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Fw: Another Scenario?
http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=6/12/02&Cat=2&Num=027
Tehran Times
June 12, 2002
Another Scenario?
TEHRAN -- After the September 11 incidents in the
United States, Washington blamed the Al-Qaeda network
for those acts of terrorism and waged its devastative
war on Afghanistan that resulted in high casualties
among innocent civilians. However, after several
months of intensive bombings and even following the
downfall of the Taliban militia, whom the U.S.
administration blamed for harboring Al-Qaeda members,
Osama bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda leaders described
by Washington as masterminds of the September 11
attacks are still at large.
However, instead of feeling depressed at having failed
to capture those they have called their arch-enemies,
the White House officials even appear fairly pleased,
as they have managed to establish military bases and
gain a foothold in Central Asia and the Caucasus on
the pretext of fighting terrorism. Furthermore, the
recent revelations indicating that U.S. President
George W. Bush as well as senior FBI and CIA officials
had been given warnings about the possibility of
terrorist attacks on the United States long before
September 11, 2001, but did not take any effective
measures to prevent the incidents make one wonder
whether the United States actually needed a scenario
such as the attacks on New York and Washington in
order to advance its belligerent policy and military
adventurism.
But at this stage, it seems that the new U.S. military
policy under the Republican administration is not
going to be confined to just establishing military
bases in Afghanistan and some other countries in
Central Asia and the Caucasus. In other words,
Washington is apparently seeking more objectives than
just boosting its political and military presence and
influence in the region through another scenario. To
grasp the point, the following news reports are worth
considering.
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said on Monday
that investigators thwarted a plot to detonate a
radiation-laced 'dirty bomb' in the United States by
arresting a U.S. "terrorist" linked to Osama bin
Laden's Al-Qaeda network. Ashcroft said Abdullah
al-Muhajir, 31, a U.S. citizen born in New York as
Jose Padilla, who was allegedly plotting the attack,
was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport
on May 8, after flying in from Pakistan. "We have
captured a known terrorist who was exploring a plan to
build and explode a radiological dispersion device, or
'dirty bomb' in the United States," Ashcroft said,
according to an AFP dispatch from Washington.
According to a BBC television report, a crude nuclear
bomb can be carried on a truck and its explosion can
affect at least 20 percent of the population in a
large U.S. city. The report said the explosion could
also cause great panic and make the U.S. citizens flee
their homes.
And finally, the Arabic language daily **Al-Hayat**
yesterday reported that the Al-Qaeda has admitted on
its Internet site that it has access to weapons of
mass destruction through raw materials and equipment
obtained from Russia. The first report, in which
Ashcroft revealed the news about Muhajir's arrest
after more than one month, and this in itself is quite
questionable, seems to be aimed at preparing U.S.
citizens for another tragedy similar to the September
11 incidents or even worse. The BBC television report
also seems to be following the same objective.
Furthermore, this report also came at a time when U.S.
officials are asserting that the Al-Qaeda network has
obtained access to crude nuclear weapons, and that it
is seriously planning another attack on the U.S. As
for the possible source of radioactive materials, U.S.
officials have claimed that the network has acquired
these materials form Pakistan and Russia. But what is
**Al-Hayat** trying to convey? It is clear that it
intends to put the blame for any possible nuclear
attacks on the United States on Al-Qaeda, as the
network was blamed for the September 11 incidents, but
without any concrete evidence.
These reports indicate that a new scenario is in the
offing. It is no hidden fact by now that independent
states refusing to submit to U.S. domination have long
been a target of U.S. propaganda and baseless
accusations such as sponsoring terrorism or seeking
weapons of mass destruction. However, so far nations
throughout the world, even some U.S. European allies,
have mostly ignored such propaganda and accusations
because they are well aware of the self-serving U.S.
motives behind these allegations.
But what would happen if the United States becomes the
target of a nuclear attack by so-called Al-Qaeda
terrorists? It is clear that Washington will be
provided with a suitable pretext, similar to the one
after the September 11 incidents, to launch a
devastative campaign against any group that it labels
as terrorist or any country that it calls a sponsor of
terrorism. Therefore, it seems that a horrible
scenario is in the offing, horrible in the first place
for the innocent U.S. citizens who may become the
victims of another tragedy in their country. Another
point worthy of consideration is that all three
reports claim Al-Qaeda has obtained the raw materials
for its nuclear weapons from Russia. But why Russia?
The answer is simple. If this tragedy occurs and the
U.S. tries to launch a campaign against independent
states on the above pretext, countries like Russia may
not be so willing to take part in the campaign and may
even raise objections. Thus, the claim that the raw
materials for making the nuclear weapons have been
obtained from Russia will help to turn public opinion
in the United States and Europe against Russia and
force Moscow into submission or at least silence about
the unilateral and domineering U.S. campaign against
countries critical of U.S. policies.