-Caveat Lector- THE TIMES September 16 2001 Abdelbari Atwan, editor of Al-Qods, met the guerrilla leader in his spartan hideaway, linked to the outside world via satellite phone, and heard of his dream to die a martyr It was in a cave at the end of a narrow dirt road in a mountain range above the city of Jalalabad, eastern Afghanistan, that I met Osama Bin Laden and listened as he set out a series of goals that proved to be a harbinger of events to come. Mountain cedars hid the mouth of the cave. Inside, in rooms hollowed into the rock face, computer screens glowed, fax machines whirred and messages were sent via satellite telephone. The cave was a nerve centre of state-of-the- art communications linking Bin Laden to a network of Islamic fundamentalists stretching across America, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa. Western intelligence believes that he e-mailed instructions from here to his supporters on the timing of the 1995 car bombing in Riyadh that killed five Americans. I met him after that incident and a subsequent truck bombing that killed 19 American soldiers in the Khobar barracks, but before the twin attacks on the United States embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam three years ago. At the time Bin Laden was known to have three bases in Afghanistan, two of which were tent encampments in Kandahar and Logar, where western journalists were sometimes taken. The cave was his real headquarters. It had been hollowed back into the rock face so that it extended to three rooms. In Bin Laden's bedroom, where he slept with a Kalashnikov rifle he claimed to have captured from a slain Soviet general, three uncomfortable beds with thin mattresses were pushed up against raw shelving that held a library of richly bound Islamic texts. A second, smaller room contained his arsenal of Kalashnikovs, mortars and ammunition. The largest room had a desk and two laptop computers connected to the world by a satellite telephone. His life appeared to be spartan. He and his fighters shared a dinner of four fried eggs between 12 people. A generator supplied electricity, but Bin Laden always kept a torch at hand in case of blackouts. The cave was warmed by a jerry-built system of hot water pipes. Anti-aircraft guns were stationed on the slopes above the cave, which was guarded by a force of loyal fighters from around the Islamic world - Saudis, Kuwaitis, Yemenis, Afghans - most of them veterans of the guerrilla war that drove the Russians out of Afghanistan. About a kilometre down the dirt road to Jalalabad was a checkpoint manned by fighters of the Taliban. Bin Laden has since stopped using his satellite phone for fear of detection by western surveillance, and is moving from cave to cave surrounded by equally loyal supporters heavily armed with automatic weapons and rocket launchers. He has never had a greater need for his ring of defence. "We saw the Riyadh and Khobar bombings as a sufficient signal for people of intelligence among American decision-makers to avoid the real battle between the nation of Islam and the American forces, but it seems they didn't understand the signal," Bin Laden told me then. "Military people are not unaware that preparations for major operations take a certain amount of time, unlike minor operations. If we wanted small actions, the matter would have been easily carried out. But the nature of the battle calls for operations of a specific type that will make an impact on the enemy, and this, of course, calls for excellent preparation." Bin Laden made clear his determination to drive the Americans out of Saudi Arabia and, ultimately, the Middle East. He became almost tearful when he spoke of the presence of "infidels" on the land of Mecca and Medina. He said his dream was to die a martyr. And I believed him. Last week's attacks were inexcusable and appalling. I hope that by trying to explain why Bin Laden commands a measure of support among a fringe minority in the Arab world, I do not seem in any way to condone them. Bin Laden, however, did not seem to me to be a typical military leader, but a religious scholar as knowledgeable in discussing the Koran as any academic I have met. He is doubly admired by his followers because, as a rich Saudi, he could have led a life as pampered as that of a prince. He attracts these followers not because of his charisma - he is a quiet and softly spoken man - but because of a deep sense of injustice in the Muslim world. In the eyes of many Arabs, the West, and particularly the Americans, voice support for democratic principles while, at the same time, supporting Arab governments that are essentially dictatorships. The Saudi royal family, seen in the West as a great ally, is regarded by Arabs as oppressing individual freedoms, violating human rights and wasting the resources of the nation it governs. Rightly or wrongly, this hypocrisy, as seen by Arabs, sends them into the ranks of religious extremist groups. These, they believe, are the only forces willing to stand up in opposition. Killing Bin Laden would not solve the West's problem. On the contrary, such action would only augment hatred for the West in much of the Muslim world. Support for Bin Laden and other religious extremists has dramatically increased in the past year because of the Palestinian intifada and America's perceived bias towards the Israelis. In the past year Arab moderates, individuals, governments and leaders have appealed for Washington to listen and help them deal with the growing frustration of the Arab masses that has resulted from American support for Israel. All the debating and all the appeals met with disregard, and this opened the door wider to the ideas of Bin Laden and radical groups that have infiltrated Islamic masses and embarrassed and isolated the moderates. The majority of Arabs sympathise fully with the victims of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington and their families, but feel that their own suffering is not acknowledged. This has left rich soil for Bin Laden to sow. >From what I saw during my visit to Bin Laden, a conventional cruise missile attack - such as the one that failed to touch him after the embassy bombings - is doomed to fail. There are no obvious targets. Although Bin Laden is, no doubt, leading an even more spartan life as he attempts to conceal himself in the knowledge that he is the world's most wanted man, this will not dismay him. Very characteristic was a statement he made last week in which he supported the attacks in America while denying any knowledge of them, and vowed to continue his personal jihad against the United States and Israel. The statement was that of a true believer and a subtle political operator. He pledged to continue fighting until the last drop of his blood was shed. "It is my desire to lay down my life in the cause of Allah," he said. "The Americans want to kill me, but it will not solve their problem. Other Osamas will rise." These are the words of a man who will command support in the Arab world only for so long as there is no hope of a political solution to the wider conflict in the Middle East. Muslims are no different from any other people: they want to be able to clothe and feed their families, and they hope for a better world for their children. No more than any other parents do they wish to see their sons become potential martyrs rather than engineers or doctors. We Arabs hope that these dreadful attacks will not lead to further polarisation between the West and the Islamic world. We are looking for closer co-operation with the United States and the West. We are in dire need of western technology, just as we must sell the most important commodity we possess: oil. The upheaval of the Gulf war gave birth to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process started by the first President George Bush. The horrific events of last week should exercise not only generals looking for military targets, but politicians who realise that the deeper problems can be solved only by initiating a new peace process. This will deprive Bin Laden of angry young men who see an extremist as the answer. It is time to put the stick aside and think about using the carrot. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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