ChicSunTimes

Can bin Laden be caught? Experts differ

October 8, 2001

BY CHRIS FUSCO STAFF REPORTER

Now that the American attack has begun, can Osama bin Laden be caught?

Yes, says a former Russian army first lieutenant, who predicts that catching bin Laden will be easy if the United States enlists the help of Afghan natives.

A former British army major who served in the Middle East disagrees, saying the United States and its allies do not have enough manpower to find bin Laden and that anti-Taliban Afghan fighters can't be trusted to do the dirty work.

The government is wise to take that tack, said Maj. Charles Heyman, a 20-year British army veteran who is editor of Jane's World Armies.

"You can't make the aim of military operations to catch bin Laden because if you don't [catch him], you've failed,'' Heyman said. "The aim has got to be something that can be done.''

Sunday's offensive struck Taliban military installations and al-Qaida training camps. Heyman, citing information from reporters in the area, said he believes bin Laden had been operating five major al-Qaida training and operations centers in Afghanistan and at least 10 smaller ones within the country.

While America's main objective is to hurt the Taliban for not succumbing to U.S. demands that it turn over bin Laden, some military experts believe that the United States is working behind the scenes to find the No. 1 suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks on America.

There were unconfirmed news reports Sunday that Afghans were being offered financial rewards for information about bin Laden's whereabouts.

Georgi Derluguian, a Northwestern University sociology and international-relations professor and decorated former first lieutenant in the Soviet army, said American forces easily could find bin Laden with help from anti-Taliban Afghan fighters. Bin Laden also can be found, he said, by bribing money-hungry Afghan warlords who unofficially rule individual parts of the country and have limited ties to the Taliban.

"You can go and pay money to someone to deliver you the head of Osama bin Laden. It can be done easily,'' Derluguian said. "Afghanistan is very fractured into this valley society. There are so many factions, so many clans with whom you can make deals.''

But Heyman said those clans can't be trusted, and he warned about faulty bin Laden sightings. "Its going to be like Elvis,'' Heyman said. "He's going to be seen in every bazaar in Afghanistan.''

Derluguian is aware that the allegiances of Afghan natives can change. His college roommate from Moscow State University was brutally murdered by Afghans who the roommate thought were friendly during Soviet occupation of the country in the 1980s.

At the same time, Derluguian said he believes the U.S. coalition has isolated the Taliban, making many Afghans more likely to cooperate with America. The key, he said, is to promise to help the Afghans rebuild their war-torn society.

"You should not only stay over there, but it should be a very concentrated effort to make sure these nations have a slice of the world economy," he said.

Contributing: David Newbart, Sun-Times wires

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001