US, Saudi Arabia and Bin Laden
Regional, Politics, 8/12/1999

The US Los Angeles Times said on August 8 that Saudi officials have reached a secret agreement with leaders of the Afghani Taleban movement last year ( 1998) in order to hand over the Saudi Billionaire Osama Bin laden, just two months before the two explosions which hit the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Chief of the Saudi intelligence prince Turkey al-Faisal told the paper that al-Mulla Muhammad Omar, the chief commander of the movement and his ruling council have approved to stop giving sanctuary to Bin Laden who has been in Afghanistan since 1996 and this was decided in a meeting held in their headquarters in Qandhar in June 1998.

Al-Faisal who negotiated for this deal said that Bin Laden, whose Saudi nationality was withdrawn is wanted for his campaign which calls for toppling monarchy in Saudi Arabia. Taleban's precondition for handing over Bin Laden was to try him by an Islamic court and not to hand him to face any sort of trial by the US.

The paper indicated that the said agreement started to stumble during the period when the authorities thought that the attacks against the two US embassies were planned for by Bin Laden. However, negotiations ended amid a series of counter accusations following the exploding of the two US embassies in August 7, 1998.

Meantime, the representative of the Taleban movement in New York Abdul Hakim Mujahid denied such an agreement, saying that Taleban " understood that the Saudis want Bin Laden to stay in Afghanistan Moreover, the US Senator Orrin Hatch, member of the intelligence committee of the US senate said on August 8 that the US knows the place where Bin Laden exist and what he is doing and that it also knows that rich persons from Arab states which provide him with money.

In a televised interview with the US CBS TV network, Hatch added that Bin Laden enjoys some backing in the world a matter which enables him to penetrate into " our country and other states." Hatch affirmed that the US finally will have Bin Laden and will make of him a lesson. Hatch refused to answer a question whether among the US measures is to assassinate Bin Laden.

Previous Stories:
  Pakistani group meets with Bin Laden   (8/9/1999)
  US continues to pursue Bin Laden   (8/3/1999)
  US embassy in Mozambique and Bin Laden   (7/21/1999)

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