By T.R. Reid
The Washington Post
LONDON – Prime Minister Tony Blair laid out the case for the prosecution against Osama bin Laden on Thursday, arguing that statements from bin Laden and one of his close lieutenants, plus the modus operandi of the crime, leave “absolutely no doubt” that bin Laden “planned and carried out the atrocities on 11 September.”
Addressing a strongly supportive British Parliament, Blair said “overwhelming” evidence compiled by Western intelligence agencies shows that “at least three of these hijackers have already been positively identified as known associates of bin Laden, with a track record in his camps and organization. … Of the three, one has also been identified as playing key roles in both the East African embassy attacks and the USS Cole attack.”
Blair said the evidence makes a compelling case as well that bin Laden and his al-Qaida organization “were able to commit these atrocities because of their close alliance with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, which allows them to operate with impunity in pursuing their terrorist activity.”
The prime minister said Britain will join the United States on the battle line if military force is used against bin Laden and the Taliban. He said British military leaders have discussed “a range of military capabilities” to respond to the attacks on New York and Washington.
Opinion polls show that the British people overall clearly back military action, but there have been some voices here – including liberal members of Blair’s own Labor Party – opposing the use of force and questioning bin Laden’s guilt. Blair called Thursday’s one-day Parliamentary debate at least in part to respond to the dissenters in his own party.
The prime minister opened the argument with a detailed statement of evidence that makes it clear, he said, that bin Laden was responsible. The British government subsequently issued a 21-page document setting forth the case.
Laying out intelligence acquired after the attacks, Blair summarized the case for Parliament: “Before 11 September, bin Laden told associates that he had a major operation against America under preparation; a range of people were warned to return to Afghanistan because of action on or around 11 September; and most importantly, one of bin Laden’s closest lieutenants has said clearly that he helped with the planning of the 11 September attacks and has admitted the involvement of the al-Qaida organization.”
Blair noted that the methodology of the Sept. 11 attacks reflected “all the hallmarks of a bin Laden operation: meticulous long-term planning; a desire to inflict mass casualties; a total disregard for civilian lives (including Muslims); multiple simultaneous attacks; and the use of suicide attackers.”
The prime minister said he has other evidence “of an even more direct nature” that cannot be revealed because of intelligence considerations.
Blair said one of the hijackers in the Sept. 11 suicide attacks had taken part in other bin Laden-directed suicide attacks: against two U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998 and against the U.S. Navy destroyer Cole in Yemen in 2000. Blair did not name the individual, but this was evidently a reference to Khalid Almihdhar, who was aboard the plane that crashed into the Pentagon.
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