NYTimes.com Article: U.S. Officials Play Down Value of Manual Linked to bin Laden

[jpino@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

This article from NYTimes.com
has been sent to you by Julio Cesar Pino jpino@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Marxism List

"The Protocals of the Elders of the Umma" or CIA Forgery #1,379.
1. Why would Usama bin Laden publish an "Encyclopedia of Jihad" when any kid can
download this information off the Net? Even the CIA "explosives expert" 
interviewed by
CNN dismissed and disdained this purported book.
2."The Anarchists'Cookbook", which contains essentially the same information, 
can be
purchased at Borders, Barnes & Noble, etc.
3. Bin Laden exists in a political category all his own: the "rogue 
individual." The
USA has bombed not one but two countries to try and kill him. He also heads the 
FBI's
"Most Wanted List", and is the only "political criminal" on there, sharing the
spotlight with drug dealers and cop killers.
4. Why not introduce a new Olympic Sport at Sydney: who can elude CIA/NSA 
assasins the
longest? Right now Fidel has a wide lead but Usama is catching up fast.


Julio Cesar Pino
jpino@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

/-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\


Celebrate Summer with a NYTimes.com Photo Screensaver NYTimes.com's latest
screensaver captures the unforgettable moments from Coney Island amusement park.
Enjoy these images every day on your computer, absolutely free.
http://www.nytimes.com/partners/screensaver/index.html?eta2

\----------------------------------------------------------/

U.S. Officials Play Down Value of Manual Linked to bin Laden

September 19, 2000

By REUTERS

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 ? American intelligence agencies have obtained a
manual supposedly used by the Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden to
train recruits at terrorist camps in Afghanistan, but officials
said today that it would not be especially helpful in disrupting
any future terrorist activities.

 "We have multiple copies of this manual ? it is essentially a
training manual," an official said.

 "It's the same kind of training manual that armies around the
world would have, this one is specifically aimed at people who are
not particularly skilled or literate. Its line drawings are aimed
at people who are not rocket scientists."

 Jordanian intelligence officials gave their American counterparts
computer disk copies of the six volumes, the official said, but the
American intelligence agencies had obtained the manual even
earlier.

 The manual was "widely circulated" in the Middle East, the
official added.

 A Jordanian court today sentenced to death six Islamic militants
it linked to Mr. bin Laden for plotting attacks against Israeli and
American targets in Jordan during millennium celebrations.

 They were among 28 people accused of being followers of Mr. bin
Laden and plotting attacks in December 1999. Two other defendants
were sentenced to life in prison, six were acquitted and the rest
received shorter jail terms. Sixteen of the suspects were arrested
in Jordan in December 1999; 12 remain at large.

 A United States federal court has indicted Mr. bin Laden, who
lives in Afghanistan, in the 1998 bombings of two American
Embassies in East Africa that killed more than 225 people.

 The 1,000-page manual, called the "Encyclopedia" and written in
Arabic, contains information on how to recruit followers, conduct
terrorist operations, and assemble bombs, USA Today said today.

 The White House spokesman, Joe Lockhart, would not comment
specifically on the manual, but said, "Osama bin Laden's
organization and others are becoming increasingly sophisticated in
the training techniques they use, which requires the kind of
response that I think you've seen from this government over the
past few years."

 Some intelligence officials described the manual as a gold mine of
information on Mr. bin Laden's tactics.

 But another official played down the manual's importance as a tool
for disrupting any future terrorist activities. "The manual is
interesting but to describe it as a gold mine would be greatly
overstating the case," the official said.
   


The New York Times on the Web
http://www.nytimes.com

/-----------------------------------------------------------------\


Visit NYTimes.com for complete access to the most authoritative news coverage 
on the
Web, updated throughout the day.Become a member today! It's free!
http://www.nytimes.com?eta

\-----------------------------------------------------------------/

HOW TO ADVERTISE
---------------------------------
For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters
or other creative advertising opportunities with The
New York Times on the Web, please contact Alyson
Racer at alyson@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media
kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo

For general information about NYTimes.com, write to
help@xxxxxxxxxxxx

Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company