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DATE= OCTOBER 4, 1998 TYPE= EDITORIAL NUMBER= 0-07990 TITLE= EDITORIAL: CRACKING BIN LADEN'S TERROR NETWORK CONTENT=THIS IS THE ONLY EDITORIAL BEING RELEASED FOR BROADCAST OCTOBER 4, 1998. ANNCR: THE VOICE OF AMERICA PRESENTS DIFFERING POINTS OF VIEW ON A WIDE VARIETY OF ISSUES. NEXT, AN EDITORIAL EXPRESSING THE POLICIES OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. VOICE: THE U.S., IN COOPERATION WITH A NUMBER OF OTHER COUNTRIES, IS CRACKING DOWN ON THE AL-QAIDA TERRORIST NETWORK. AL-QAIDA WAS FOUNDED BY OSAMA BIN LADEN, ONE OF THE CHIEF INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISTS. AL-QAIDA HAS TRAINED TERRORISTS FROM AFGHANISTAN, TAJIKISTAN, BOSNIA, CHECHNYA, SOMALIA, SUDAN, YEMEN, EGYPT, LIBYA, ERITREA AND THE PHILIPPINES. OSAMA BIN LADIN, THE SON OF A SAUDI CONSTRUCTION MAGNATE, HAS BEEN DISOWNED BY HIS FAMILY AND HAS LOST HIS SAUDI CITIZENSHIP. HE MOVED TO SUDAN IN 1991, BUT INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE FORCED HIS MOVE TO AFGHANISTAN IN 1996. HE HAS CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR BOMBING ATTEMPTS AGAINST U.S. PERSONNEL IN YEMEN IN 1992 AND ATTACKS IN SOMALIA IN 1993. HIS ORGANIZATION IS BELIEVED TO HAVE AIDED IN THE 1995 ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT HOSNI MUBARAK IN ETHIOPIA. BIN LADEN OPERATIVES ARE NOW BEING SOUGHT IN CONNECTION WITH SAVAGE BOMB ATTACKS ON THE U.S. EMBASSIES IN NAIROBI, KENYA, AND DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA, ON AUGUST 7TH. IN RECENT WEEKS, COORDINATED INTERNATIONAL COUNTERTERRORIST EFFORTS HAVE RESULTED IN THE ARREST OF SEVEN SUSPECTED BIN LADEN AGENTS IN BRITAIN, EIGHTEEN IN UGANDA, AND ONE IN GERMANY. THE U.S. HAS ARRESTED TWO SUSPECTS, MOHAMMED SADDIQ ODEH AND MOHAMED RASHED DAOUD, IN CONNECTION WITH THE AFRICAN EMBASSY BOMBINGS. A WARRANT HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE ARREST OF A THIRD SUSPECT, HAROUN FAZIL. WADIH EL HAGE, ANOTHER BIN LADEN OPERATIVE, WAS RECENTLY CHARGED WITH PERJURY CONCERNING HIS ACTIVITIES WITH THE BIN LADEN NETWORK. HE IS NOW IN JAIL. ON SEPTEMBER 25TH, A FEDERAL GRAND JURY INDICTED A SENIOR DEPUTY OF BIN LADEN, MAMDOUH MAGMUD SALIM, ON CONSPIRACY TO MURDER AND TO OBTAIN NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR THE TERRORIST GROUP. OSAMA BIN LADEN'S TERRORIST ORGANIZATION IS A THREAT NOT ONLY TO AMERICANS BUT TO THE PEOPLE OF MANY NATIONS. THE U.S. WILL NOT REST UNTIL ALL THE PERPETRATORS OF THE KENYA AND TANZANIA BOMBINGS AND OTHER ACTS OF TERRORISM AGAINST U.S. CITIZENS ARE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE. ANNCR: THAT WAS AN EDITORIAL EXPRESSING THE POLICIES OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. IF YOU HAVE A COMMENT, PLEASE WRITE TO EDITORIALS, V-O-A, WASHINGTON, D-C, 20547, U-S-A. YOU MAY ALSO COMMENT AT WWW-DOT-VOA-DOT-GOV-SLASH-EDITORIALS, OR FAX US AT (202) 619-1043. 02-Oct-98 11:56 AM EDT (1556 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .