Bogeyman in hiding
By
Salama A Salama
Where is Bin Laden? Why has America, with all its mighty intelligence and overt and covert operations failed to catch him, dead or alive?
Fourteen months have elapsed since the US military campaign targeted Al- Qa'eda hideouts in the mountains of Afghanistan, in Kandahar, Tora Bora, and the rugged terrain near the border with Pakistan. It is only sensible to ask how Bin Laden managed to escape this awesome assault when his nearest aides have fallen into the hands of US intelligence? Only recently Abdel-Rahman El-Nashri, aka Abu-Jalal El-Makki, a key member of Al-Qa'eda, was captured by the Americans. But not Bin Laden.
In an audio recording recently aired by Al-Jazeera and relayed by other international satellite channels, Bin Laden praised the bombings that targeted Moscow, Bali, and a French tanker off Yemeni shores. He threatened more reprisals against US forces and their allies. The recording raised many questions. Even Russian President Putin wondered, in a joint press conference he held recently with President Bush, about Bin Laden's whereabouts and the puzzling inability of the US authorities to locate him.
Having examined the recording and questioned imprisoned Al-Qa'eda members about its authenticity, US experts concluded that the voice on the tape is actually Bin Laden's. Yet US authorities have so far failed to provide information, speculative or otherwise, about Bin Laden's fate. How is he supposed to maintain communication with his aides? How does his outfit manage to finance the terrorist attacks that have taken place or may take place in the future? Is there an alternative secret command running the show in Bin Laden's absence?
Recent issues of Time and Newsweek discussed the question of Bin Laden's disappearance. One theory was that he was hiding with Pakistani tribes on the Afghan border. Another was that he had gone to Yemen, homeland of his ancestors. The latter possibility may explain why US pilotless planes have been deployed in Djibouti to reconnoitre Yemen.
The scant information released by US authorities about Bin Laden may be incongruous, but one thing is clear. The United States is the only beneficiary of the mystery surrounding Bin Laden's fate. Bin Laden's recordings, randomly produced and difficult to authenticate, are being used to scare off outsiders as well as Americans. Meanwhile, draconian laws are being passed in the US. Political pressures are brought on ally and foe alike. And President Bush's strategy to punish members of the so-called axis of evil proceeds unhampered.
Perhaps Bin Laden has been killed, perhaps not. For all we know the Americans may be secretly holding him. Anything is possible, so long as Washington benefits from his legend and the actions attributed to his outfit.
Audio recordings by Bin Laden can be faked. They can be used to justify harsh measures against immigrants, who may now be placed under surveillance, harassed, and discriminated against, on the pretext of minimising threats of violence.
Every day we hear reports of Bin Laden's aides being arrested, of sleeper cells uncovered in Italy, France, Germany, Canada, and elsewhere. Most of the time the charges are later dropped, but the damage to the lives of those concerned is done.
Bin Laden has become the bogeyman security services use to suspend the due process of the law. Innocent people are arrested without charges and thrown in jail for months without trial. A new horizon of human rights' abuses is dawning. And yet another justification, however flimsy, is now available for repressing the Palestinians and attacking Iraq.
