Taliban Leader Says U.S. Cannot Defeat His Movement
By Jonathan Wright
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan (news - web sites), Mullah Mohammad Omar, said in a rare interview that the United States could not defeat his movement in its attempt to obtain Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden (news - web sites).
``Even if it (the United States) were twice as strong, or twice that, it would not be strong enough to defeat us. We are confident that no one can harm us if God is with us,'' he told Voice of America in an interview broadcast on Wednesday.
The State Department had tried to persuade the government-funded broadcaster not to give Mullah Omar time on the air, on the grounds that U.S. taxpayers should not help the Taliban leader propagate his views.
But the Voice of America went ahead anyway, wrapping the interview into a background piece which also included the voices of President Bush (news - web sites), a spokesman for the Afghan Northern Alliance and Islam specialist John Esposito.
VOA spokesman Joe O'Connell said VOA had held the piece in the hope of obtaining an interview in Rome with the former king of Afghanistan, Mohammad Zahir Shah, but went ahead when that interview did not materialize.
The broadcast, which translated Mullah Omar's Pashto into English, included about 150 words spoken by the fundamentalist Taliban leader, who has been protecting bin Laden.
Bin Laden is the prime suspect in the attacks on the World Trade Center New York and the Pentagon (news - web sites) in Washington on Sept. 11, which left more than 7,000 people dead or missing and presumed dead.
The United States has demanded the Taliban and his supporters hand him over for trial. It has deployed warplanes and ships toward Afghanistan, threatening military force.
VOA, paraphrasing Mullah Omar, said he refused to surrender bin Laden and was prepared to lead the Taliban in war.
``THE PEOPLE ARE POWERLESS''
``This is not just an issue of Osama bin Laden. This is an issue of Islam, Islam throughout the world. Islam's prestige is at stake, so is Afghan tradition. Whether Afghans uphold their tradition and protect their honor is another issue,'' he said.
He said the United States has subdued Muslim countries by putting pressure on their governments.
``America controls the governments of the Islamic countries. America keeps after them until they do its bidding. But these governments are very distant from their own people. The people ask to follow Islam, but the governments do not listen. The people are powerless against their governments because they are in the grip of the United States,'' he said.
A State Department official said the Bush administration was dismayed that Voice of America did not follow its advice not to broadcast extracts from the interview.
``We as a board member have a right and a responsibility and an obligation to express our views,'' the official added.
The State Department has a seat on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Voice of America.
But VOA's charter calls for accurate, objective and comprehensive news, a broad spectrum of American thought and institutions and a ``responsible discussion'' of U.S. policies.
More than 100 VOA staff had protested the State Department's attempt to obstruct the interview, saying Mullah Omar's comments were legitimate news and should be broadcast.
``Central to our democracy is freedom of the press. As America's voice to the world, the Voice of America has a duty to exemplify that basic principle,'' they said in a statement.
In other extracts from the interview, as carried by The Washington Post last week, Mullah Omar said: ``America has created the evil that is attacking it. The evil will not disappear even if I die and Osama dies and others die.
``The United States should step back and review its policy. It should stop trying to impose its empire on the rest of the world, especially on Islamic countries.''