Saudi govt sees bin Laden link to terrorists' attack
Saudi govt sees bin Laden link to terrorists' attack
Agencies, Dubai/Washington
United States ally Saudi Arabia said for the first time on
Tuesday there was clear evidence linking Saudi-born Osama bin
Laden to last month's attacks on the United States and called for
the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
But Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, in an interview
with Time magazine, also warned Washington the Sept. 11 attacks
were meant to provoke "unmeasured responses" that could spark a
conflict with more casualties and inflame passions.
Afghan-based bin Laden has praised the attacks as punishment
for U.S. support of Israel, the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi
Arabia and United Nations sanctions on Iraq, but has denied
involvement.
"There is clear evidence that he is connected with this, yes,"
Prince Saud said in remarks published on Time's website on
Tuesday. "This is from the ongoing exchange of information that
we have had with (American authorities).
"It is necessary to pursue with vigor and tenacity the
criminals who created this tragedy," he said. "In this regard,
the U.S. has the support of the international community. The
people must be identified, pursued, brought to justice, and all
of the world is willing to join in this struggle."
Saudi Arabia deprived bin Laden of citizenship in 1994 for his
activities against the royal family.
Prince Saud's comments were the first public Saudi reaction to
evidence shown last week by U.S. embassies to officials in Riyadh
about the attacks that killed about 5,600 people.
U.S President George W. Bush has named bin Laden as top
suspect for the Sept. 11 assaults and on Sunday launched a
military assault on targets in Afghanistan, with British help.
The Saudi minister, speaking shortly before the start of the
U.S.-British air strikes, praised what he called America's
measured response to the crisis up to that point.
"It was a tragedy of such immense proportions that a human
response of spontaneous reaction might have been expected, as
unwise as it would be," he said.
"But fortunately, and it is to the great credit to the
American administration and the American people, the response has
been measured. We believe that this is the right response.
Pentagon officials, meanwhile, are reviewing the results of
bombing over Afghanistan, now into a third day, at the same time
a jittery American public confronts the fear of fresh strikes by
terrorists .
"The best defense against terror is a global offensive against
terror whenever it might be found," Bush declared on Monday,
juggling his roles as commander in chief and comforter in chief
to a nervous nation.
"On all efforts, on all fronts, we're going to be ongoing and
relentless as we tighten the net of justice," the president said.
Separately, as National Guard troops in New York prepared to
take their posts at bridges, tunnels, and train hubs across the
city, officials said New Yorkers -- and all Americans -- should
get used to living in an atmosphere of heightened security.
At the same time, people should continue their routines, said
Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik.
"You can't hide in a cage; you have got to get back to
business and a normal way of living," he said on Monday. "People
should feel safer now, probably more than at any time in the past
because of the people we have out there."
New York Gov. George Pataki said the National Guard would join
Port Authority police in patrolling the city's train hubs
starting on Tuesday. He said the move, similar to one already
taken at area airports, was not prompted by any specific
incidents.
On Monday, guardsmen patrolled the Brooklyn Bridge, including
its pedestrian walkways. Armed officers were posted outside city,
state and federal buildings.
Also on Tuesday, Stuyvesant High School, located near the site
of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, was
expected to reopen. The day of the attacks, the school was turned
into a triage center to take the flow of victims that never
turned up.