Citizens abroad told to beware

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 30, 2001

WASHINGTON -- The State Department issued a worldwide travel alert for Americans after discovering that extremists in nine countries might be preparing to kidnap or kill American and British civilians in response to expected U.S. retaliatory strikes against terrorists, Knight Ridder reports.

The boldest plot was uncovered by Indonesian authorities who reported that a radical Muslim group planned to invade two upscale neighborhoods in the capital of Jakarta and seize large numbers of Americans and Britons as hostages if the United States or Great Britain attacked Afghanistan, according to the report, which cited U.S. intelligence officials.

The officials, who requested anonymity, told Knight Ridder that the "worldwide caution" issued Friday by the State Department was based on reports from the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and foreign intelligence services.

According to the reports, suspected allies of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden have been casing hotels favored by Westerners. In some cases, officials told Knight Ridder, extremists asked desk clerks and other hotel employees if any Americans were registered there.

Plans for possible attacks against Americans and other Westerners also were reported in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, the Bangladesh capital of Dacca, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Georgia -- the former Soviet republic -- and Bahrain, the U.S. military headquarters in the Persian Gulf, according to Knight Ridder's report.

With more than 300 aircraft, 30 warships and 28,000 troops focused on Afghanistan, the United States is ready to begin military action against bin Laden and his Afghan hosts as soon as President Bush decides to act, senior U.S. officials told Knight Ridder.

The United States has identified bin Laden as the mastermind of the calamitous Sept. 11 attacks on four jetliners, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. He has been protected by Afghanistan's Taliban leaders since 1996.

Knight Ridder also learned Saturday that the United States is backing a fledgling political coalition to attract disaffected Afghans -- especially the country's few remaining professional military officers.

The effort centers on an attempt by former Afghan King Mohammed Zahir Shah, 86, to convene an assembly of anti-Taliban political, religious and military leaders from all of Afghanistan's ethnic communities, U.S. officials told the news service.

The assembly would choose a government-in-exile and a military body to coordinate anti-Taliban resistance inside Afghanistan.

Knight Ridder quoted an official of the United Front, the coalition of mostly ethnic minorities that has been fighting the Taliban, as saying the idea is an overall uprising.

According to a White House memo prepared by the National Security Council staff with input from the State and Defense departments: "The Taliban do not represent the Afghan people, who never elected or chose the Taliban faction. We do not want to choose who rules Afghanistan, but we will assist those who seek a peaceful, economically developing Afghanistan free of terrorism."

The United States' immediate goal in Afghanistan, the memo said, is to "eradicate the terrorism that led to the strikes that killed the citizens of 78 countries on September 11."

In addition, Knight Ridder has learned, the administration is examining ways to divide the Taliban, including offering food or financial aid to Taliban leaders who turn against bin Laden and his followers.

The United States also could airdrop leaflets on various Taliban groups offering aid to those who abandon the movement's top leaders, or it could deliver aid to some groups across the border from Pakistan.

President Bush, spending the weekend at Camp David with top advisers, again vowed to track down terrorists around the world.

"Our war on terror will be much broader than the battlefields and beachheads of the past," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "This war will be fought wherever terrorists hide, or run or plan.

"Some victories will be won outside of public view, in tragedies avoided and threats eliminated. Other victories will be clear to all."

Still, many officials braced for a terrorist follow-up attack on American interests and tried to prepare for it.

On Friday, the State Department issued a "worldwide caution" to Americans overseas. Without citing details, it cited threatening rhetoric and the potential of further strikes in the wake of the attacks.

"In this environment of increased tension and concern, the department urges Americans to review their circumstances carefully and to take any measures they deem necessary to ensure their personal safety," the State Department announced.

It was the first time the department has issued such an advisory since the assault that killed at least 6,000 people in the United States.

On Thursday, the State Department issued a special travel warning for Americans in Indonesia.

"While the government of Indonesia has condemned these terrorist attacks, some radical Indonesian groups have attempted to attack U.S. citizens and have threatened to attack U.S. facilities and expel American citizens from Indonesia in the event of a U.S. military action," the advisory said.

"Americans who despite this warning remain in or visit Indonesia should exercise maximum caution and take prudent measures to maintain their security."

The State Department also said the U.S. Embassy in Niger received reports of "anti-American threats and sentiments" in the capital, Niamey, and the city of Maradi. It said the threats also were linked to possible U.S. military action, and it encouraged all Americans in Niger to maintain heightened security.

In addition, the department repeated previous warnings about potential threats against U.S. military facilities and other establishments frequented by American servicemen in South Korea and Japan.

Nonessential U.S. government employees have been removed from four U.S. diplomatic missions in Pakistan, two in Indonesia and one each in Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Yemen, the State Department said.

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