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Bin Laden Says He Is Not
Involved
By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Sept 28 (IslamOnline) - Rejecting U.S. allegations, Osama Bin Laden has said that he, or his al-Qaeda organization have no involvement in the September 11th terrorist attacks on the New York World Trade Center and Washington's Pentagon, saying, "American authorities should search terrorists inside their own country and intelligence agencies."
In an interview Thursday with a Pakistani local daily, Ummat, considered a staunch supporter of the Taliban, the most wanted person by the U.S. speaking from an unknown hideout said he was not angry with some Muslim countries who were supporting a possible U.S. attack on Afghanistan as some are compelled to agree with the U.S. policies.
"I, or al-Qaeda, have nothing to do with the terrorist attacks in America," said bin Laden, adding that it could not be ruled out that there are some elements who could be involved who seek to make the 21st century the century of conflicts between Islam and Christianity.
"The hardline Jewish organizations might be involved in these attacks because they are angry with Bush after Florida elections."
Bin Laden charged that these attacks might have been conducted by U.S. intelligence agencies, as an excuse to receive billions in dollars of funds annually, justifying the need for increased budgets.
"Before the demise of USSR, it was not a problem for U.S. agencies, but now they need an enemy to grab more funds," he said.
Moreover, dozens of terrorist organizations from Israel to Russia and India to Serbia could have conducted these deadly attacks, bin Laden added.
"I am not lying. I am not involved in these attacks. Whatever is going on in Palestine by Israeli troops is under American patronage. This was God's torment for the USA," he said.
Bin Laden added that the administration of George W. Bush allocated $40 billion to go into the pockets of U.S. intelligence agencies in the name of the fight against terrorism.
"The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency used to patronize drug smuggling all over the world. What happened to General Noriega of Panama? He was made the king of drug smuggling by [the] CIA and later he was made a scapegoat. No one - even the U.S. President - has the authority to ask these agencies. They are running a state-within-state," he said.
"We are not enemies of U.S. citizens or U.S.A. We are the enemies of this system which has brought the smaller nations into the slavery of America," he said, adding, "This system is being run by Jews, and the Americans are unconsciously toeing the Jewish policies."
"Actually, these attacks should have been conducted against Israel instead of America," he maintained.
Asked whether the seizure of al-Qaeda's bank accounts and assets would affect the network, bin Laden said: "No! Not at all. Al-Qaeda organization has three alternative economic systems. This organization consists of highly educated youths that are fully aware of the flaws of existing U.S. economic systems."
However, bin Laden avoided elaborating on the alternative funding systems run by al-Qaeda.
Asked about safe places where he could stay besides Afghanistan, bin Laden said: "I can go from Indonesia to Algeria, Kabul to Chechnya, Bosnia to Sudan, and Burma to Kashmir. The question is not of my survival. It is of the survival of
jihad [struggle]. Wherever required, I would be there".
He finally thanked the Pakistani people for supporting the cause of jihad.
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