| Somewhere in war-ravaged Afghanistan sits a mega-rich
Arab. He is a medieval warrior, roaming the remote mountain-deserts, always one step ahead
of the elite forces that track him. Commanding an army of highly trained, fanatical
terrorists, he is accused of masterminding bomb blasts as far apart as Nairobi and New
York, sends his fighters to assist Muslim rebels against the Russian Army in Dagestan and
against the Taliban's opponents in Afghanistan. He has stopped using satellite phones so
that US satellites scanning every frequency cannot find him. The reward on his head is $5
million, he's survived US air strikes last year, but no one has yet penetrated the
bizarre, violent world of Osama Bin Laden. It's a story that
seems unreal -- except that Bin Laden now appears to be turning his attention to India.
From a hideout in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Bin Laden has just declared that along with the
US, India is his greatest enemy. After the Kargil setback, Bin Laden's threats will come
as a morale booster for the various Islamic terror groups which target India. It is a time
of extreme danger. We have always covered
the shadowy world of the terrorist, with many cover stories since the '70s on the
mechanics of terrorism. This time Associate Editor Harinder Baweja sought out raw and IB
officials who briefed her on the threat from Bin Laden. Special Correspondent Ramesh
Vinayak journeyed to Kashmir to investigate Bin Laden's reach. "The greatest threat
he poses is that he can inspire and galvanise extreme elements in every society,"
says contributor Jason Burke, who spoke to Bin Laden's followers and visited his camps in
the course of trying to track him down in Afghanistan over the last year. Clearly, India
must sit up and take notice. If not, Bin Laden might one day make Kargil seem like a fair
spring.
(Aroon Purie) |
