Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief said on Friday that he believed Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden, accused of the September 11 attacks on the United States, was still alive.
“I believe Bin Laden now is on the run, he is not dead,” Saudi Prince Turki al Faisal, who retired last year, said on CNN.
He added, “A person on the run mainly thinks about his own life and probably is not communicating with his operatives but perhaps there may be other Bin Laden supporters who may or may not be in Afghanistan who are taking over now and issuing the orders”.
The Saudi intelligence official stated he had no data regarding Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's last remark saying Bin Laden may have died from kidney disease.
“I am out of the intelligence business now for a few months and I have not received any briefing from our intelligence on this subject so I would not be able to confirm or deny President Musharraf's claim,” he explained.
However, he added, “The last [intelligence] estimate I saw was that he was in good health.”
The United States began bombing Afghanistan early October, but while hundreds of people have been detained, Bin Laden's whereabouts still remain a growing mystery.
With regards to a separate matter, the Saudi Prince cautioned Washington against targeting Iraq, as opposed to its President Saddam Hussein, in the framework of the global campaign on terrorism. “One has to distinguish between Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi people. And the US if it is going to launch anything against Iraq, it must make sure that it is targeted at Saddam Hussein.”
He suggested that change in Iraq ought to come from within the country.
“It cannot come from without. And for the United States to strike against Iraq, I think will be counterproductive. Indeed, Saddam's regime is a direct threat to the whole area, not just Saudi Arabia. And what I'm saying is, if you want to topple him, topple him in a way that will take him out of the picture and not make the Iraqi people suffer.” (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
