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AMERICA IN CRISIS Tne Micigan Daily -weanesday, September 19,;2001-
Taliban calls on Muslims to wage holy war
7
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) The hard-line
Taliban said God would protect it if the world
tried to "set fire" to Afghanistan for sheltering
terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden and in com-
ments broadcast yesterday also called on all
Muslims to wage holy war on America if it
attacks.
Hundreds of Islamic clerics were gathering in
the Afghan capital to discuss conditions for
extraditing bin Laden to a country other than
the United States, a Pakistan government offi-
cial said. The clerics are expected to meet today,
said Hamdullah Nomani, the mayor of Kabul
and host of the gathering.
The conditions, including international
recognition of the Taliban government and the
lifting of U.N. sanctions, were discussed Mon-
day in Kandahar, headquarters of the Islamic
militia that rules most of Afghanistan, the Pak-
istani official said on condition of anonymity.
It seemed unlikely the United States would
agree to have bin Laden extradited to another
country. A delegation sent by Pakistan to try to
convince the Taliban to hand over bin Laden
went home yesterday without reaching an
agreement, and Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf scheduled a televised address to his
people on today evening.
Before leaving Kabul, the Pakistani delega-
tion met with eight detained aid workers being
tried on charges of illegally preaching Chris-
tianity, the official said. Pakistan asked the Tal-
iban to release the aid workers-two Ameri-
cans, four Germans and two Australians-and
the rulers promised to consider the request, he
said.
The Taliban, who say bin Laden was wrongly
implicated in the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the.
United States, urged the people of Afghanistan
to prepare for a jihad, or holy war, against
America, the official Bakhtar News Agency
reported yesterday.
"If America attacks our homes, it is neces-
sary for all Muslims, especially for Afghans, to
wage a holy war," Mullah Mohammed Hasan
Akhund, the deputy Taliban leader, said Mon-
day, according to state-run Radio Shariat. "God
is on our side, and if the world's people try to
set fire to Afghanistan, God will protect us and
help us."
Since taking control of most of Afghanistan
in °1996, the Taliban have declared holy wars
against the northern-based anti-Taliban alliance,
Russia and Iran, but never the United States.
The Taliban government is only officially
recognized by three countries: Pakistan, Saudi
Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Taliban's foreign minister, Wakil Ahmed
Muttawakil, condemned the violence within
hours of the attacks in New York and Washing-
ton but said it would have been impossible for
bin Laden to carry out the assaults. Bin Laden
lacks the facilities for such an elaborate opera-
tion, he said.
Since then, the Taliban's leader, Mullah
Mohammed Omar, who has declared himself
head of all Muslims, has defended bin Laden
and accused the United States of pointing the
finger in his direction because its investigators
have been unable to come up with a real sus-
pect.
Many Pakistanis living along the 1,500-mile
border with Afghanistan promised to join the
jihad against America, and possibly their own
government, if there are retaliatory strikes.
"America is putting a gun on Pakistan's
shoulder to fire at Afghanistan. The Pakistani
people cannot accept this," said Haji Abdul
Razzaq, a mechanic in the western city of
Peshawar, near the Afghan border.
Stocks gain
stbty but
1 ound
The Washington Post
NEW YORK - The wobbly U.S. stock market regained
some stability yesterday following its steep selloff Monday, as
escalating words of war and the growing prospect of recession
buffeted investors in the aftermath of
attacks on the World Trade Center and th
"Let's face it,
we're all jittery "
- Ed Yardeni
f last week's terrorist
he Pentagon.
After an early
surge, the Dow
Jones industrials
average of 30 blue-
chip stocks dropped
to end the day just
Investment strategist 17.30 points lower
at 8,903.40. The
technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 24.47 to
1555.08. The broad S&P 500 index declined 6.03 to 1032.74.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Chicago Board Options
Exchange said it is investigating trading before the attack but
declined to elaborate about what stocks or traders are being
probed.
In the days before the Sept. 11 attacks, unusually high num-
bers of "put options" - essentially, bets that a stock will drop
were purchased for shares of AMR Corp. and UAL Corp.,
the parent companies of American Airlines and United Air-
lines, which each had two planes hijacked, the Associated
Press reported yesterday, citing a check of option trading
records. A put option is a contract that gives a holder the right
to sell an asset at a specified price before a certain date. There
was no similar pattern with other carriers, AP said. The shares
of both companies plunged after the hijackings.
On Monday, Germany's stock market regulator said it was
looking into claims of suspicious stock trading there just
before the attacks.
The markets activity unfolded against a backdrop of diplo-
matic sparring with U.S. officials continuing to warn of a sus-
tained military campaign and defiant leaders in Afghanistan,
Where the No. l suspect in the terrorist attacks is believed to
be vowing a holy war.
"Let's face it, we're all jittery, said Ed Yardeni, chief invest-
*nent strategist at investment bank Deutsche Banc Alex Brown.
Central banks worldwide have been working to calm finan-
cial markets. A day after the Federal Reserve cut its target for
overnight interest rates by half a percentage point - its eighth
reduction this year - the Bank of Japan yesterday cut its dis-
count rate to 0.10 percent from 0.25 percent, and the Bank of
England cut its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage
point to 4.75 percent.
Analysts expect the Fed to lower its target further in coming
weeks, a decision made easier by the Labor Department report
yesterday showing consumer inflation well contained.
Some market watchers said the terrorists might not deserve
,11 the blame for Monday's drop, when the Dow and Nasdaq
oth lost about 7 percent of their value. Before the attacks,
U.S. retail sales were declining, unemployment was rising,
consumer spending was fading and stock prices were sliding
amid a global economic slowdown.
AP PHOTO
President Bush (right) greets French President Jacques Chirac Inthe Oval Office of the White House yesterday. Bush is reaching out to world
leaders to build a global coalition "to fight terrorism on all fronts."
Bush begins campaign to rally
world leaders against errorists
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON -- Pausing to mark the
terrorist attacks of a week before with a
moment of silence, President Bush yesterday
engaged in an intensive round of diplomacy
designed "to rally the world" for the war he
has promised against those responsible for
the attacks.
At a meeting with French President
Jacques Chirac, Bush said he is determined
to build an international coalition for the
long and difficult war against terrorism and
said this is a moment for other nations to
stand and be counted. "If you love freedom,
you must join with us," Bush said.
Chirac stopped short of calling the cam-
paign against terrorism a "war," as Bush and
many U.S. officials have described it, but he
said France stands "in total solidarity" with
the United States and added that he was pre-
PROBE
Continued from Page 1
to include aircraft and runways," the
affidavit said.
Court records said the FBI seized
documents suggesting the men worked
in food preparation for airlines at
Detroit Metropolitan Airport and col-
lected information about an American
military base in Turkey, a U.S. foreign
minister, an airport in Jordan and dia-
grams of aircraft location and runways.
The affidavit did not explain the refer-
ence to "U.S. foreign minister."
Federal documents identified the men
as Karim Koubriti, 23; Ahmed Hannan,
33; and Farouk Ali-Haimoud, 21.
Among the four material witnesses
under arrest was Albader Alhazmi, 34, a
Saudi national and Saudi-trained doctor
doing a medical residency in radiology
at University of Texas Health Science
Center, a law enforcement official said.
He was being held in New York.
Alhazmi did not show up for his radi-
ologist job on Sept. 11. He had been
working at a military hospital located on
Lackland Air Force Base in San Anto-
nio during the week before the attacks,
said an official at the medical center.
Meanwhile, evidence emerged yester-
day that the FBI had tracked the activi-
ties of one Arab man who was seeking
jetliner training from Minnesota to
Oklahoma in the weeks before Tues-
day's attacks.
The FBI came by the Airman Flight
School in Norman, Oka., about two
weeks before the terrorist attacks,
inquiring about Zacarias Moussaoi,
who is now in custody in New York in
the investigation.
An unconfirmed link to Iraq emerged
yesterday in the intelligence community.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition
of anonymity, said the United States has
received information from a foreign
intelligence service that Mohamed Atta,
a hijacker aboard one of the planes that
slammed into the World Trade Center,
met earlier this year in Europe with an
Iraqi intelligence agent.
The raw intelligence came in since
the attacks last Tuesday and has not yet
been corroborated by U.S. authorities,
the official said.
Authorities also detained a man in
San Diego, Calif., who was linked
through financial transactions to two of
the 19 hijackers, officials said.
SEARCH
Continued from Page 1
ing foreign nationals. A U.N.
spokesman said Annan was told yester-
day by Secretary of State Colin Powell
that 62 nations had reported citizens
missing.
Among the hundreds of tenants in the
twin towers were banks, trade offices
and government offices of many coun-
tries - particularly from Asia. They
included an office of the government of
Thailand, the Bank of Taiwan, the Nishi-
Nippon Bank, Fuji Bank, the China
Chamber of Commerce, the Zim-Ameri-
can Israeli Shipping Co., and the Banco
Latino Americano de Exportaciones.
"We are astonished by the evil in our
midst, stunned at the scale of the
tragedy, dazed by the disregard for
human life, overwhelmed by the wound
that has been inflicted - on this city, on
this country, on us all," Annan said at a
synagogue in Manhattan before touring
the disaster area.
At the ruins, Annan said news pho-
tographs and television images had not
prepared him for "the magnitude and
the horror" of the attack. He thanked
rescue workers, telling them, "All the
(U.N.) ambassadors and staff are rooting
for you."
Accompanying Annan were Giuliani,
New York Gov. George Pataki, and a
delegation of U.S. senators considering
more emergency financial assistance for
the city.
pared to discuss with Bush "all means to
fight and eradicate this evil."
Bush's meeting with Chirac last night was
the first of a series of face-to-face meetings
with world leaders this week that includes a
dinner tomorrow with British Prime Minis-
ter Tony Blair and sessions today with Presi-
dent Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia,
the world's largest Muslim nation, and with
the foreign ministers of Russia and Ger-
many.
The diplomatic effort also includes reach-
ing out to such nations as Cuba and the
Sudan, two nations with which the U.S. has
had an adversarial relationship.
Secretary of State Colin Powell also will
meet with a parade of top officials from
other countries as the administration contin-
ues its private preparations for a response to
last week's attacks, using what administra-
tion officials called a "carrot-and-stick"
approach to encourage support from other
nations.
U.S. efforts to assemble an international
coalition for a campaign against Osama bin
Laden and other terrorists received a boost
yesterday when Palestinians and Israelis
announced steps to enforce a cease-fire after
a year of escalating violence and bloodshed.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East had
threatened to undermine U.S. efforts to build
momentum for its anti-terrorism campaign
with many Arab and Muslim countries.
The developments came after Powell, in
what officials described as a long and tough
conversation Monday night, implored Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon not to squander
an opportunity to renew cooperation with
the Palestinians and warned that Israel
would be ceding the moral high ground to
the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat if they
refused.
MSA to start distributing white
annband hn support ofims
MSA
Continued from Page 1.
Despite last week's terrorist attacks and heightened
call for aid in the areas affected by them, Stewart said
the resolution to boycott the University's support of the
United Way should not be put off.
"It's something we need to consider now while it's in
front of us because fundraising is already in full force,"
Stewart said.
"Finding an alternative to the United Way should
definitely be emphasized," said Engineering Rep. Eric
Roeder.
In response to the resolution's passing, Stewart will
draft a letter to the Board of Regents requesting a
search for an alternate charity organ; ation.
The Ann Arbor City Council recently passed a reso-
lution ending the city's support of United Way for the
same reason.
Also. at last night's meeting, MSA representatives
and constituents expressed concern about showing sup-
port toward and discouraging discrimination against
Arab-Americans, Muslims, and South Asian members
of the University community due to recent acts of
racial hatred directed towards them.
This week MSA will begin distributing white arm-
bands as a symbol of remembrance and support for
victims of terrorist attacks and to encourage unity.
MSA also passed resolutions to support student
mobilization in Cincinnati to coincide with the 6th Cir-
cuit Court of Appeals' hearing of the University's
affirmative action lawsuit. In addition to supporting
student attendance at the hearing, MSA agreed to sup-
port National Take Back Affirmative Action Day on
campus next month.
In addition, MSA President Matt Nolan said he has
spoken with University President Lee Bollinger about
the possibility of a fall break.
"Bollinger is not opposed to a change in the academ-
ic calendar," Nolan said.
YENA RYU/Daily
During last night's MSA meeting, representatives and constituents discuss a
campaign against acts of racial hatred directed toward Arabs and Muslims.
PANEL
Continued from Page 1
Security Council, addressed security issues
and offered insight into the terrorists' strategic
goals.
"The terrorists had two strategic objectives in
mind beyond killing Americans," he said. "One
was to make the American people and govern-
ment feel insecure and demoralized. The other
was to bring us out of the Middle East."
ate emotion in so many Americans.
"Reactions so far have been emotional. That
is natural, but now to fight evil we need the
council of reason," said panelist Ashtush
Varshney, a political science professor and fac-
ulty member at the Center for South Asian
Studies.
"The blame of the attacks cannot be laid on
the door of Arab Americans," Varshney said.
"We run the risk of embittering a minority that
will create divisions in the United States at a
FLYING
Continued from Page 1
communications studies Prof. Mike Traugott, a
polling expert.
Traugott said he expects travelers to begin
canceling or delaying vacation plans in light of
the plane hijackings. He believes a majority of
respondents said their feelings were unaffected
by Tuesday's events because they yearn for a
return to normal.
rnmi. ,- ---t f of .ht
available. Carry-on luggage will also be espe-
cially scrutinized. In addition, armed U.S. mar-
shals will assist security personnel at terminal
entrances and enforce security on many flights.
"Airports are much safer today. (But) the
price you're paying is very long lines," said
Wayne County Executive Ed McNamara, who
oversees Detroit Metro.
McNamara said there are discussions about
moving security gates from terminal entrances
to outside departure gates but that such a plan
S n eifficult-
want to see their grandson and are faced with a
1,500-mile drive, they will fly,"he said.
First-year Business graduate student Eric
Schroeder said he will avoid flying only if alter-
nate transportation is feasible.
-171 probably continue flying," Schroeder
said. "Maybe, for example if I was going to
Chicago, that's when I'd take the train or get a
ride as opposed to flying."
Charlie Corbin, manager of the STA Travel
branch in the Michigan Union, said he has not
noticed a decline in flight reservations but that