-Caveat Lector- A new and different slant on these bunkers, but hardly an improvement for OBI over earlier reports ... and it is nice to learn that this finger of land has a real name ... the 'Wakhan corridor.' --MS
________________________________________________ <http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2001340007-2001342104,00.html> WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 03 2001 Satellite 'picks out bin Laden caves' BY ZAHID HUSSAIN IN ISLAMBAD AND MICHAEL EVANS, DEFENCE EDITOR OSAMA BIN LADEN may be hiding in caves near a former Russian base in the Pamir mountains close to the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, according to reports in Pakistan. Pakistani intelligence is convinced, the reports said, that bin Laden and hundreds of his associates have taken refuge in an extremely inaccessible nook of Pamir in the Wakhan corridor bordering Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and China. A report published in a leading Pakistani newspaper claimed that bin Laden's presence in the region had been confirmed by satellite and human intelligence. The Pamir mountains, known as the 'roof of the world', are a highly treacherous range, 20,000ft to 25,000ft high, which would make it difficult to find the exiled Saudi terrorist. The nearby former Russian military base at Wakhan, near Kunduz, was built by the Soviet Union during its occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. Bin Laden was reported to have constructed a bunker in caves near the base after two of his training camps in Afghanistan were attacked by American Tomahawk cruise missiles in 1998. The caves have exit routes to Tajikistan, China's Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province and Pakistan, where bin Laden has support. The reports claimed that Russian intelligence had informed the Americans of the routes to the Pamir base. Pakistanms military Government has agreed to share intelligence information with the United States. Some observers believe, however, that Islamabad may try to withhold some crucial information because of the fear that it might be passed to Afghanistanms opposition Northern Alliance, which has its headquarters in Badakhshan province, close to Wakhan. Mark Galeotti, a Russian expert with Jane's Intelligence Review, said that the geography of the Pamirs would not offer the ideal hiding place to bin Laden, unless he had succeeded in constructing his own bunker inside the mountain. He said there was no evidence that the Russians had built deep bunkers in the area that could now be used by bin Laden. They had no need for impregnable bunkers because their opponents had no heavy artillery, he said. He also rejected the suggestion in the Pakistani reports that the Russians had built a bunker in the Pamir mountains to house tactical nuclear weapons. Mr Galeotti said that considerable engineering expertise would have been necessary to dig into the mountain to build a bunker. The Pamir range is being watched by American spy satellites because of reports a few years ago that bin Laden had constructed a command and control centre in a natural cave system in Kunduz, near Tajikistan. Most of the recent reports have suggested bin Laden has taken refuge inside a deep cave in southern Afghanistan. ================================================================ Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: *Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends ================================================================ <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. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
