USA To Bribe To Get Bin Laden

WASHINGTON, Monday - Some US military and intelligence officials believe that one of the best ways to find bin Laden may be a well-placed bribe. “It was said by the Brits that only two things move the Taliban tribal leaders — religion and money,” Newsweek quotes a former high-ranking Pakistani military official as saying. Therefore, the CIA is reportedly trying to pay off local warlords to turn them against the Taliban and guide the Americans to bin Laden’s lair, the report said. However, the pursuit is complicated by the fact that some Afghan tribal leaders are demanding positions in Afghanistan’s future administration along with cash, Newsweek said, citing a diplomatic source with intimate knowledge of Afghan affairs. If bin Laden is spotted, small units of highly-trained special forces can be moved from positions in nearby countries. But some Pentagon officials said they are concerned that the al-Qaeda leader is not hiding in a cave but in the squalid slums of a city like Kandahar, the report said. Meanwhile, US President George W. Bush said Sunday there would be no negotiation with the Taliban, rejecting the regime’s offer to send bin Laden for trial in a neutral country. “There’s no need to negotiate,” Bush said upon arriving at the White House from the presidential retreat at Camp David. “If they want us to stop our military operations, they just have to meet my conditions.” “All they’ve got to do is turn him over, and his colleagues and the thugs he hides, as well as destroy his camps,” he said. Earlier on Sunday, Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban said it might be willing to extradite bin Laden to stand trial in a neutral country. US special forces may enter Afghanistan as early as this week to gather intelligence about bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network, Newsweek magazine reported in an issue due out on Monday. Meanwhile, US forces on Monday unleashed the fiercest daytime attacks on Kabul, triggering anguished pleas for mercy from the city’s population and a signal from Pakistan that its support for the campaign could be undermined by mounting civilian casualties. Hours before US Secretary of State Colin Powell was due in Islamabad to shore up support for the US coalition against terrorism, Pakistan made it clear it wanted the air campaign brought to an end as swiftly as possible. “We will again emphasise that targets should be clearly focused in this campaign and there should be care to avoid any civilian casualties,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Riaz Mohammad Khan said. “Prolongation of the operations will also be a source of concern for us,” he added. Pakistan’s backing has been crucial to the air campaign with US warplanes and missiles flying through its airspace from ships in the Arabian Sea. But after eight nights and days of bombing, President Pervez Musharraf is under mounting domestic pressure over a campaign that is unpopular among his people. Islamic radicals on Monday enforced a shutdown of businesses across the country in a nationwide strike called to protest Powell’s visit and the ongoing airstrikes. The Taliban say 300 civilians have been killed in the air raids. But Washington has insisted the bombing will not stop unless the Taliban agree to unconditionally hand over bin Laden. Ends