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02/11 14:32
Powell Says Bin Laden Message to Affirm Iraq Alliance (Update3)
By Paul Basken
Washington, Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Colin Powell told Congress that a new message the U.S. believes is from Osama bin Laden will make clear that the al-Qaeda terrorist organization is actively supporting Iraq's regime.
``Once again he speaks to the people of Iraq and talks about their struggle and how he is in partnership with Iraq,'' Powell told the Senate Budget Committee, describing a transcript of a broadcast statement he read this morning. ``This nexus between terrorists and a state that is developing weapons of mass destruction can no longer be looked away from and ignored.''
Bin Laden's statement, if confirmed, may bolster the Bush administration's claim that attacking Iraq is a justified response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, in the face of skepticism voiced by allies such as France and Germany.
The dollar fell from an eight-week high against the yen and weakened for the first day in three against the euro on Powell's comments about bin Laden. The U.S., which last week raised its domestic threat indicator to the ``high risk'' level, accuses bin Laden and al-Qaeda of being behind the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Powell said the transcript is from a message that will be broadcast later today on al-Jazeera, an Arabic-language satellite television network based in Qatar that has previously aired messages purportedly from al-Qaeda, most recently in November. The speaker is bin Laden, ``or who we believe to be bin Laden,'' Powell said.
Al-Jazeera Tape
Al-Jazeera said it has an audiotape of bin Laden and is examining the contents, contradicting earlier denials that it had a new message from the al-Qaeda leader, Agence France-Presse reported from Doha, Qatar's capital. The station will air the tape today, Fox television news said.
Powell acknowledged that evidence he presented last week to the United Nations Security Council may not have been enough to convince some skeptics of the threat that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein may supply terrorists with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
``There are linkages,'' Powell said. ``They're not as firm as some would like to see in order to conclude that it is actually happening, but they are firm enough'' to warrant action, he said.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said this was not the first time the U.S. has had information before al-Jazeera. ``From everything we have heard, al-Jazeera will be reporting this,'' Fleischer said.
Not Released by U.S.
``I don't think this is something you're going to see released by the United States,'' Fleischer told reporters, when asked if the administration would allow the public to see the transcript. ``The pattern is for these things to be released by al- Jazeera, and I don't think the pattern is going to change.''
The London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Majallah reported last week that bin Laden plans to appear on audiotapes and videotapes after the start of U.S. military operations against Iraq, the Washington Times reported.
The Saudi-owned weekly also said on Feb. 2 that Abd al-Rahman al-Rashid, who operates a pro-al Qaeda Internet site, said bin Laden will surface to ``incite the Arab and Muslim nations to strike at U.S. interests and repulse the U.S. military presence in the Gulf,'' the Times said.
The Bush administration is facing a split among NATO allies over its insistence that Iraq either meet UN demands on disarmament or face the possibility of U.S.-led military action.
More Inspections
The U.S. and Britain are opposed by the French and German governments, which support continued arms inspections and want more UN weapons monitors sent to Iraq.
France and Germany were joined by Belgium in vetoing proposals to equip North Atlantic Treaty Organization member Turkey with missiles to defend itself against a possible attack by neighboring Iraq.
Ambassadors from the 19 NATO nations postponed a meeting until tomorrow to try to end the standoff.
The veto by the three nations ``affects the alliance in a negative way when you're not able to make a statement of mutual defense,'' U.S. President George W. Bush said yesterday. ``I am disappointed that France would block NATO from helping a country like Turkey prepare.''
The U.S. and Britain, which have deployed about 225,000 troops in the Persian Gulf region, said Iraq is defying the UN and that force will have to be used to make Hussein's regime disarm.
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