Fahd bin Abdul Aziz
Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz
Naef Bin Abdul Aziz
Salman Bin Abdul Aziz
Ahmad Bin Abdul Aziz
Afghan Taleban consider trying Bin Laden (October 7, 1998)
Prince Saud al-Faisal exerted pressure on the Taleban to show the world that the Taleban
are not in agreement with the bombings of US embassies around the world. The Taleban
acquiesced once they recognize the game al-Saud are trying to play. If this story was
supposed to ease the west, it may give rise to extreme Wahabbi sect in Saudi Arabia that
supports the Taleban and bin Laden. The news was first reported by al-Hayat, a Saudi
newspaper, which is 100% owned by Saudi money (Prince Khalid bin Sultan). At a budget of
$18million a year, al-Hayat looses approximately $15million a year. Its purpose is to
voice al-Saud opinion using the non diplomatic and political official channels.
Source: Reuters
MANAMA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The Afghan Taleban was reported on Wednesday to ahve told Saudi Arabia it is ready to put Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden on trial for a 1996 bomb attack on U.S. airmen in the kingdom if the victims' families request it. The London-based, Saudi-owned Al-Hayat reported on Wednesday that the trial was part of a three-point proposal submitted to Saudi Arabia by the Islamic fundamentalist militia in a bid to restore their fractured diplomatic ties. It did not say how or when the proposals were delivered to Saudi Arabia, one of only three countries to recognise the Taleban government that controls most of Afghanistan. Nineteen U.S. servicemen were killed in a truck bomb attack at their military housing complex in Khobar, eastern Saudi Arabia, in June 1996. U.S. officials have branded Bin Laden as the prime suspect in the Khobar blast. He is also suspected of organising simultaneous bomb attacks against U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August which killed over 250 people, including 12 Americans, and injuring over 5,000. "Al-Hayat learned...that the Taleban movement told Riyadh of its readiness to try the wealthy Arab Osama Bin Laden if the families of the Khobar bombing victims submitted an official request to the government of the Islamic emirate," it said. "The proposal...was an attempt to restore diplomatic relations between them," the Arabic-language paper added. Saudi Arabia -- one of only three states to recognise the Taleban government -- last month expelled the Afghan charge d'affaires and recalled its top envoy from Kabul. It did not give a reason for the move but said it was "in keeping with national interest". But a newspaper quoted the Taleban's charge d'affaires in Riyadh as saying he believed Saudi Arabia asked him to leave because Afghanistan was hosting Bin Laden. Bin Laden, who has been stripped of his Saudi citizenship, has said all U.S. citizens were targets in his holy war against American forces in the Gulf. Some 35,000 Americans including about 4,500 military live and work in Saudi Arabia. Al-Hayat said the Taleban might also consider deporting Bin Laden to a third country, provided it guaranteed his safety, but would not consider handing him over to the United States. The Taleban's proposal to Saudi Arabia also suggested forming a committee of Islamic clergymen from the kingdom and Afghanistan to discuss their differences. Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates also recognise the government of the Taleban.
