AP. 30 September 2001. Taliban: bin Laden Under Our Control.
ISLAMABAD -- A Taliban envoy said Sunday the Afghan militia has Osama bin Laden under its control at a secret location for his own safety and is willing to negotiate with the United States if Washington provides evidence bin Laden was involved in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The offer to negotiate was rejected by Washington. The Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef said bin Laden was in an undisclosed place for "his safety and security." "He's in Afghanistan," Zaeef told reporters. "He is under our control, Wherever he is, he's in a secret place but that doesn't mean that he is out of the control of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. He's in a place which cannot be located by anyone." Zaeef spoke in the Pashto language, and his English interpreter added the phrase "only security people know where he is." The Taliban envoy criticized the United States for failing to provide evidence linking bin Laden to the attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon. "The position of the two countries is very different," he said. "They are thinking of direct attacks. We are thinking of negotiation. They have provided no evidence but they want the man." White House chief of staff Andrew Card quickly rejected any negotiations. "The president has said we're not negotiating," Card said on Fox News Sunday. President Bush has demanded the Taliban turn over bin Laden unconditionally and without negotiation. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on NBC's Meet the Press that he questions anything the Taliban says. Zaeef said that if the United States talked to the Taliban and produced evidence, "we will respect their negotiations and that might change things. If they attack without any evidence or unless this case goes through the proper court process, any attack will be a terrorist attack." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
