And so, at the same time one needs to be aware that the weapons of war and destruction and fear are indeed escalating -- and on all sides -- one also needs to be aware that there is a complicated game of leaks, disinformation, and political pressure being played, and the mass media is often enlisted and used in this propaganda war, sometimes knowingly, sometimes not.

[The Times, London, 26 October]: OSAMA BIN LADEN and his al-Qaeda network have acquired nuclear materials for possible use in their terrorism war against the West, intelligence sources have disclosed.

The Western sources say that the suspected mastermind of the September 11 attacks on America does not have the capability to mount a nuclear attack but fear he would do so if he could.

They believe that he obtained the materials illegally from Pakistan, which has a nuclear capability.

The knowledge that bin Laden has components for a nuclear weapons device in his arsenal is believed to lie behind the regular warnings from President Bush and Tony Blair that he would commit worse atrocities than the suicide assaults on New York and Washington if he were able to.

They may also explain the speed with which the decision was taken to go after bin Laden and his terrorist network, even if that meant toppling the Taleban regime in Afghanistan first.

The disclosure comes as MPs prepare to learn today the details of British troops earmarked for deployment to Afghanistan. They will include a commando group of about 1,000 Royal Marines, currently on exercise in Oman, as well as a large contingent of special forces and specialist support units. The force will be based on ships that have also been participating in the huge tri-Service exercise. They are expected to include the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, stripped of her Harrier jets so she can be used as a platform for helicopters, or HMS Ocean, a dedicated helicopter carrier, two anti-aircraft destroyers to protect the carrier, the assault ship HMS Fearless, and two Royal Fleet Auxiliary support vessels.

Yesterday Mr Blair sought to reassure Muslim leaders that the military action in Afghanistan should be over as quickly as possible. He told the Islamic Response to Terrorism Conference in North London: "I hope you understand that what is important is that we make sure at the same time we take the action necessary now in order to hold to account those who committed the actions of September 11."

There has been clear evidence for several years that bin Laden's agents have been trying to buy, steal or smuggle nuclear systems in order to attack the West. He has said that it was his "religious duty" to seek to acquire chemical, biological and nuclear weapons of mass destruction.

An informed source has told The Times that bin Laden appeared to have amassed a "terrifying" range of weapons although he was insistent that he did not have the capacity to launch a nuclear attack.

Intelligence sources, however, have voiced concerns about bin Laden obtaining radioactive material for a "dirty bomb". Rather than being used in an atomic weapon, the material would be dispersed in a way that would seriously contaminate a small area. In an urban environment hundreds of people could die and thousands more be exposed to radiation poisoning.

In 1993 a senior bin Laden operative, Jamal al-Fadi, met a Sudanese military commander in Khartoum to try to negotiate the sale of a cylinder of enriched South African uranium for a black market price of $1.5 million (£1.2 million). A separate al-Qaeda attempt to buy weapons-grade nuclear material through the Russian mafia was foiled in Prague when several kilograms of highly enriched uranium were seized, according to a German TV report last week.

Earlier this week two former government nuclear scientists in Pakistan were detained amid fears about their links with the Taleban. Bashir uddin Mahmood was project director in Pakistan's nuclear programme before its 1998 tests. Since retiring from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission three years ago, he ran a group which carried out relief work in Afghanistan, and was known to be supportive of the Taleban. Chaudry Abdul Majid was a director of the commission in 1999.

Intelligence officials have long been aware of the potential for contraband uranium to be turned into an atomic "suitcase bomb". An easier outcome is a radiological weapon - a conventional weapon with a radioactive core - which has the ability to contaminate large areas.

George Tenet, Director of the CIA, told the Senate Intelligence Committee last year that bin Laden was trying to obtain nuclear materials.

However, some are convinced bin Laden already has a nuclear capability. According to a book about the terrorist leader, The Man Who Declared War on America, Chechen rebels facilitated the sale of nuclear suitcase bombs in the late 1990s from a range of former Soviet republics including Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Russia.

Quoting Russian and Arab intelligence sources, the author, Yossef Bodansky, says that bin Laden's go-betweens paid the Chechens $30 million in cash and gave them two tonnes of heroin with a Western street value of up to $700 million for a number of bombs.

In 1998 bin Laden issued a statement entitled "The Nuclear Bomb of Islam", which said: "It is the duty of Muslims to prepare as much force as possible to terrorise the enemies of God."

And the following being widely circulated from a think-tank usually associated with right-wing and Israeli-oriented views:

"Whatever the eventual time-scale, it does appear likely that President Bush, has at least in outline taken the decisions that will lead to an all-out attack on Palestinian terrorist groups such as Hamas and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah based in southern and eastern Lebanon.

That this may well involve a conflict with Syria is accepted as an unavoidable risk. Neither Iraq or Iran can be sure that once the operations are fully underway that deliberate mission creep will not provide an opportunity to spread the overall scope of the operation to include a full scale assault on both Baghdad's and Tehran's research and production facilities for weapons of mass destruction and in Iraq's case, a full scale invasion to finally overthrow Saddam Husseins regime.

Yasser Arafat, the United States man in the middle, will be further financed, armed and 'persuaded' to preside over a demilitarized Palestinian State, dominated by Israel and shawn of all the important trappings of nationhood, bar a travesty of independent Government.

It is understood that the United states is actively taking steps to upgrade Israel's air defences and protection against the many hundreds of Syria and Iraqi SS-1 Scud-B/C/D and long-range variants aimed at its cities, airfields, power plants and nuclear facilities. The equipment being supplied is believed to include new radars, EW equipment and additional advanced Patriot anti-missile systems.

Despite recent signs of strain in the usually close relationship between Washington and Jerusalem, the United States will ensure Israel's ultimate survival. In an increasingly hostile and unstable Middle East the United States sees its alliance with both Israel and Turkey as paramount, particularly as the Bush Government feels in no small measure that it has been betrayed by the unwilling, or in such cases non-existent, support offered by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Mid-East Realities

www.middleeast.org

Source: http://www.middleeast.org/articles/2001/10/489.htm