President George W. Bush announced "a new line of attack" in the US-led war on global terrorism Wednesday, unveiling a list of 22 "most wanted terrorists" worldwide, including Osama bin Laden.
"Terrorists try to operate in the shadows, they try to hide, but we're going to shine the light of justice on them," Bush, who has declared he wants bin Laden "dead or alive," said in a speech at FBI headquarters here.
Washington says the Saudi-born militant planned the September 11 terror strikes that left some 5,500 dead or missing, but he and two top lieutenants were included for the August 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The list also includes suspects indicted for the 1985 hijacking of a TWA flight in Beirut; the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; a 1995 plot to bomb 12 US aircraft flying Asian-Pacific routes; and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia.
"They're among the most dangerous, the leaders and key supporters, the planners and strategists. They must be found. They will be stopped, and they will be punished," declared Bush, who said the list would expand.
The program, jointly run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US State Department, offers rewards of up to five million dollars for information that helps thwart terrorist acts on US interests worldwide or leads to the arrest or conviction of someone in connection with such attacks.
"We're going to spread the names and faces of the most dangerous terrorists across the globe, so that they have nowhere to hide, nowhere to run," said FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Mueller said global efforts had helped bring to justice four out of five global terrorists on the FBI's original most wanted fugitives list, including Mir Amal Kansi, wanted for killing two CIA employees in 1993; and Ramzi Yousef, convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the 1993 bombing on the World Trade Center.
"Now, we are once again combining the power and reach of the media with the eyes and ears of millions of concerned citizens worldwide in the fight against terrorism," said the FBI chief.
Bush also sent a message to members of the international coalition he has rallied behind the US-led war on terror, saying: "We expect results ... eventually, no corner of the world will be dark enough to hide in."
Names on the list included Abdul Rahman Yasin, wanted for the 1993 World Trade Center attack; Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, sought for the 1995 airplane plot; bin Laden aides Muhammad Atef and Ayman Al-Zawahiri, indicted in the embassy bombings; Imad Mugniyah, Hassan Izz-Al-Din, and Ali Atwa, wanted for the TWA hijacking.
Bush was to meet at the White House later with NATO Secretary-General George Robertson. The alliance has declared last month's terror strikes on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon an attack on all of NATO -- WASHINGTON(AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
