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Posted on 09/29/2001 10:28:29 AM PDT by oxi-nato

Insider notes form United Press International for Sept. 27 ...

Behind the scenes where America's superhawk Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was briefing the allies at NATO's Brussels headquarters there was serious concern about two apparently reliable intelligence reports that Osama bin Laden is some new fronts. The first suggested that bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahari had ordered al Qaida and Islamic Jihad supporters in the Balkans to launch operations against U.S. and NATO forces in Bosnia, Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia. Not much panic ensured, despite some hysterical estimates in the Serbian media last week that bin Laden could rally more than "10,000 fanatical Muslim warriors" in the Balkans. "Maybe a hundred not so fanatical, and not so Muslim veterans might respond to al Qaida," quips one NATO expert on the ground. But they are taking seriously a report that al-Zawahari was in the Albanian capital of Tirana last week. The other report, from the Russians, suggested that large contingents of Chechen fighters were on the move.

So they would, with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder saying this week that it was time for Europe to reconsider its frosty attitude to Russia's Chechen war. It looks like both Europe and the United States have given President Vladimir Putin a free hands in Chechnya. The Russians say it's worst than that; the Chechens are fanning out to Uzbekistan, Tadjikistan and Kazakhstan to prepare behind-the-lines attacks on the makeshift U.S. bases being established.

The leak of a transcript of a telephone conversation between President George Bush and Israel's Ariel Sharon is an unusual event, so it's worth recording that Israel's Ha'aretz has printed a remarkable exchange. Bush had told Sharon that it was of great importance for the anti-terror coalition that Sharon let his foreign minister Shimon Peres start talks with Yasser Arafat. Sharon refused, but said Israel wanted to help in the coalition. Bush excused himself, saying he needed to talk to advisers. Back on the phone, Bush started by telling Sharon he was the only leader turning down a request from the U.S. since the Sept. 11 attacks. "Not true," blustered Sharon.

"I am ready to offer any assistance to the coalition against terror. ..." Bush interrupted him, saying "Excuse me, but when I ask you for A and you suggest B, I consider that a refusal." End of phone call.

Bush's pressure worked -- but may have come too late. Having just re-opened talks with the Palestinians, Israel is bracing for new trouble Friday, the 1-year anniversary of Ariel Sharon's ill-fated visit to the Temple Mount, widely seen as the event that sparked the latest intifada.

The ripple effect of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks continue to spread. NASA is pulling all of its employees from Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome, the main Russian launch site. The Oct. 19 launch of a Loral American DirecTV satellite will probably be rescheduled for November, according to the Khrunichev Center, which is preparing the Proton rocket launcher. NASA earlier this year had a threat scare on July 10 July at Cape Canaveral, Fla., when 17 illegal immigrants were detained on the beach near the shuttle launch site.

Following the incident patrols were stepped up, guards were issued night-vision goggles and more motion detectors are installed to help secure the launch zone. Calvin Bunch of NASA security remarked, "We have vulnerabilities." The base was already operating on a "Threatcon Alpha" security status when the detentions occurred. At the time of the incident a security threat also forced the closure of the shuttle's Transoceanic Abort Landing site in Ben Guerer, Morocco. NASA recalled its staff because of unspecified threats against US interests in the kingdom, and declined to comment on the nature of the threat or whether it was specific to the Ben Guerer site.

The workhorse of the expected Special Forces campaign in Afghanistan will be the MH-60 series Black Hawk helicopter. However, as chill winds herald the onset of the ferocious Afghan winter in the mountains of the Hindu Kush, the weather restrictions posted for the Black Hawk make somber reading: "No severe turbulence, no heavy icing and 45-knot winds maximum for engine start and shutdown."

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