Posted on 02/16/2002 6:42:33 PM PST by aculeus
A FORMER Soviet air force officer has been named as the chief supplier of arms and equipment to Osama Bin Laden’s network in Afghanistan. Victor Bout, a mysterious Russian whose air freight firms are accused of flouting United Nations sanctions across Africa and Asia, is alleged by intelligence sources to have operated flights to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda until just days before the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Last week an international arrest warrant was issued and will shortly be circulated worldwide by Interpol.
Controlling one of the world’s largest fleets of former Soviet cargo planes, Bout brought in arms and ammunition, as well as bulk supplies, and helped Al-Qaeda militants to enter Afghanistan in breach of a UN arms embargo.
The most damning evidence has been collected by Britain’s intelligence service, MI6, which launched a campaign two years ago to monitor his activities. British intelligence has been tracking Bout’s arms shipments and monitoring his communications, as well as interfering with his attempts to buy weapons in eastern Europe. The disruption included the seizure of a helicopter gunship.
A Whitehall official said: “The evidence assembled is persuasive. He has a go-anywhere, supply-anything outfit that fuels war and terrorism.”
Britain’s action has followed a campaign by Peter Hain, the Foreign Office minister, who accuses Bout of illicitly supplying guns bought in eastern Europe to rebel groups in conflict zones, such as Angola and Sierra Leone, in return for contraband diamonds. Last week Hain refused to discuss intelligence matters but confirmed Bout’s connection to Bin Laden.
“Bout is a merchant of death. He supplies rebel and terrorist forces with arms in return for diamonds,” Hain said. “He was also supplying the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. He must be put out of business.”
Hain said the firms involved in supplying Bin Laden were based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The gun-running continued even after sanctions were imposed on Afghanistan in January 2001.
Belgian state prosecutors are leading attempts to bring Bout to justice. The arrest warrant accuses him of involvement in the use of counterfeit currency and follows the arrest of key associates. One was found with a map detailing military facilities in Afghanistan.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.