Arrest of bin Laden closer than ever,
U.S. official says
Associated
Press | September 4 2004
FLASHBACK:
Staged Capture of Bin Laden Coming Soon
A U.S. counterterrorism official said here
Friday that nearly 75 percent of the al-Qaida terror network’s senior
leadership has been eliminated and the capture of its fugitive chief, Osama
bin Laden, is closer than ever.
Cofer Black, U.S. State Department coordinator
for counterterrorism, told a select group of journalists that the arrests
of hundreds of al-Qaida activists and members of its top hierarchy by Pakistan
have brought the arrest of bin Laden closer.
“If you are asking if we are close to getting OBL,
the answer is yes,” he said, when asked whether the large-scale arrests
are leading to the capture of bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept.
11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.
“Our president (George W. Bush) has said we will
arrest Osama bin Laden. It is guaranteed,” he said, adding it could
happen tomorrow, in a week or a month from now.
Black, a former CIA agent, spoke after attending a meeting
between Pakistani and U.S. officials on counterterrorism, in which they
discussed matters relating to terrorism, narcotics and capacity building
in the two fields.
Black denied suggestions that Washington has tasked Islamabad
with the arrest of bin Laden. “The United States does not give tasks
to Pakistan. Pakistan is an independent and sovereign state,” he said.
A statement issued by the Foreign Ministry said that during
the two days of talks, both sides expressed their satisfaction with the
level of cooperation and reaffirmed their determination to improve such
efforts and work closely in the mutual interest of both countries.
“Hundreds of al-Qaida killers have been removed
from the scene and innocent people made safe,” Black said, while lauding
the role of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and the Pakistani government
in killing and arresting a large number of terrorists in an ongoing crackdown
on terror.
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