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Posted on 11/09/2001 10:41:51 PM PST by Pericles

Saturday November 10, 12:43 PM

Bin Laden brandishes nuclear threat against US

Accused terrorist leader Osama bin Laden said he has nuclear and chemical weapons and threatened to use them against the United States, in an interview.

"A great war of Islamic history" is being fought in Afghanistan, the suspected mastermind of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington told a Pakistani newspaper editor, warning that all Americans are targets.

"I wish to declare that if America used chemical or nuclear weapons against us then we may retort with chemical and nuclear weapons," the Dawn newspaper quoted bin Laden as saying in the interview in Kabul.

"We have the weapons as a deterrent," he added.

But he refused to give details of his claimed arsenal. When asked where he got the weapons from, bin Laden responded: "Go to the next question."

US President George W. Bush warned last week that he believed bin Laden's al-Qaeda network was "seeking chemical, biological and nuclear weapons." But Washington has not released firm evidence to back the claims.

Bin Laden again justified the September 11 attacks in the interview with Hamid Mir, editor of the Ausaf Urdu-language daily. The interview was also published by Dawn, Pakistan's oldest English-language newspaper.

Mir is writing a book on bin Laden and has interviewed the Saudi dissident in the past.

Mir said he was taken blindfolded in a jeep from the Afghan capital Kabul on November 7 to a place which was cold and from where he could hear anti-aircraft fire. He said bin Laden arrived with about a dozen bodyguards and his deputy, Dr Ayman al-Zuwahiri.

"Right now a great war of Islamic history is being fought in Afghanistan. All the big powers are united against Muslims. It is 'sawab' (a religious deed) to participate in this war," the al-Qaeda leader declared.

Bin Laden said the United States was to blame for the September 11 attacks which left more than 5,000 dead.

"America and its allies are massacring us in Palestine, Chechnya, Kashmir and Iraq. Muslims have the right to attack America in reprisal."

He added: "The September 11 attacks were not targeted at women and children. The real targets were America's icons of military and economic power."

Bin Laden went on to say that all Americans were to blame for the actions of their government.

"The American people should remember that they pay taxes to their government, they elect their president, their government manufactures arms and gives them to Israel and Israel uses them to massacre Palestinians."

He said: "The American Congress endorses all government measures and this proves that the entire America is responsible for the atrocities perpetrated against Muslims. The entire America because they elected Congress."

The United States launched air strikes against Afghanistan on October 7 in a bid to force the Taliban militia to hand over bin Laden. Militia leaders have said they will never hand over the al-Qaeda leader.

Bin Laden insisted there was no proof of his involvement in the September 11 attacks and said Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf would be "punished" for joining the US-led coalition.

"The government of Pakistan should have the wishes of the people in view," bin Laden was quoted as saying.

"It should not have surrendered to the unjustified demands of America. America does not have solid proof against us. It just has some surmises. It is unjust to start bombing on those surmises."

Bin Laden said: "We will not leave the Pakistani people and the Pakistani territory at anybody's mercy. We will defend Pakistan but we have been disappointed by General Pervez Musharraf."

He went on: "Bush has used the word crusade. This is a crusade declared by Bush. It is no wisdom to barter off blood of Afghan brethren to improve Pakistan's economy. He will be punished by the Pakistani people and Allah."

A vocal core of radical groups in Pakistan have held demonstrations against President Musharraf, who was to speak Saturday at the UN General Assembly in New York on the international terrorism crisis.

Musharraf insists most Pakistanis back his action.

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