|
|
.jpg)
BOSTON
GLOBE
War On Terror:
By Elizabeth Neuffer/Globe Staff
Sunday March 31, 2002 7:30 PM
MIR BACHA KOT, Afghanistan ñ Video tapes recorded in a former Al-Qaeda camp here
reveal that dozens of would-be terrorists were trained in a range of skills
aimed at assassinating and kidnapping prominent figures, presumably in the West.
"The
nearly seven hours of tape show the Arabic-speaking teams being drilled,
among other exercises, in how to shoot individuals within heavily guarded
motorcades on city streets. In another segment, a ìdignitaryî is killed
while playing golf, shot by caddies who pull guns out of their golf bags as
he tees off.
ìThese sorts of operations
will be carried out against the leaders of some of the countries,î says
Arabic-speaking narrator, as a ìcaddieî shoots a human cut-out target.
ìThis training is similar to the assassination of one of the leaders.î
Part home video, part
terrorism boot camp instruction, the tape provides new detail about Al
Qaedaís operations, and ñ in showing the faces of dozens of Al Qaeda
operatives ñ may offer the identities of members of Osama bin Ladenís
terrorist organization, providing valuable evidence for US investigators.
Unlike other Al
Qaeda training videos that have been found, which show members receiving basic
military training like running through obstacle courses, these tapes focus on
the groupís plans on using hostage-taking tactics and assassination as part of
their activities.
Idema,
who is called Jack in Afghanistan, said he decided to make the tapes public
to underscore the threat Al Qaeda still poses. ìThese videoís put a face on Al
Qaeda,î he said recently. ìI think every American should see these tapes.î The Globe,
along with other select news organizations, including CBS and the BBC, was
allowed to see the tapes. The tapes are expected to be aired by CBS on
Wednesday. There
are no age limits for training terrorists In tone
and narration, the tapes underscore Al Qaedaís determination to destroy its
enemies. At one point, the narrator coaxes his toddler-age children to pick up
his guns and fire them. ìShoot ñ come on shoot,î he pleads, as his young
daughter picks up a gun. ìCome on.î
A second
instructors voice, also off-camera, cuts in with training tips: ìYou have to
stand strongly on your two feet. When you are aiming at something, you have to
be careful to hit the target. Fire!î ìDid you
shoot them all?î Finally, as music mixes with pistol fire, the instructor
assures: ìYou will have eternal life if you give your life in this way.î The tapes
were discovered last year by Northern Alliance troops when the conquered what
remains of this village, about a half-hour drive north of Kabul. A recent
visit to the site confirms that a former school and administrative building were
used as the facility shown in the tape. The amount of snow that appeared on the
mountains in some of the videos indicates that taping was done during early
spring. The train
camp footage, narrated in Arabic, was clearly pitched to non-Afghans. In one
segment, would-be terrorists are instructed to return to Yemen to pick up
passports and then travel to Pakistan or Afghanistan. Analysts
who have viewed the tapes said they indicate terrorists were preparing for
attacks on the West. The tapes show a high degree of understanding about Europe
and America. Only images
remain of campís inhabitants
CTG/POLARIS IMAGES
An al-Qaeda terrorist launches a
RPG rocket at a conference table of diplomats during a mock training exercise
designed to practice the assassination of world leaders.
The
tapes were recently discovered in the possession of Northern Alliance forces by
"Jack" Keith Idema, a former US Army Special Forces noncommissioned officer and
counterterrorism specialist who now advises the Afghan military.
The tapes blend indoctrination with nuts-and-bolts instruction in how to kill. In a
portion of the tape that shows men firing at human size targets, the
instructorís voice, off-camera, says, ìWe are preparing ourselves for the way of
God. We will get rid of those who are nonbelievers. There is no brightness for
them in this world and the other world.î
Where the trainees are now
is not known. But they clearly left their camp in a hurry. What they
left behind expands on the picture of Al Qaeda life that the tapes depict.
There are eerie parallels between what seems to have been the campís daily routine and the life of Al Qaeda members as described in testimony during last years trial of men convicted in the 1998 bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Witnesses at the trial, for example, described a life in an Al Qaeda camp as being part education ñ including mathematics courses to determine the right amount of explosive ñ part intensive religious indoctrination, and part courses in sabotage.
Al-Qaeda terrorists train to ambush diplomatic cars and conduct vehicular assaults and assassinations.
Here at Mir Bacha Kot, trigonometry lessons were still seen last week on classroom blackboards. Several rooms in the two buildings had been used for target practice.
Abandoned pages of the hand-scrawled notes ñ apparently taken down by a student attending a lecture ñ describe how best to identify an ìinfidel.î
It read: ìOn the outside, they may be kind and give you food, but on the inside, they are still a non-believer.î
Graffiti on the walls of an out-building at Mir Bacha Kot bore the initials SSP ñ for Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, an alleged Pakistani terrorist group.
Al Qaeda, while harbored by the hard-line Taliban regime here, is believed to have drawn its recruits from dozens of countries, including Egypt, Pakistan, and Yemen. A local commander, Nangialy Noori, said he had ìreportsî that ìTaliban, Pakistanis, and Arabsî occupied the village at least three years ago. Northern Alliance commanders have identified it is an Al Qaeda camp, but said the inhabitants fled just as the United States began its bombing campaign.
Much about what has been found here suggests the Al Qaeda training spanned a range, from the elementary to the more sophisticated. In the tape, one scenario features awkward recruits struggling to rappel down the side of a building; another scene includes an unseen lecturer using a pointer to map the road of an assassination along city streets.
The tapes leave little doubt that those recruited into Al Qaeda take their mission seriously, and are preparing for a society in which those who fail to embrace Islam face risks on all sides.
ìGive that pistol to your brother,î urges that the tapeís narrator, speaking to a young girl in a white, lacy headscarf. The girl, who appears to be about 6 years old, assumes a military stance. Her younger brother, about 2, toddles by in a green shirt and pants.
ìCome here and take another gun,î coaxes the narrator, addressing the young boy. ìWhy have you taken the pistol Ahmed? For shooting the infidelsÖ Come on. Shoot.î
About the Author:
Elizabeth Neuffer was an award winning and highly respected journalist along
with a prestigious author who had just written a book about her experiences in
Bosnia. Neuffer traveled extensively throughout Afghanistan during the war
and then covered the Iraq war where she was killed in May 2003. It was a
great loss to the industry because Neuffer was known to be one of the rare
journalists with impeccable credentials, and unquestionable ethics.
RELATED ARCHIVED ARTICLES:
- US Unable to Send Troops to Quake- One Green Beret Takes On Mission
- American Commando he
MORE ARTICLES ON THE NAHRIN EARTHQUAKE:
... days after a powerful earthquake. ... house-calls," said the American, who declined to
give his last name. Jack, who says he ... has been in Afghanistan for more than ...
http://www.nando.net/nation/story/337009p-279907c.html
From: www.nando.net
... PM EST NAHRIN, Afghanistan -- On a rocky hilltop above this earthquake-battered village,
an ... Jack showed up. "Jack does house ... said the American, who declined to ...
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-afghan-housecalls0331mar31.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines From: www.newsday.com
... NAHRIN, Afghanistan ó On a rocky hilltop above this earthquake-battered village,
an ... Jack showed up. "Jack does house calls ... said the American, who declined to ...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/134429461_jack01.html
... NAHRIN, Afghanistan -- On a rocky hilltop above this earthquake-battered village,
an ... Jack showed up. "Jack does house-calls ... said the American, who declined to ...
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apasia_story.asp?category=1104&slug=Afghan%20Housecalls
From: seattlepi.nwsource.com
... Press Writer NAHRIN, Afghanistan (AP) -- On a ... hilltop above this earthquake-battered
village, an ... showed up. "Jack does house ... said the American
commando ...
http://www.wvgazette.com/static/apnews/?story=ap0430n.php
... 30 PM. NAHRIN, Afghanistan (AP) - On a ... hilltop
far above this earthquake-battered village,
... Jack showed up. ``Jack does house-calls ... said the American,
who saved more children
than the entire UN rescue force ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-1626829,00.html
From: www.guardian.co.uk
... American Helps Afghan Quake Victims... 33 PM. NAHRIN, Afghanistan (AP) -
On a ... hilltop above this earthquake-battered village, an ... that is, until Jack
showed up. "
http://www.myafghan.com/
From: www.myafghan.com
... 17:52 AFGHANISTAN: American Special Forces are seen
at Afghan Quake saving lives...
FIGHTING AMONG NORTHERN ...
http://english.pravda.ru/world/2002/02/3/24311.html
From: english.pravda.ru
... are being sent to join American and other allied forces ... al Qaeda in eastern Afghanistan,
and big helicopters ...
Green Berets operating on children at quake...
From: www.chron.com
... American helps victims of powerful Afghan earthquake NAHRIN, Afghanistan (AP) -
On a ... after a powerful earthquake. Untreated, that is, until Jack showed up. ...
http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/world/
From: www.sacbee.com
Add some more stuff about this- Jack" declined all interviews and photographs, with only AP allowed to follow him for a short time after approval of their request by General Mohammed Daoud, Ministry of Defense Corps Commander and regional commander.