-Caveat Lector- >From Int'l Herald Tribune Paris, Wednesday, February 3, 1999 Terrorists Set to Strike U.S. Targets 'Any Time' Bin Laden Seeking 'Vulnerable' Spots, CIA Director Warns ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By Brian Knowlton International Herald Tribune ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WASHINGTON - The CIA director warned Tuesday that terrorist attacks on U.S. targets could be launched ''at any time'' by forces loyal to Osama bin Laden, the exiled Saudi millionaire blamed for the bombings last year of two U.S. embassies in Africa. George Tenet, director of central intelligence, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that ''there is not the slightest doubt that Osama bin Laden, his worldwide allies and his sympathizers are planning further attacks against us.'' Mr. Tenet also expressed serious concern about stability in North Korea. ''I can hardly overstate my concern,'' he said. ''In nearly all respects the situation there has become more volatile.'' Mr. bin Laden's ''overreaching aim,'' Mr. Tenet said, is to force a U.S. military withdrawal from the Gulf, where thousands of U.S. soldiers and sailors have been based since Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait in 1990 and were expelled the next year in the Gulf War. He added, however, that ''he will strike anywhere in the world he thinks we are vulnerable.'' Attacks using conventional explosives were most likely, Mr. Tenet said, but kidnappings and assassinations were possible. He added that U.S. officials were concerned that Mr. bin Laden or other terrorist groups might obtain and use chemical or biological weapons. Last month, Richard Clarke, the government's senior counterterrorism official, said there was no evidence that Mr. bin Laden had yet acquired such arms. But Mr. Tenet said Mr. bin Laden's group was ''just one of a dozen terrorist groups that have expressed an interest in or have sought chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons.'' On Aug. 7, powerful conventional bombs leveled the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, claiming the lives of about 250 Africans and Americans. The United States, saying it had evidence linking the attacks to Mr. bin Laden, fired Tomahawk cruise missiles later that month at his base in southern Afghanistan. Since then, U.S. efforts to counter terrorism and protect U.S. facilities at home and abroad have been dramatically heightened. President Bill Clinton has proposed a $10 billion package of measures to protect the country from terrorist attack. (Page 2) Recently, Mr. Tenet said, U.S. intelligence sources observed ''activity similar to what occurred prior to the African embassy bombings.'' He did not say where. ''I must tell you we are concerned that one or more of bin Laden's attacks could occur at any time,'' he said. Mr. Tenet also made these points: Signs of social decay have increased in North Korea. ''Crime and indiscipline are commonplace, even in the military and security services,'' he said. With North Koreans more likely than before to blame the nation's leader, Kim Jong Il, for their problems, Pyongyang is likely to rely on ''risky brinkmanship'' in its dealings with Washington. Iran is ''more likely to face serious unrest in 1999 than at any time since the revolution 20 years ago.'' Moderates represented by President Mohammed Khatemi, he said, ''are on the defense to a greater degree than ever before.'' ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! 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