Bin Laden underlings in Sept. 11 attacks involved in others

WASHINGTON -- In presenting its case against Osama bin Laden to U.S. allies, the Bush administration said some of the same terrorists involved in the Sept. 11 attack also have been linked to the East Africa embassy bombings and the attack on the USS Cole.

Two senior administration officials said this point was part of a presentation made Tuesday by State Department counterterrorism chief Frank Taylor to NATO allies in Brussels, Belgium.

The presentation was part of the U.S. campaign to garner international support for its contention that bin Laden and his al-Qaida organization were responsible for the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Several hijackers involved the attacks three weeks ago had links to al-Qaida, the officials said.

Secretary of State Colin Powell said information was sent out Monday to a large number of nations which "powerfully made the case" against the al-Qaida organization for the terrorist attacks three weeks ago.

The NATO allies had conditioned material support for the United States under the NATO charter on convincing information pointing to bin Laden as the perpetrator of the attacks.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said U.S. ambassadors to friendly nations have been asked to brief their host governments on the administration's information.

Two senior officials said bin Laden's involvement became apparent after officials concluded that some personnel involved in the Sept. 11 attacks also took part in the Aug. 7, 1998, bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa on Aug. 7, 1998, and the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen on Oct. 12, 2000.

Other than bin Laden, no one from al-Qaida has been publicly linked to all three attacks.