A well-known Pakistani newspaper editor said yesterday that in a recent interview inside Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden claimed he had nuclear and chemical weapons and might use them in response to US attacks.
The White House said it took such remarks very seriously and would do everything to prevent bin Laden from acquiring such weapons of mass destruction.
Hamid Mir, editor of the Urdu-language Ausaf newspaper, said he held a two-hour interview with bin Laden in Arabic in the early hours of Thursday at a secret location, after a bone-jarring five-hour jeep ride from Kabul.
The interview was splashed on the front page of Pakistan's respect-ed Dawn newspaper yesterday.
"I wish to declare that if America used chemical or nuclear weapons against us, then we may retort with chemical and nuclear weapons. We have the weapons as a deterrent," bin Laden was quoted as telling Mir.
Asked exactly where he got the weapons, bin Laden reportedly replied: "Go to the next question."
It was not possible independently to verify the report.
The Dawn, which printed a photograph apparently showing Mir with bin Laden and dated Nov. 8, said it was the first interview the Saudi-born militant had granted to any journalist since the Sept. 11 attacks on the US for which he is the prime suspect.
Independent experts say it is unlikely bin Laden has developed a nuclear capability, but US officials said they were sure he was trying.
"We have said that we have suspected all along that this organization has been pursuing the acquisition of chemical, biological and nuclear materials," said White House spokesman Ken Lisaius.
"They have stated those goals themselves. We take those past statements seriously and we'll do everything we can to prevent their acquisition."
The Pakistani government last month dismissed as absurd international media reports that bin Laden had obtained nuclear material from Pakistan's atomic arsenal.
Mir said bin Laden told him the Sept. 11 attacks were justified but denied responsibility.
"The Sept. 11 attacks were not targeted at women and children. The real targets were America's icons of military and economic power," bin Laden was quoted as saying. "The American people should stop the massacre of Muslims by their government."
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