Saudi diplomat: Osama bin Laden, not Taliban, real power in Afghanistan

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – A former Saudi diplomat to Afghanistan was quoted Friday as saying Osama bin Laden – and not the Taliban militia – is the real power there.

Abdullah bin Saad al-Otaibi, the former Saudi charge d'affaires to Afghanistan, also said the Taliban themselves were in the dark about the locations of bin Laden's "hidden bases" in the country. He was quoted in an interview published Friday in the Okaz newspaper.

Saudi Arabia broke diplomatic ties with the Taliban on Sept. 25 over the regime's refusal to surrender bin Laden, the United States' main suspect in Sept. 11 terror attacks on New York and the Pentagon. It was not clear when al-Otaibi returned from Afghanistan.

In unusually open remarks, al-Otaibi was quoted as saying bin Laden holds greater power than the Taliban and "that's why the movement cannot hand him to the United States."

"In fact, Osama bin Laden has more authority than any other defense minister in the world," the Saudi said.

Neither al-Otaibi nor Saudi Information Ministry officials could be reached for comment Friday.

Without citing sources, al-Otaibi was quoted as saying there were deep, "well-constructed and well-equipped" tunnel hideouts for bin Laden's movement – built to withstand bombs and missiles, and equipped with oxygen supply, air conditioning, water tanks and food storage.

"Nobody knows about these except his close associates only," al-Otaibi was quoted as saying, adding that bin Laden "only trusts himself" and a few others, including his top lieutenant, Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahri.

Bin Laden changes his guards, including Arabs, every three days, said al-Otaibi.

Al-Otaibi said information available before the Sept. 11 attacks confirmed "sharp differences" inside bin Laden's al-Qaida network. The rift was particularly great between Persian Gulf and Egyptian factions within the network, he said, because of bin Laden's recent heavy reliance on his Egyptian associates.

Al-Otaibi said each summer vacation, 200 to 300 young men come to bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan for training. Most come via Pakistan, he said.

APNP-10-05-01 1446CDT