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World War? You bet! Dave Francis The problem the US and its allies face is global, and the enemy is identifiable, if shadowy. The enemy of the west, as identified by Russian President, Vladimir Putin more than a year ago in a speech in London, is Islamic fundamentalists who are willing to use terror to achieve their goals. The tentacles of these radical groups reach around the world, and to combat them effectively, the US led coalition is going to have to hold governments responsible, in other words attack them with our military might, if they harbor or assist these cells of terrorists. Lest anyone doubt the scope of the problem, consider the many connections that are being discovered between Saddam Hussein and the Al Qaeda group of Osama bin Ladin. There are reports of bin Ladin’s higher echelon officers meeting with officials of the Iraqi government, in and out of Iraq. There are intercepts of cell phone conversations indicating some Iraqi officials had prior knowledge of the attacks. Increasingly, it becomes obvioius that the leader of the hijackers was Mohammed Atta, the oldest and best educated of them. He was 33 years old, an Egyptian, and a member of Al Qaeda. Atta can be linked to Iraq. He was in Salou, Spain in July meeting with a top Iraqi security agent. He was seen at the Residencia Montsant hotel meeting with Islamic radicals. There have been intercepts by Russian intelligence since the attack that lead analysts here to believe that Saddam was involved in the planning and coordinating of the attacks. The plans were a lot more ambitious than what has been done so far. It is almost certain that Saddam has biological and chemical weapons. He is believed to have smallpox, anthrax, and different types of nerve gas in quantities that, properly distributed could kill millions of people. The US had grounded crop dusters for a few days. The threat is becoming clearer. It was American intelligence services who came to the FAA with the request to ground the crop dusters. Last February, 3 men came to the Belle Glades municipal airport and began investigating the details of crop dusters. How fast could they fly? How much range did they have? These and other questions were put to the employees who watched as the men videotaped the airport. They, and other middle eastern men returned and continued their videotaping, their enquiries. In light of what we now know, it chills the blood to imagine the possibilities. One of the visitors has been identified as Mohammed Atta. Three men with links to Osama bin Ladin have been arrested in Michigan on various violations. One of them, Nabil Amarabh, had just received a Michigan drivers license which he had applied for, giving him permission to drive trucks transporting hazardous materials, including explosives, nuclear waste, and toxic chemicals. The other two men also had licenses to drive 18 wheelers. America is running a terrible risk if it allows these proven terrorists to continue the way they have. The threat of an attack against US population centers is not some horrible scenario in a Tom Clancy thriller anymore, it’s the planned second strike, which may have been foiled by US intelligence at the last moment. We may not be so lucky next time. The best way to secure our safety for the future is to face it now, over there instead of waiting for it to come over here. In other intelligence news, a Chechen terrorist was arrested by the FSS (Russian federal security services.) in Argun, Chechnya. In his possession were plans for the attack on the WTC. On the back of the plans was written the word “Jihad”. Russia is still reeling from the apartment bombings in Moscow by Islamic fundamentalists working from Chechnya, and in a move that may signal a Russian offensive on the Chechen front, Vladimir Putin has passed word to the Chechens that they have 72 hours to disarm. Or what, he didn’t say. It wouldn’t be totally surprising if the Russians started an offensive in Chechnya at the same time the US operations get under way in Afghanistan. Putin’s leadership has been inspiring so far, as he has indicated a willingness to let US led forces use air bases in Afghanistan’s northern neighbor states, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and other former USSR republics. Putin announced in a nationally televised speech on Monday that he had coordinated the support among the Central Asian republics, soon after he had finished an hour long conversation with President Bush. He also said he would be willing to provide troops to help US troops in a search and destroy capacity. There are people who should know here who quietly say that they are already in the Khyber Pass, leading a group of American special forces and British SAS troops. Putin, a former KGB man, knows his way around covert ops. He is an important ally in the US efforts. Russian intelligence is reporting that 300 elite US troops arrived in Uzbekistan, along with reconnaissance equipment. Two c-130 transports were seen landing and unloading at night. A representative of the defense minister for Uzbekistan, Bakhtiar Shakirov denied that any US forces had landed in Uzbekistan. There were also reports of US troops being dropped into Tajikistan. DJF |