War without days D

After it was confirmed from Brussels that the US provided its NATO allies with "clear and convincing" evidence that Osama bin Laden himself and his Al Qaeda network were behind the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Taliban's room for maneuver narrowed. NATO Secretary General George Robertson, therefore, "verified" the evidence that the attacks were directed from outside, which, according to Article 5 of the Alliance, must be considered an attack on all NATO members and added "that the United States of America can fully count on the support of all 18 members of the alliance in the fight against international terrorism". A few hours before Article 5 comes into effect, British Prime Minister Tony Blair practically declares war on the Taliban. "Either you will surrender the terrorists, or you will surrender." You have no other choice. There is only one outcome to this battle. Our victory, not theirs," Blair said at his Labor Party summit in Brighton. Also on the same day, October 2, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani pleaded in a speech before the United Nations General Assembly that the world organization "draw the line" when it comes to terrorism and not engage in fruitless discussions about what causes terrorism. "Evidence of the brutality and inhumanity of terrorism, of its concept of life and peace, lies beneath the ruins of the STC, just a few kilometers away from where we met today." Let those who claim that we must first delve into the causes of terrorism come with me to one of the thousands of funerals that have taken place in New York, and let them explain the crazy reasons to children and mourners."

Although warships, aircraft-tankers and cruisers are being stockpiled and moved, and logistics bases are being built for attacks on Afghanistan, the war on the ground has already begun. In fact, it has been going on since the attacks on American embassies in Africa in 1998, that is. since Osama bin Laden declared war on America. Since then, groups of American special forces have been combing the glaciers and hills of Afghanistan in search of enemy no. 1 and key people from his network.

REFUGE WASTE: In fact, with areas covered with low vegetation and bare hills, Afghanistan is geographically most reminiscent of the American Wild West. And just as the wastelands of the American West in the previous century were an ideal refuge for the "ugly, dirty and evil", Afghanistan is also a refuge for the apostates of the 21st century. Therefore, before any projectile is fired, ie. before the arrival of the "blue cavalry", it is likely that the hardest part of the work will have to be done first by Shane and Pinkerton, who are already on the ground. One Pentagon source says that members of US special forces (most likely members of the elite Delta unit and Green Berets) are extensively combing the terrain in small groups. They hide in holes during the day, and come out at dusk in search of tracks. They are fluent in Pashto and Dari. "Their mission is to catch Bin Laden without getting caught," an anonymous Pentagon source told Time.

But, as US President George Bush promised his citizens and the whole world, this war will be long-lasting and will be fought with military, economic and diplomatic means. "We did not seek this conflict, but we will end it." War will be fought wherever terrorists are hiding, fleeing or plotting. The victory will be obvious."

However, it is precisely the fact that the victories in the war that the global coalition against terrorism has set their sights on cannot, at least at first, be obvious, which gives the Bush administration a lot of trouble. The war that is being prepared does not resemble any of the modern wars, least of all the war in the Gulf in 1991 or the one against the FRY in 1999. Modern military technology will not play a decisive role in the war, but quiet and secret operations of special units and intelligence services will. The Bush administration has a lot of work to do at home in preparing for war, because it has to take advantage as soon as possible of the favorable circumstance that the vast majority of Americans for now support a comprehensive fight against terrorism and are prepared to make certain sacrifices for it, from people to restrictions on civil liberties. . On the other hand, all forecasts agree that the US economy is doomed to recession, so the solidarity and tolerance of US citizens may begin to melt as soon as they feel the first signs of economic stagnation.

GREATER AUTHORITIES POSITION: Still, with no time to spare, the Bush administration threw itself into solving its homework, so the Republicans in Congress reached an agreement with the Democrats to pass a law that would give the police more powers in combating terrorism. Greater powers for the police automatically mean the restriction of civil liberties, which is why Republicans had to count on the understanding of Democrats. In order to maintain the interest and mood of the citizens for military action, the Bush administration is considering a series of concerts and public appearances by big stars. Although one large manifestation of this kind was already held on September 21, Bush's people are not particularly satisfied. As one White House source put it, "the concert was too Hollywood and New York." In other words, liberal ideas were glorified too much. Instead of messages about peace and religious tolerance, the White House prefers an event that would strengthen patriotism and what "makes war inevitable." So instead of Brad Pitt and Keanu Reeves, it would be better if Clint Eastwood and Tom Selleck sent the message.

The challenges facing the Bush administration are great, precisely because the war will not be fought on one front. "There are no more islands to be conquered, or beach landings," Bush declared last week. With so many battles being fought on various fronts, diplomatic, economic and military, Bush has to show some success as soon as possible, and there are not many choices. Neither NATO nor the White House want to reveal the beginning of real military operations, Washington-Islamabad-Kabul diplomatic efforts did not yield results, so Bush was left with an economic front. Opening the "Reagan" airport, Bush announced that the US and its allies had blocked the bank accounts controlled by Osama bin Laden and that about six million dollars had been "captured". Although this success may seem minor compared to the battles ahead, it is not negligible: the initial estimate that the costs of organizing the attack on STC and the Pentagon amounted to several tens of thousands of dollars turned out to be too modest. It turned out that the training and logistics cost the organizers over half a million dollars, so blocking the funds is a significant success. However, one should not be overly optimistic in this regard, warn financial and banking experts. Half an hour is enough for Osama bin Laden to transfer money from one account to another and have it collected by a completely unknown person. To trace such transactions, bankers often need more than half a year.

However, despite the clanking of weapons, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld managed to restrain the hawks in their ranks, and at the same time, with the activation of Article 5 of NATO, maintain the fighting flame.

HIV ILI DEAD: Washington and its allies are ready to wait a little longer for Taliban leaders to hand over Osama bin Laden to them on a plate. Pakistan's help, it turned out, should not be counted on much, despite the good will of the government in Islamabad. Things have gotten out of control and the main patrons of the Taliban, which makes the global coalition in the fight against terror a shambles. It seems that even the Taliban do not want to completely slam the door behind them and retreat to the wastelands of Afghanistan expecting retribution. Taliban leaders denied a previous statement that they did not know where the main culprit was, but that they could pass a message to him. Now, however, they claim that Osama bin Laden is in Afghanistan. This is bad news for Afghans, given that the Taliban government only wants to brag about this fact, not negotiate. Although it is clear that Bin Laden's network will be able to maintain and operate for some time even if the leader is removed, and that the problem of terrorism will not be removed by that simple fact, the allies in the fight against terror will not give up their intention to get the enemy no. 1, living or dead. Whether some projectile, or Shane in disguise, will accomplish that remains to be seen. For the time being, however, "mangup in Bin Laden's ranks" has the most success.

American blacklist

Extreme Islamic terrorist groups that the US government considers dangerous and, as such, put them on the "black list":

Al Qaeda

This organization was founded by Osama bin Laden in order to create a unique Islamic state in the world. Like its founder, Al Qaeda has a long and controversial past. At the time of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (in 1979), Bin Laden formed a kind of center to collect funds to fight against the Soviets and recruit Mujahideen from all over the world - including the USA. According to American sources, this structure was transformed in 1989 (the time when the Soviets left Afghanistan) into Al Kaidu (Base), the nucleus around which Bin Laden built his terrorist network.

What distinguishes Bin Laden from other "godfathers" of violence against American and Israeli targets is his ability to establish an extremely wide circle of connections: he managed to connect long-time rivals, to reconcile ideological differences between them. He is ready for tactical alliances with all groups that share his goals: the "liberation" of the Persian Gulf countries from American troops, the overthrow of pro-Western governments in the so-called moderate Islamic countries and the destruction of Israel (see "Time" number 559). It was founded in 1998 for this purpose International islamic front za sveti war against Jews i crusader, Al Qaeda became his armed wing. In addition to the recent terrorist attack on America, Osama Bin Laden is responsible for at least five other terrorist actions against American targets in which 273 people died.

Palestinian islamic jihad

Palestinian Islamic Jihad is considered one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations in the Middle East. In her eyes, Israel is the main enemy of Muslims, which must be destroyed in jihad (holy war). The organization was founded in 1975 by Palestinian students in Egypt. Under the leadership of Fathi Shakaki, who during his medical studies in Egypt accepted radicalism and the ideas of the Iranian revolution, in the early eighties, the organization expanded into the Gaza Strip. The Israeli secret service Mossad organized his assassination in Malta. The organization was taken over by Ramadan Abdallah Shalah, who studied economics in Great Britain. This organization is behind many bloody assassinations.

Hamas

Founder and spiritual leader of the Islamic-fundamentalist Palestinian organization Hamas is Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Its goal is the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state within the borders of Palestine. According to Yassin, Palestine stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.

The movement originated in the Gaza Strip, but it also operates in the West Bank and in Israel itself. The Israeli authorities, at first, Hamas treated as a rival Palestinian liberation organizations (PLO) and indirectly encouraged it. Its militant activity became undeniable after the outbreak of the first intifada at the end of 1987. Two years later, the Israeli authorities banned its activities in the occupied territories. Yasin, now sixty-five years old with poor health and almost blind, spent eight years (1989-1997) in Israeli prisons. During this time, the violence of his followers culminated. Hamas is financed by contributions from members and sympathizers, but also from some Islamic and Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, Iran).

In the occupied territories, they organized an efficient social service, which brought them great sympathy from the population.

Yasin considers the current intifada to be a "qualitative leap" compared to the first one, because young Palestinians picked up hand grenades instead of stones. In an interview, he recently answered the accusations of whether he was involved in a terrorist attack on the USA: "Hamas does not fight outside of Palestine. The Americans who died in those attacks did not occupy someone else's country. The Israelis are." The organization is responsible for the largest number of suicide bombings in Israel and the territories under Palestinian self-government.

National front za liberation Palestine (NFOP)

This Marxist-Leninist group was founded in 1967 by Georges Habash, a legendary figure in the Palestinian nomenclature who was one of the three main components PLO-a. The relations between Yasser Arafat and Habash were from the very beginning rival, and often openly hostile.

NFOP became "famous" in the world for hijacking airplanes. They carried out the first one in 1968, and two years later, in "Black September", they hijacked seven planes at the same time. However, one of Habash's bloodiest actions was carried out in his native Lod (Israel) in 1972, when three members of the organization killed 28 people and wounded 78.

At the congress NFOP-a In 1999, Habash retired, and Abu Ali Mustafa became the head of the organization. In September of the same year, after rejecting violence as a way to solve the Palestinian issue, Barak's government allowed him to return to Ramallah after 18 years in exile in Syria. After the outbreak of the intifada, Mustafa and his organization openly supported the Palestinian uprising. At the end of August this year, Mustafa (63) was killed in an Israeli rocket attack on the building where he worked.

Abu Nest

The group was created in 1974 by breaking away from PLO-a . He is considered responsible for the assassinations at the airports in Rome and Vienna (1985), but also for numerous murders of moderate Palestinian leaders. One of the most famous was Arafat's right hand - Abu Jihad (1991).

National front za liberation Palestine, general a team

The group was created by separating from NFOP-a 1969 and is headquartered in Damascus. This organization is credited with involvement in the assassination of the Pan American plane that crashed near Lockerbie (Scotland) in December 1988. 271 people died on that occasion.

Abu Sayyaf (Sayyaf)

A radical group operating in the south of the Philippines. Its goal is to create an Islamic state in this area. In April of this year, they kidnapped about twenty Western tourists who were released thanks to the mediation of the Libyan leader Gaddafi.

Islamic jihad

A group of extreme Islamists emerged in the 1981s in Egypt. He is considered responsible for the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar el Sadat (XNUMX).

Islamic group

The largest group of Egyptian extremist Islamists. The spiritual leader, the blind Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman, has been in an American prison since 1995 for his involvement in the first assassination attempt on the World Trade Center (February 26, 2, when six people died). He is considered responsible for the terrorist attack in Luxor (Egypt) when 1993 foreign tourists were killed (58).

Hezbollah

Founded in Lebanon with Iranian and Syrian help, Hezbollah "Party of God" is held responsible for the 1983 attack on the American barracks in Beirut. More than 200 soldiers were killed on that occasion. It operates in the south of Lebanon, where it has military training camps where members have also stayed Al Railing and other Egyptian extremist groups. This is also an unusual example of Sunni-Shia cooperation in the fight against the West. Hezbollah is known for its extremely militant supporters and their actions against Israel.

Armed Islamic group

It was founded in 1992 after the annulment of the political elections in Algeria in which the fundamentalists won. Their bloody actions have taken tens of thousands of lives so far.

National mujahideen

A very active and strong Iranian dissident group. It has several bases in Iraq.

Movement Mujahideen

An Islamic extremist group that operates primarily in Pakistan. She is associated with Osama bin Laden.

Jamaat Ulfukra (Jamaat Ulfuqra)

The spiritual leader of the group is Pakistani Sheikh Mubarik Ali Gilani. Cells of this group were discovered in the United States itself.

Prepared by: Mariza Krevatin-Majstorović