Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said it could take years to remove the last elements of the al-Qaeda terrorist network from Afghanistan.
In an interview to NBC’s “Meet the Press”, Ivanov spoke, amongst other issues, about the war in Afghanistan, the threat posed by Iraq and a new era of intelligence-sharing between the United States and Russia.
The Defense Minister stated that the United States operation in Afghanistan has successfully dispersed large groups of terrorists, but warned, it would take time to completely remove the last holdouts.
"It will take years to dismantle the roots of al-Qaeda and Taleban," he expressed.
Ivanov said the Russian people know about Afghanistan, a reference to the ten-year Soviet occupation, during which thousands of Russian soldiers lost their lives. When asked why the Soviets failed and so many died, he replied, "Because the Soviet Union, at the time, was trying to impose military power on every square mile of Afghanistan," and added, "As far as I know, no foreign country, which takes part in this operation in Afghanistan now has such an aim."
Regarding the Al Qaeda leader, the Russian defense minister said he believes Osama bin Laden may still be alive. He added he has no firm data on the matter, but has a feeling bin Laden is still inside Afghanistan, or near the border. Ivanov predicted that in time, Osama bin Laden would eventually be found. "Sooner or later, maybe in years. But, still, he will be captured. Because, I am convinced he should be captured," he said.
The global-war on terrorism was a major topic earlier this week when Sergei Ivanov met with US President George W. Bush at the White House. Bush, on his part, has praised Russian cooperation from the beginning.
Ivanov, once a KGB official, said that the former Cold War enemies are now actively sharing intelligence information. He said Russian agents are working along with the U.S. military Central Command in Florida, and Russian agencies in Moscow are cooperating as well.
"There are lots of American intelligence officers in Moscow who routinely, on a daily basis, attend the appropriate Russian services and get information," he said.
On the issue of Iraq, Ivanov said Russia wanted to see Baghdad grant full access to weapons inspectors. When questioned about arms control, he repeated Moscow's stance that nuclear warheads taken out of service must be destroyed, not stored. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
