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U.S. Will Suffer More Than Russia
RIYADH, Oct 15 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Taliban supreme leader Mullah Muhammad Omar said Sunday his Taliban will teach the United States "a much more bitter lesson" than that taught to the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
In an interview with the Saudi daily Al-Watan, he said, "It's true that we have not started our real battle against the United States because of their technological superiority. But, God willing, we will not greet them with roses. They will be taught a much more bitter lesson than that taught to the Russians," Omar said in a telephone interview from Afghanistan, the Saudi Arabic-language daily said.
"We have said if Washington has the evidence proving his [bin Laden's] involvement and is confident of that, why don't they give us this evidence and we are ready to try him in Afghanistan or by a committee of Islamic scholars from three countries.
"By ignoring this proposal, the United States is humiliating Islamic Shari'ah law, and accordingly, the current war is not targeting bin Laden, but the destruction of the Islamic emirate of Afghanistan," Omar maintained.
"I reiterate our readiness for the trial to take place in the presence of observers from the Organization of the Islamic Conference [OIC] and Western countries," he said.
Omar denied reports that members of his family have been killed since the U.S. air strikes began on October 7th, but admitted his house was hit.
He said there has been huge loss of life and extensive damage.
"Afghan cities and villages have suffered huge losses. A large number of women and children have been killed and mosques, hospitals and residential areas, have also been hit," said Omar, describing the air raids as barbaric.
But he asserted that the Afghan determination to fight had not been undermined.
"The Afghan people will reject any Western-backed government in Kabul", said Omar, vowing that death would be the fate of all collaborators.
"The [Western-backed] Northern Alliance is a group of mercenaries, who have decided a long time ago to make their country hostage to foreigners.
"All must realize that the people of Afghanistan reject any attempt to force them to accept a leadership that works against them," he said.
"We categorically refuse that Washington and Western countries impose on our people persons who had left us decades ago to fight our enemies," said Omar, in reference to ousted monarch Zahir Shah.
"The fate of any collaborator with these [Western] powers will be death," he added.
Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesman said on Sunday that despite the Taliban's inability to respond to U.S. air strikes, the "real war" would start when ground troops enter the country.
In an interview with NBC television, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said, "America is technologically more advanced. We are not equal to the U.S. The real war starts when ground troops enter Afghanistan."
Asked why the Taliban would not hand over bin Laden, Shaheen repeated demands for evidence against bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network.
Shaheen said, "They should produce all the evidence that they have. They should send evidence instead of planes ... we would discuss his being put on trial."
He dismissed statements that the Taliban would not be able to try bin Laden because of their close ties, saying a trial in the U.S. would be impossible because bin Laden has already been convicted by public opinion.
"That trial, in America, would it not be a joke?" he asked, noting previous comments from U.S. President George W. Bush that bin Laden was wanted "alive or dead".
He said the United States should look for other possible perpetrators of the September 11th terror attacks on U.S. targets and not limit its focus to bin Laden.
"America is making a great mistake by focusing only on Osama. America has many enemies," he added.
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