Despite Osama bin Laden’s highly publicized “confession” of planning the terrorist attacks on the U.S. two months ago, the leader of the Arab League told al-Jazeera television he is not convinced of his guilt.
Amru Musa, secretary general of the Arab League, said in an Arabic-language broadcast yesterday that bin Laden must not be killed by forces in Afghanistan, but captured and tried, preferably on international television.
“In Afghanistan … there are a lot of problems, and the subject of bin Laden up till now … he is definitely an agitator,” said Musa. “If it’s proved … [that bin Laden was behind the attacks], I don’t think that there is a military solution. He must be tried in court. It’s the only means, and a verdict must be published. We know without a doubt, in policy matters, and in practice, that facing that end, the accused must be tried, and not militarize the military of the accused. And the trial must be televised, at least (for fairness).”
Musa also said, according to a transcript of the interview published on al-Jazerra’s website and translated by WorldNetDaily, that the end of Arab cooperation in the war on terrorism would come if and when Israel is involved.
Specifically, Musa expressed concerns that the war would extend to terrorist operations in Lebanon and, thus, bring Israel into the picture.
Strikes on Lebanon will mean “Israel will enter into the subject. If Israel enters in, by means unacceptable, … the Arabic Nations, all of them, will protest in unison, and withdraw from any agreement. That’s the RED plan, there are no other words.”
Asked if there could be any exception – any possible scenario under which the Arab nations would permit Israel to participate in the war on terrorism – Musa emphatically said no.
“Of course not,” he said. “Any question you ask about that, the answer is no. … It’s not possible for the populace of any country to enter Israel, so why should Israel be able to enter any Arab country? Also because Israel slaughters the people in the occupied lands and fires on them and launches planes and helicopters against them, and has camps of killers, it’s not possible officially in these policies to include Israel to face international terrorism, truly [because Israel is a terrorist nation].”
Musa also expressed concern that Yasser Arafat could provide the leadership necessary to achieve the objectives of the Palestinians. But he also said the Arab League, which provides massive support to the Palestinian Authority, would not interfere.
Musa said the Arab League contributes $100 million to Arafat’s uprising every month. But $50 million of that sum goes to expenses involved in getting the money to the people.
“We decided to create two accounts to support the Intifada and the mosques, and from those two, the Palestinians spend the money, in addition to extra moneys they spend given personally by individuals,” he explained. “It means that the support is controlled, but acceptable.”
When challenged by the interviewer on whether more direct support should be provided, Musa said: “We don’t slaughter ourselves over this support. We don’t condemn ourselves. We don’t establish governments, and we don’t establish peoples. I’m capable of understanding history. We work a lot in this area, but it doesn’t require that we kill ourselves over it or condemn ourselves for their happenstance. It’s the Palestinian undertaking, it’s an undertaking of victims, this society of Palestinians. To all, do what you are able to do, take the donations, I’m with you as much as is possible – it’s possible that more can be done.”
