Return-Path: <sentto-279987-2609-1002028209-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.1.0) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Tue, 02 Oct 2001 06:12:46 -0700 (PDT) Received: (qmail 13378 invoked by uid 510); 2 Oct 2001 13:10:16 -0000 Received: from n20.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.70) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 2 Oct 2001 13:10:16 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-2609-1002028209-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.1.222] by n20.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 02 Oct 2001 13:10:09 -0000 X-Sender: fc@big.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: mail-7_4_1); 2 Oct 2001 13:10:08 -0000 Received: (qmail 66566 invoked from network); 2 Oct 2001 13:10:07 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.26) by 10.1.1.222 with QMQP; 2 Oct 2001 13:10:07 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO big.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta1 with SMTP; 2 Oct 2001 13:10:03 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by big.all.net (8.9.3/8.7.3) id GAA03408 for iwar@onelist.com; Tue, 2 Oct 2001 06:09:52 -0700 Message-Id: <200110021309.GAA03408@big.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL1] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2001 06:09:52 -0700 (PDT) Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] [fc:Blair:.Attack.on.Taliban.Imminent] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Tuesday October 02 01:26 AM EDT Blair: Attack on Taliban Imminent By ABCNEWS.com In a speech later this morning, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to tell Afghanistan's Taliban rulers that their time has run out. As the U.S. military dispatched another aircraft carrier in the war against terrorism, British Prime Minister Tony Blair reportedly is set to announce that a military attack on Afghanistan's Taliban regime is "now imminent and will be devastating." The British Broadcasting Corporation reports Blair says he has seen strong evidence linking terrorist Osama bin Laden to the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, and will tell a Labour Party conference in Brighton, England today that the Taliban, which has been harboring bin Laden, will be made to pay for its actions. The U.S. government continues to be circumspect about the timing and nature of any possible attacks on Afghanistan, including Taliban military bases or terrorist training camps within the country. In response to the reports of Blair's speech, a White House official told ABCNEWS: "The time has long been up for the Taliban. We will have no comment on the timing of any possible military actions." An Aircraft Carrier Without Planes Meanwhile, the Pentagon continued to build up its forces near Afghanistan as it dispatched a fourth aircraft carrier to the region. The USS Kitty Hawk left its home base in Japan and is making its way to the Arabian Sea, military sources told ABCNEWS.com Monday. But unlike the other three carriers, the Kitty Hawk plans to take position without its usual contingent of fighters and other Navy aircraft. The military plans to use the ship with its 4.5-acre deck as a floating Army base, sources said. Special operations troops, helicopters and commanders will use the ship to launch operations from off the coast of Pakistan, flying 350 miles into Afghanistan. The strategy will be to allow the United States to have a base to perform missions in secrecy and with total security, sources said. Because some in Pakistan oppose any U.S. presence and riots there could cause political turmoil, having a floating military base allows the United States to operate without further irritating an already delicate situation in Pakistan. "On the military front we're making progress," President Bush said Monday. "We've deployed 29,000 military personnel in two carrier battle groups as well as an Amphibious Ready Group and several hundred military aircraft." The Kitty Hawk will join the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Enterprise , which are already in the Arabian Sea or Persian Gulf. The fourth carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, is headed to the region through the Mediterranean Sea. Economic Boost? With the status of military action in Afghanistan uncertain, Bush and the nation's lawmakers will turn much of their attention today to the difficult work of reviving the economy and installing effective counter-terrorism measures. Bush holds his weekly breakfast for the joint congressional leadership, with a stimulus package intended to help the country emerge from the economic doldrums sure to be on the agenda. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Monday that Bush would be open to considering any proposal to help stimulate the economy, including Democratic plans to raise the minimum wage. But Fleischer did not say whether the administration would want to tie a minimum wage increase to measures the Republicans favor, such as more tax cuts. The Federal Reserve also figures to do its part to jump-start business today, when it is expected to cut interests rates by another half-point, which it also did on Sept. 17. See Story. National Airport to Reopen Also today, Bush is set to announce the re-opening of Washington's National Airport, which has been closed for security reasons since Sept. 11, when hijackers commandeered four planes, which crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon just outside Washington and the Pennsylvania countryside. Sources tell ABCNEWS that all planes departing and arriving at National Airport will have extra safety measures, including screening all passengers twice prior to departure and armed air marshals on board all flights leaving National. The flight load at the airport will also be reduced. National Airport is just seconds away via air from the Pentagon and only slightly farther from central Washington. The Federal Aviation Administration is also preparing a special emergency recommendation that airlines should immediately provide more secure cockpit doors on flights. And with anti-terrorist measures a pressing concern for Congress as well, Reuters is reporting that Republican and Democratic leaders on the House Judiciary Committee have tentatively agreed on a version of the Bush administration's proposed package of anti-terrorist law enforcement changes. This would give law enforcement officials expanded powers, including wiretapping multiple phones linked to one person, monitoring Internet use and prosecuting anyone who knowingly harbors a suspected terrorist. But the committee may drop many items on Bush's wish list, including provisions to allow indefinite detention without trial of foreigners suspected of terrorist activities, use of search warrants without notifying suspects and the use of confidential student records in investigations. Bush claimed on Monday that the United States is making "progress on many fronts" in pursuing preventive measures against terrorism, pointing to the seizure of $6 million is assets belonging to terrorist groups or their associates, and the detention of "known terrorist" Zayd Safarini of Pakistan, who is expected to be charged with murder for the execution-style killing of an American aboard Pam Am Flight 73, hijacked in Karachi, Pakistan in 1986. Northern Alliance, Former King Strike Deal Should the Taliban be ousted, the Northern Alliance, the largest of various groups that oppose Taliban rule in Afghanistan, on Monday reached an agreement with the former king of the country, Zahir Shah, to install a moderate interim coalition government in Kabul. The two sides agreed to convene a meeting of tribal elders, chiefs and spiritual leaders to elect a new head of state who would govern until order could be restored in the country and free elections could be held. The Taliban militia issued a challenge to the United States, with the group's leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, telling Taliban-run Kabul radio that "Americans don't have the courage to come here." He repeatedly warned the United States to "think and think again before attacking Afghanistan." The Bush administration has threatened the Taliban with military action unless it turns over bin Laden, fingered by Bush as the "prime suspect" in the Sept. 11 attacks. Bin Laden is thought to be hiding in Afghanistan. Over the last two weeks, though, the Taliban has shifted its position on bin Laden, variously saying he was a guest in the country and could not be asked to leave, that his whereabouts were unknown, and that he likely had already left the country. Most recently the Taliban has said it knew where bin Laden is, but administration officials have apparently not taken those comments at face value. Along with any military action, the United States also plans to drop food into Afghanistan, and with many Afghans fleeing a possible attack, a 20-truck United Nations convoy carrying 400 tons of wheat and medical supplies reached residents of Kabul and other northwest areas on Monday. It was the first such shipment to the country since Sept. 11. The toll of dead and missing from at World Trade Center site has been revised downward, as officials have discovered that some names on their lists are duplicates or were mistakenly added to it. There are now 5,219 listed as missing, with an additional 344 confirmed dead in the New York attack. ------------------------ Yahoo! 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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-12-31 20:59:53 PST