DATE=12/28/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=ELUSIVE TERROR SUSPECT
NUMBER=5-45139
BYLINE=ED WARNER
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:


INTRO:  Osama bin Laden, considered the world's number 
one terrorist by the United States, still eludes 
capture.  In response, the U-S government has imposed 
economic sanctions against Afghanistan's Taleban 
movement, which currently harbors him.  Analysts 
differ on what the United States should do next.  
Recommendations vary from negotiations with the 
Taleban to military action against it.  V-O-A's Ed 
Warner reports on the debate.


TEXT:  After being expelled from Sudan under U-S 
pressure, Osama bin Laden took refuge in Afghanistan, 
and there he remains despite U-S demands for his 
release.  The Taleban, which rules most of the 
country, says he is held under close watch and is not 
allowed to communicate with others.  The U-S 
Government is not convinced and has imposed economic 
sanctions on the Taleban.

More direct action may be needed, says Kenneth 
Katzman, a former C-I-A analyst who is now with the 
Congressional Research Service:

            /// Katzman act ///

      My personal view is that the Taleban is dead set 
      against yielding Mr. bin Laden to justice.  Bin 
      Laden funded the widows and orphans from the war 
      against the Soviets in Afghanistan.  He has a 
      lot of legitimacy in Afghanistan.  He has 
      showered money on the place.  Most countries 
      give money to terrorist groups.  This is the 
      opposite.  This is a terrorist giving money to a 
      state.

            /// End Act ///

Mr. Katzman says the Taleban and bin Laden are 
inseparable.  In his opinion, their combined forces 
are spreading Islamic radicalism throughout the 
region, from Central Asia to Chechnya in the Caucasus.

Since this is seen by many as threatening to U-S 
strategic interests, Mr. Katzman says he has heard 
talk in the U-S Congress of using military force to 
overthrow the Taleban and flush out bin Laden.  This 
may mean making common cause with the Russians, 
despite their brutal tactics in Chechnya.

Milt Bearden, who supervised C-I-A operations in the 
Afghan war with the Soviets, says the best way to 
bring bin Laden to justice is to work with the Taleban 
as well as Islamic nations.  The Taleban movement has 
repeatedly said it wants to cooperate and has 
suggested convening a group of Muslin nations to deal 
with the matter.

But as Mr. Bearden writes in "The New York Times," the 
United States has rejected this proposal and refuses 
to talk to the Taleban.  The Islamic world regards 
this as another sign of American arrogance, says Mr. 
Bearden.  Such a stance only helps bin Laden.

Bin Laden enjoys some support in Afghanistan, says 
Thomas Gouttierre, director of the Center for 
Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska.  
But his extremism is not acceptable to most Afghans; 
it goes against their culture and tradition: 

            /// Gouttierre Act ///

      The Talebs (Taleban members) are not totally 
      dependent upon Osama bin Laden.  There is a 
      tremendous amount of support that comes to them 
      from other sources that are interwoven with 
      Osama, but that are inextricably linked to 
      organizations and movements inside Pakistan as 
      well.

            /// End Act ///

Pakistan wants to make sure it has a friendly, 
dependent country on its border, says Mr. Gouttierre, 
but other sources, in the Persian Gulf, also 
contribute to the Taleban.  He believes that if the 
United States could succeed in cutting off this 
delivery of funds and arms, more moderate factions 
within the Taleban might emerge to end the warfare, 
rebuild their devastated country and hand over Osama 
bin Laden. (Signed)

NEB/EW/JP




28-Dec-1999 15:38 PM EDT (28-Dec-1999 2038 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.