Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe BEIRUT, Lebanon, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- "Bin Laden is a non-territorial 'ET,' Extra-terrestrial," Lebanon's minister of culture told United Press International in an exclusive interview Tuesday, during which he discussed the situation in Afghanistan, suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden and the Middle East. "Al Qaida is an inter-Arab joint venture -- and a successful one compared to all the others that are not," said the French-educated minister Ghassan Salameh, speaking from his penthouse office suite overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, a short distance from the site that was to host the Francophonie Summit this week. Advertisement After almost a year of preparations, the summit, which was to gather more than 50 heads of state, was postponed because of the Sept. 11 attacks. The Lebanese official explained bin Laden, America's most wanted terrorist and believed by U.S. officials to be responsible for last month's attacks on New York and the Pentagon in which 6,000 people died, had successfully taken on the former Soviet Union, and was now concentrating his efforts on combating the United States. Advertisement "He is a non-territorial force," explained Salameh, meaning that unlike the Chechens or the Palestinians, bin Laden was not fighting for a single territory, but aims is to extend radical Islam to all Muslim countries. There are about 1.2 billion Muslims in the world. "They have rented a country from which they can operate," said Salameh, referring to Afghanistan. Speaking of al Qaida, bin Laden's Islamist network believed to be operating in more than 50 countries, Salameh said, the Saudi-born millionaire, turned militant, believed Islam had defeated one super power and had now embarked upon a long jihad against the other one. "It is not Reagan's Star War that defeated the Soviet Union, but the Islamic Jihad in Afghanistan. The Soviet Union did not only withdraw as a result, but collapsed," said Salameh. "Their goal is very clear -- to defeat the Americans in the Middle East, as they defeated the Soviet Union." As for the United States' role in the conflict, Salameh had mixed feelings. "I'm impressed by the fact that they (the Americans) know it will take ages, and are telling their people this war is not a matter of weeks." Salameh did not give much credence to the rumors that Afghanistan's deposed King Zahir Shah would return to rule in war-torn nation. "That would set a precedent that others, such as Iran, would not welcome," he said. Iran's Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini ousted Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979. Advertisement Salameh believes that if the United States extended the war to include other countries, the situation would become "extremely complicated." For the moment, the U.S.-led war on the Taliban is seen by some as the "Yankees hitting back at the guy who did what he did in New York." But if any other country besides Afghanistan is implicated in the conflict, such as Iraq, Iran or Syria, then that would easily change into something completely different. "As long as it's bin Laden vs. Bush, it is one thing, but if it's Bush against all kinds of 'radical forces' in the Middle East, it becomes something very different," he said. On the negative side, Salameh said there was nothing of substance coming from the Americans. "Those who asked did not get a clear answer. This is not to diminish the importance of George W. Bush saying there should be a Palestinian state, but the question is where, who, how, etc.? "At the time being there is no textbook which the Americans can read. The Americans do not have a clear agenda on how to do things (in the Middle East). Those who asked the Americans did not get a clear answer on the modus operandi," he stressed. Advertisement In closing, Salameh said there were two nagging issues in the Middle East conflict: "Palestine and Iraq -- and do not underestimate the Iraqi game."
