Bush details al-Qaeda plot

2006-02-09 21:39

Washington - US President George W Bush on Thursday disclosed new details of a thwarted al-Qaeda plot to use shoe bombs to hijack a plane and fly it into a Los Angeles building, as he sought to justify his tactics in Washington's war on terrorism.

With critics questioning the legality of his authorization of a domestic spying programme, Bush used newly declassified details of a previously disclosed plot to show that the threat of terrorism has not abated.

Bush said that in early 2002 the United States and its allies thwarted a plot to use bombs hidden in shoes to breach the cockpit door of an airplane and fly it into the tallest building in Los Angeles.

But he named the wrong building. "We believe the intended target was Liberty Tower in Los Angeles, California," Bush said. White House aides later said he meant Library Tower.

Last October, the Bush administration had disclosed the plot to attack targets on the West Coast using hijacked planes, saying this was among 10 disrupted al-Qaeda plots.

Bush said on Thursday that in October 2001, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the operational mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, had set in motion a plot for another attack inside the US using shoe bombs to hijack an airplane and fly it into the tallest building on the US west coast.

Asian men

"Rather than use Arab hijackers as he had on September 11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed sought out young men from Southeast Asia whom he believed would not arouse as much suspicion," Bush said.

Mohammed was captured in Pakistan in March 2003 and has since been held at an undisclosed location.

In his speech, Bush praised the efforts of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in fighting terrorism.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, believed by US officials to be hiding in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, have so far eluded the US manhunt.

Bush said Mohammed tapped a leader of an al-Qaeda-affiliated group in Southeast Asia named Hambali, who recruited several operatives with training in Afghanistan.

Hambali was later caught.

"Once the operatives were recruited, they met with Osama bin Laden, and then began preparations for the West Coast attack," Bush said.

Eavesdropping

"Their plot was derailed in early 2002 when a Southeast Asian nation arrested a key al-Qaeda operative," he said.

Bush has been fighting criticism of his decision to authorise the national security agency to eavesdrop without court warrants inside the United States on international e-mails and phone calls placed to and from people with suspected ties to terrorism.

He has said that it was a necessary tool for fighting terrorism and preventing another attack on America.

- Reuters