Leading the way AMERICA lINT CRISIS The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 25, 2001- 5A Bosnian-based network disrupted The Washington Post VIENNA, Austria - NATO-led peacekeepers in Bosnia-Herzegovina believe they have disrupted a Bosnian- based terrorist network and are investi- gating possible links to Osama bin Laden, a spokesman for the force said yesterday. The announcement came after a series of detentions of foreigners from Islamic countries over the last three weeks in Bosnia. "SFOR believes it disrupted a ter- rorist organization inside of Bosnia- Herzegovina," said Capt. Daryl Morrell, spokesman for Bosnia's NATO-led Stabilization Force, or SFOR. Morrell said the investigation into possible links between bin Laden and the suspected terrorist network was ongoing. Bosnian police worked with SFOR to capture the suspects. Morrell would not comment on what the network's targets may have been. Those detained this month on suspi- cion of links to terrorist activities include one Jordanian, three Egyptians and six Algerians. The Jordanian and the Egyptians have been extradited to their home countries. Two of the Egyptians were wanted on an Interpol warrant that predated the Sept. I1 terrorist attacks in the United States, said Stefo Lehman, a spokesman for the U.N. mission in Bosnia. He identified them as Al Sharif Has- sam Mahmoud Saad and Al Husseini Arman Ahmed. Lehman said they were wanted in Egypt, but he did not specify on what charges. The Jordanian was identified as Hamed Abdel Rahim al Jamal. One of the six Algerians in Bosnian custody, Bensayah Belkacem, was arrested Oct. 8 on the basis of foreign intelligence information that he allegedly made telephone calls to a lieutenant of bin Laden. Police found blank passports from various countries in Belkacem's possession and took him into custody. "SFOR believes it disrupted a terrorist organization inside of Bosnia-Herzegovina." - Capt. Daryl Morrell Spokesman for Bosnia's NATO-led Stabilization Force The five other Algerians were detained in the last week after threats were made against the U.S. and British Embassies, forcing them to close. Local news reports said two of the recently arrested suspects belonged to the Armed Islamic Group, an Algerian terrorist organization, and Egyptian terrorist groups. One of the Algerian suspects, Saber Lahmar, worked for the High Saudi Commission for Relief, an organiza- tion that was raided by SFOR last month. The soldiers seized computer discs, money and documents. Bosnian Prime Minister Zlatko Lagumdzija said this week that about 20 people were under police scrutiny for possible terrorist links. Other gov- ernment officials have said that U.S. intelligence sources had given them a list of about 20 Arab names, and they were checking them. Bosnia allowed about 1,000 for- eign fighters from Muslim countries to enter Bosnia during its 1992-1995 war. Most left after the war, but some stayed, obtaining Bosnian citi- zenship. A few of those are believed to be linked with terrorist organiza- tions. "We do have weak borders," said Lehman, the U.N spokesman. "So it's easy for people to come into the coun- try and even to seek refuge here. But Bosnia is not an anomaly if you look at the arrests that we're seeing in Ger- many, in France, all through Europe," he said. AP PHOTO Northern alliance fighters run during training in a village southwest of the opposition-controlled town of Tasht-e-Qala in northern Afghanistan yesterday. Conference between 1,500 former Afghan leaders seen as ploy Naval academy looks at definitions of terrorism The Washington Post PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A meeting of 1,500 former Afghan leaders yesterday, billed as an effort to promote peace and unity in the besieged and divided country, was snubbed by key figures and undercut by criticism that it was being promoted by Pakistan to exercise undue influence on Afghanistan's political future. On the surface, the gathering seemed impressive, attended by Afghan tribal elders, religious figures and former anti-Soviet resis- tance commanders dressed in elaborate tur- bans and robes. It was presided over by Pir Sayed Ahmed Gailani. a religious leader who sat in a throne-like chair adorned with a wooden eagle. In his welcoming speech. Gailani called for an interim government to be established under former King Mohammed Zahir Shah, with a U.N. security force from Islamic coun- tries maintaining order. He said an Islamic constitution should be drafted and national elections ultimately held. "Dear countrymen! In this situation we need tolerance, understanding and political insight," Gailani said. "We should join hands to work together, with complete harmony and sincerity and without any sort of discrimina- tion, for the construction of a united and great Afghanistan." But the 86-year-old king, who lives in exile in Rome, did not accept an invitation to send representatives to Peshawar yesterday, and some of his key supporters harshly criticized the meeting as a ploy by Pakistan and leaders of former Islamic militias to take over the process of constructing a new Afghan gov- ernment. Mustapha Zahir, the king's grandson, said by telephone from Rome that Zahir Shah had "not officially sanctioned any meeting." A key supporter in the Pakistani city of Quetta, Gul Agha Shirzai, said the meeting was full of "fundamentalists and terrorists" and that Gailani was "using the king" for his own ends. For the past two weeks, Afghanistan has been under intense military bombardment by U.S. forces, aimed at destroying the Islamic A PHOTO Pir Sayed Ahmed Gillani, head of the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan, pauses at the start of a Shura, or meeting, in Peshawar, Pakistan, yesterday. Taliban movement and a terrorist network operated by Osama bin Laden, the Saudi fugi- tive who lives in Afghanistan and is the prime U.S. suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. It is widely assumed here.that the Taliban will eventually collapse under the attack, and frantic but confused efforts are being under- taken by numerous groups, including Pak- istani intelligence agencies and an array of former Afghan leaders, to prepare for a new government that will replace it. The Baltimore Sun ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Standing in front of a blackboard scrawled with a list titled "Definitions of Terrorism," Naval Academy Professor Barbara Harff searched the room for an answer to a ques- tion haunting the country: How do we fight a war in Afghanistan? One midshipman called out, "I think it would be better to take out (Osama) bin Laden than to give him a platform." The class fell silent. On the blackboard, one of the definitions of terrorism was assassination. "This is why we're here," Harff told the stu- dents in her "Middle Eastern Politics" class. "You can talk here." As college students across the country struggle for ways to define the conflict and comprehend the difference between terrorism and military action, these students, dressed like the Navy offi- cers they will become, have far more at stake in their quest for answers. These students are learning about a conflict they will likely join, some in less than eight months. This campus in Annapolis is where debates about the rules of war and the right to wage one aren't theoretical, but real issues that these midshipmen will have to reconcile. The seriousness they bring to these discus- sions, a daily occurrence across campus since the Sept.,11 attacks, is palpable from the tension in the arguments and the debates that follow. "We don't want to indoctrinate them, have them speak in one voice," [Harff said. "These stu- dents are very aware of what they are heading into. They are willing to risk their lives. The best thing Ican do as an educator. is teach them to analyze and think critically." From her helm at the blackboard, Harff leads her political science students studying the Arab-Israeli conflict through the murky waters of historical dis- putes, religious conflicts and wars in the Middle East, starting with Muhammad and leading up to Osama bin Laden. The debates do not always coin- cide with Department of Defense military policy. One student argued that the Defense Depart- ment had made its definition of terrorism too broad - so broad, he argued, that Northern Ire- land and Colombia would then be considered ter- rorist states. Another questioned whether President Bush was wrong not to accept the Taliban's initial offer to hand over bin Laden to an independent court. When Harff asked if terrorists have to have a political agenda, senior Chris Kiesel raised his hand from the back of the room. "Here's what I don't understand," he said. "Is terrorism just any action against the status quo? I mean, could terrorism be considered national- ism?"