From: "Walter Lippmann" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [CubaNews] Granma - The first victims are the poor September 27, 2001 WORLD ON A THREAD The first victims are the poor . Bellicose response of the United States bodes negative consequences . Freezing of bank accounts allegedly linked to Bin Laden . Warnings of the danger of an East-West confrontation NEARLY two million Afghan refugees in Pakistan are already suffering from a war that has not yet begun but is the unfortunate upshot of U.S. government actions in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks in Washington and New York. While the White House continues in its bellicose undertaking, voices from all over the world are warning of the unforeseeable consequences that will overwhelmingly fall on peoples weighed down by hunger and misery. Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, specified that the battle against terrorism cannot be allowed to overtake long-term objectives for the development of the poorest nations. The UN leader was addressing the ambassadors of 189 member countries, whom he asked not to abandon the objectives agreed at the Millennium Summit, tasks he characterized as now more urgent. The UN has not only been on the margin of the U.S. war preparations, but also left out of international negotiations and consultations. However, at the request of Washington, it cancelled the annual session of the General Assembly, which on this occasion was to evaluate humanity's gravest problems with the confirmed presence of many heads of state. Since last Sunday, September 23, several news agencies have been reporting the entrenchment of U.S. special forces in various countries bordering on Afghanistan, while aircraft carriers like the Roosevelt and U.S. and British warships like the Fort Victoria are advancing on the Persian Gulf or waiting in the eastern Mediterranean for orders to attack, and many of the reports predicted that the attacks were imminent. In its latest edition, the British weekly The Sunday People, quoting a top military source, revealed that the initial attack will be launched by U.S. jet fighters bombing Afghan targets. It also indicated that other countries like Iraq, Sudan and Yemen could be hit. In reference to U.S. ground troops advancing on Afghan territory from bordering nations, USA Today stated that the Pentagon's Special Operational Forces are coordinating missions with elite troops. According to that newspaper, small squads composed of roughly five military intelligence experts are to be deployed. The squads' objective is to pursue Osama bin Laden, who, acting on behalf of the CIA, combated Soviet troops in that central Asian country between 1979 and 1989. Bin Laden, who is currently considered the main suspect in the attacks, with the help of his Al-Qaida organization, is the pretext to strike Afghanistan, and the pillar of the so-called crusade against terrorism. He has the backing of the Taliban movement, in power since 1995. Although internal support was decisive in its consolidation, analysts from various countries recall the support the Taliban r�gime received from abroad, in particular that of Pakistan and the CIA, which later encouraged Islamic groups from all over the world to travel to Afghanistan, including Muslims from the then Soviet Republics of Central Asia, in order to eliminate the influence there of the Soviet Union and the Najibullah government, which was considered communist. In a clear reference to the Taliban movement, U.S. expert Selig Harrison affirmed some months back that the CIA committed a historical mistake by creating a monster. The United States contributed to the movement taking power, the installation of a government in the midst of chaos and the imposition of the ironclad Islamic customs that it professes. An article published by the daily La Prensa in New York details how Washington directly encouraged the rise of radical Islamism and unified all the forces opposed to Najibullah in a social movement called Afghan Arabs, precisely at a time when Washington perceived that its geo-economic interests were endangered by the presence of the former Soviet Union on Afghan soil. According to the text, it was Alexandre de Merenche, former head of French security, who designed for the Reagan government the strategy to integrate the fundamentalists with the Afghan Mujahidin as the nucleus, supplying them with $2 billion USD per year. In 1989, the CIA established in Peshawar a meeting and training center for the battle against the Soviets, the so-called Operation Cyclone. The insurgents were taught computing, electronic technology and satellite communications and received military training. Reagan called them freedom fighters and even invited some of the leaders to the White House, comparing them with his country's independence leaders. When the former Soviet Union withdrew its troops, the United States left them to fight it out alone, and is now presenting them as its worst enemy, holding them responsible for harboring Osama bin Laden, accused of the shameful events of September 11. On Tuesday, September 25, U.S. President George W. Bush announced that active U.S. bank accounts belonging to 27 organizations had been frozen, including some that could belong to Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaida group. Bush explained that the aforementioned financial initiative complements the military deployment and that that list of organizations, suspected to be linked to terrorism and in particular to the destructive attacks on his country's centers of economic and military power, was just the beginning and would be extended as soon as there was clear knowledge of the names of the organizations with which Bin Laden, Al-Qaida and the others operate. Thailand, France and the Philippines have joined Washington's initiative and Japan has decided to follow suit. Shares frozen in the French bank amount to 4.27 million euros. Two of the groups on Bush's list, the Pakistani Al-Rashid Trust and the Palestinian Osbat al-Ansar, have already denied any link whatsoever. This latter confirmed that it has no bank accounts located in U.S. territory. While the official total of dead and missing persons in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center stands at 6,729, according to New York Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, concern over the scale of the approaching war is increasing throughout the world. Pope John Paul II took advantage of the last day of his visit to Kazakhstan to condemn terrorism, make a call for peace and emphasize the need for dialogue between Christians and Muslims. After talks with French President Jacques Chirac in Paris, Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri recalled that the majority of terrorist networks are based in the West, where they enjoy a freedom of movement that is forbidden in the East. According to the daily Le Monde, Hariari confirmed that Lebanon is one of the countries that has suffered most from terrorism on the part of Israel. Mohammed Omar, the Taliban supreme leader, has asked the United States to withdraw its troops from the Persian Gulf area, to adopt a neutral stance in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to refrain from interfering in Islamic principles. He added that an attack on Afghanistan would not solve the terrorism problem, neither would his death or the death of Bin Laden; but it could become a graveyard for U.S. soldiers. At the same time, Abdul Hai Mutmaen, spokesperson for the Taliban regime, warned the neighboring countries of the consequences of supporting the U.S. aggression in any way. For his part, Bin Laden called on Muslims in Pakistan to resist what he called the U.S. crusades and, according to reports, called for the waging of a holy war against Pakistan if this country joins the aggression. Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Mench� has written a letter to President Bush asking him to act with wisdom, and moreover affirmed in Madrid that the tragic events that could result from the bellicose spirit of the United States and other world powers such as Britain could increase racism throughout the world. Iranian President Mohammed Khatami once again warned of the risk of a catastrophe in the event of U.S. military reprisals against Islamic targets. He also warned of a confrontation between East and West, and stated that his country would not allow the use of its airspace to attack Afghanistan, reiterating the demand that the United Nations should direct the international response to terrorism. http://www.granma.cu/ingles/septiem4/39actual-i.html _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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