for the celebration of World Youth Day, I was able personally to witness the reserves of generosity and good will present in the youth of your country. Young people are surely your nation's greatest treasure. That is why they urgently need an all-round education which will enable them to reject cynicism and selfishness and to grow into their full stature as informed, wise and morally responsible members of the community. At the beginning of a new Millennium, young people must be given every opportunity to take up their role as "craftsmen of a new humanity, where brothers and sisters members all of the same family are able at last to live in peace" (Message for the 2001 World Day of Peace, n. 22).
Mr Ambassador, as you begin your mission as your country's representative to the Holy See, I reiterate my hope that in facing the challenges of the present and future the American people will draw upon the deep spiritual and moral resources which have inspired and guided the nation's growth, and which remain the surest pledge of its greatness. I am confident that America's Catholic community, which has historically played a crucial role in the education of a responsible citizenry and in the relief of the poor, the sick and the needy, will be actively present in the process of discerning the shape of your country's future course. Upon you and your family and all the American people I cordially invoke God's blessings of joy and peace.

(©L'Osservatore Romano - 19 September 2001)

Alerts still focus on Saturday

By MICHAEL KIRKLAND, UPI Legal Affairs Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (UPI) -- U.S. security officials have been told to be on special alert Saturday because of intelligence that terrorists could strike again.

Government agencies were already on an extremely high state of alert Friday because of last week's terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The new focus on Saturday as a possible date for renewed attacks represents something of a reversal in the government's position.

Justice Department officials said Wednesday that intelligence pinpointing Saturday as a possible attack date had been examined and ultimately rejected. But officials began backing away from that blanket assertion on Thursday.

An internal e-mail memo Thursday, signed by Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, warned federal employees that the FBI had "credible evidence" that more terror attacks were planned. Thompson is the department's No. 2 official and directly oversees the FBI.

Friday, U.S. officials were focusing on Boston, Washington and Los Angeles.

In Massachusetts, state and Boston officials said they were specifically warned by Attorney General John Ashcroft of possible attacks this weekend. Justice Department officials declined comment.

Boston's Logan International Airport was the departure point for two of the airliners hijacked last week and crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, with officials now estimating the death toll at more than 6,000.

Meanwhile, Ashcroft was completing a tour of the Sept. 11 crash sites, where operations are rapidly being converted from search and rescue to crime scene analysis.

Earlier in the week, the attorney general visited the Pentagon near Washington, where one airliner hijacked after taking off from Dulles International Airport, west of the city, was deliberately driven into one of the most recognizable American buildings. The death toll at the Pentagon, including the 64 people on the plane, was put at 189.

Ashcroft was joined Thursday by FBI Director Robert Mueller. The two officials inspected the crash site of a fourth airliner, one which departed from Newark, N.J.

Officials believe passengers - who were aware of the terror attacks using airliners in New York -- may have rushed the cockpit and fought with the hijackers to prevent the plane from being used as an airborne bomb against a high-profile target. All 65 aboard the plane died.

Friday, Ashcroft and Mueller were in New York, inspecting what has become known as "Ground Zero." Both World Trade Center towers collapsed after they were rammed by the big planes.

Also on Friday, the FBI said the figures of people caught up in the massive investigation have changed.

Officials now say that more than 80 individuals are being held by the Immigration and Naturalization Service because of problems with their immigration status, down from an estimated 115 earlier in the week.

The Justice Department Friday released the "charging documents" of 33 of those who have been detained by the INS. The documents were heavily redacted - the names were blacked out, as well as some other information.

Of the 33, six were from Jordan, six were from Egypt, four were from Pakistan, four were from Saudi Arabia, three were from India, two were from Israel, two were from Iran, two were from Tunisia and one each were from Algeria, Palestine and El Salvador.

One person was described as being a native of Israel, but the person's current citizenship was edited out.

Mueller said last week that "some" of those being detained by the INS because of their status were cooperating with the FBI investigation.

The number of persons being sought on an FBI "watch list" has grown to more than 230, up from 200 earlier this week. The FBI stressed that those on the list were not necessarily suspects, just people the bureau would like to interview.

Investigation details are still under seal because of grand jury investigation in White Plains, N.Y., just outside New York City. The investigation was moved to the northern suburb to escape the devastation in Manhattan. Grand jury investigations are secret under the federal rules of court procedure.

However, officials indicate that although a number of people are being held on material witness warrants, in addition to those being charged with immigration violations, no one has yet been charged directly with involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks.

The FBI has released the names used by 19 hijacking suspects on the four airliners. All of whom are believed to be dead. The names, which are accessible from the bureau's Web site at fbi.gov, are not necessarily valid, officials stressed. The Justice Department is looking into allegations that some of the names may be the result of identity fraud or identity theft.

By Friday, the FBI received more than 134,000 tips and leads in the ongoing investigation: 70,169 were sent online through a form accessible at fbi.gov; 51,747 came through the bureau's field offices across the nation, and another 12,196 were phoned in on the FBI's hotline, also accessible at fbi.gov.

--

Copyright 2001 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

--

Saturday, September 22 1:15 PM SGT

Taliban claim shooting down of unmanned US spy plane: report

ISLAMABAD, Sept 22 (AFP) -

Afghanistan's Taliban militia claimed Saturday they had shot down an unmanned United States spy plane in the northern province of Samangan, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported.

Quoting Mawlawi Najibullah, a senior Afghan diplomat in Peshawar, AIP said the unmanned plane was shot down with heavy machine guns early Saturday in the northern province of Samangan, situated close to the border with Uzbekistan.

Saturday, September 22 10:33 AM SGT

US toll put at 6,818 as countries report more missing

NEW YORK, Sept 21 (AFP) -

The death toll from the attacks on the United States stood at 6,818 Saturday after 11 more bodies were pulled from the ruins of the World Trade Center.

New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Friday the number of missing could still fluctuate as officials cross check reports of missing people.

More than 60 countries have now reported citizens dead or missing, mostly in New York, one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities.

But despite continuing round-the-clock rescue efforts, there was now next to no chance of pulling survivors from the rubble of the World Trade Center.

UNITED STATES officials have given tallies that add up to 6,818 dead or missing in all the attacks of September 11, but they have still not established the total number of their nationals among the victims 11 days after the attack.

In New York, 6,585 people were killed or listed as missing from the World Trade Center disaster (comprising 252 confirmed dead and 6,333 missing, presumed dead). Workers have identified 183 bodies, including those of 34 firemen.

At the Pentagon, 189 people are confirmed dead or missing. So far, 117 bodies have been recovered, of which 52 have been identified as of Friday. The Department of Defense said search and recovery operations would continue.

The missing figure at both sites include the 157 passengers and crew of the two hijacked aircraft that crashed into the World Trade Center and the 64 on the one that flew into the Pentagon.

Adding the 44 on the hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, the number of people on the four planes is given as 265.

(American Airlines flight 11, the first to hit the twin towers of the WTC, was carrying 92 passengers and crew; United Airlines flight 175, which hit the second tower, had 65 people on board; American Airlines flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon, was carrying 64 people; and United Airlines 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania without reaching its target, had 44 on board.)

ARGENTINA said four of its nationals were missing.

AUSTRALIA said three of its nationals were confirmed dead. Another 20 who were in the top floors of the World Trade Center were missing, presumed dead, and consular staff in Canberra and New York were looking for another 32 Australians reported as missing.

AUSTRIA said around 40 of its nationals were missing, one of them a 25-year-old woman named only as Alexandra H. who worked in a bank in the World Trade Center.

BANGLADESH said at least 50 Bangladeshis were presumed killed in the carnage at the World Trade Center, where many worked in restaurants and offices.

BELGIUM said one of its nationals was missing.

BRAZIL said at least 55 of its nationals were missing.

BRITAIN lost around 250 of its citizens, according to New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

BULGARIA said that one of its citizens was missing.

CAMBODIA said it feared that some 20 of its nationals were missing following the attacks.

CANADA said three of its nationals were confirmed dead and between 35 and 40 were still missing.

CHILE's New York consulate said two of its nationals were missing and feared dead, although more than 250 have been reported missing by relatives.

CHINA said two Chinese nationals were killed and another was missing. A man and woman, both in their 60s, died aboard the plane that crashed into the Pentagon. Chinese authorities originally said three people had died, but the foreign ministry revised the figure, saying that a man, Chen Xiaobing, had been rescued from the lower floors of the building. A 41-year-old Chinese was reported missing.

COLOMBIA's consulate in New York said two of its nationals were killed -- one aboard an American Airlines plane that slammed into the side of the twin towers -- while 10 others were missing. Earlier, Colombia's Red Cross had said that 295 people were reported missing. While 17 people worked in the twin towers, others may have been present in the area at the time.

The CZECH REPUBLIC said 56 of its citizens who had been in the United States were unaccounted for. Of those, up to 15 nationals were thought to have been in New York or Washington at the time of the attacks, according to the foreign ministry.

DENMARK's foreign ministry said that all of its citizens previously reported missing had turned up safe and sound and that there had therefore been no Danish casualties in the attacks.

The DOMINICAN REPUBLIC said one citizen, a paramedic, was found dead and 30 are missing, according to the country's consulate in New York.

ECUADOR listed seven citizens as dead, including one who was a passenger on a hijacked airliner, and 29 missing.

EGYPT's ambassador to the United States said four Egyptians were feared dead.

EL SALVADOR said one of its citizens died on one of the hijacked planes, and up to 100 more were missing.

FINLAND said that none of its nationals were missing, having earlier said three people were unaccounted for. The Finnish consulate in New York originally said it was trying to track down 17 nationals.

FRANCE said a small number of its nationals working in the World Trade Center were unaccounted for. A foreign ministry spokesman said no French dead have yet been confirmed.

GAMBIA said that one of its citizens who worked in the World Trade Center was presumed dead.

GERMANY said it was "highly probable" that 100 Germans had been killed in New York. Estimates of the total German toll have fallen from 600 last Friday to 270 at the weekend, and fewer than 170 by Monday evening.

GHANA said "scores" of its nationals had worked in the World Trade Center and not all had been accounted for. According to private radio, at least four Ghanaians, one a woman, have been reported missing by their families.

GUATEMALA said five of its citizens are missing.

GUINEA lost several citizens in the attacks, according to the PANA news agency, although neither government officials nor local press could confirm the report.

HONG KONG said 16 people were missing.

HONDURAS said one of its nationals was killed at the trade center and that three other Honduran women were missing, but added that it had information that up to 500 Hondurans and Salvadorans worked in the towers, although not necessarily at the time of the disaster.

HUNGARY said it had contacted 102 of the 143 Hungarian nationals reported missing by relatives after the attacks. The foreign ministry said it had no information indicating that any might be among the victims.

INDONESIA said one of its citizens died on one of the four hijacked planes and another of its citizens was missing.

IRELAND said five Irish citizens had been confirmed dead, including a woman and her four-year-old daughter who perished aboard one of the jets that hit the World Trade Center and a worker in one of the towers. More than 20 other Irish nationals were missing.

ISRAEL said at least four of its nationals were presumed dead, two on the doomed flights and two in the twin towers, and another 60 were unaccounted for. A foreign ministry spokesman said the toll could still fall as more people were traced.

ITALY said 10 Italian nationals were still missing, according to consular authorities.

JAPAN said as many as 44 of its nationals remain unaccounted for, 20 more than officially listed as missing. Twenty-two of the presumed victims worked at Japanese-affiliated offices in the World Trade Center. One is believed to have been aboard one of the planes which crashed into them, and another is missing after United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania.

JORDAN said one of its nationals, who also had US citizenship, was believed to be in the World Trade Center at the time of the attack.

KENYA was missing one national, a computer analyst who worked in the World Trade Center, according to local media.

LEBANON said two of its nationals, including one of the suspected hijackers, are confirmed dead and four others are missing.

MALAYSIA said four of its nationals working in the World Trade Center were missing.

MEXICO was missing 20 nationals in the attacks on the World Trade Center, including a consular employee. The Mexican consul in New York, Salvador Beltran, said 150 Mexicans worked in the center, though media said hundreds more worked in restaurants on the lower levels and in the immediate vicinity.

Tepayac, a network of Mexican community organizations, said as many as 500 Mexicans are feared dead in the collapsed towers.

THE NETHERLANDS said at least three of its citizens had died.

NORWAY said one tourist is unaccounted for, but there was no indication he had been at the World Trade Center.

NIGERIA said one person was dead and four missing or wounded, Nigerian Consul General Tafiq Oseni said in New York. The victim was a woman working as an accountant in the World Trade Center's Windows on the World restaurant. Leading newspaper The Guardian reported, however, that the figure for missing nationals may be far higher.

PAKISTAN said one Pakistani was confirmed dead and at least 200 were missing. Another 15 were injured, some seriously, after being pulled from the rubble. A government spokesman said around 650 Pakistani nationals worked in the World Trade Center.

PARAGUAY said two of its citizens were missing and presumed dead.

PERU lost one citizen, a New York resident who worked in the World Trade Center, according to local media, and Peruvian diplomats in the United States said another five Peruvians were missing.

THE PHILIPPINES said two Filipinos were confirmed dead and 115 were missing.

POLAND said five of its citizens were reported missing.

PORTUGAL said five Portuguese were believed to have died in the World Trade Center.

RUSSIA said 117 of its nationals were missing, believed killed. The Russian embassy in Washington said it compiled its list on the

The US is to defy growing international pressure by going ahead with its military strike inside Afghanistan without seeking a specific mandate from the UN.

Are you kidding me? They can go suck eggs! We don't need the UN or the EU for permission for anything. We are a grown up nation and will take all responsibility for our actions. If they don't like it, tough tittés.

On the brink of war: False identities mislead authorities
The Guardian - United Kingdom; Sep 21, 2001
BY NICK HOPKINS IN NEW YORK

The FBI acknowledged yesterday that some of the terrorists involved in the attacks last week were using false identities, as it emerged that at least two men had been wrongly implicated.

After analysis of the passenger lists of the four hijacked flights and other immigration documents, investigators identified Salem al-Hazmi and Abdulaziz al-Omari as two of the terrorists.

The real Salem al-Hazmi, however, is alive and indignant in Saudi Arabia, and not one of the people who perished in the American Airlines flight that crashed on the Pentagon. He works at a government-owned petroleum and chemical plant in the city of Yanbu.

He said yesterday he had not left Saudi Arabia for two years, but that his passport had been stolen by a pickpocket in Cairo three years ago.

Abdulaziz al-Omari has also come forward to say he was not on the flight from Boston that crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Centre.

An electrical engineer who works in Saudi Arabia, Mr Omari said he was a student in Denver during the mid-1990s, and that his passport and other papers were stolen in a burglary in the US five years ago.

He was given a special pass by the Saudi embassy so he could return home.

"The name is my name and the birthdate is the same as mine," he told Asharq al-Aswat, a London-based Arabic newspaper. "But I am not the one who bombed the World Trade Centre in New York."

Both men have offered to fly to the US to prove their innocence.

A Saudi embassy official in Washington warned yesterday that many more terror suspects might have been using false identities.

"The Salem al-Hamzi we have is 26 years old and has never been to the United States," Gaafar Allagany told the Washington Post. "He has said he is willing to come to the United States if anyone wants to see him."

The FBI said it was reviewing the information about those on board the flights and that "the possibility that some of the identities are in question is being actively pursued".

The confusion has added to the problems of investigators. They have discovered that one of the men arrested, Badr Mohammed Hamzi, a radiologist from San Antonio, Texas, regularly used the name Khalid al-Midhar, who has been named as another of the hijackers.

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Sure. A Wal Mart permit is enough for hunting camels.

Russian MP censures Bush's speech
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Sep 22, 2001

In a live interview broadcast by Ekho Moskvy radio on 21 September 2001, Russian Fatherland-All Russia MP and former head of the Russian State Customs Committee Valeriy Draganov said that "President Bush will not manage to implement everything that he has proclaimed" in his address to US Congress on 20 September.

Draganov claimed that Bush "was taking a political advantage of the situation", acting "in his own interests rather than in American people's interests".

Draganov said that the principle "those who are not with us are against us" was widely used in the Soviet Union in the time of Stalin's terror. He claimed that President Bush "had identified whole countries and nations as terrorist" and described this as an example of "Bolshevik rhetoric".

Draganov regretted that "America wanted to do everything on its own" and "ignored the rest of the world". Meanwhile, "Russia would have much to say to the world community, to America and to everybody", Draganov said.

Source: Ekho Moskvy news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1320 gmt 21 Sep 01

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.

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Taleban spokesman says "not clear" where downed plane from
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Sep 22, 2001

Text of report by Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press news agency

Peshawar, Afghan Islamic Press: The Taleban have confirmed that they have shot down a spy aircraft in northern Samangan [Province], but say that it is not clear to whom the aircraft belongs.

Taleban spokesman Mola Abdol Hai [Motmaen] told Afghan Islamic Press from Kandahar: "We have shot down an unmanned aircraft in Samangan this morning, but it's not clear to whom the aircraft belongs."

He added: "We have closed our airspace to all flights, and in this regard we have issued warnings. This spy aircraft had entered [Afghan airspace] without permission and we have shot it down."

Source: Afghan Islamic Press news agency, Peshawar, in Pashto 0630 gmt 22 Sep 01

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.

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FRONT PAGE - FIRST SECTION: US and UK set for joint action BUSH AGREES ON NEED FOR TIGHT COMMAND STRUCTURE IN ANY MILITARY OPERATION AGAINST BIN LADEN:
Financial Times; Sep 22, 2001
By FARHAN BOKHARI, JUDY DEMPSEY, STEPHEN FIDLER, BRIAN GROOM, ANDREW JACK and EDWARD LUCE

The US and Britain are ready to take military action by themselves against Osama bin Laden, prime suspect behind last week's terrorist atrocities, and his protectors in Afghanistan.

According to senior British officials, Tony Blair, the prime minister, and President George W. Bush have agreed that a tight command structure is needed and that the military operation should be undertaken largely, perhaps wholly, by their own forces.

The mission is likely to include difficult search-and-destroy operations in mountainous terrain, involving special forces.

The White House declined to comment. However, one lesson US military planners took from Nato's bombing campaign in Kosovo in 1999 was that a large alliance complicates and delays the choice of objectives in a campaign.

President Jacques Chirac indicated this week that France was willing to take part. Discussions are taking place but it is not yet clear what role, if any, French forces may have.

The allies have not ruled out a role for Russia, whose territory lies close to Afghanistan. Alexander Kotenkov, special representative of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, to parliament, said: "I don't think that our troops will take part in operations outside the Russian Federation." However, he left open the possibility of using Russian specialists and intelligence.

Last night European Union leaders unequivocally backed any US military action carried out by the US and agreed on a package of anti-terrorist measures.

Earlier yesterday European officials said the US and European Union had reached an agreement on dividing responsibilities on the diplomatic front, in which the Europeans would reach out to Iran and Syria. The US has no relations with Tehran and problematic ties with Syria.

Mr Blair, along with other European governments, is pressing Mr Bush to reject the calls of hawks in his administration for strikes against other countries harbouring terrorists, at least at this stage, for fear of weakening the impressive international coalition of support.

British officials said talks between the two leaders over dinner in Washington on Thursday focused almost entirely on Afghanistan. "The prime minister has the sense that he (Mr Bush) is someone who, whatever advice he may get from all sorts of quarters, is the guy who is going to make the decisions."

The seriousness of Mr Blair's intent was underlined by the fact that senior military planners accompanied him to Washington.

In his speech to Congress on Thursday night, Mr Bush laid out an ultimatum to Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to hand over Mr bin Laden and those connected to him, and to close down terrorist bases immediately.

"Americans should not expect one battle but a lengthy campaign unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes visible on TV and covert operations secret even in success," he said.

"We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place until there is no refuge or no rest."

But yesterday the Taliban reiterated its refusal to hand him over unless Washington provided clear proof of his guilt in last week's attacks.

Abdul Salam Zaeef, Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan, read a statement issued by the Taliban's leading Muslim clerics warning that any attempt by the US to launch an attack on Afghanistan would be met with jihad, or holy war.

Additional reporting by Judy Dempsey in Brussels, Andrew Jack in Moscow, and Edward Luce and Farhan Bokhari in Peshawar, Pakistan Assault on America, Page 5 Editorial Comment, Page 14 After the aftermath, Page 15 Latest news: www.ft.com

Four are held in UK

UK anti-terrorist officers arrested three men and one woman in connection with the attacks on the World Trade Center, Scotland Yard said last night. Three of the arrests took place in London and one in Birmingham. Report, Page 3

Copyright: The Financial Times Limited

France's Chirac sees signs of Bin-Ladin's culpability in attacks
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Sep 22, 2001

French President Jacques Chirac said on Saturday said that although there was no tangible proof against Usamah Bin-Ladin, there were increasing signs of his culpability in the attacks on the World Trade Center.

"As far as our own services in Europe and in France are concerned, we do not have absolute certainty, but everything is converging towards the confirmation of this idea," Chirac said in remarks broadcast on French La Chaine Info TV.

He said the Americans "have reached certainty with regard to ... the role of Bin Ladin's organization".

Chirac was speaking after an emergency EU session in Brussels where the 15 member countries called for action against terrorism to be taken "under the auspices of the United Nations" and with close consultation with Europe.

Source: La Chaine Info, Paris, in French 0645 gmt 22 Sep 01

/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.

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