Taliban increasingly isolated

09/26/2001

By TOD ROBBERSON / The Dallas Morning News

AMMAN, Jordan – Afghanistan suffered a crucial blow Tuesday when its chief Arab ally, Saudi Arabia, severed diplomatic ties because of the ruling Taliban's links to groups that "spread terror and destruction in the world."

The Saudi decision leaves the Taliban virtually isolated internationally after the United Arab Emirates cut ties last weekend. Pakistan, the only other nation recognizing the Taliban government, has withdrawn all staff from its Kabul embassy.

In a statement, the Saudi government did not specifically mention Osama bin Laden, who is accused by the United States of using Afghanistan as a refuge while organizing the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. The exiled Saudi millionaire denies involvement in the attacks.

Mr. bin Laden's radical network, al-Qaeda, warned Tuesday that it would retaliate if the United States attempted any attack against the group or Afghanistan.

"Wherever there are Americans and Jews, they will be targeted," said a statement delivered to news organizations in the name of al-Qaeda's chief military commander, Naseer Ahmed Mujahed. "We can defend ourselves. The holy warriors are fully prepared."

The group called on Muslims everywhere to prepare for "holy war," promising, "The victory will be for Islam."

The Saudi government said it had supported Afghanistan throughout its war against Soviet occupying armies from 1979 to 1989, but the kingdom accused the hard-line fundamentalist Taliban government of abusing its powers.

"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia stood with all its ability beside the Afghan people while they were struggling for their independence, which gave Afghanistan a special status in the hearts of those who champion nations' rights of freedom and independence," said a statement issued in Riyadh.

It said the Taliban has "made its land a center for attracting, training and recruiting a number of gullible men from different lands, especially citizens of the kingdom, in order to carry out criminal acts that violate all faiths and creeds."

Saudi Arabia is home to Mecca and Medina, regarded as the holiest sites in Islam. Mr. bin Laden accuses the Saudi leadership of defiling the holy land by allowing thousands of U.S. troops to be based in the kingdom.

The Riyadh government countered in its statement that the killing of innocents and the spread of terror by groups based in Afghanistan "leads to defaming Islam and defaming Muslims' reputations in the world."

The Saudi statement accused the Taliban of ignoring all contacts and efforts by the kingdom "to persuade them to stop harboring criminals and terrorists, and training and inciting them." It pledged, however, to "keep standing by the Afghan people."

Pakistan, a longtime supporter of the Taliban, said that it would maintain relations with the Taliban government for the time being, although it has withdrawn all 12 of its remaining diplomats from its Kabul embassy. Under heavy U.S. pressure, the Pakistani government also closed its 1,560-mile border with Afghanistan.

Pakistan says it is keeping relations intact to provide a "window" through which communications with the Taliban can remain open. The Taliban maintains a fully staffed embassy in Islamabad, and news reports from Riyadh said the Taliban-run embassy there remained open. An estimated 100,000 Afghans reside in Saudi Arabia.

In Kabul, hundreds of demonstrators held an anti-U.S. rally Tuesday, shouting, "Death to America!" and "Long live Osama bin Laden!"

In Islamabad, a U.S. delegation headed by Kevin Chilton, an Air Force brigadier general and Pentagon director of strategic planning for the Near East and South Asia, met with Pakistani intelligence and military officials to map out strategies for any possible attack on Afghanistan.

The United States also scored a strategic breakthrough when the Central Asian governments of Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan announced they would open their airspace to U.S. flights.

The decision, combined with a similar move by Afghanistan's northern neighbor, Tajikistan, could help provide crucial access to U.S. warplanes and troops deploying from the Mediterranean and NATO bases in Turkey.

"Today, the entire civilized world must help deal a final blow to the international terrorism," said Kyrgyzstan's president, Askar Akayev.

The European Union promised $18 million to help Pakistan cope with refugees from Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat agreed to end months of frozen relations and renew truce talks Wednesday morning in the Gaza Strip. Arab leaders had been pressuring Washington to intervene after a year of fighting between Palestinian and Israeli forces, citing it as a root cause of terrorist violence.

"Without a solution to the Palestinian question ... the world will never enjoy stability and a new generation of terrorists will emerge," Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in Berlin.

Mr. Peres acknowledged that Washington had played a key role in the decision to resume talks.

"The president of the United States calls the prime minister of Israel and puts extraordinary pressure on him, asking that the meeting take place," Mr. Peres told Israel Radio. "Secretary of State Colin Powell calls three times a day to ask for the meeting."