World News 18-09-2001 Bin Laden Decision Expected As Tensions Rise who: George W Bush what: Issues ultimatum to Taliban to release bin Laden into US custody where: Afghanistan when: Yesterday snippet: In an ominous development, the Taliban are reported by the Times today "to have moved missiles and thousands of troops to the border with Pakistan as tension rose during a last-minute attempt to persuade them to hand over Osama bin Laden." In talks with Taliban officals, taking place in the Afghan city of Kandhar, "the Pakistan delegation is understood to have warned that Bin Laden will have to be handed over within three days if US military strikes are to be averted," reports BBC Online. The Express reports that Taliban chief Mullah Mohammed Omar has announced on Afghanistan radio that he "will let a council of Islamic clerics decide in the next 24 hours whether to hand over Osama bin Laden," while the Telegraph`s Alex Spillius says it would be "a dramatic about-turn if the movement were to sacrifice a man it has routinely described as a `guest`." With the situation hanging in the balance, the Independent examines the Taliban military potential, which "depends on the war it is expected to fight particularly without the advice and assistance of Pakistan." Robert Templer, of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, is scathing about Afghan military performance. "The reputation of the Afghan warrior is a bit overblown. They are often better at taking money to change sides," he said. The Independent`s report also notes that the Taliban has become narrower and more radical over time, "less responsive to feelings outside the inner cadre and...more dependent on the advice and resources of non-Afghans such as Mr bin Laden" - a man who while ostensibly under house arrest has long been suspected to be in charge of the military. President Bush is not likely to wait long for a decision. "I want justice", he said, quoted in the Guardian. "There`s an old poster out West that said wanted, dead or alive`. That`s what I want." [... more]

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