Bin Laden ``Has Nuclear and Chemical Weapons``

9-11 terrorist attack suspect Osama bin Laden held the first interview with the press after the attack and asserted, ``We have nuclear and chemical weapons.``

Pakistan`s Urdu newspaper Ausaf reported on November 10 the interview between Ausaf journalist Hammid Mir and Osama Bin Laden in which Mr. Bin Laden stated, ``If the U.S. uses nuclear and chemical weapons against us, we will take vengeance with the same method.``

Mr. Mir responded to Western newspaper inquiries about the reliability of the interview, ``I was taken on a jeep on the night of November 7 from Kabul with my eyes covered for five hours. We stopped at a place much colder than Kabul and where you could hear loud sounds of the bombing. I met Osama bin Laden on November 8 in a mud hut.``

``Bin Laden appeared with ten bodyguards and was accompanied by his close associate, Al Jewahiri. In contrast to his soft voice, he spoke like a skilled rhetorician, laughed frequently, and was full of confidence. However, he feels the threat of assassination by the U.S. and stressed his readiness to die.`` said Mr. Mir.

The following is an excerpt from the reports in Ausaf and Pakistan`s English language newspaper, `Dawn`.

- Can Islam`s teachings justify the death of innocent civilians in the 9-11 terrorist attacks?

`` The attack was targeted not against women and children but at the symbols of American military and economic power. America and its allies are massacring our people in Palestine, Chechen, Kashmir, and Iraq. Muslims, therefore, have to right to take revenge.``

- Are Western sources correct in making reports about your attempt to acquire nuclear and chemical weapons?

``If the U.S. uses chemical or nuclear weapons against us, we will take vengeance with the same method. We have those types of weapons out of necessity.``

- If the U.S. withdraws from Saudi Arabia and imprisoned Muslims liberated, should the U.S. be taken to court in a different Islamic country?

`` Only Afghanistan is a true Islamic country. I do not consider Saudi Arabia as an Islamic country. If the U.S. has charges against me, we also know the crimes that the U.S. has committed.``

- The highest Islamic cleric issued a statement declaring that you have nothing to do with Islam . . .

``The history of Islam is full of people like him. They support the enemy for their own personal interests but a true Islamic scholar support a jihad against the U.S.``

- It is said that Muhammad Omar`s daughter is your wife. Is that true?

``(Laughing) All my wives are Arabs. My daughters are all married to Arab mujahadins. I share the same outlook as Mullah Omar but have no personal relations with him.``

sechepa@donga.com